Hottee18m:
Gosh, your age isn't an issue (except some of us older types envy your reflexes and spontaneity). Nor are we implying you aren't a good and sober driver - I just used one example that the unexpected happens, occasionally with major consequences, to all of us.

I think we are just saying that an MB can probably take the abuse more than most other vehicles, but all machinery wears faster with hard work. When we are younger we tend to work machinery harder than when we are older, for a variety of reasons. Not trying to put you down, just trying to answer your question by saying you should enjoy your ride in the way that is best for you, and be prepared to fix what breaks, mechanical or otherwise.

__________________
John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

This thread drew all these replies before I read it the first time. I enjoyed it very much, and it brought all sorts of thoughts.

I think everyone goes through some sort of "burning youth" at the age of hottie. The magnitude of the fire is what varies. For some it may mean that they get so wild that they say "heck" or "darn" while their parents aren't listening. For others it sometimes goes completely off the scale resulting in death, prison, or whatever.

My wishes for everyone of hotties age is that they can go through this phase of life in peace time. I went through mine after being drafted into the US Army in 1968.

I do hope that hottie and all others of his age can experience their fire of youth with good clean fun, driving fast or whatever, without causing injury or death for themselves or anyone around them.

My son just turned 21 and I feel so relieved that he has lived his youth in peace time.

Have a great day,

HEY HOTTEE,

I just read tis entire post and though I just had to reply it.
As you all might know (by now) I am from the Netherlands and live near the German border (approx. 10km). I bought my first mercedes 190D (4-cylinder diesel) when I was 21 and drove it for 2 years and 9 months. The car had driven 400k km when I bought it and 600k km when I sold it (for very good $$$).
I have been driving this car to the limit for about 3/4 of the time I owned it and I do mean to the limit, the 1/4 descend driving were city-driven kms). In the Netherlands the fines you get do not influence your insurance, so I did not bother the fines as long as I could still pay the requested amount of money. I have been travelling through europe whilst driving nearly flat-out for 1300km in 9 hours and some 15 minutes (stop-fill up the tank-go).
I bought myself a C250D (5-cylinder diesel) which is being driven to the limit as well (although not as often anymore as in the past; I think that the wisdom by age is starting to get to a minimum required level...).
With this car it is still the same, although I have been taking down the average speed (lost my driving license for several (12 LONG!!!) days. I still accelerate up to 4000rpm before I shift it (manual) into the next gear, but the car is doing GREAT.
I own this C-class for 225k km and 3 years now and the total "kilometrage" is 350k km now. NO PROBLEMS so far.

This attitude got me into serious trouble after I have been stopped by the police after a 20km pursuit (I was stopped by the third police car involving this pursuit) on a 80km/h road (the handling of the car was great and I thought I could get away on this extremely curved road; the gap with the police got bigger and bigger whilst I was cornering the curves with 160-170km/h (flat-out).
I have been punished severe and during my probation time I have made the same mistake (being caught by the police) again.

If you give your car enough time to warm up in a descend manner (driving it very calmly), it will keep up with your disabuse for a long time; off-course, some parts will wear down much quicker, but that is something you choose for whilst driving like an Asocial bastard! The bottom line is that I have experienced my benzes to be adequate vehicles to keep up with a lot of uncommon use (or improper driving behavior).
I never had any trouble with my engines, manual gearbox or whatever...and therefore I think it should not be considered whether the car can handle the driving style you mentioned, but whether the traffic situation allow you to drive like that. Just watch out for all possible other users on and besides the road; you don't want to do them any harm!

19 Year young chicks with C-classes!!! Damn, I do not live in the right place on this world... I wish we had them as well!

greetingz,

__________________
1990 300SL-24
1993 C250D with a minor 600+k kilometer
www.MBenzNL.com(the Netherlands)

I won't bore everyone here with tales of the grocery-getter I drove at 18.

Before I could drive, our family lived in Europe for a number of years. There, cars were always driven HARD by your definition. There are a lot of two-lane, twisty back roads, and to get anywhere in any sort of time you needed to push it.

Back then (early 60's) imported Detroit iron had to be heavily modified. Brakes were the weakest part, and unacceptable as they could barely stop the car once from 80 mph, let alone twice or three times in succession.

