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Post by racingteatray on Jul 28, 2020 9:08:14 GMT
Good luck!
What is that shade of red called? Is it solid or metallic?
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Jul 28, 2020 9:10:13 GMT
There can't be many red E-Class estates. Even fewer with plates starting with "BF" (Stoke IIRC) I'd get a non-dating plate thrown in as part of the deal if at all possible. Ive never heard of a dealer doing that. In these days of internet price matching I doubt there’s even enough profit to do that. |
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Post by Martin on Jul 28, 2020 9:16:28 GMT
Even fewer with plates starting with "BF" (Stoke IIRC) I'd get a non-dating plate thrown in as part of the deal if at all possible. Ive never heard of a dealer doing that. In these days of internet price matching I doubt there’s even enough profit to do that. Exactly and why? |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 28, 2020 9:17:22 GMT
Good luck! What is that shade of red called? Is it solid or metallic? It is from the 'Designo' range and is called 'Hyacinth Red'. My mother's C Class is in the same colour. |
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Post by Martin on Jul 28, 2020 9:24:57 GMT
I have looked at all those and others, but favour the red one, not least because of the exterior and interior colour and the very high spec - this car has everything, including the super-rare Airmatic suspension which I really like. They all have air suspension at the back, so that reliability issue is there on all of them. If that exists, then you might as well go air on the front as well and do the job properly. I want to keep the mileage as low as possible, so anything with the mileage of the new shape model is not an option. By rights the budget absolutely does not start with a '2', but it has crept up for this one since it is pretty much exactly what I would have specified had I walked into a Mercedes showroom in 2015. Refundable deposit paid and going to drive it tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be happy with it and you won't know how the other options compare! Have you had a look at the MOT history online, that's a good way of getting a view on how it's been used and if there's anything to be concerned about in terms of how it's been looked after? |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 28, 2020 9:38:34 GMT
I have looked at all those and others, but favour the red one, not least because of the exterior and interior colour and the very high spec - this car has everything, including the super-rare Airmatic suspension which I really like. They all have air suspension at the back, so that reliability issue is there on all of them. If that exists, then you might as well go air on the front as well and do the job properly. I want to keep the mileage as low as possible, so anything with the mileage of the new shape model is not an option. By rights the budget absolutely does not start with a '2', but it has crept up for this one since it is pretty much exactly what I would have specified had I walked into a Mercedes showroom in 2015. Refundable deposit paid and going to drive it tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be happy with it and you won't know how the other options compare! Have you had a look at the MOT history online, that's a good way of getting a view on how it's been used and if there's anything to be concerned about in terms of how it's been looked after? Yes. The only advisory it has ever had was at the last MOT for worn brake pads. The dealer confirmed that it has had new discs and pads fitted since. It has had a recent service, too. Original owner was Mercedes themselves, then on to a private owner. |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 28, 2020 9:39:51 GMT
Ive never heard of a dealer doing that. In these days of internet price matching I doubt there’s even enough profit to do that. Exactly and why? Unless they are going to throw in J4 MES for free, it will not be having git plate. |
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Post by PG on Jul 28, 2020 13:28:32 GMT
By rights the budget absolutely does not start with a '2', but it has crept up for this one since it is pretty much exactly what I would have specified had I walked into a Mercedes showroom in 2015. Refundable deposit paid and going to drive it tomorrow. Your alter-ego must have been in that Merc dealer in 2015. Hope the drive gos well. I don't think I've ever seen another red Merc E-class estate. |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 28, 2020 13:55:31 GMT
It is a very rare choice and one which I have been secretly hoping to find. I have been very fortunate in that I also had an alter-ego choose the original specification for my previous E-Class and my Jaguar Sovereign.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 29, 2020 7:50:05 GMT
Going to see it tomorrow rather than today, now.
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Post by Alex on Jul 29, 2020 8:42:20 GMT
That looks rather nice, I imagine that colour looks especially good when the sun shines on it. To be honest I thought from the start that you'd end up looking at an E class as it was the first car you suggested. Nothing wrong with going with your gut instinct of course.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 29, 2020 8:46:59 GMT
That looks rather nice, I imagine that colour looks especially good when the sun shines on it. To be honest I thought from the start that you'd end up looking at an E class as it was the first car you suggested. Nothing wrong with going with your gut instinct of course. I am not surprised either. The old one served us so well, it is difficult to elsewhere. Even Herself, who was dead set against the idea of an E Class last time around, came to realise that if you want to move a family and too much luggage effortlessly, in sybaritic comfort and total safety then there is nothing to beat an E Class. |
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Post by Martin on Jul 29, 2020 8:48:00 GMT
That looks rather nice, I imagine that colour looks especially good when the sun shines on it. To be honest I thought from the start that you'd end up looking at an E class as it was the first car you suggested. Nothing wrong with going with your gut instinct of course. I thought the same, especially as James liked the old one so much. Typical "what car should I get" thread on this forum.....question asked and makes no difference to the choice!  That's because we all know what we like (which differs a lot across the group) and have a very good knowledge of what's available in budget. |
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Post by Martin on Jul 29, 2020 8:57:13 GMT
That looks rather nice, I imagine that colour looks especially good when the sun shines on it. To be honest I thought from the start that you'd end up looking at an E class as it was the first car you suggested. Nothing wrong with going with your gut instinct of course. I am not surprised either. The old one served us so well, it is difficult to elsewhere. Even Herself, who was dead set against the idea of an E Class last time around, came to realise that if you want to move a family and too much luggage effortlessly, in sybaritic comfort and total safety then there is nothing to beat an E Class.Not strictly true.... An E Class does a very good job of fulfilling the brief and I'm sure you'd be very happy with one, but I think (know....) a 5 series of that vintage does a better all round job with more seat comfort (front and rear), superior infotainment and is more fun when you want to push on a bit. I've had many back to back drives in them as my old boss had one when I had the 535d and he always wanted us to take his car (to get the mileage up) but for me to drive. Be interested to hear what you think of the front seats, do try and get a long a test drive as possible, because they seem fine to start with but give me shoulder ache after a while due to how short the backrest is. I did have to look up sybaritic! |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 29, 2020 9:34:47 GMT
It's horses for courses. The boot on the E is quite a bit bigger than on the 5 (have you seen how much stuff we take on holiday...) and I always find the ride in an M Sport too firm for me. The one I am going to look at tomorrow has wafty air suspension and the upgraded multi-contour seat, so it should be fine. I know the seat in my old one was supremely comfortable.
