Car Shopping for My Son [UPDATE]

"ImmoralMinority" (araimondo) 01/28/2017 at 13:38 • Filed to: None

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After my wife’s accident in the Sienna, she has made safety a priority. We are going to see these.

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What do you think Oppo?

The c class above was the wrong link. This is the one we are looking at.

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Ike > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 13:39

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No Volvo?

OPPOsaurus WRX > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 13:40

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Safest car is one that can’t leave the driveway

AfromanGTO > Ike 01/28/2017 at 13:40

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Beat me by one minute!

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > OPPOsaurus WRX 01/28/2017 at 13:41

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He said safety is a priority, not the #1 priority!

DipodomysDeserti > OPPOsaurus WRX 01/28/2017 at 13:42

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That’s what he’s going for with the ‘90s Mercs.

Land_Yacht_225 > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 13:43

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I will reitetate a point I have made before; the best first car for a teenager, all things considered, is the W140 S320. The inline 6 is too weak to move the car with any kind of “speed” and there is nothing that is going to be able to hit it hard enough to get to the kids inside.

So, the S420 is where it’s at. Just make sure you tell the current owner he can keep the drug dealer rims.

You could also look into the one year only 2006 W220 S350, but W220s are a real pain in the ass I hear.

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 13:50

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What’s the airbag status on a 20 year old car? Trying to remember, but thinking mayyybe driver/passenger front bags? Sure Mercs have a reputation for safety, but safety has come a long way in 20 years.

Land_Yacht_225 > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 01/28/2017 at 13:56

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The S-Class has had standard driver and passenger air bags since at least 1990.

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > Land_Yacht_225 01/28/2017 at 14:05

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But probably no side curtain. Not trying to come off like a jerk, and these are nice vehicles, but if mrs immoral is very interested in safety...sure these were probably some of the safest cars of 1995, but the safest car of 1995 would probably get a very bad score on today’s crash tests, which are intended to be safer and more stringent.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:08

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Go for the S-Class, avoid the C-class (transmission problems, wiper motor gears, damper pulleys, crankshaft position sensor, MAF sensor, etc). Also, what about a 2003+ Crown Vic or Town Car with the side airbags? They’re incredibly safe cars for the money, cheap to insure, thirsty on fuel, and not particularly quick.

fintail > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:15

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As long as the wiring harness has been checked out, the 140 might not be too bad to run, other than being thirsty.

Also, I think all W210 have side airbags too, if you’re into that kind of thing. They are pretty cheap these days.

bob and john > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:15

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ehhh. a mid 2000s compact will be safer then either of these.

while volvo and merc where at the for front of safety in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, shit has come a LONG way since.

not to mention, those a 21 on year old mercs. have you thought about reliability and what will happen when shit goes south?

also, the c-class is a salvage title.

Land_Yacht_225 > comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer 01/28/2017 at 14:16

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Well, I just have to respectfully and categorically disagree. Your average car from 1995 would perform poorly today, sure. But not an S-Class. I would expect to walk away from a 50mph head-on collision in an 80s Mercedes-Benz. It’s not just the airbags. Mercedes pioneered crumple zones in the 1970s. Airbags in the 80s. By the 90s they were developing their DSC and TC systems to warn the car of an impending collision and close the windows and rachet the seats into the right angle for hurling you into the airbags. The S-Class was still the most technologically advanced car on the market at the time. Most of their safety features are a decade ahead of everyone else. They had side impact airbags and seat occupancy sensors in the S-Class starting in 1996. The odds of coming up against another German car in an accident are not as high as coming up against a Toyota Corolla. You put an old S420 up against any of the top ten selling new cars in the US, and it will plow through them like the Styrofoam they’re made of.

fintail > bob and john 01/28/2017 at 14:16

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I’d rather crash in a W140 than a 2006 Spectra tin can, but that’s just me. :)

bob and john > fintail 01/28/2017 at 14:19

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the W140 might come better off and be cheaper to repair, but honestly? you might be safer in the sentra. its designed to absorb the impact rather then try and safe itself, thus transferring more force to you.

fintail > bob and john 01/28/2017 at 14:28

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Honestly. A 2006 Sentra? If I had to strap myself into a car and run headlong into a brick wall at 40 mph, and could choose between a Sentra or Hyunkia or W140, I know what I would pic. A 140 is definitely designed to absorb impact, too - watch some crash tests. These are barges and can be money pits, but they are amazing cars.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:30

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For that budget you aren’t going to find much that’s both cool and safe. Those seem like stonkin good deals though I doubt the safety of 90s airbags or the crumple zone technology of an old Mercedes versus something 10 years newer and less cool (like an accord coupe, say).

That said, go for the S class. It oozes class. The C class looks like a 2000s Kia.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/28/2017 at 14:33

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Safe/Cheap/Reliable but uncool would be a 2000-2005 Buick with a 3800. One of the safest cars of the era. Up your budget and you could pull a Tavarish and drop $10k on a well-sorted 2004 S-class, as one of my buddies have done (I’d go for something less strung out than the v12 biturbo, though). Perhaps a manual V6 early-2000s Camaro in decent condition? Not enough power to get into trouble, still fun with the manual, but it is sort of a consolation prize. Problem is crash safety regulations went through a big overhaul in the late-mid 90s when minor overlap tests came out and neither of those mercs would be designed to pass them.

dogisbadob > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:33

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You can’t mention safety without Volvo! Look for an S40 or V40

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > Land_Yacht_225 01/28/2017 at 14:49

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I’ll even grant you most of your statements, but even by your own math, you lose. “Most of their safety features are a decade ahead of everyone else”....so on a ‘95 mercedes, these technologies are now a decade behind. I’d rather have my kid in a 2013 Malibu than a ‘95 Mercedes.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:52

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Statistically, if safety matters the most to her, she should get another minivan.

fintail > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 14:55

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Update - 126 worries me with mismatched wheels, and the grille is a little too Flava-Flav. I suppose smogged is a good thing, and it might have some retro-cool. Maybe use those as terms for a lowball offer.

Chuckles > bob and john 01/28/2017 at 15:14

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I came here to say this. Any car old enough to buy a beer shouldn’t be high on the list if safety is really a priority.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > ImmoralMinority 01/28/2017 at 18:15

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Those are neither safe nor reliable, I’d avoid at all costs.

Something like this would be better:

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/5974083892.html

A Lexus LS400/430 would also be similar to the S-Class but far more reliable (and newer and more safe).

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/5973893435.html

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > ImmoralMinority 01/30/2017 at 00:38

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I would take the D420 over the 420sel as it is newer. I would agree with others that a modern car with side airbags would be the best choice.

Have you looked up insurance rates? I don’t know what your budget is but what you may be saving in car purchase, might be an arm and a leg to insure.

https://fresno.craigslist.org/cto/5976382625.html