[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

The Chicken

I laughed. Really really loudly. In fact my wife came in to check if I was OK. So I showed her the chicken pic and told her the pecking story. Chicken pecking a Mercedes. And she laughed a lot as well.

Of course I never bothered to tell it's your wife's Mercedes. Don't want her getting ideas. What she doesn't know, wont hurt me.

Absolutely lovely writeup @v1p3r. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Now that the unlock has started, hope you manage some excursion and post the travelogue for our reading pleasure. Absolutely looking forward to it.

[irdevanand]

What a write up man. Amazing. This is like FamilyMan2 episodes. Each post felt like an episode. I couldn't stop reading episode after episode and it was perfectly filled with funny anecdotes, quotes, twists and turns (speeding ticket !) and that heart thumping feeling of what car you will pickup ... kept me glued to the post till the end. There's a script writer in you man.

Also wishing both of you a wonderful life as you seem to be such a lovely couple. Most of the team-bhp ians family would be like this i guess. A Car Nut married to a normal person. Lot of places we could related to (why is it called 520 then? camry is boring, i hate you, flipflops and tshirts, will tell owner) Thanks for penning this down. Feels like we ourselves got a car !!

Dev

[adityasatish]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

One of the biggest problems with liking cars, is that people want your opinion on what car they should buy.

The opinion itself isn’t a problem, it’s the fact that no one wants an informed suggestion. No sirree, what they want is for you to rubberstamp their opinion with your ‘automotive enthusiast’ seal of approval.

I can completely relate to this. This has happened to me on multiple occasions. At first, it's family members, then the extended family, eventually ends up becoming friends of family and you suddenly start realise you have no idea who is at the other end of the call.

Very well articulated write up! I went through a similar experience when my wife wanted to buy herself a car, thankfully, like your story here, we found something that fulfilled both of our needs (mostly mine ).

[AVash]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

The Chicken

This was a brilliant review couldn't stop smiling while reading it and this was the best part for me with the surprise element it bought in.

Congratulations on your new acquisition wishing you and your wife many happy miles.

Cheers!

[thechinmay]

Such a special car with an equally special review! The E350d is Mercedes at its absolute best - it is basically all of Mercedes' virtues distilled into a single package - comfort, elegance, quality and effortless performance.
Heartiest congratulations!

[Arnav612]

What a fantastic read this was XD!
Had a hearty laugh and also a nice insight on the selection process at the same time. Well done ! Your contenders covered quite a vast price bracket, but little was I surprised the E Class triumphed when you spoke of rear seat usage. Congratulations, wish to read about it soon from you and the land yacht carries the Cavansite Blue SO gracefully!

If you don't mind, what's the MY of the car you got given the deal they cracked? We've been on the hunt for a sweet deal in the past for an E Class of this generation but the prices just don't seem to budge.

Cheers,
Arnav612

[the_skyliner]

This made my day! Was laughing the whole time.

And also because I am in similar place right now. We are in process of selecting our next car and the similarity between discussion at home and this thread is uncanny.

Congratulations on the E and moreover for getting the right E. A true upgrade over your VRS.

Cheers!

[FAIAAA]

Hilarious & witty, original and superlative !

Have read a couple of times , forwarded to fellow auto enthusiasts (some still not on TBHP) , the tributes that have followed on these pages and still at a loss of words , of how good this is !

Your Sir have a penchant for writing and easily have a best seller on your hands if you write on anything.

Congratulations to you and your wife on your ride .

[vinya_jag]

Originally Posted by CarManMotorcycl

Reading this had me laughing a lot, it seems your wife is the head of the house! Congrats to you and specifically her on the E350d, only sat in it once and I loved the legroom it offered even though I am 6'3. Wish you both many happy miles.

P.S: Never call Pune as Poona, all the Punekars will swarm your house threatening you to delete that word and face consequences.

Pardon us for having slightly different names for for some of the Maharashtra cities. I had learnt these from my Granny's days. Older Kannada folks have a slightly different way of calling Marathi city names. We mix and make them sound like Kannada

My Granny used to take all these names, she had travelled to most places, mostly pilgrimage
Kollaapura
Sollaapura
Poona
Bombaayi
Naasik

I am not sure how we knew these cities by these names. Maybe the earliest folks who ventured out of Karnataka, to these cities, came back and uttered them so. Even I originally knew of these cities by such, but when I visited Bombay in 2005, on work, did I figure how Marathi names sounded.

[AZT]

Amazing read on this gloomy cloudy day. The 2 cr Mercedes E class quote was too funny -

Now I haven’t bought a car in India recently, but inflation hasn’t been THAT steep

Also special appearance by chicken was

Saw the date you posted as 15th Apr and I was asking myself how I missed this gem of a thread. Then saw it went live on 15th June out the Assembly line. Wish you and W many happy miles ahead.

[tirumalavoleti]

I wanted to click smile instead of Thanks :-)

Very nice and conversatory write up. Still smiling while adding this comment.

Congrats on the Merc and have wonderful safety miles

[kiku007]

Congratulations on the land yatch and I wish you many more happy miles with it.

Thanks for sharing the story and it was an absolute delight to read. It was like watching a romcom after a series of serious/dark movies. You are very good at this and I hope you write more.

Great choice and I appreciate the patience of your wife to test drive these many cars.

When we went shopping for a car for my wife, she made one sensible decision. "Don't ask me to check out a car if YOU will not like it/you will not drive it. Because you'll not buy it. Hence, don't waste my time.". So I went about creating spreadsheets and test driving cars and after a long drawn process I took her to drive the car I shortlisted and thankfully it worked out well.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

The BMW is like a Marriott, it’s businesslike and you get the impression it’s all a bit impersonal and cookie-cutter. The Mercedes is like one of the Taj Palaces. Every single detail is meant to pamper you.

Very well described. IMHO Audi and BMW interiors felt logical/practical and precision made while the new Mercedes interiors look and feel flamboyant and luxurious. To each his own of course. For the want of a better term, I'd say the Audi and BMW lack the theater that Mercedes offers.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

I was told to not eat the cake, so I did not, mostly.

Really? I felt that this thread is a classic case of, "How to have your cake and eat it too."

P.S: More pictures please.

[AMG Power]

This is the ONLY time I’ve read an entire review at one go.

It actually can be made into a hilarious short YouTube movie if a screen play is put together - would be a huge success.

It’s difficult to say who’s got the most memorable role H, MW or Chicken. The car is, rightfully, a bit player.

Thank you for the entertainment.

Happy and Safe Motoring!

[car_guy1998]

This thread deserves an amazing 5-star rating!

This is one of the best threads I've ever read!

And, kudos to your wife for purchasing a car of her choice!

[BlackPearl]

Amazing writeup v1p3r! Rated 5 stars. You should write more often. Good that you did not buy the Camry. Life is too short for driving boring cars