Okay, I’m buying a second car - a bit of an excessive splurge.
So I’ve gotten it down to two cars:
2005 Mercedes CLK 350 convertible
They’re both about the same price. I already have a Lexus SUV, so this car is simply an indulgence for fun.
Which one would you choose and why?
Thanks!
I would do more research, but I would probably go BMW on the basis that the people I know who know a lot about cars go nuts over every aspect of BMW, about how the engineers are on another level of creating an unmatched driving experience, etc. They’re making me want to buy an older 3 series car.
Based on my research so far, BMW will be a hell of a fun sports car and definitely well engineered (to say the least); Mercedes is supposedly a great “touring” car with lots of luxury.
I’m torn…my wife says the Merc is an old man’s car and the BMW a young man’s car…
BMW kills a Mercedes in terms of driving experience hands down. Go with the BMW if you like driving. Actually, go with the BMW in any case. I can’t think of an advantage a Mercedes has over a BMW at all.
So it’s BMW 2 votes, Mercedes 0
I have owned BMW’s by the way and my ex-wife still has one. They are super-great but just make sure you have a special savings account set up for when it needs to go into the shop. They aren’t like your father’s Oldsmobile and you need a specialty mechanic and parts for them. The same is true for a Mercedes too though.
Yeah, I fully expect to pay through the nose on repairs. It’s always a crap-shoot when you buy a used car, but I know any repairs will be very expensive.
Aaargh! I’m totally torn about these two cars and feeling very old (mid-life crisis at 37??).
Wow, really interesting for me as an European to see the American view of these brands. In my opinion the idea in Europe (especially Netherlands, UK - according to things I hear on Top Gear - and Germany) is that BMW’s are driven by the flashy-just-got-mony-I-need-to-spend types and Mercs are whole lot classier.
While both are well built, the mercs have (as far as I know) the reputation of being just about the best cars period - while the BMW’s are maybe more geared towards a ‘drivin’g experience’. So it depends what you want (I guess you already covered the classy luxurious thing with the Lexus). But if i were to buy a BMW for the driving experience, it wouldn’t be this sedan without a roof…I would go for one of the roadsters in the z-series (especially the z4, if I remember correctly), but i have no Idea (nor the time right now:)) whether those are in the same price range.
I’m working in Germany off and on this past year, and have a German colleague who is nuts about cars. He’s a huge F-1 fan, and drives a nice Mercedes of some sort himself. The other day he gave me his opinion of all things car related. In his opinion BMW and Mercedes are the top two brands, period, and which you choose is just a matter of personal preference. Mercedes tends to be a little more cushy and BMW tends to focus more on driving experience. In these two cars I doubt that they’re must removed from each other. He’s also recently been impressed with the strides that Audi has made and now almost ranks them up with the other two.
For me, in the end, I’d just drive both and then decide based on which seemed to “feel” right.
I’ve never come close to driving either, but my impression of the two cars is exactly what you’ve said here. Personally, I’d definitely go for the BMW, because I’m 24 and I like driving. Not to say I consider 37 old - I don’t!
You can only really tell by driving both of them, though. It may be that one (or both) has some really annoying feature that you personally couldn’t live with.
If it’s for a second car (and you already have a cushy Lexus), get the Bimmer. I think it looks cooler, more aggressively styled, cooler rims, etc. You want this thing to drive around and have fun in, right?
OTOH, on a quick review, it appears the Mercedes has a more powerful engine, while the one you pictured looks more sedate than the BMW. So you may get more actual performance from the Mercedes.
My young side will almost always default to horsepower, but the 40 year old in me prefers looks over power now (and fuel efficiency).
The BMW is also newer (I didn’t look at mileage figures, though).
Unless the BMW drives poorly and/or has ridiculously high mileage, I’d get it.
Edit: Damn, $70,000 seems like a lot for either of these cars.
I was really torn, because the BMW looks cooler this time… but in the end I say Mercedes. I don’t know much about cars but my dad has always driven Mercs and I’ve always loved them.
There’s a lot of hearsay into the maintenance records of Mercedes being shitty. I have no idea, but you might want to look into that. They are both going to be expensive to maintain, but how much maintenance time a car spends in the shop with you unable to drive it should factor in there somewhere.
What is “love of driving”? To me, it means comfort more than anything, as I spend a lot of time in my car, either for commuting or taking a road trip. On the other hand, I need performance and handling in small bursts. So for me, I’d be looking at something like 95%/5% comfort/performance. To me and for my needs, that’s “the unmatched driving experience” that so many talk about.
Now if I lived in a hilly area (well, I do now, temporarily), and I were only going to take the car out exclusively to have some serious driving fun (say, James Bond in the mountains driving), then the balance would swing back to 1%/99% comfort/performance.
So ask yourself when deciding between a machine built for driving, and a machine built for luxury, in which conditions will you spend the majority of your driving time? Is a little less performance more than enough to make up for the amount of time you’ll spend not ripping quickly through the gears?
In my case (if I were into German cars), I’d go for the Mercedes.
Yeah, that’s ridiculous. These cars are both mid-to-low $20K cars.
I just bought a BMW, and liked it much better than the Mercs I drove. They are definitely different, though. BMW is much more sporty, Merc is more cushy. If you are currently driving a Lexus, get the Merc; you will feel more at home. If a MT is a consideration for you, then you almost have to go with the BMW.
Neither is ‘well built’.
R&D goes into technology and driving experience.
BMW all the way, especially if you want a manual trans.
Or go buy an Infiniti G37 coupe and enjoy all aspects of motoring.
Maybe it’s because they are being sold in Australia? At least, I thought that’s what I saw. Maybe that makes them scarce or something.
$70,000 will get a you a brand new BMW 5 series with all the bells and whistles in the USA for that kind of money, I suspect.
Huh.
Back in my day a “Merc” was a Mercury.
A Mercedes was a “Benz.”
Now get offa my lawn. And buy the Mercedes.
Honestly, for the price you are looking at, I’d recommend the Audi S4 Cabriolet, which will handle better than either the Mercedes or BMW, and probably cheaper to maintain.
Stranger
I’ve test driven a number of high end BMWs before and while they were impressive, they never just blew me away. There always were things about the performance and quality that kept me from ever pulling the trigger. The I Drive system for one, hated it.
Mercedes though, that’s a car I can live with. Solid, performant, quality throughout. My last car was an SL. Someday I’ll probably get a sedan. The one you’re linking to looks hard to find a fault with.