Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
Not O/T as far as I am concerned.
Interestingly, my quandary is the opposite. With two young boys, I find myself hardly ever using the SL. My eldest can ride in the back and the youngest can go on the front seat with an appropriate child seat, but we can't use it as a family of four, at least, not yet. I have been thinking of getting either a coupé or convertible 124... We miss the SEC which was ideal for family fun touring but was too costly to use and to maintain.
Were my children 15, I'd be looking for a lowly-engined 190 or 124 for them. When they're not driving it, they can be titivating it. I think it is important that they learn how cars (and everything else) work. Most people can't change a wheel.
Interestingly, my quandary is the opposite. With two young boys, I find myself hardly ever using the SL. My eldest can ride in the back and the youngest can go on the front seat with an appropriate child seat, but we can't use it as a family of four, at least, not yet. I have been thinking of getting either a coupé or convertible 124... We miss the SEC which was ideal for family fun touring but was too costly to use and to maintain.
Were my children 15, I'd be looking for a lowly-engined 190 or 124 for them. When they're not driving it, they can be titivating it. I think it is important that they learn how cars (and everything else) work. Most people can't change a wheel.
Tell them to ignore the size, the age and the beige, tell them it's what they're getting and remind them of the safety, reliability and the prestige of that three-pointed star... my sons (16 and 23) don't drive yet but the elder is begging for a S124 six-pot as his first car - and the younger is scanning the classifieds for armoured personnel carriers...
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Putting a teenage girl into a 124 is a task that is well beyond my persuasive gifts. Sad but true.
Same here - my wife's dismissive, "it's a tin can" gene is clearly dominant. I fully intend my girls will be able to change a wheel (and possess cars with spare wheels rather than squirty foam repair kits) but a nice 190 can't hold a candle to a Polo with Stegelette I. Stegelette II, 4 years from a licence, already coos over Fiat 500s. Where have I gone wrong?!RoverP6B said:
Put your offspring in the 124s - cheaper to insure youngsters on than modern Euroboxes by a significant margin, and probably safer in the real world too.
Certainly safety is a major consideration, but an old Merc is a step too far for my girls (almost 20 years ago, when I was "into" TDI Passats, a friend was barging in 123 estates- I recall him extolling the crash safety of them, while I, to my embarrassment now, regarded them as antiquated and certain to lead to bankruptcy - how much better off would I be if I had paid heed!?)My dad was keen for me to start in a w123. I was not exactly unkeen on the idea, but my mother was. Oddly, they weren't that old then. It would be like putting a child in a w211. A 124 to today's youth must be like a stroke 8 would have been to me. I'm sure I would have regarded a stroke 8 as cool. We considered a beautiful 200 in signal red with something like 15,000miles on it. It had been put in at the local dealer by a sea captain who was always away on voyage, hence the low miles. Bit rich at £4,000. Anyway, we bought a BMW E30 316 for £750 without telling my mother and so my bargain barging began.
My sister used to kick about in my SEC when she was 17 or 18. She thought it was mega. So there is hope.
My sister used to kick about in my SEC when she was 17 or 18. She thought it was mega. So there is hope.
Fiat 500s I can sort of understand, but what's the appeal of the Polo except that it's a cheap bit of German prestige? If it's cheap German prestige she wants, she can't do much more prestige or cheap than a '124... the money you save on insurance can go in her newer-car fund or her fuel budget instead...
RoverP6B said:
Fiat 500s I can sort of understand, but what's the appeal of the Polo except that it's a cheap bit of German prestige? If it's cheap German prestige she wants, she can't do much more prestige or cheap than a '124... the money you save on insurance can go in her newer-car fund or her fuel budget instead...
I can only put it down to genetics (I can't fathom the thinking of young females re cars!) as my wife had a series of Polos at the start of her motoring career - they were history by the time daughter no.1 came along but clearly there is a legacy issue at play!R129sl drawing parallels between /8s and 211s is amusing - I finally took my wife out in the SL yesterday, and she commented it's no faster than her E (unfortunately, on 0-60 and top end she's roughly correct) - the thought of my eldest daughter at the helm of our E is frightening (although she would be safe in the event of an incident).
I think this could be a test of my insurance buying prowess (see my note about non-cost effective insuring of my supposedly "classic" SL) but I will enquire about 17yr old girl / ancient Merc / classic insurance combos to see if the economics can sway her!
Stegel said:
Same here - my wife's dismissive, "it's a tin can" gene is clearly dominant. I fully intend my girls will be able to change a wheel (and possess cars with spare wheels rather than squirty foam repair kits) but a nice 190 can't hold a candle to a Polo with Stegelette I. Stegelette II, 4 years from a licence, already coos over Fiat 500s. Where have I gone wrong?!
Sawgirl will be driving in 2 years, and I was hoping to get her into a proper car, but she seems keen on a pastel coloured 500. I spent a while snooping about for a classic mini, but they are more costly to buy than a 500, so it was a difficult sell to the females of the house. I hadn't thought about a 190, my daughter always came to lend a had when I was mending bits of the sheddy 190 I ran a couple of years ago, both of the kids liked that car......... off to the classifieds.....
RoverP6B said:
Tell them to ignore the size, the age and the beige, tell them it's what they're getting and remind them of the safety, reliability and the prestige of that three-pointed star... my sons (16 and 23) don't drive yet but the elder is begging for a S124 six-pot as his first car - and the younger is scanning the classifieds for armoured personnel carriers...
My 300TE-24 is for sale. This is fate :-)Another 1,000 miles in 36 hours. Damned air con needs regassing. Not the sort of thing you notice in Northumberland in Aprill but it's pretty obvious stuck in stationary traffic on the Périphérique at 26.5 deg C. I shall waste a day of holiday looking for the Frenchie equivalent of Baister.
Edited by r129sl on Sunday 12th April 18:40
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