16 February 2008

Benz Blitz

It's true. I think we're going to buy it. I was on the freeway last week and noticed all the traffic going in the opposite direction had stopped. In the middle of the road was a car, or rather half a car, rather a car half the length a car should be. It had been rear ended by some big SUV... and it was newer car too. It got me thinking about what would happen to the Rabbit if it got in an accident... I'm sure the results would not be pretty. I decided that as much as I like the idea of the Rabbit (small, good gas mileage, alternative fuel, sweet design, easy to work on)... I'd much prefer to be alive. So I started looking for cars that had some of these qualities, but would also leave the occupant intact in an accident. The Mercedes 300D is perfect. It's built like a tank, as opposed to a tin can, it will run just fine on biodiesel (in fact this one has been for 2yrs), it's pretty easy to work on (and unlike the rabbit it'll be reliable), and in it's own way it's a pretty sweet design. I wasn't planning on actually getting one until after the Rabbit had sold, but this opportunity is too good to pass up. It's rare to find one with under 200k miles, even around here, in the Mercedes Mecca. They usually make it to at least 500k. This one was driven by a little old German lady named Ulga (I think) for the first ~120k miles. It turns out Yannick went to highshool with the current owner. He's had it for 2 1/2 years, and the only reason he's selling is that he's headed to Australia.

Anyway. I just got the proper bracket for the transmission. I'd better go reassemble ol' bun rab. It's been good, but I think this is a smart move. Plus the 300D has "modern" features! power steering! and a sunroof! and it's oh so quiet....

2 comments:

annie sawyer said...

That's a pretty sweet ride! I decided I don't have the money or the need to buy a car right now. Even if it was biodiesel.

Dyani said...

hooray for not dying in a car! I've always thought we should probably be more afraid of cars than we are... and I'm happy that you guys are thinking about that sweeeeet ride. I want to see you both pull up in Davis with stylin' sunglasses and your too-cool car...=)