Results of the owners' ages survey

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Ever started something and wished you hadn't? Well I just did - doing an analysis of all the replies to the thread asking us all for our ages.

The age of MB drivers who have contributed in this forum ranges from 18 to 72, with the average being 37. The mode (most common age) is 29.


32503d1350920372-age-mb-drivers-mb-owners-ages.jpg


I've no idea what use any of this information is, mainly because it only reflects the ages of people who contribute to this forum and not all MB drivers. I can tell you that just four of the respondents are older than me. Whether or not the distribution is skewed towards the lower ages is a reflection on the general ages of folk who take part in these forums or the age of MB drivers overall I have no idea, but you can see for yourselves that the bulk of 'our' drivers are between 20 and 45. Anyway, make of all this info what you will. Just please don't ask me to do it again. I forgot to mention, 212 people provided their ages. Far too many wrote loads of other stuff - surely not just to make my task harder!
 
knighterrant said:
... it only reflects the ages of people who contribute to this forum and not all MB drivers... 212 people provided their ages....

To be precise:

.. it only reflects the ages of people who contribute to this forum and chose to provide their age.

You could well argue that the population group of members who do not wish to disclose their age varies significantly from those who are more forthcoming :)

Admirable effort, nevertheless!
 
I salute you sir, very interesting, now how about a cross-tab of age against model of car...
 
It also reflects how cheap they are now to buy/lease. When I was in company cars in my 20s and 30s...the Vauxhall/Ford was the norm. Very few people except in senior position had Mercedes/BMWs...but that has changed.

If I was doing the same job as I was doing in my 20s/30s, I'd have Mercedes today. So they are not the status symbol they were then...when they really were expensive cars.
 
Looking at those results, I'm younger than the average but older than the mode.
 
Thanks for the information, it is quite interesting. However I am ashamed to say that I did not enter the survey for whatever reason but now wish I had. My contribution would have increased the penultimate right hand graph.
 
renault12ts said:
It also reflects how cheap they are now to buy/lease. When I was in company cars in my 20s and 30s...the Vauxhall/Ford was the norm. Very few people except in senior position had Mercedes/BMWs...but that has changed.

If I was doing the same job as I was doing in my 20s/30s, I'd have Mercedes today. So they are not the status symbol they were then...when they really were expensive cars.

The 190 was dubbed the 'Baby Merc' when it first came out.... MB just didn't bother with small (cheaper) cars at the time.
 
The 190 was dubbed the 'Baby Merc' when it first came out.... MB just didn't bother with small (cheaper) cars at the time.
Exactly. I was thinking that while I was out just now and was going to write the same sort of message. In my early motoring days (no, you cheeky lot, it was AFTER Mr Benz was born!), there were certainly no small Mercs around. I think I'm right in saying that the A-Class wasn't introduced until 1997. Even the 'baby' 190 wasn't around 30 years ago. I doubt that Mercedes' have become any cheaper in relative terms than any other manufacturer, it's just that they've massively increased their range downwards, some may argue not just in size!
 
Exactly. I was thinking that while I was out just now and was going to write the same sort of message. In my early motoring days (no, you cheeky lot, it was AFTER Mr Benz was born!), there were certainly no small Mercs around. I think I'm right in saying that the A-Class wasn't introduced until 1997. Even the 'baby' 190 wasn't around 30 years ago. I doubt that Mercedes' have become any cheaper in relative terms than any other manufacturer, it's just that they've massively increased their range downwards, some may argue not just in size!

Nope they are cheaper. You could buy a 2 year old E class estate in 1999 for £30k...you can still do that today...and the average salary has grown in that time.

I paid £29500 for an E300td estate in Sept 1999, they're actually cheaper, with less mileage today:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-...5237696?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2ec1855a40

This is 2011:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-Merc...4802955?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2322a08e8b
 
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Nope they are cheaper. You could buy a 2 year old E class estate in 1999 for £30k...you can still do that today...and the average salary has grown in that time.
But can't you apply that same argument to ALL cars? The only close example I can give is the 4-year old Peugeot 306 Roadster that I sold in 2001 for £9,600. The most expensive 4-year old 307 CC (the nearest equivalent) that I can find on Autotrader is £7,995. MUCH cheaper! As I said, it's happening to all cars - thankfully.
 
Yes...and because it is happening...more of the younger demographic are driving them now than would have been the case 13 years ago. After all a Ford Mondeo is a rarer car than a 3 Series BMW.
 
renault12ts said:
Yes...and because it is happening...more of the younger demographic are driving them now than would have been the case 13 years ago. After all a Ford Mondeo is a rarer car than a 3 Series BMW.

They cost more or less the same and most would rather have a "prestige BMW" over a "mainstream ford"
 
I paid £29500 for an E300td estate in Sept 1999, they're actually cheaper, with less mileage today:

Mercedes E350 Estate CDI Blue EFFICIENCY Sport (Sat Nav | eBay
I had to chuckle at that example. It's being sold by the company I used to work for (rotten job taking out all their cars to photograph, sometimes delivering them too!). I never thought they'd lower themselves to advertising on eBay!

And using my method with Autotrader for examples, this equivalent of yours is £28,950. Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Sport Tip Auto 3.0 5dr 2010
 
Yes...and because it is happening...more of the younger demographic are driving them now than would have been the case 13 years ago. After all a Ford Mondeo is a rarer car than a 3 Series BMW.
Exactly the reason I chose my C350 when considering the 3-series as an alternative. :thumb: Common as muck those BMWs!
 
knighterrant said:
Exactly the reason I chose my C350 when considering the 3-series as an alternative. :thumb: Common as muck those BMWs!

I've driven both and the C is that bit more spacious and more comfortable if a tad less nimble. C classes are wonderful.
 
Finance seems to be the massive difference to me.
I don't know what car finance was like 30 years ago, but today is ridiculous.
They are begging for you to take the car, sometimes with free gifts and no deposit!

I hate the idea of finance personally and am slightly OCD about owning possessions.
Most of my friends have their cars on finance, be it a £5k car or a £50k one.

It's frightening to know I am becoming the exception rather than the rule in my generation.

I know there are scenarios where finance is actually cheaper than buying outright, but let's face it, that's not how it is utilised 99 times out of 100.
It's used by people to buy things they cant really afford.
 
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The graph tells me I will grow out of this phase in the future. Where to next, I wonder?
 
I had my first Jag when I was 18, and my second at 30. I've progressed to Mercs now; on my third.
 

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