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      05-11-2020, 04:32 PM   #1
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Zed gets a new stablemate

I did a bad, bad thing...
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      05-11-2020, 05:02 PM   #2
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Welcome to the wagon (estate, touring) life! It will not disappoint.






Wife would love to move to a Benz next, let us know how it is
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      05-11-2020, 05:14 PM   #3
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I looked at Bimmer wagons but I need a bigger back seat than the 3 series and 5er's are getting on in years. This will be my 'daily beater' so I wanted something relatively fresh.

How is it? We just got it so it's a bit early, but so far very good. We drove 2 hours to the dealership in our perfectly fine 2011 Lexus GS350, which I and my wife honestly enjoyed as a mile eating machine. By the time we got back home in the 'kombi' she was gushing about it and had pretty much forgotten about poor Lexi.

This is my first Merc so I suppose there will be a learning curve. Some of which might include the simple fact of its existence around my parts. I went to a hardware store today and as I was checking out one of the (young, male) employees came in from outside and said, "there's a Mercedes station wagon in the parking lot. WTF."
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      05-12-2020, 08:12 AM   #4
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This will be my 'daily beater' so I wanted something relatively fresh.

I went to a hardware store today and as I was checking out one of the (young, male) employees came in from outside and said, "there's a Mercedes station wagon in the parking lot. WTF."
Happy to hear it! Yes, starting to crawl up there in age with maintenance needs and a child seat renders the 5th middle row useless.

No doubt it is a huge bump in interior feel and amenities, however the ride quality of a Lexus is hard to beat. Merc owners are not widely seen as members of the DIY crowd - a whole lot easier to afford that way!
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      05-12-2020, 11:13 AM   #5
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No doubt it is a huge bump in interior feel and amenities, however the ride quality of a Lexus is hard to beat.
The Lexus was very nice inside and had a lot of nice features the Merc lacks. I lost keyless access, HID headlights, automatic wipers (which didn't work very well on the Lexus). I also went from hydraulic to electric assist for power steering. In cars like these two I really don't mind, but even though the Lexus steering felt distant it wasn't as disconnected as the MB.

Ride quality is subjective but the Lexus was very floaty and soft, too much so for my tastes. It's one of the major reasons I went away from the Lexus. The Merc suspension has more of a controlled gentility sort of vibe. Plush without being sloppy.

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Merc owners are not widely seen as members of the DIY crowd - a whole lot easier to afford that way!
I'm still surfing the MB forums but so far I am finding that, with the exception of cosmetics and bling, there is not the mod madness I find among the BMW crowd. Lots of DIYs for regular maintenance, and then it goes to stuff like changing grilles (which I might actually do). But I have already found a realoem equivalent for parts, so there is support in that regard.

There's a really good MB indy near here. Mercedes authorized repair since the 1960's. I'm having them do a PPI on the car for me; it has a 7-day money back guarantee I want to take advantage of, and I'm never going to be the kind of expert they are. After that I expect to do much of the maintenance myself.
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      05-12-2020, 02:19 PM   #6
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Congrats! Definitely let us know what you think of the E class. I have been eyeing the W212 for a long time.
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      05-16-2020, 07:38 AM   #7
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I had a PPI done by the local indy shop. Got a pretty clean bill of health.

- Two of the tires are original! Probably. 2012 date codes (the car is a 2013 model). Makes sense, the car only has 37K miles on it.

- Battery is probably original as well, also having 2012 date code. I'm hemming and hawing over replacing it. These AGM batteries seem to last a really long time, and I've had good luck with preservation/rejuvenation of them using a CTEK charger. OTOH the electronic doodads in modern cars can be pretty fussy about voltage levels, as BMW owners are painfully aware.

- It's a northeast car and so some of the hardware underneath has some surface rust. I knew this going in; the car spent its life on Long Island before coming here.

All in all I'm pleased with the purchase. And now that it's been 'vetted' I am free to start spending money on it.

First up -- MB offered a sunglass holder over the driver's door in place of the grab handle. Pops right into the same mounting spots. ECS gets them from somewhere; I don't know where but I'm glad of it, because I was having trouble finding a source that wasn't someone's basement in Eastern Europe.

Next is an attempt at making the headlights acceptably bright. Coming from pretty decent HIDs in my other cars, the halogens in the Merc are a definite step backwards. That required a (virtual) visit to Daniel Stern Lighting to procure some bespoke H7 bulbs. If they prove insufficient I might attempt opening up headlight assemblies to retrofit some proper bi-xenon units. I'm pretty fussy about nighttime visibility. (If you're in the market for a pre-facelift W212, be prepared to futz with lighting; they came with either all-halogens or HID projectors known for the reflective material flaking off.)

