- 4,767
- Kansas City, KS
- FlyingAGasoline
Read the small part if you really want to. Otherwise, skip down.
After a series of the accursed "OMG I needs new car" threads, I fell to the charm of a 1994 Mercedes-Benz E320 last year. I took it home August 13, 2007 with 137,1xx miles. It proceeded to blast coolant all over my driveway. The radiator cap wasn't on all the way.
I drove it around town for a day, then lost focus and scuffed two of my wheels. But the euphoria of having a new car was still present. The seventeenth, I stuffed it with my things and headed for Fargo, North Dakota. I got my first highway test four days into owning my Mercedes.
The check engine light came on somewhere in South Dakota, I was ignorant of the fact that the 10% ethanol blend was the cause. I freaked out. Upon getting my computer hooked up, I bombarded land sea air with a bunch of dumb questions. Sixteen dollars was spent at a Moorhead, Minnesota radio shack. I discovered how to clear my engine error codes. Every time I went from Fargo to KC and back, the CEL came on. I thought it was from driving in rain.
Thanksgiving break came along, the car already had two fargo-KC runs and two Fargo-minneapolis runs under its belt. I figured winter would hit soon and I put a cheap winter wiper blade on the car. It wasnt a microedge. I pick my friend Lesley up at the University of Minnesota and we head down I-35 in a snowstorm. Wipers on, defroster on, we blasted through Iowa. the car smelled like burning plastic. pretty soon, we could see smoke come through the vents. the car ran perfectly, so we rolled the windows down and opened the sunroof and drove 110 miles in a snowstorm.
My first repair bill. My bad. It also needed cabin vents. There went 260 dollars.
I learned on December second that a rear wheel drive car sold in California wasnt the best in snow. Holiday break the car went 2500 miles, fargo-KC, KC-Colorado, and so forth. A fourteen year old Mercedes with no semblance of low end acceleration was AWESOME going up the mountain passes. It braved the loveland pass, yet couldn't brave a hardpacked parking lot at NDSU.
Also in December, the car failed Missouri inspection. Both my outer tie rods were cracked. Independent mechanics are made of win. MB quoted me at 600 dollars. Independent Mechanic: 295.
Over spring break I finally learned how to fold all my seats flat, and figured out the dog net/ cargo cover combination spool. I tried both mounting locations in one day.
May 9 hit, and it was checkout at NDSU. My car was piled with stuff already, and I left my French final at 8:45. My car was moving and loaded down at 10:01. Apparently that french final was really easy.
It started idling rough in June, I figured that I would change all the spark plugs. I removed them. I put one in. I put another in, but it wouldnt tighten. I looked at the socket, and the porcelain tip of the first replacement plug was in it. I went to remove the plug, and BLAMO! it snapped in two. I found myself holding the part of the spark plug with the hex in my hand. The threaded bit was in my cylinder head. I was doin it wrong. four hundred dollar repair bill, because captain idiot decided to touch things. (But that's how we learn.. like from the electrical outlets)
Then a fan clutch goes, and my car heats up to 284 degrees fahrenheit. That gets fixed, and away go 356 dollars.
Then it wouldnt start. The battery was at 12 volts. Mechanic said to start it in neutral. It did. A week later, I could start in park. Three weeks went by until the neutral safety switch 'sploded. I just picked it up today. There went 340 dollars.
I learned that I have an irrational dislike of the W210. I also learned that the W124 is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. Cupholders might have been nice. Nah, all the more quirky. It does have three ashtrays, what more could a german engineer think the rest of the world can possibly need? Having a different transmission would make an entirely different animal. I like getting 26 miles per gallon at 75 with the AC on, but getting passed in city traffic by a W210 diesel bugs me. I think a train could outrun my car in stop and go traffic.
I think I hate cars. They eat money and break all the time, eating more money and lots of time. But I love this one too much. It has 159219 miles now. I've only sworn at it twice. I swore at my Saab 1200 times. I've spent 1650 dollars in repairs over the past year. Add regular maintenance and tires, and I'm looking at 2300 easy.
