You get into the car, hot, cold wet or dry, it starts first time, if you are travelling 5 miles or 500 you know it will get you there. With the 500 SL it means that you can have the hard top, the soft top, up or down.
Also having the roll bar up or down gives the car a different perspective.
Using the hard top it is a beautiful Grand Tourer and looks every bit a real Mercedes gem.
Top down it is an exhilarating and exciting drive and the kids in the two small rear seats just love it. So it really is the car for all seasons.
The interior is beautifully crafted with wood and leather tastefully mixed.
It has as much gadgetry as any human should need, and the boot is reasonable for this type of car. Quality, quality, quality. The engine is typical Mercedes, quiet efficiency, with the knowledge that if you need to overtake quickly, it’s off like a shot.
On the motorways it will cruise at whatever speed you want up to 150mph plus, completely effortlessly, all day and night and with the wonderful seats and stereo long journeys are not a problem.
I was a bit upset a few weeks ago as it started second time and I could never remember it not starting first time before. It has always been serviced properly and there have been very few problems, but if the air conditioning or something major does go, the bill can be enormous.
I’ve never fancied a Ferrari or an Aston Martin because of their reliability, and maybe drivers of these would think the teutonic efficiency of the 500 SL boring, but how boring is it to know that your car always starts and it never breaks down.
My favourite car was a Mercedes G Wagon, which was the only car I was really sorry to say goodbye to, but living with the 500 SL has been a joy and a pleasure and I will probably keep the 500 SL till it dies, or more likely, I do.
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This was when Mercedes only sold large, exclusive cars. Their range is now so extensive that there is the feeling that it is not as special to own a Merc as it used to be.
Twenty years ago, taking your Mercedes to the Dealer for servicing etc was not a problem. You had a coffee when dropping off and another when picking up and a chat with the staff.
Mercedes are special but not as much of a status symbol as they used to be.
The staff are always rushed and the Dealer obviously has large targets of sales of each model to hit. Our local dealer have always been very good and are still miles ahead of the competition, but not as far as they used to be.
Mercedes are fantastic cars, but so are Audi’s and BMW’s and every Jap manufacturer. They therefore have a constant battle to keep their quality absolute.
Mercedes are special but not as much of a status symbol as they used to be, they therefore need to be price sensitive as quality is now taken for granted by all motorists. |
