Trying to decide between 3 cars?

Question

Ok, I'm looking for my first car, and I'm trying to decide between 3: a Mercedes-Benz CLK 320, a Mercedes-Benz ML 320, and a Mercedes-Benz E-class. All between the years1997 and 2002, which should be within my price range, for the most part. The CLK is by far my favorite car, it's sporty and looks great, and has excellent reviews. The problem with that one is that it's kind of a sports car (it does 0-60 in 6.9 seconds) so I'm not quite sure how much my insurance premiums would be on it. Also, while I know Mercedes is a very safe brand of vehicles, the IIHS and the NHTSA have not tested the car at all, although I've heard it is a very solid and safe car. Now the ML 320 is one of the safest cars on the market, according to an IIHS report, and made the top 16 along with the E-class. and it would be nice to have all the extra space of an SUV. The problem is that it's an SUV, so rollovers would be more common and it's not as easy to control in case of an emergeny, and that's why many don't reccoment SUVs for teen drivers. It also has had many problems, and notto mention the poor gas mileage. Lastly The E-class which also made it to the IIHS' death toll report as one of the top 16 safest cars seemslike a great car. The problem is that it's difficult to find one within my price range of around $10,000, even when it's 12 years old, which is why I extended the years I would want all the way to 97'. Please don't tell me to get a Honda Civic or another car other than these three. I'm very serious about these three cars, and telling me otherwise isn't helping the situation. Thank you.

Answer 1

The overwhelming safety information you have provided has lead to my decision of the E-Class, just because I agree every bit with you about all the safety features.

I think that people in this world don't know enough about all of the safety features in cars. My mom thought that ABS stood for anti-brake system, which scared me quite a bit. I think that you should also make sure the cars you are looking at have ESC (electronic stability control), because if it were installed on every new car, it would save more than 7000 lives a year (IIHS).

The SUV will definitely be harder to control in an emergency. It is vital that the ML has stability control, for it will help you so much in an emergency. But even though the Smart Fortwo got perfect safety ratings, it still wouldn't be as safe as a Suburban or large SUV. So the ML 320 would stand a good chance of letting you survive a crash.

Finally, the CLK is the sportiest and the coolest. But seeing as you are very intent on knowing about the safety ratings, I don't think sportiness is as important as safety, and the CLK is the smallest of the cars you selected. So I still fall back on my original decision of the E-Class.

I do have one warning, I recall that the E-Class (older models) looked horrible in the IIHS crash test, so you may want to look that up before purchasing.

Oh, did I mention that I am only 14?

Good luck. And don't think that because I'm a kid, I can't recommend good cars. :)

Answer 2

If you can't find an E class for under 10,000 you aren't looking very hard.  For 10k it's the only one I'd recommend in your choices, the others are going to be more money for anything that is nice.  

If you live in a colder area where they salt the roads in the winter time, have a mechanic put any E class up on a hoist to look over the front strut towers, they commonly rust on the E class.  If you live in Florida, then who cares.  There is one other problem to watch out for with E's but I can't think of it right now.

As far as anyone telling you don't get a Benz.  I say p**s your money away when your young, then you can work your whole life instead of retiring.

Answer 3

The E class is best, get a 4Matic, which is the AWD. The 98' E320's and E430's should be under 10,000 with a fair amount of mileage, but the cars condition should still be good. I'd check autotrader, carmax, cars.com, ebay auto, yahoo autos, optimum autos to find the car you want. You can try the Volvo S60 too, nice sporty style. And you remind me of myself, I want a nice european car,lol. And BMW's are as nice as the Mercedes Benz's so look at the BMW's, I'm a fan of BMWs soo. lol

Answer 4

Okay dude. To much righting and is kind of confusing. But if I was you I will get the Mercedes-Benz E-class. Is kind of cheap. And is also a safe. So go to the car shop and go get that car.  But I have a hummer And I want to change it for a small car goes of the gas the prices keep going up.