Ever notice there are times and situations where you want to hide the fact you own a benz? Maybe it's the fear of being stereotyped?

Not at all, I am proud to own an MB.

Alon

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

Like 123c said you will be stereotype no matter what.

I remember the first time i drove in to work with my benz a couple of my co workers wanted to know what type of work i was doing on the side , the car look so good they had no idea it was a 1989 well I didnt want to deceive them i told them it was a 1999 and that I was selling drugs, off course the rumor went around that i was selling drugs and everyone in my department thinks I am a drug dealer.Doesnt take much to convince them ,me being a black man driving a benz. I just think it's funny he he...

If I have to mention I own (2) Mercedes-Benz I always add the caveat that "but they're not new enough to inspire envy" or "...but they're 20 years old."

Sometimes, when I hang out with some friends' families, whose families are not very wealthy, I try to hide the fact that I own a benz, b/c automatically they think I'm rich in my $10k car, and they start looking at you sideways.

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2003 E55 AMG
2007 FJ Cruiser

I showed up at a family semi-reunion last summer with the Benz. Got a few of the usual comments. Then I would fess up and tell them it's 18 years old with over 300,000 miles on it. Then they were really in awe! "Man, it's in good shape!" Precluded me from having to explain why I drive a Benz.

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

Nope, not at all. One co-worker asked me if I was going to be a snob now that I owned a benz. I responded by asking what a brand name on a car had to do with who I was.

Doesn't embarass me but there are certain uncomfortable situations like when my former boss first saw that I was driving a Benz. I knew no good would come of it - I bet it made him feel better about laying me off since I obviously had "too much money for my own good" ...

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joE
1993 300e-2.8 - gone now <sigh>
"Do not adjust your mind, it's reality that's malfunctioning"
http://banners.wunderground.com/bann...L/Key_West.gif

While I'm not embarassed to tell people that we drive MBs what does embarass me is when someone else does it for me.
I only tell someone what kind of car I drive if the conversation leads to the subject or if they ask what kind of car I drive.

I had a friend, who has since moved away, that used to make a point to tell his other friends that my wife and I were introduced to that we both drove MBs. I'm not sure why he felt this need.

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Scott Diener
89 300E
93 300E
92 Volvo 740 Wagon aka "Mutt mover"

if people ask me, i'll tell 'em; but i don't go around advertising it...except in my siggie

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'94 W124.036 249/040 leder; 8.25x17 EvoIIs
'93 W124.036 199/040 leder; 8.25x17 EvoIIs, up in flames...LITERALLY!
'93 W124.036 481/040 leder; euro delivery; 8.25x17 EvoIIs
'88 R107.048 441/409 leder; Euro lights
'87 W201.034 199/040 leder; Euro lights; EvoII brakes; 8x16 EvoIs - soon: 500E rear brakes
'70 R113.044 050/526; factory alloys; Euro lights

Comments from friends are many. Some ask what it cost me and I told them to guess. However many are wrong, but some downgraded the cost due to the age, not the condition and looks. Most can't tell you what its worth on the market. Many can't believe its 8 years old and done 190k . Some ask if I'd won the lottery or somebody died and left me some cash. Obviously they think I'm so poor, its a mirage! I tell them I found it in a wrecker's yard ready to be recycled and the operator had to pay me to take it away, LOL.

I feel emabarrased telling only a manager or a boss at a job. And when we got the Benz in the family 10 yrs ago, all the relatives had their noses in the air!

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

no way. i work hard and earned my mb, and it makes me feel like a million bucks driving it. everyone has different financial priorities and i don't apologize for mine. anyway mines a 84' 300cd that wasn't much money. life is short, drive well.

I'm proud of my MBs...people who already know me know I own MBs...and they have already come to their own conclusions, good or bad.

In casual conversations, especially with people I don't know well or at all, I don't bring it up.

We all know (and have discussed in length in previous threads) that the "three-pointed star" is considered a status symbol to those uneducated with MBs. So in certain conversations where the question is posed, I know the person asking has no genuine interest in the marque, but is simply trying to size up my overall socioeconomic potential...and that assumption is usually grossly inflated!

In that context, the question "What kind of car do you drive?" is just as invasive as "How much do you make?" or "How big is your house?".

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Hell no! I'm proud to say that I own German cars. I just say well I own a Mercedes Benz and a BMW. It may sound bad to some people but hey, my Uncle gave me the benz and I'm paying for the bimmer. It's not like I have two brand new ones. But unless somebody asks I'll let them assume that
-Kim

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1968 250SE