When I have had shoulder ache in a car it has always been due to leaning forward in the seat. This has been because the seat is too high and I have been ducking down to look through the windscreen or the seat has been too far back and I have been leaning forward to the steering wheel. Think 'vintage Austin 7 driving position'. The forward lean which causes this is only very slight I didn't realise I was doing it at first, but have learned now to recognise and correct it.
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Post by Martin on Jul 29, 2020 9:44:22 GMT
It's horses for courses. The boot on the E is quite a bit bigger than on the 5 (have you seen how much stuff we take on holiday...) and I always find the ride in an M Sport too firm for me. The one I am going to look at tomorrow has wafty air suspension and the upgraded multi-contour seat, so it should be fine. I know the seat in my old one was supremely comfortable. When I have had shoulder ache in a car it has always been due to leaning forward in the seat. This has been because the seat is too high and I have been ducking down to look through the windscreen or the seat has been too far back and I have been leaning forward to the steering wheel. Think 'vintage Austin 7 driving position'. The forward lean which causes this is only very slight I didn't realise I was doing it at first, but have learned now to recognise and correct it. It is indeed courses for courses and I'm sure it will suit you really well. It's going to feel like quite an upgrade from the A4. As I've said, it's the backrest height that was the problem, as the top of it is across the bottom of my shoulder blades whereas even the sports seats on the 5 go above the top of my shoulders and the comfort seats are a whole other level (but rare). I think multi-contour seats on the E class mean SE seats rather than AMG Line but with adjustment of the seat base length and side bolsters? |
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 29, 2020 10:02:23 GMT
It's horses for courses. The boot on the E is quite a bit bigger than on the 5 (have you seen how much stuff we take on holiday...) This made me laugh. My wife also travels as if she had an entire camel train at her disposal. When we were looking to replace the M135i with something bigger, I was in favour of a small fast estate along the lines of a 340i/B3S, C43/C63 or S4/RS4 but my wife vetoed that outright on the basis that she didn't like estate cars and there was no way we needed anything that big. Hence we compromised on what used to be called "fastback" designs and ended up with the 4GC. It's got a pretty capacious boot all things considered, but every time we travel to Italy, my wife ends up commenting that it isn't big enough... Sigh... |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jul 29, 2020 16:11:05 GMT
In yet another change of plan I did travel north to see the red Benz today. It is immaculate and drives perfectly. Deal done and I collect it in a few days time.
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Post by Martin on Jul 29, 2020 16:15:53 GMT
In yet another change of plan I did travel north to see the red Benz today. It is immaculate and drives perfectly. Deal done and I collect it in a few days time. Excellent!  |
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Post by Andy C on Jul 29, 2020 16:56:48 GMT
Red really suits it and much more interesting that grey black or silver. nice one
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Post by bryan on Jul 29, 2020 17:05:19 GMT
Great news - it looks good in red and will fit your intended role well - enjoy
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Post by racingteatray on Jul 29, 2020 17:32:27 GMT
Excellent! I look forward to real world pictures!
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Post by PG on Jul 30, 2020 15:12:58 GMT
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Post by Roadrunner on Aug 1, 2020 16:42:25 GMT
Car collected. Suffice to say that it exceeds my high expectations. A few early conclusions: - I have seen the future and it includes voodoo cruise control. I cannot imagine buying a car without it now.
- It is noticeably faster and more agile than my old Benz.
- It is an incredibly comfortable mile-eater. This car will shrug off a Continental road trip with ease.
Full report and proper photos to follow.    |
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Post by Martin on Aug 1, 2020 16:59:56 GMT
Very nice James. We’ve got Voodoo cruise on both cars and it is great in stop/start traffic especially with steering assist which I think yours will have (the Golf doesn’t ) but it can be annoying as so many people drive fairly erratically. If you’ve not already found it you might find this interesting, it’s 2016 but I doubt they made any changes. www.mercedes-benz.inchcape.co.uk/~/media/084d41e9786d4931ad930b800f3392eb.pdf/ |
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Post by Roadrunner on Aug 1, 2020 17:06:08 GMT
Mine does have steering assist as well. It seems to be one step away from full-on autonomous mode.
Thanks for the link. There was a QR code in the front of the handbook which downloaded the 2015 version to my phone, complete with video guides on some functions and a nice video on Mercedes history.
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Post by Andy C on Aug 1, 2020 17:32:18 GMT
Looks great James
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Post by Roadrunner on Aug 1, 2020 22:02:54 GMT
I have just been up the road to try out the adaptive headlights. While not full voodoo matrix lights, they are superb, adjusting the length and width of the beam according to speed and swerving the beam away from oncoming cars.
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Post by PG on Aug 2, 2020 10:54:31 GMT
Looks great. Once you're a voodoo cruise convert, there's no going back.
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Post by bryan on Aug 2, 2020 11:34:35 GMT
Lovely car James - are you going to get a 3 pointed star for the bonnet badge?
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