[R129 SL] Car folks stuff...
Michael Winiker
r129list@mbcoupes.com
Thu, 15 Jul 2004 06:41:26 -0700
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
------_=_NextPart_001_01C46A71.6CFBCBCA
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I've never responded to this list, but I do find many of the e-mails
interesting, particularly these most recent comments concerning old vs.
newer. My family and I have driven Benzs exclusively since the 70s and
continue to love them, with 9 currently between 4 households. Truth be told
we always buy used since the initial depreciation is outrageous, so I can't
speak about anything newer than a 2001, but cars from the late 90s should
not be considered too much trouble. The '96-2002 generation E, for example,
is far superior to the previous generation E in my opinion. Sacrilege!
Yes, I know from having owned 3 that the older ones ('86-'95) feel "tighter"
and by '90 had slightly higher quality interior finishings (but even those
were lamented as "kinda cheap" when the car debuted back in the mid-80s),
but the mechanics and overall reliability of the newer generation Es are
clearly superior. The newer ones are bigger, considerably faster and
deliver at least 50% better fuel economy in real world driving. That's a
pretty neat achievement, presumably attributable to advanced technology. My
father-in-law has a '98 E320 4matic with 198,000 kms (120,000-odd miles)
with ABSOLUTELY NO mechanical repairs. Motor, transmission, 4WD system,
A/C, power windows...nor any other component has ever required repair. A
fluke? Perhaps, but I'll tell you, the old guy drives like a full-on maniac.
With mileage like that I can speak from experience that many previous
generation Es would have required a head gasket, some may have required
transmission repair, virtually all would have needed a complete A/C job (or
two) and lets not even get started about the power window issue which took
MB about 40 years to solve. As for the 4matics, the early ones were a
complete and well-documented fiasco, bad enough to knock them out of the
North American market for 5 or 6.
I'll concede spurious "Check Engine" lights have become a real scourge at
MBs and other makers, and my '97 SL500 is no exception, but the general
reliability my family has experienced with later-model cars is better than
Benzs-past, especially as it concerns the major (re: "expensive") stuff.
Just my opinion, sorry for any agitation caused....
Regards to all,
Mike from T.O.
-----Original Message-----
From: r129list-admin@mbcoupes.com [mailto:r129list-admin@mbcoupes.com]On
Behalf Of Tom Reynolds
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 10:19 PM
To: r129list@mbcoupes.com
Subject: Re: [R129 SL] Car folks stuff...
Personally, (and it's just my opinion), I wouldn't buy '94 or newer. Not
sure when marketing's influence became greater than engineering's, but it
must have been around then.
Regards,
Tom Reynolds
Hereford, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: Alvamike@aol.com
Sent: Jul 14, 2004 7:56 PM
To: r129list@mbcoupes.com
Subject: Re: [R129 SL] Car folks stuff...
Yep, I have heard the bad stories about the newer cars. I recently
commented to Bob Beckmann of Beckmann Technologies about how my 1987 560 SEL
looked better all the time as far as maintaining a great running car without
all of the electronic headaches. I was discussing a check engine lite on my
92 600 SEL when he commented, "If you think they are bad (as far as keeping
the electronics straightened out) you should see the 2000 and up......They
are a REAL challenge."
That is very scarry coming from him, a rebuilder of electronic parts.
I would say recently it appears Mercedes got more of Chrysler, than the
other way around. Not good.
Ultimately if they make the cars so complicated that the average guy can't
keep them going reasonably, then the resale value will plumit, leading to an
even steeper depreciation curve, leading to even less sales for them. They
have to get their act together soon or I may not be able to ever buy a newer
one due to maintenance cost.
I'm 55 so the ones I do have will last the rest of my lifetime for sure.
Mike in Morgantown, PA
The MB Coupes Website! R129 SL Mailing List
____________________________________________________________________________________
This email, and any files transmitted, is confidential and may contain privileged information. Any unauthorized dissemination or copying is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify the sender immediately. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Raymond James Ltd. This email is intended for distribution only in those jurisdictions where Raymond James Ltd. is registered as a dealer in securities. It is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses.
Instructions received may not be acted upon in a timely manner. Please contact us directly by telephone to place trades or request transactions.
Raymond James Ltd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
____________________________________________________________________________________
------_=_NextPart_001_01C46A71.6CFBCBCA
Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 5.50.4923.2500" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><SPAN class=693455712-15072004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I've
never responded to this list, but I do find many of the e-mails interesting,
particularly these most recent comments concerning old vs. newer. My
family and I have driven Benzs exclusively since the 70s and continue to love
them, with 9 currently between 4 households. Truth be told we always buy
used since the initial depreciation is outrageous, so I can't speak about
anything newer than a 2001, but cars from the late 90s should not be considered
too much trouble. The '96-2002 generation E, for example, is far
superior to the previous generation E in my opinion.
