Here is the whole story. I needed a vehicle that I trusted enough to simply jump in and drive x number of miles without worrying. The 240D does that but rust is starting to win the battle and AC is non-existent. The 300E did not offer that.
Last long trip I took in the 300E was to Omaha, almost exactly a year ago. It red-line'd temps while in Omaha and scared the hell out of me -- have never been so happy to pull into my garage on a day that had no icy roads as I was that night, when we finally got home. In fairness to the 300E, it behaved all the way home from Omaha, a couple of hours after getting hot -- the sun had set, the outside air temps had fallen to only two digits, etc. Since the Omaha trip, I've been paranoid about the 300E overheating, so much so that if I had to stop for a train in Jefferson I'd almost break out in a cold sweat, and would be completely focused on the temp gauge. It never overheated again, but that didn't matter -- the trust factor was gone and I no longer enjoyed driving the car. I'm not saying the 300E is a POS -- it is actually a nice vehicle, but maintenance issues were starting to surface, issues that would cost more even in parts than I wanted to put into the car. The LeSabre cost me the cash proceeds from sale of the 300E plus $1100 out of pocket. $1100 is a small price to pay for being free of automotive paranoia. We went to Carroll today (60 mile round trip), and it suddenly occurred to me on the way home, cruise control set to 60 MPH, tach showing 1800 RPM, cabin temp holding at 65F (88F outside), and classical music coming from the best car stereo I've ever enjoyed, that this was the first drive I'd taken in a year, other than when driving the 240D, where I wasn't constantly scanning the gauges rather than enjoying the ride. And it was a whole lot quieter than driving the 240D with the windows down. I am very happy with my decision. While the 240D has a full toolbox and several spare parts in the trunk, the Buick has just a spare drive belt, and that is only because Jeff had one in there and I haven't taken it out yet. Yes, the Buick doesn't have the hood ornament or the reputation of a Benz. But I have no regrets. One of the best decisions I've made in a long time. On Sun, Jul 25, 2010 at 9:28 AM, Kaleb C. Striplin <ka...@striplin.net>wrote: > I have driven plenty of buicks in my day, I know all about this. It > probably is 10 times the car the 300E was, but will it be when its as old as > the 300E? Its about 50 times the car of a vw. > > > Wonko the Sane wrote: > >> Yawn next time you come to Jefferson, Kleb -- take a test drive. >> >> 5x the car that POS you sold me is. >> >> >> > > -- > Kaleb C. Striplin/Claremore, OK > 95 E300, 94 S500, 92 500SEL, 92 300SD, 92 300E 4Matic, 91 350SDL, 91 300D, > 89 560SEL, 87 300SDL x2, 85 380SE 5.0 Euro, 85 190D, 84 190D, 84 300D euro > manny, 76 240D, 76 300D, http://www.okiebenz.com > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > -- When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers. -- Oscar Wilde _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
