Car swap - who wants an AMG Merc for 3 months?
Discussion
Let me know if you fancy a skiing buddy whilst out here! We get out most days, as childcare is all sorted every day except Wednesday and Saturday.
And the snow has arrived, with more coming. Keep the winters on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U925MrDQmOU
And the snow has arrived, with more coming. Keep the winters on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U925MrDQmOU
s and drug barons?!
So, I thought that I should conclude this tale, with the handover of the cars back to their respective owners. We met halfway between our homes at the Haynes Motor Museum in Somerset, and spent a couple of hours after the handover looking at some lovely old machinery in this unexpectedly modern and airy museum. Well worth a trip if you are passing. Both owners very happy with their tenure, and the state of their cars! No write-offs or thefts, despite a couple of sceptics on the thread. I think I will try to find a way for a London PH car share club, as with sensible people, and proper insurance, this could all work reasonably well.
The Merc has barely done any mileage at all, after all that! Returned to me as it was (in fact rather cleaner, I believe - it looked very shiny when I took it back!) and I have to say I have missed that absolute monster of an engine, the sports car-esque cockpit and driving position, and the looks (I am one of those who really likes the low shape of the CLS). It immediately went to Wales with me for the bank holiday weekend, where I found lots of good roads, and re-acquainted myself with Sport Plus mode...
20190524_121226 by baconrashers, on Flickr
The RR has been a joy to borrow. Rather unfortunately, almost as soon as I returned from France, someone scraped it in a London car park. Several months in France with no issues, one week in London and bang. So I spoke to the owner, who was happy for me to repair it at my local paint shop, who I know pretty well. I decided that whilst it was in, I'd see to some previous small bits and pieces that dated to before my possession, so had the whole car looked over, rectified, and then professionally machine polished and waxed. It looks good, and the owner was very happy with the results!
20190524_121217 by baconrashers, on Flickr
I shall miss the lofty driving position and sheer interior space of this car. But it makes even the large Merc seem small, and is just a bit too big for London. It made perfect sense in the mountains, and felt nothing less than supremely capable in any weather, on any road, at any time. I really see what people mean when they say that this generation of RR really is the car that can do everything. With the supercharged engine, I reckon it could be almost perfect.
It is interesting though - the RR is such a relaxed place to be, that loafing around at 70 mph is easy, and lovely. The CLS is problematic though - its setup and feel means that at 70mph, it feels unhappy, as if it wants to go faster: every twitch of the accelerator results in it jumping forward. And as such, I am going to have to get used to showing restraint again...ironically, the Range Rover, with its relaxed, luxurious nature and lofty driving position, really is the better car for the modern world of crowded roads and speed cameras...
Anyway, all's well that ends well, and thank you to all of you who so kindly offered cars, entering into the spirit of the thing. It's been a fun thread, a fun experience, and hopefully has restored everyone's faith that other people can be kind, generous, and respectful of your property. In that vein, I am always happy to lend my 63AMG to a sensible PHer in exchange for something different and special, so feel free to PM if you fancy 5.5 litres and 560bhp (possibly quite a bit more, as I am thinking of a bit of a tickle to the ECU as well as a big brake upgrade) of twin turbo V8 for a while, and have something fun to lend in return...
The Merc has barely done any mileage at all, after all that! Returned to me as it was (in fact rather cleaner, I believe - it looked very shiny when I took it back!) and I have to say I have missed that absolute monster of an engine, the sports car-esque cockpit and driving position, and the looks (I am one of those who really likes the low shape of the CLS). It immediately went to Wales with me for the bank holiday weekend, where I found lots of good roads, and re-acquainted myself with Sport Plus mode...
20190524_121226 by baconrashers, on FlickrThe RR has been a joy to borrow. Rather unfortunately, almost as soon as I returned from France, someone scraped it in a London car park. Several months in France with no issues, one week in London and bang. So I spoke to the owner, who was happy for me to repair it at my local paint shop, who I know pretty well. I decided that whilst it was in, I'd see to some previous small bits and pieces that dated to before my possession, so had the whole car looked over, rectified, and then professionally machine polished and waxed. It looks good, and the owner was very happy with the results!
20190524_121217 by baconrashers, on FlickrI shall miss the lofty driving position and sheer interior space of this car. But it makes even the large Merc seem small, and is just a bit too big for London. It made perfect sense in the mountains, and felt nothing less than supremely capable in any weather, on any road, at any time. I really see what people mean when they say that this generation of RR really is the car that can do everything. With the supercharged engine, I reckon it could be almost perfect.
It is interesting though - the RR is such a relaxed place to be, that loafing around at 70 mph is easy, and lovely. The CLS is problematic though - its setup and feel means that at 70mph, it feels unhappy, as if it wants to go faster: every twitch of the accelerator results in it jumping forward. And as such, I am going to have to get used to showing restraint again...ironically, the Range Rover, with its relaxed, luxurious nature and lofty driving position, really is the better car for the modern world of crowded roads and speed cameras...
