So tell me ...

[jonlanewilliams]

This isn't far from the truth as there no longer is a typical Mercedes driver. There was to a much greater extent 30 years ago but they were much rarer and more expensive cars then. I bought my first one at the age of 45 simply because I was sick of cars that dated quickly. I wanted something that would last in the long term both physically and in terms of it's image.

Totally agree with you, i bought my first Mercedes at 49 for very similar reasons to you.
Cheap leasing deals have made the so called premium cars much more accessible now, however I’m not saying this is a bad thing but it has changed the typical owner demographic of “premium cars”.
30 years ago I didn’t know anyone in my age group who owned a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar, now a young lad at work is driving a brand new C class which is leased .


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[Deleted member 65149]

Totally agree with you, i bought my first Mercedes at 49 for very similar reasons to you.
Cheap leasing deals have made the so called premium cars much more accessible now, however I’m not saying this is a bad thing but it has changed the typical owner demographic of “premium cars”.
30 years ago I didn’t know anyone in my age group who owned a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar, now a young lad at work is driving a brand new C class which is leased .


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I owned my first Jaguar when I was 18 (53 years ago ), my first BMW when I was 34, and my first Mercedes 25 years ago when I was a doddery 46 year old. I’ve never leased and never had a loan for a car. But I’ll admit that my current Mercedes is the first new car I’ve bought.

 

[SpoonJar]

OMG!!

You are that old.. the picture is of Donald Sutherland/Leonard Nimmo in a film of the 70's called Invasion of the Body Snatchers.. Brucie wasn't even born then I don't think...

Old???, I'm only 46. Bruce was born in 1958 and this film was released in 1978. As the yanks say, "you do the math"

 

[219]

Totally agree with you, i bought my first Mercedes at 49 for very similar reasons to you.
Cheap leasing deals have made the so called premium cars much more accessible now, however I’m not saying this is a bad thing but it has changed the typical owner demographic of “premium cars”.
30 years ago I didn’t know anyone in my age group who owned a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar, now a young lad at work is driving a brand new C class which is leased .


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I’d venture that little has changed - since the majority of new cars you see on the roads are not owned by the driver : most are either company cars , or on lease or some other kind of finance .
In my book , something isn’t owned unless it is paid for in full .

 

[Darrell]

I got my first Mercedes in about 2004 when I was in my late 30’s. It still had that cache about it.

I recall that in about 2013 you could lease/PCP/whatever a new SLK for £299 per month. That was cheaper than my fag and mobile phone bill!!
Was that when Merc’s became the next Ford?

 

[E53AMG]

I’d venture that little has changed - since the majority of new cars you see on the roads are not owned by the driver : most are either company cars , or on lease or some other kind of finance .
In my book , something isn’t owned unless it is paid for in full .

Not many people under the age of 60 then own their own house and quite a few over with equity release...

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[Alex225]

I recall that in about 2013 you could lease/PCP/whatever a new SLK for £299 per month. That was cheaper than my fag and mobile phone bill!!
Was that when Merc’s became the next Ford?

It’s the same with every brand now though although it has made more high end cars accessible.

Anyone can get a PCP or lease deal for X amount a month and be in a car they’d not be able to actually buy. It’s a shame in one respect as if just feeds the mentality that things are just disposable.

 

[E53AMG]

Finance has been around a lot longer than 2013, the part financing with final balloon payment at the end is relatively new but you still have to be able to meet the payments including the interest. Still not too many Ferrari and Bentley owners out there and PCP is available for them as well.

I think with the increased home ownership, the normality of large mortgages and perceived property wealth people these days are more prepared to use finance than previous generations.

If interest rates ever return to double figures it will be interesting watching the deck of cards collapse!

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[Deleted member 6183]

I worked in the vehicle finance industry in the 80s and balloon payments were available then, however, the big difference was that hardly any private buyers used it. It was almost exclusively taken up by companies for trucks, coaches etc.

The explosion in new car sales came about when such products were pushed to private buyers by dealers desperate to increase their market share, the demand wasn't organic but rather a big sell which could collapse at some point whether that will come about because the consumer can't continue or the dealer/manufacturer/finance provider can't continue is yet to be seen.
My personal thoughts are the the FCA will impose some more stringent regulation which will throttle the market to a larger or smaller extent.

My personal thoughts are that car finance has been misused to some extent, what I have a problem with is that the current model has pushed up prices which has resulted in some massive commitments taken on by car buyers when they haven't really got a clue what they have bought into. I know that very many car buyers are only aware what their monthly payments are, have no idea of their balance and believe that they can cease payments and hand the car back at any time.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

My personal thoughts are that car finance has been misused to some extent, what I have a problem with is that the current model has pushed up prices which has resulted in some massive commitments taken on by car buyers when they haven't really got a clue what they have bought into. I know that very many car buyers are only aware what their monthly payments are, have no idea of their balance and believe that they can cease payments and hand the car back at any time.

I couldn’t agree more. And it’s not just cars but pretty much all commodities that can now be bought with far greater ease than ever before, with many purchasers failing to comprehend their true cost.

 

[venablr]

Well I'm 57 and collect mine on Friday. I've bought it for the vast boot space to put my scuba gear in, it's safe to say there won't be any golf clubs going in it.

I'm 53 and my wife's 59. Her GLC takes the dog (GSD) or all the dive gear (2 dive boxes, 2 tanks, 2 dry suit bags plus food and drink for the day). No golf, ever. My C205 because GLC does everything else!