I also need to figure out the best solution for getting my iPhone and iPad connected to the aux input. I don't think it's difficult, I just haven't investigated it yet. Plus I need a place to mount them. ProClip used to make a very nice unit but their newer ones are not to my liking. I'm still searching.
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      05-27-2020, 07:53 PM   #8
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Congrats on the car--gotta say I'm drooling more at what you're hauling in it though. Used dumbells, kettlebells, barbells, and plates are crazy expensive ATM. Gyms are out of the question...nice stuff there. Are those bands as well I see?

Can't go wrong with a nice BMW wagon. Wife has wanted one for ages, maybe being able to load a gym in the back will sell me lol.
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      05-27-2020, 08:14 PM   #9
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Congrats on the car--gotta say I'm drooling more at what you're hauling in it though. Used dumbells, kettlebells, barbells, and plates are crazy expensive ATM. Gyms are out of the question...nice stuff there. Are those bands as well I see?

Can't go wrong with a nice BMW wagon. Wife has wanted one for ages, maybe being able to load a gym in the back will sell me lol.
Errrr, that was a reply. I bought a Mecrcedes.
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      05-27-2020, 08:28 PM   #10
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It turns out that I didn’t actually lose automatic wipers! I just didn’t know it. Driving in the rain the other day I set them to what I thought was slow intermittent; then the rain picked up, and so did the wipers. Very nice.

Did I mention that the car has a ‘dynamic’ driver’s seat? When the g forces push, the seat pushes back. And it gives back massages too. Also nice.

I installed a phone mount today. Looks nice but I had to invent a mounting solution. Pics to come later.
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      05-27-2020, 11:06 PM   #11
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Congrats on the car--gotta say I'm drooling more at what you're hauling in it though. Used dumbells, kettlebells, barbells, and plates are crazy expensive ATM. Gyms are out of the question...nice stuff there. Are those bands as well I see?

Can't go wrong with a nice BMW wagon. Wife has wanted one for ages, maybe being able to load a gym in the back will sell me lol.
Errrr, that was a reply. I bought a Mecrcedes.
See what happens when you're off this forum awhile? You start losing your mind!
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      05-27-2020, 11:07 PM   #12
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It turns out that I didn't actually lose automatic wipers! I just didn't know it. Driving in the rain the other day I set them to what I thought was slow intermittent; then the rain picked up, and so did the wipers. Very nice.

Did I mention that the car has a 'dynamic' driver's seat? When the g forces push, the seat pushes back. And it gives back massages too. Also nice.

I installed a phone mount today. Looks nice but I had to invent a mounting solution. Pics to come later.
Wait. Back massages? And dynamic seats? My wife..."I WANT THAT WAGON!!!"

Might need to upgrade our Merc from an 82 300CD
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      05-27-2020, 11:40 PM   #13
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You've been a bad, bad man. Instead of a grandpa car you could have gone with a BMW Touring.







Just pulling your leg, I'm sure it's a nice car and I hope it holds up well.
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      05-28-2020, 04:08 PM   #14
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Wait. Back massages? And dynamic seats? My wife..."I WANT THAT WAGON!!!"

Might need to upgrade our Merc from an 82 300CD
Nice! My wife had a 300D Turbo when I first met her. We drove that car all over. Pretty decent seats as I recall.

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You've been a bad, bad man. Instead of a grandpa car you could have gone with a BMW Touring.
Aww. Now you're just making fun of us 'Murkins for having so few wagons to choose from. .

You might be interested to know that in the US the E350 wagon is mostly bought by multimillionaire mommies to cart their kids to private preschool. My car has dents in the back seat from where the baby seats were strapped in. I'll be repurposing it to cart my nonagenarian parents to and fro. No climbing up and down out of the car, and plenty of room into which the walkers can be tossed.
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      05-29-2020, 12:04 AM   #15
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Aww. Now you're just making fun of us 'Murkins for having so few wagons to choose from. .

You might be interested to know that in the US the E350 wagon is mostly bought by multimillionaire mommies to cart their kids to private preschool. My car has dents in the back seat from where the baby seats were strapped in. I'll be repurposing it to cart my nonagenarian parents to and fro. No climbing up and down out of the car, and plenty of room into which the walkers can be tossed.
Maybe a little.

I did not know that! Mercs are very premium and comfortable, great choice driving your parents in. I love wagons, both look great and a lot more practical.
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