Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Merc GL450

[Rick Lindsay (rolindsay]

Hello Fellippe, et al.,

   My daily driver is an '08 Mercedes C300.  My commute is about 35 miles round 
trip.  That's 30 minutes in the morning and 50 minutes in the afternoon.  None 
of it is spirited driving.  I wanted comfortable and I wanted something I 
enjoyed being in for almost 1-1/2 hours a day, every work day.  
   Before buying this car my great fear was that the new C300 was a 'Chrysler 
in Mercedes clothing'.  I now don't believe that it is, probably because the C 
class has been around for some time.  On the other hand, the R-class is a 
lay-down copy of a Chrysler product.  Which one is the master and which one is 
the apprentice?  Hard to see, the dark side is.
   In the 15 months I have owned my C300 I have been nothing but pleased.  If I 
was forced to make a complaint, it would be that the car is a little slow on 
throttle response.  BUT, this car learns how I drive and asking for quick 
throttle response is outside of the learned behavior.  The car defaults to a 
more comfortable transition.  That being said, WOT is still treated an a 
serious request and the car goes like stink.  M-Bs have that little "I'm 
serious" switch under the accelerator that tells the computer to "forget all 
that profile stuff and get me out of this situation." 
   I have had zero repairs and zero issues with the car.  No squeaks, no 
tweaks, nothing changed from the day I bought the car with 17 miles on it.  I 
took it to the M-B dealer at 1000 miles for a free check-up and again when the 
FSS (flexible service system) alerted me that a routine service was needed.  
That was a month or so ago and at about 10,000 miles!  Both times, the car was 
washed, vacuumed and delivered back to me on time and done so respectfully.
   I think its safe to say that the C300 was not designed by closet Chrysler 
Sith lords.

rick

> I'm totally with you on everything you write. I'm
> not here to be a Lexus
> fanboy, dreaming of owning a "hot lex". LOL.
> 
> But the real issue is determining how reliable the German
> products are over
> the long haul, and if they are indeed subpar, how much is
> the extra soul,
> luxury, etc. worth?
> 
> In 1990, this was a non issue as MB was still excellent.
> They've gone
> through their ups and downs since, and I'm not sure
> where they stand now. At
> least AMG is a hand built motor...I'm sure they're
> ok, but the Toyotas are
> guaranteed to be bulletproof.
> 
> Knowing me, if I had to own just 1 car, I'd probably
> take these germans over
> the japs anyways because I'm still a young insecure
> punk, hehe. But if I
> already had some toys I might think differently.
> 
> ;-)
> 
> FG