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Originally Posted by Hirosimez Nice write-up. Here are just my 5 cents
I've been bringing 15 year old low mileage (30 - 80 Kkm) BMWs and Mercedes from Japan to Canada for nearly two years now and have lots of chances to run them side by side. To make an extensive story short, on a long run Benz wins hands down. Here is why:
1.
With the exception of M30 and M50 engines and bodies, BMWs are fragile and do not tolerate neglect or abuse.
2.
MB interioirs do last. the only thing that causes problems - cracked wood as cars come from tropical climate and some of them lived outside.
BMWs, on the contrary, look like shit regardless. As original poster noted - peeling fabrics and sagging headliner being most notorious.
3.
W124 is relatively simple, its main strength - overengineered mechanicals and body. On lower specced cars electronics are virtually non-present. A definite boon on a used motor.
4.
BMWs are focused 'driver's cars', twitchy, sensitive and nervous, always urging you to play. When you don't feel like it - it annoys. MB can be both a player and an effortless A-to-B express. OK, steering is not as sharp, but again, on a long run - it wins.
5.
Had a 300E-24 with 722.3 'box for a year. Was substantially more economical than 535 (a renowned guzzler). 2nd gear start can be overridden, push the accel pedal hard but be careful, as usually somewhat reluctant MB really leaps forward (faster than 535)
As for 525 - IMHO it just does not have enough torque, especialy here, at 1000 m above sea level altitude.
All above said, my last personal purchase and sort of halo car - 1992 400E with 45Kkm (28 Kmiles in American and UK money) - is a true wunderwagen. It does not give you a kick in the butt like say my SAABs 9000 did, but its strength is a sea of torque and effortless cruising power. Oh, and pretty insane speeds arrive quickly and just unnoticed. And no BMW of the same vintage (and I mean any - I drove them all from 318 to 750iL and 850 Alpina) looks as well and expensively constructed and appointed as this 400E. |
I'm sorry....I find a lot of information incorrect here...
1. M30s and M50s are engines....not bodies. And BMWs are fragile and do not tolerate? I'm sorry but the E34 was one of the best cars ever to come from the Roundel. Mind you, it isn't as durable as its predecessor the E28, or other BMWs of equal and older time like the E30 3er, the E24 6er, and the E23 7er. But the difference is minimal and the E34 is a very durable car and is very reliable.
In 1991 the 535i was rated the most reliable car in its class and the most reliable used car several years later.
And the M30 is a wonderfully reliable engine...it's literally bulletproof. the timing chain was designed to last the life of the engine...
2. BMWs interiors look like shit? Well I'm sorry that their focus was to not distract the driver from anything too extravagant in the interior. Their focus was to make a driver's car, hence the "ultimate driving machines..." even though that's a marketing slogan...it's true. MB's interiors can look just as bad as any other interior after a long period of time....just look at any MB that's been used and has leather, and not MBTex. and MB's aren't notorious for sagging headliners? Yea right...
3. I'll slightly agree with you that the W124 is simpler...but not by much at all...and the E34 wasn't overengineered? Compared to what the Roundel is punching out nowadays....yes it was.
4. BMWs are "twitchy, sensitive, and nervous?" Well excuse me that they are actually involving...hence again, the "ultimate driving machine..." it wouldn't be if it wasn't involving....and the E34 is far from twitchy, sensitive, and nervous...we're not talking the E30 here...and even the E30 isn't "twitchy, sensitive, and nervous." High-Speed stability is as much of a trademark to BMWs, especially the 5er as much as it is a trademark of MB. And look at BMWs Motorsport history and heritage....none of their cars are "twitchy, sensitive, and nervous" and BMW Motorsport has made some of the greatest driving machines ever to plague the history of the automobile.
5. You have to also consider that the M30B35 aka "Big Six" was not as technologically advanced as the later M103s and the displacement on the 535i, which is 3.5 vs. MB's M103 3.0 liter...it's obviously going to be less economical-for-a-six-cylinder.
And the 525i is just slow...that engine doesn't do the car proper justice...much like the 4-banger in the 318.
Above all, I think you're just biased too much towards MBs...."No BMW of the same vintage is as expensively appointed blah blah blah?" GIve me an F'ing break.
I want you to go out there and drive an E32 750il or an E34 M5, M540i or 540i 6-spd...or an E30...for more than a day....And the E31 is under that short classification? You must be crazy....the E31 8er was one of the greatest cars made by the Roundel....I want you to drive an 850CSi....my dream car that I just had the chance to test drive this summer...if you don't think the E31 8er looks good...there must be something wrong with you....same with the E34...the E32....and all the other you mentioned. You are extraordinarily misinformed here.