Anyway, all's well that ends well, and thank you to all of you who so kindly offered cars, entering into the spirit of the thing. It's been a fun thread, a fun experience, and hopefully has restored everyone's faith that other people can be kind, generous, and respectful of your property. In that vein, I am always happy to lend my 63AMG to a sensible PHer in exchange for something different and special, so feel free to PM if you fancy 5.5 litres and 560bhp (possibly quite a bit more, as I am thinking of a bit of a tickle to the ECU as well as a big brake upgrade) of twin turbo V8 for a while, and have something fun to lend in return...
Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 29th May 23:38
Well I'm the lucky chap that got to swap cars for 5 months. I've owned the Range Rover since new and have enjoyed every minute of it. Despite it being a diesel, it's still a twin turbo V8 with over 300 bhp so performance is not bad considering the size of the thing and it seems to average around 30mpg. But there's no escaping that it's not a petrol engine so when Harry offered the swap on here I was more than a little interested to get into something that sounded awesome and had some mind blowing performance. The CLS did not disappoint!
The Range Rover, and thus the CLS, is a third car and sits behind two Tesla's which do the bulk of the mileage. So I didn't use it anywhere near as much as I hoped but every mile in it was an event. The engine is fantastic, it sounds like an old school muscle car at idle and when you put your foot down it absolutely roars. I could not get enough of the acceleration, it's a very, very fast car. I used to own a 2003 AMG CL55 which was a good car but it did not have the theatre of the CLS.
I loved the colour of the car but I'm not a huge fan of the shape, I think if I was buying one I would go for the estate body with this engine. Or more likely the SL63, so with the roof down you can hear that engine even better.
Minor niggles include the Infotainment system, which was frustrating and clearly a generation or two behind more recent cars. For example, you only had the reversing camera when the infotainment system was on, which was irritating. When you switched it on, it immediately connected to your phone and started playing music from it, which was also annoying if you were just trying to use the Sat Nav. In The RR these are all isolated functions. The sound quality from the speakers is not great either but then you do have the sound of the engine to listen to. The seats are very comfortable and with the power of the engine, this would be a great car to a cover long distance in. But I would never spec a light coloured interior like this, it's a nightmare with children! My two boys loved the car, but they had to take their shoes off in it and were not allowed to eat in it! My wife tolerated the car but was not a fan. She was insured to drive the CLS but never did.
So thank you Harry! Both for allowing me to look after your Mercedes for the swap and for taking such good care of the RR. As he says, there's no reason why these swaps can't work out very well for both owners. I would be happy to do it again.
I'm very glad to have experienced the AMG. It reminded me what it is like to have a performance car in the garage that you would take out just for fun. It didn't make me want to buy a similar car but as a direct result of the loan, I stopped procrastinating and bought a car I hope will fill that role: a 1984 Porsche 911 3.2 RSR rep.
The Range Rover, and thus the CLS, is a third car and sits behind two Tesla's which do the bulk of the mileage. So I didn't use it anywhere near as much as I hoped but every mile in it was an event. The engine is fantastic, it sounds like an old school muscle car at idle and when you put your foot down it absolutely roars. I could not get enough of the acceleration, it's a very, very fast car. I used to own a 2003 AMG CL55 which was a good car but it did not have the theatre of the CLS.
I loved the colour of the car but I'm not a huge fan of the shape, I think if I was buying one I would go for the estate body with this engine. Or more likely the SL63, so with the roof down you can hear that engine even better.
Minor niggles include the Infotainment system, which was frustrating and clearly a generation or two behind more recent cars. For example, you only had the reversing camera when the infotainment system was on, which was irritating. When you switched it on, it immediately connected to your phone and started playing music from it, which was also annoying if you were just trying to use the Sat Nav. In The RR these are all isolated functions. The sound quality from the speakers is not great either but then you do have the sound of the engine to listen to. The seats are very comfortable and with the power of the engine, this would be a great car to a cover long distance in. But I would never spec a light coloured interior like this, it's a nightmare with children! My two boys loved the car, but they had to take their shoes off in it and were not allowed to eat in it! My wife tolerated the car but was not a fan. She was insured to drive the CLS but never did.
So thank you Harry! Both for allowing me to look after your Mercedes for the swap and for taking such good care of the RR. As he says, there's no reason why these swaps can't work out very well for both owners. I would be happy to do it again.
I'm very glad to have experienced the AMG. It reminded me what it is like to have a performance car in the garage that you would take out just for fun. It didn't make me want to buy a similar car but as a direct result of the loan, I stopped procrastinating and bought a car I hope will fill that role: a 1984 Porsche 911 3.2 RSR rep.
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