I really have thought about 'sploding the Benz. But.. It's my nerdwagon. I thought that damn Chevy was really mine, and that I liked that car. It brought me to a bad place. It [not the MB]materialized during a time in my life with lots of familial drama and other things. It brings me to a not so happy place.
I can't forsee myself getting rid of the benz. I love it too much. it's everything that I want in a car, and I've spent so much time behind the wheel last year that I've had time to reflect on things. leaving KC after the first time back home from college, A place that I didnt really like at all. I pondered upon things and thought through a transfer to the University of Kansas and rationalized why I would choose either way. I don't know if it's just me being at a point where I'm in the final stages of maturing emotionally, but that not-so little car was along for the ride. I've enjoyed every minute of it. Designated driving a gaggle of drunk college kids, snow drifting at 3AM on April 26th in Fargo, or making noises along to The Imperial Battlemarch from Star Wars in traffic.
People don't understand why we love cars. I think it has to do with enjoying automobiles and all the related activities, even the satisfying feeling that one has scraped all the bird feces off of one's windshield. I really do enjoy automobiles. I know squat about them. This car has shown me the incredible limit of my knowledge of automobiles. (For instance, snaping a spark plug in two with the threaded bit in the car)
It's missing paint, has a chipped windsheild, scuffed wheels, and a nonfunctional rear drivers side window. So, it wasn't the indestructible bank vault I thought it would be. But there is a faded shiny thing on the hood, and it is rear drive.
I'll add pics when I'm back home. I've beaten that car to hell this year.
Barring the neutral safety switch, the car only failed to start on one occasion. It was -34 degrees Fahrenheit, and it didn't start on the first attempt. It took two.
This is my really longwinded attempt at saying thank you.
Thanks, GTP. I'm glad I didn't get a Volvo 240.
I hope I'll have another year or two left with this car. Let's face it: a new car is more expensive than repairs, and I'm an idiot with a rabid phobia of Front wheel drive.
After a series of the accursed "OMG I needs new car" threads, I fell to the charm of a 1994 Mercedes-Benz E320 last year. I took it home August 13, 2007 with 137,1xx miles. It proceeded to blast coolant all over my driveway. The radiator cap wasn't on all the way.
I drove it around town for a day, then lost focus and scuffed two of my wheels. But the euphoria of having a new car was still present. The seventeenth, I stuffed it with my things and headed for Fargo, North Dakota. I got my first highway test four days into owning my Mercedes.
The check engine light came on somewhere in South Dakota, I was ignorant of the fact that the 10% ethanol blend was the cause. I freaked out. Upon getting my computer hooked up, I bombarded land sea air with a bunch of dumb questions. Sixteen dollars was spent at a Moorhead, Minnesota radio shack. I discovered how to clear my engine error codes. Every time I went from Fargo to KC and back, the CEL came on. I thought it was from driving in rain.
Thanksgiving break came along, the car already had two fargo-KC runs and two Fargo-minneapolis runs under its belt. I figured winter would hit soon and I put a cheap winter wiper blade on the car. It wasnt a microedge. I pick my friend Lesley up at the University of Minnesota and we head down I-35 in a snowstorm. Wipers on, defroster on, we blasted through Iowa. the car smelled like burning plastic. pretty soon, we could see smoke come through the vents. the car ran perfectly, so we rolled the windows down and opened the sunroof and drove 110 miles in a snowstorm.
My first repair bill. My bad. It also needed cabin vents. There went 260 dollars.
I learned on December second that a rear wheel drive car sold in California wasnt the best in snow. Holiday break the car went 2500 miles, fargo-KC, KC-Colorado, and so forth. A fourteen year old Mercedes with no semblance of low end acceleration was AWESOME going up the mountain passes. It braved the loveland pass, yet couldn't brave a hardpacked parking lot at NDSU.
Also in December, the car failed Missouri inspection. Both my outer tie rods were cracked. Independent mechanics are made of win. MB quoted me at 600 dollars. Independent Mechanic: 295.