Then, the Europeans were indignant to find a car that couldn't bury the speedometer needle. Why mark it 120 mph if it can barely touch 100?

Box-stock Detroit cars could not even begin to keep up with the duty cycles of the lowly VWs, which were designed to run all day at WFO (Wide ... Open) throttle. Of course, this netted about 75-80 mph on a good day, but it buried the speedo and they could do it all day and all night.

"Freeways" like our Interstate system here do not really exist. Here, you can drone from breakfast to lunch to dinner on cruise control and not have to turn more than twice. There, even the famed Autobahn and Autostrada are not much longer than a run from Cleveland to Cincinnati.

BMW and Mercedes especially seemed over-designed compared to Detroit cars.

My $0.02 is go ahead, drive it hard now and then when conditions allow you to. Enjoy how it responds. Replace the parts that wear out.

Live long and prosper.

BCingU, Jim

ever since reading Bob Bondurant's book on high-performance driving, i have been so conscious of driving smoothly. That is what is being hammered into your head all throughout the book, and the same being advocated by Jackie Stewart.

being smooth on the gas, brakes, clutch and steering wheel means gradual loading on the drivetrain, suspension and chassis, which means lower impact loading, wear and tear, and longer life. All the more since i have a 5spd manual. But even if you have an automatic, if the engine/transmission electronics do not reduce torque in between shifts (e.g via spark retardation) for smoother shifts, you need to help it a bit by momentarily backing off the gas at the right moment.

you can drive hard all you want, but concentrate on being smooth and "easy on the machinery", and speed will follow.

and concentrating on being smooth is like some sort of therapy, some sort of "tai-chi" for driving.

[Edited by bobbyv on 01-26-2001 at 09:30 AM]

I'm sorry. I have to play the role of the know-it-all butthead who has the tales of misery to try to change the way you drive Hottee. Last summer, my 16 year-old cousin tried to see which was stronger...a brick sign or his Camaro. The sign won and he killed himself and his best friend. My only point is that if you really feel that you get a lot of enjoyment out of running your car hard, find a racing class that you can enter. That way, you get to learn your car's true limits, you can run it as hard as you want, and you don't endanger anyone else's life but your own. Even then, your much safer on a track because they try to put run-down areas in the places where you are likely to lose it.

Fortunately you're driving a Mercedes. As long as the body of the car stays solid and rust free it will almost always be more economical to replace components, even engines and transmissions than it would be to buy a decent car for the same price as your repairs. As mentioned before, these cars aren't designed like the north american cars we all grew up on. Hard driving within reason shouldn't be a problem. Just up the frequency of basic maintanence like oil, tranny fluid, coolant, brake fluid, etc. Even with hard driving the best to get the longest life from your car is to be rigorous with these basics and fix everything that needs to be fixed as soon as you notice it.

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

I personally think that driving a car hard is not all that bad for it, especially if it's a well-engineered car. Sure, soft parts will wear out faster (brakes, tires, bushings) but I think an engine could care less.

Case in point: anybody know of a Honda that's gone 290k without ANY engine work, and burns no oil? I had such a car, an '88 Accord LXi, that I sold to my brother (who still drives it). I beat that car mercilessly for 250k of those miles, and did nothing more than provide it with meticulous maintenance (valve adj. every 30k, timing belt every 80k, oil every 8-12k using Mobil 1 5W30). To this day it runs as new.

Just for the Board's consideration. And BTW, I drive my 2 benzes pretty much the same

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

DRIVE HARD and enjoy. Just no the limits, and on a Benz the limits are pretty wide that it would take complete madness at the wheel to push beyond them.
16 year olds wrap themselves around trees because one, our resources for training drivers in the US before we hand them a license are pathetic at best, two we compound the problem by handing over the keys to a rear wheel drive detriot iron to a kid that comes out of such a "training" program barely out of puberty. If I had such a kid, names like camero, mustang and firebird, as trendy as they are, are at the very bottom of the car shopping list for them while names like benz, volvo, vw and bmw are at the top, even if I can only afford them second-hand, I can sleep at night knowing that at least some thought was put to safety.

