26th Mar 2018, 00:20
If someone has two kids in car seats and a dog, is this really all the car they ever need?
22nd Feb 2019, 04:33
Who has ever mistaken the owner of a base model four cylinder luxury car as a "hoon" just because they optioned up a manufacturer fitted body kit???
That sounds like an utterly ludicrous reaction, and I personally don't know a single person who would be that judgmental.
If you have gone and put an aftermarket body kit, or big aftermarket wheels, or a loud exhaust on the car - then I understand. But factory fitted bodykits are typically quite subtle and comparable to what would be offered as standard fitment on higher models. They aren't exactly loud "fast and the furious" style bolt-on kits with glowing green LEDs and spinners.
22nd Feb 2019, 20:59
Unfortunately, yes - if you live in a country where Mercedeses and other European cars are common and cheap enough to buy used (not like North America where they are all seen as luxury cars), a sports kit does indicate that one of the car's previous owners is likely to have thrashed the car. Maybe not the original owner - who bought the Mercedes new and very expensive, and the body kit was factory-ordered or subsequently fitted (but still dear). But anyone who is able to buy it cheap with the sports kit already fitted - factory or not - is more likely to hoon the car around. I don't think it was "judgemental" as you say - it's observation, and in the case of living in some countries, it's simply not being naive. In most countries outside North America, for instance, you don't need a top-line engine to drive like an idiot, we see it all the time in even base-level cars of any make.
25th Mar 2014, 21:39
I don't own this model, but owned 2 SL models in the past. I can see wheel upgrades and reversible removable upgrades on cars. Like upgrading brakes, and maybe better breathing or exhaust. Put putting trim pieces without performance upgrading seems false. You know these cars will depreciate either way. If you like an upgrade, do it. Save the economy mode for the cheap imports worrying about MPG. I never checked the MPG on mine. I drive late model Corvettes today. Upgrading is endless and a personal preference. I save the stock parts just in case.