<EM>Sacrilege!</EM> Yes, I know from having owned 3 that the older ones
('86-'95) feel "tighter" and by '90 had slightly higher quality interior
finishings (but even those were lamented as "kinda cheap" when the car debuted
back in the mid-80s), but the mechanics and overall reliability of the newer
generation Es are clearly superior. The newer ones are bigger,
considerably faster and deliver at least 50% better fuel economy in real world
driving. That's a pretty neat achievement, presumably attributable to
advanced technology. My father-in-law has a '98 E320 4matic with 198,000
kms (120,000-odd miles) with ABSOLUTELY NO mechanical repairs. Motor,
transmission, 4WD system, A/C, power windows...nor any other component has ever
required repair. A fluke? Perhaps, but I'll tell you, the old guy drives
like a full-on maniac. With mileage like that I can speak from experience
that many previous generation Es would have required a head gasket, some
may have required transmission repair, virtually all would have needed a
complete A/C job (or two) and lets not even get started about the power window
issue which took MB about 40 years to solve. As for the 4matics,
the early ones were a complete and well-documented fiasco, bad enough to knock
them out of the North American market for 5 or 6.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=693455712-15072004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=693455712-15072004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I'll
concede spurious "Check Engine" lights have become a real scourge at MBs and
other makers, and my '97 SL500 is no exception, but the general reliability
my family has experienced with later-model cars is better than Benzs-past,
especially as it concerns the major (re: "expensive") stuff. Just my
opinion, sorry for any agitation caused....</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=693455712-15072004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=693455712-15072004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Regards to all,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=693455712-15072004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Mike
from T.O.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> r129list-admin@mbcoupes.com
[mailto:r129list-admin@mbcoupes.com]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Tom
Reynolds<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 14, 2004 10:19 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
r129list@mbcoupes.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [R129 SL] Car folks
stuff...<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Personally, (and it's just my opinion), I wouldn't buy '94 or
newer. Not sure when marketing's influence became greater than
engineering's, but it must have been around then.</DIV>
<DIV>Regards,</DIV>
<DIV>Tom Reynolds</DIV>
<DIV>Hereford, AZ</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message----- <BR>From: Alvamike@aol.com
<BR>Sent: Jul 14, 2004 7:56 PM <BR>To: r129list@mbcoupes.com <BR>Subject: Re:
[R129 SL] Car folks stuff... <BR><BR><ZZZHTML><FONT
face=arial,helvetica><ZZZHTML><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 PTSIZE="10"
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Yep, I have heard the bad stories about the newer
cars. I recently commented to Bob Beckmann of Beckmann Technologies
about how my 1987 560 SEL looked better all the time as far as maintaining a
great running car without all of the electronic headaches. I was
discussing a check engine lite on my 92 600 SEL when he commented, "If you
think they are bad (as far as keeping the electronics straightened out) you
should see the 2000 and up......They are a REAL challenge."<BR><BR>That is
very scarry coming from him, a rebuilder of electronic parts.<BR><BR>I would
say recently it appears Mercedes got more of Chrysler, than the other way
around. Not good.<BR><BR>Ultimately if they make the cars so complicated
that the average guy can't keep them going reasonably, then the resale value
will plumit, leading to an even steeper depreciation curve, leading to even
less sales for them. They have to get their act together soon or I may
not be able to ever buy a newer one due to maintenance cost.<BR>I'm 55 so the
ones I do have will last the rest of my lifetime for sure.<BR><BR>Mike in
Morgantown, PA<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></ZZZHTML></FONT>The MB Coupes Website!
R129 SL Mailing List</BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE=3><BR>
<BR>
____________________________________________________________________________________<BR>
<BR>
This email, and any files transmitted, is confidential and may contain privileged information. Any unauthorized dissemination or copying is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify the sender immediately. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Raymond James Ltd. This email is intended for distribution only in those jurisdictions where Raymond James Ltd. is registered as a dealer in securities. It is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses.<BR>
<BR>
Instructions received may not be acted upon in a timely manner. Please contact us directly by telephone to place trades or request transactions.<BR>
<BR>
Raymond James Ltd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.<BR>
____________________________________________________________________________________<BR>
</FONT>
</BODY></HTML>
------_=_NextPart_001_01C46A71.6CFBCBCA--