Thank Michael, yal, MBenz and Jason... that makes me a feel a little bit better.
I am not some lunatic driver or anything just because I'm 18 and I push my car. I have never gotten into an accident (not that I'm saying I won't ever), and I don't feel that I'm endagering others' lives. I drive as the conditions prevail. So, again, AGE IS NOT THE ISSUE! AGHH! I just want opinions on how a Mercedes can take abuse. Thanks.

[Edited by Hottee18m on 01-26-2001 at 12:53 PM]

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Hottee18m,

Sometimes the older we get, the more we want to protect the young'ins. The advise given to "take it easy" should not be interpreted as another case of "the older person telling you what to do", these guys just care.

That said, I think MBenz may have been the only one to really come close to answering your original question about longevity. I don't know about you guy's but he made my side hurt I was laughing so hard!

I think your car will hold up better than expected if you take care of your car the way you already do. I am sure that you are a defensive driver, being aware of your surroundings at all times and constantly checking on "the other driver". By driving that way you will save your tail many times! (Sorry had to give some advise too!)

Fluids and tires are the only thing you will be replacing often, so enjoy the car! I drive in a way similar to you, every stretch of clear road is a chance to romp through the gears, you just have to know when to let off the gas so your not speeding. Just know your limits, know the cars limits on the track and you will not have any problems.

Thanks Ross, I know. I don't mean to sound the way I might have in some of the previous replies. I mean, you guys are practically my family, hehe.

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Once more for the record, Hottee no one is making any age issue because I guess you can say "we've been there, done that". Concensus is you can drive you Benz hard and it boils down to - not so much driving hard, but how you drive it hard. After you've read enough of "our" posts, you'll notice that we too push our Benz's now and then too.

All the advice given is good even though it may not particularly apply to your situation. As one gets older, they tend to pass on these words of advice (sometimes fatherly, even grandfatherly perhaps) often from experience. Plus it seems to be an innate reaction, seems to just happen (I always swore I'd never do the things my dad did - hey, who said that).

Now the only thing tickling me is MBenz's mistake - was it getting caught again, or was it doing the same thing to get caught again?

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Ross put his comments very well, perhaps the rest of us were less articulate. I think that what we were all trying to say is that in the durability of any vehicle, the abilities and attitudes of the driver are an inseperable part of the durability equation, as is the locations where the car is driven.

If the driver has an attitude not "wasting money" on maintenance on the car, and drives hard, the car won't last. If the driver has poor skills or judgement, even if he/she maintains the car perfectly, the durability of the car will be diminished by accidents, especially if it is totalled. If the drivers normally excellent skills and maintenance programs are impaired by illness, chemicals, emotions, memory problems, whatever, the durability will be affected because maintenance was overlooked or improperly performed, or the car was pushed too hard for the circumstances. If a car is driven hard year round in So Cal, it will probably still last longer than one that is driven hard in a climate with lots of fine grit blowing through the air in the summer, and salty snowy roads in the winter. If 2 cars are driven hard in SoCal, and one is pushed by someone who has track skills in smooth driving, while the other by someone who is abrupt in their gear changes, cornering, and braking, my money goes to the smooth "hard" driver.

I repeat, it is not about age, it is about driver attitude, skills, and abilities. My 80+ year old parents MB required several thousand dollars of work because they forgot to do normal maintenance due to impaired memory. One of my neighbors, going through a divorce, needed a new engine in their turbodiesel because neither he nor his spouse would do the maintenance because they didn't know who would wind up with the car, and each of them believed that they were hurting the other by neglecting the car - their emotions got in the way of their knowledge.

This is a pretty caring board, and nobody was trying to offend you or put you down because of age. We were just trying to explain that unless the car is being run only on a Dyno Bed in a Clean Room, and controlled only by a computer, that a lot of different and seemingly unrelated factors can influence durability.

Enjoy your ride, and if you and Ashman would still like to get coffee sometime next month, I'd love to see your car.

__________________
John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

THanks JCE, very well put. I understand what you were saying a "smooth" hard driver and completely agree with you. Well, I'd still love to get together, that would be great. >

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)