Whats the deal with Red??

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jaymanek

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Lots of Mercedes!
Ok so i personally like red on a merc, but i get the impression other people dont? I dont see that many Red MBs around....

If i get a red clk, will it be difficult when i want to sell in future?

I refuse to go for silver or blue (too many around) and cant be that picky with my budget for a clk320....

Opinions??

Cheers


Jay
 
I don't mind red Mercedes but the paint on some red cars can suffer from oxidisation caused by sunlight; I know this to be the case with some Mercedes as I’ve seen it. The paint goes very pale, almost white in more severe cases, and usually blotchy. To be fair I’ve only seen it on older cars, so it may take years to develop, or not affect newer cars. Anyone else noticed the same?
 
Originally posted by Simon
To be fair I’ve only seen it on older cars, so it may take years to develop, or not affect newer cars. Anyone else noticed the same?

I have also noticed that, very common on red Astras. Anyway be consoled that it has been on N0N-Metallic red cars, so just make sure that your red is Metallic and no problemo.:cool:
Also the quality of MB paint has improved over the years.:bannana:
 
I've seen non metallic bright red CLK's (including the AMG model) and they do look smart but may not be the most desirable colour for resale.

I don't like some of the darker solid reds Mercedes do.
 
No this ones non metallic!! Yes i have had cars before that have gone white aswell, but they usually go like that if not kept polished up....

Well im going to view it and make my mind up from there...
 
Red is a tricky colour.

It's not exactly a "dignified" colour like dark blue or grey, so most MB owners don't want it. This affects the depreciation of the car much like white leather interiors might (or manual transmissions ;) ). Buying a car is rarely a good investment, the options on it and the colour can affect the residual value, this is why the Police now often have silver cars rather than white, because silver cars are easier to get rid of!

Red is always a weak colour due to chemistry and physics so will always fade over time more than others. My Father's Porsche 944 is "Guard's Red" and was faded down to pink and white when he bought it a couple of years ago, we tried all manner of t-cut, polishes, waxes etc but nothing brought the colour back - a respray fixed that :) . As Brian said, you see a lot of very faded red astras, I used to own one, the roof was basically white. :(

IMHO a well-maintained red car can look stunning, I've seen a red R230 SL500 and it looked amazing. How it will look in 10 years is another matter... :)
 
I like bright red on a Merc - one reason being you don't see many. One guy at work has a bright red SLK - looks great! And I too have seen a bright red R230, again it looked *very* nice.

My 2p's: if you want a red 'un, get a red 'un. :)

Oh, and Shude's dad's red 944 looks fab :cool:
 
Be different - why not!!

If the car's right, I wouldn't let red put you off. My last car was red, and it looked fantastic when polished up. Doesn't show the dirt TOO badly either. Personal choice at the end of the day but if you can live with it, then I reckon its a great colour.

S.
 
Originally posted by jaymanek
Its called Magma red, i guess its the bright one.
Like this then :D
 

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Originally posted by Brian WH
Also the quality of MB paint has improved over the years.:bannana:
Don't agree with that at all.

Are you honestly saying that water based paint is better than the poisonous stuff longevity wise? Nonsense.

The paintwork on the front of my E240 is pretty bad, so much so that next bonus its going to need knocking back and repainting. What can I do to mitigate this? Absolutely sod all. So its either stay off the motorways or look forward to this perpetual redecoration every couple of years, just because some tool decided cellulose was bad.

All I can say is thank Christ the front of my car hasn't rusted because if the anti corrosion protection was as bad as it was years ago, I think the front of my car would have rotted off by now.

To be fair, this problem isn't Mercedes' - my ex company car looked like it was the victim of a point blank emptying of a 12 bore when I'd finished with it.
 
I suppose the colour also depends on if it suits the actual model. I saw a gorgeous red SL about a month ago. 300SL-24, either brand new paint job or very well looked after - it matters not, as the car *really* looked the part in red.

I cannot imagine the likes of the E and S classes in red, however - I just think they would lose some of that dominating image which they seem to have in dark sombre shades.

That pic of the CLK certainly seems to look "right", though. Like everything else - personal preference (read: 744 silver - yes or no?)

--
Antony
 
I personally like Solid colours. There is in my eyes nothing nicer than a big white mercedes. Suits the car down to the ground.
 
....... so when are you "upgrading" to the 560 SEC then fuzzer . . . (aka White Whale ?) ;)

S.
 
I would love a 560SEC - it would look perfect next to my 124 coupe. I am just too scared to run and maintain the thing :p

There was a lovely white one with twin tailpipes in an issue of Mercedes Enthusiast a few months ago - awesome.

--
Antony
 
Thanks guys, i think i like the red....

Ok so i have choices:

Do i go for a 1999 T but with high miles (75K) or a 97/98 with 50Kish miles - similar prices???

The newer cars have the tiptronic box, other small things and i think is facelifted??? Not sure as i havent been to see it yet....

Im stuck, generally not many out there anyway....
 
Originally posted by jaymanek
Do i go for a 1999 T but with high miles (75K) or a 97/98 with 50Kish miles - similar prices???

The newer cars have the tiptronic box, other small things and i think is facelifted??? Not sure as i havent been to see it yet....

Im stuck, generally not many out there anyway....
99% of the time you should go for the newer model. 75k isn't a lot of miles for a 4 year old car and you will get all the revisions and updates (if it's a facelift).
 
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Surely facelifts were V reg??:confused:

They certainly were on the E class.;)
 

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