Over spring break I finally learned how to fold all my seats flat, and figured out the dog net/ cargo cover combination spool. I tried both mounting locations in one day.
May 9 hit, and it was checkout at NDSU. My car was piled with stuff already, and I left my French final at 8:45. My car was moving and loaded down at 10:01. Apparently that french final was really easy.
It started idling rough in June, I figured that I would change all the spark plugs. I removed them. I put one in. I put another in, but it wouldnt tighten. I looked at the socket, and the porcelain tip of the first replacement plug was in it. I went to remove the plug, and BLAMO! it snapped in two. I found myself holding the part of the spark plug with the hex in my hand. The threaded bit was in my cylinder head. I was doin it wrong. four hundred dollar repair bill, because captain idiot decided to touch things. (But that's how we learn.. like from the electrical outlets)
Then a fan clutch goes, and my car heats up to 284 degrees fahrenheit. That gets fixed, and away go 356 dollars.
Then it wouldnt start. The battery was at 12 volts. Mechanic said to start it in neutral. It did. A week later, I could start in park. Three weeks went by until the neutral safety switch 'sploded. I just picked it up today. There went 340 dollars.
I learned that I have an irrational dislike of the W210. I also learned that the W124 is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. Cupholders might have been nice. Nah, all the more quirky. It does have three ashtrays, what more could a german engineer think the rest of the world can possibly need? Having a different transmission would make an entirely different animal. I like getting 26 miles per gallon at 75 with the AC on, but getting passed in city traffic by a W210 diesel bugs me. I think a train could outrun my car in stop and go traffic.
I think I hate cars. They eat money and break all the time, eating more money and lots of time. But I love this one too much. It has 159219 miles now. I've only sworn at it twice. I swore at my Saab 1200 times. I've spent 1650 dollars in repairs over the past year. Add regular maintenance and tires, and I'm looking at 2300 easy.
I really have thought about 'sploding the Benz. But.. It's my nerdwagon. I thought that damn Chevy was really mine, and that I liked that car. It brought me to a bad place. It [not the MB]materialized during a time in my life with lots of familial drama and other things. It brings me to a not so happy place.
I can't forsee myself getting rid of the benz. I love it too much. it's everything that I want in a car, and I've spent so much time behind the wheel last year that I've had time to reflect on things. leaving KC after the first time back home from college, A place that I didnt really like at all. I pondered upon things and thought through a transfer to the University of Kansas and rationalized why I would choose either way. I don't know if it's just me being at a point where I'm in the final stages of maturing emotionally, but that not-so little car was along for the ride. I've enjoyed every minute of it. Designated driving a gaggle of drunk college kids, snow drifting at 3AM on April 26th in Fargo, or making noises along to The Imperial Battlemarch from Star Wars in traffic.
People don't understand why we love cars. I think it has to do with enjoying automobiles and all the related activities, even the satisfying feeling that one has scraped all the bird feces off of one's windshield. I really do enjoy automobiles. I know squat about them. This car has shown me the incredible limit of my knowledge of automobiles. (For instance, snaping a spark plug in two with the threaded bit in the car)
It's missing paint, has a chipped windsheild, scuffed wheels, and a nonfunctional rear drivers side window. So, it wasn't the indestructible bank vault I thought it would be. But there is a faded shiny thing on the hood, and it is rear drive.
I'll add pics when I'm back home. I've beaten that car to hell this year.
Barring the neutral safety switch, the car only failed to start on one occasion. It was -34 degrees Fahrenheit, and it didn't start on the first attempt. It took two.
This is my really longwinded attempt at saying thank you.
Thanks, GTP. I'm glad I didn't get a Volvo 240.
I hope I'll have another year or two left with this car. Let's face it: a new car is more expensive than repairs, and I'm an idiot with a rabid phobia of Front wheel drive.
In all seriousness, I present the BMW 3-series as another exception to Greycap's rule, and it's not just because I own the older one.
