Well all, I'm starting to tremble - in fear and anticipation. The Mrs. and I going drive a supposedly immaculate '94 E420 tonight - it's been sitting in a garage for the last year (previous owner passed away), but other than that was immacualtely cared for. 44K mi. on the odo, Black on Black

The problem is the wife and I will be going to the VW dealership afterwards. I fear the more modern creature comforts, and the shiny chrome accents of the new V6 Passat (which is a very nice car, actually) may appeal to her more than the old-world quality and solidity of the W124. I hope she won't be too easily swayed, I think the Benz will pull through, but her less critical opinion may yield a draw in overall driveability between the two, letting the new-car-smell-effect win

Nothing much I can do now except let this sordid affair work itself out, just wanted to let my fellow Benz-ophiles share my trepidation...

Regards,
- Ryan

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'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

Ha! As soon as the VW's door closes and you compare the Knunck the both of you should know.

No offense to VW owners, but we are taking about a car for the masses compared to...., well something special like a Mercedes. Just Kidding.

Let us know how it all turns out. Just remind her that the Passat will not feel so solid given the daily grind compared to the E420.

The benz is by far a superior product. you could probably get two of those passat's for the price the 400e/e420 was back when it was new.

The steering ont he benz will feel solid, but responsive and not tight. the pedals will feel solid and not too light. Overall the car should feel like a rock.

I picked my benz over a newer bmw with almost half the mileage of my car. guess why, the benz felt more solid, and felt safer.

The BMW felt light.

The same will probably go for with the passat it will feel light.

And from my experience in the pastw ith friends who had vw's, all vw's get annoying rattles after only a couple of years. This may have changed in recent years, but every vw I have been in has had rattles.

I might prefer mercedes no matter what, but as far as drivability, I like a vehicle that feels solid, and the benz fits that bill.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

Well last night went good...and bad (thanks for the encouragement guys ). Biggest knock against the Benz was the overly-protective son of the lady-owner who insisted he go along on the test drive with us. Now, I don't particularly care for a salesman/etc riding with me on a test drive, but I can get over it. The Mrs. on the other hand, in a strange car, in a unfamiliar part of town at night, with a salesman/owner in the car is enough to make her uneasy from the get go . Her comments afterwards were: wow it was powerful, wow it was quiet and refined, and WOW did I feel close to the steering wheel! I don't know if any of you have short spouses/girlfriends (comments ladies?) but my wife is barely 5'1 and she made the same comment in another W124 we drove earlier. Without the adjustable steering wheel, she can't reach the pedals unless the seat is in it's max-forward position, putting her uncomfortably close to the airbag. I can't remember when Benz added adjustable steering wheels.

She loved the Passat - I was impressed too - definately not what you typically envision a VW to be. Much more Audi-esque than not. But of course, she felt it to be a bit smaller-feeling, tossable, and found a comfortable seating position almost immediately (telescoping steering wheel helping this greatly). You may be righ Alon, I've driven VW's in the past that, while pretty fun to drive, develope rattles over time. This one seemed very-well put together on initial inspection, but then I suppose any brand new car would!

The Passat edged out the Benz in the test drive, but bless her, she said she's withholding final judgement till she can drive another E420 on familiar roads without a guy in the back seat constantly commenting on how meticuously the car was manintained (it was, by the way 15K overdue for the 30k tune up and had a large crack in the front air dam ).

Anyway, will keep you posted - thanks again for the well-wishes fellas!

- Ryan

__________________
'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

Ryan

I’m not positive but pretty sure the steering wheel is adjustable. The control is low and near the foreword most part of the steering column on the left side.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

Test drive them both during the daytime, through an area with pedestrians. She'll subconsciously notice the difference in their reactions to the car.



Ken300D

Thanks LaBenz, just got an email from another esteemed forum member (thanks John!) confirming that his '87 300E has the electronic adjustment for the steering wheel - no way a '94 420 wouldn't have it! I wasn't looking close enough, doh!

There is hope yet....

Heheh Ken, you're right about the perception thing, while I don't like the car for its prestige, my wife could get used to it

What a great forum!

__________________
'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

Should be a in/out adjustment just below the turn indicator stalk.

Well, the steering wheel adjustment convinced the Mrs. that it was a car she could easily live with - yippee!! I knew the overall quality of the Benz would shine through! No offense to the new VW's of course, l was impressed, and I'm used to looking at/driving Benz's, but....

Found a perfect example ('95 E420, best example I've seen) I'm having inspected tomorrow - bearing a clean bill of health, I may be sending you along pics of the new MB soon!



- Ryan, getting giddy

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'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

Let us know when you get it. I'm taking delivery of a '95 E420 tomorrow morning. I was amazed! It is an awesome car. I think it will take a while to get used to not having the 420SEL around, we've been together a while and I really love that car, but I was spending enough on it to keep it on the road to afford this '95 (with 3 year MB signature class warranty) I finally bit the bullet and traded up. I probably won't be able to sleep tonight.

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired