Car Swap - 07 Passat to 05 C-Class Yes or no?

Boskowski

Climate Expert wrote: »

These cars cost a fair bit to keep running. They break down as often as a WW1 tank.

I don't know.

I have her for five years now and she needed repairing twice. Waterpump was the one thing and front left suspension the other 'cos some idiot lost his spare wheel at 70 miles right in front of me.

Everything else was just normal service stuff.

She could be better on the juice and the motortax ain't cheap either, but expensive to run she is not.

solong

C

Biro

realcam wrote: »

That's not exactly what I said, but in any case, you could have just said 'In my opinion your wrong on that one'.

But it's not an opinion, it's a provable fact.

realcam wrote: »

Of course I'm talking about comparable cars. And I don't know your Honda Legend, but I doubt very much what ur saying.

That really sums up both your (lack of) car knowledge and your closed mindedness. Therefore the following drivel is just that, drivel.

realcam wrote: »

You take your average middle-class Ford, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Fiat and whatnot and they start to rattle and shake and whatnot after a 3 years. Things start to vibrate and 'go off' and she begins to feel wobbly and the overall impression is that of a plasticy car. Give it 3 more years and the thing looks like a dated piece of rubbish.

realcam wrote: »

I drive a '99 E39 and she feels like a ****in tank compared to a 05 Passat or Mondeo or Avensis or Volvo or Saab or whatnot. There is no vibrations no funny noises no things coming off, she is still a tight solid driver, too.

It gets worse! What Saab or Volvo or Avensis have you driven?

realcam wrote: »

You're not paying all those extra bucks just for the name and the little thing on the bonnet.

You seem so sure!! Marketing people thrive on guys like you.

superjosh9

ah realcam I was starting to like your pig-headed persistence in proving us wrong - but then you mentioned Volvo (and to a much lesser extent Saab).

I don't doubt your sincerity, but you are miles off. Miles and miles and miles.

The *fact* of the matter is that Merc has gone off the boil. Electrical problems galore over the last 10 years for a start. Apart from that, the idea of 'over-engineering' has long gone. For many, the w-124 was the last of them. I'm sure if you drive a new merc or live with one, you will see that it is in fact, just another car.

Now, although Volvo haven't produced a good car in 10 years or so, for the most part, the quality and reliability of them was well up to merc standards.

I drive a 1998 Volvo 940, bought brand new, 115,000 miles on it. In ten years, the a/c switch blew and I fixed it myself and the turbo blew and was repaired under warranty. Apart from that, *nothing*, I repeat, *NOTHING*, has broken, failed or fallen off. The car looks as good today as it did the day it arrived. After 115,000 miles, I am now considering changing the timing chain for the first time...

Find me a merc with that kind of service my friend.

Point is, a car is a car, is a car. Some designed better than others - but generally - they're all very similar. Shared engines, gearboxes, suppliers - you name it. Merc included. Sorry to burst your little bubble though...

Biro

superjosh9 wrote: »

ah realcam I was starting to like your pig-headed persistence in proving us wrong - but then you mentioned Volvo (and to a much lesser extent Saab).

I don't doubt your sincerity, but you are miles off. Miles and miles and miles.

The *fact* of the matter is that Merc has gone off the boil. Electrical problems galore over the last 10 years for a start. Apart from that, the idea of 'over-engineering' has long gone. For many, the w-124 was the last of them. I'm sure if you drive a new merc or live with one, you will see that it is in fact, just another car.

Now, although Volvo haven't produced a good car in 10 years or so, for the most part, the quality and reliability of them was well up to merc standards.

I drive a 1998 Volvo 940, bought brand new, 115,000 miles on it. In ten years, the a/c switch blew and I fixed it myself and the turbo blew and was repaired under warranty. Apart from that, *nothing*, I repeat, *NOTHING*, has broken, failed or fallen off. The car looks as good today as it did the day it arrived. After 115,000 miles, I am now considering changing the timing chain for the first time...

Find me a merc with that kind of service my friend.

Point is, a car is a car, is a car. Some designed better than others - but generally - they're all very similar. Shared engines, gearboxes, suppliers - you name it. Merc included. Sorry to burst your little bubble though...

He'll come back now with "That's your opinion that your Volvo didn't give any trouble, but in reality it was unreliable and it's now rattley and plasticy".

Boskowski

superjosh9 wrote: »

I drive a 1998 Volvo 940, bought brand new, 115,000 miles on it. In ten years, the a/c switch blew and I fixed it myself and the turbo blew and was repaired under warranty. Apart from that, *nothing*, I repeat, *NOTHING*, has broken, failed or fallen off. The car looks as good today as it did the day it arrived. After 115,000 miles, I am now considering changing the timing chain for the first time...

Thats fairly impressive alright.

Volvo was probably not a good one to throw in there. They are (were) very solid but never had the class of the Mercs tho. But then they probably never wanted to either.

superjosh9 wrote: »

For many, the w-124 was the last of them. I'm sure if you drive a new merc or live with one, you will see that it is in fact, just another car.

I drove the 123 and the 124 and they were very good although the 124 had horrible problems with the gear box for a little while. I remember havin the gear box replaced on a 6 months old 220D and picking her up from the garage when after 3 miles the gear box blew. :eek:

But that got sorted and now the 124 is legend. Easy to find some that are still in good nick and have 500000+ on the clock.

Maybe the opinion I formed is literally dated. Maybe... But at the same time I was looking around for a possible replacement for the E39 and when I was looking at different cars between 3 and 5 years of age I found confirmation for the opinion I had already. The Mercs seem in much better shape than comparable cars of the same age/mileage. I am considering buying a C220 CDI myself.

Anyway, last thing I wanted was to start some sort of car brand advocacy battle. It's just my personal opinion which goes back a bit and didnt find evidence yet to change that opinion.

solong

C

Boskowski

superjosh9 wrote: »

I drive a 1998 Volvo 940, bought brand new, 115,000 miles on it. In ten years, the a/c switch blew and I fixed it myself and the turbo blew and was repaired under warranty. Apart from that, *nothing*, I repeat, *NOTHING*, has broken, failed or fallen off. The car looks as good today as it did the day it arrived. After 115,000 miles, I am now considering changing the timing chain for the first time...

That's your opinion that your Volvo didn't give any trouble, but in reality it was unreliable and it's now rattley and plasticy



Christ, what did I get myself into?

solong

C