 

[littleowl]

Australian Cattle Dog? That looks very much like Crufts?

Six Border Collies (plus a Collie X) here

Yes although it’s actually not mine, I have three (used to have four) for my sins! Was trying to figure out if I’d fit them all in the back, but then I rarely take all three out together - one is good but can’t walk too far, one doesn’t like other dogs and the third is deaf, can be an exercise in total chaos

 

[littleowl]

Me

Hello!

 

[littleowl]

This forum is probably not representative of the Mercedes owner population though.

As you've surmised, a bunch of enthusiasts / petrolheads (as well as a few skanky oiler owners ).

Maybe it’s because the ‘older’ ones don’t use the internet? Only joking, I’m sure there are some mature MB drivers au fait with computers (I’m one of them!)

 

[219]

I worked in the vehicle finance industry in the 80s and balloon payments were available then, however, the big difference was that hardly any private buyers used it. It was almost exclusively taken up by companies for trucks, coaches etc.

The explosion in new car sales came about when such products were pushed to private buyers by dealers desperate to increase their market share, the demand wasn't organic but rather a big sell which could collapse at some point whether that will come about because the consumer can't continue or the dealer/manufacturer/finance provider can't continue is yet to be seen.
My personal thoughts are the the FCA will impose some more stringent regulation which will throttle the market to a larger or smaller extent.

My personal thoughts are that car finance has been misused to some extent, what I have a problem with is that the current model has pushed up prices which has resulted in some massive commitments taken on by car buyers when they haven't really got a clue what they have bought into. I know that very many car buyers are only aware what their monthly payments are, have no idea of their balance and believe that they can cease payments and hand the car back at any time.

The furthest I ever went down that particular road was when , at age 40 , I took a 5 year personal loan from my bank to buy a 2 year old W124 .
I wasn’t particularly comfortable doing it , but it was my 40th birthday present to myself , and the enjoyment of having that nearly new car was somewhat soured by having a huge debt hanging over me .
Good car as it was , it had cost me 5x the price I had paid for my previous perfectly good W123 , it wasn’t 5x a better car , in fact I realised it wasn’t actually any better than the numerous cars I had previously bought outright without borrowing, so I resolved never to do it again .
I kept that W124 for 11 years and put a couple of hundred thousand miles on it , then went back to buying cars I could pay for with whatever spare cash I had at the time .
I’ve only been burned once with the W111 which turned out to be made mainly of rust , but that was a restoration project which never got done , and for what I paid I shrugged my shoulders and moved on to the next one .
I view all my older cars as a bit of a gamble , most work out just fine , but I never pay more for them than I can afford to write off if they turn out to be duffers .
I may not have a lot of cash , but the house is paid for and I don’t have any debt of any kind , no credit cards , cars and toys all paid for , and in 4 years or so I can retire and enjoy my pension .

 

[littleowl]

Just couldn’t bear to have that debt and not owning the car at the end of it - I suppose PCP has made new car ownership available to many who wouldn’t otherwise afford it, but it’s not without big risks. It does appear that over 80% of new car buyers aren’t actually new car owners, and are happy with that situation. Not for me though

 

[TheFoX]

In the old days, when cash was harder to get your hands on, and the marque was more prestigious, then the clientele of the marque were the more mature person, some buying their E Class when they were able to draw on their pension pots.

In this day and age, when money is so much easier to get hold of, Mercs are available to all, including me.

A general rule of thumb is that the A Class is more for the trendy twenties, the C Class is more for the family person, the CLS is for the flash gits and gitesses, and the E Class should not be driven by anyone under the age of 70, unless it is a coupe, which can be driven by someone in their 40's.

I remember a few years back wanting a test drive in an E Class, only to be declined after they had checked my birth certificate, as I was way too young.

It is much like the SLK, or SLC as it is currently known. If you want to buy an SLK and are a man, they'll question your sexuality.

Mind you, the Ford Puma was a hairdresser's car.



Take all that you have read with a pinch of salt. What goes before is said as tongue in cheek, but it is still amazing how there are certain preconceptions and stereotypes that still apply to what we drive.

Women still predominantly drive SLKs while men are more likely to drive SL's, and the E Class is still seen as the preserve of the retired gent.

Even the car you drive can stereotype you. Ask any Audi, BMW or Merc driver about the reactions they get from non Audi, BMW or Merc drivers.

I put a lot of it down to jealousy, but people will always have notions about other people and their choices.

 

[E53AMG]

I guess it's like renting a house, nothing to enjoy after all those heavy payments

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[219]

I guess it's like renting a house, nothing to enjoy after all those heavy payments

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The flip side , I suppose , is that when repairs are needed , somebody else pays ( although really you do , out of your weekly/monthly payments) .

 

[littleowl]

It’s funny when I was looking for an estate, I originally went to look at an E class as it was on a ‘top ten load lugger estates’ list. When I saw it I thought it was awful, would be like trying to park a small wingless plane, and if you got one in black would look like a hearse, so compromised on the practical space for the better looking C class. I also went to look at a BMW 3 series tourer, but was totally put off the car by my feeling that it had been thrashed about. No real evidence for it except it looked grubby, had over £2k’s worth of parts replaced (brake pads, discs etc) and the fact I thought I might look laddish in it (although I’m female). Yes I’m afraid I do stereotype those BMW, Audi and Range Rover drivers - but strangely not Mercs as my perception of them was as in my original post (although since being on this forum have changed my mind a bit )