Car advice needed. RWD?

[Threegoofs]

RWD is just as good as FWD or RWD today. Traction control, stability control etc all help control the car. With snow tires the only issue would be ground clearance. The MB should have about the same as the S60 you already have. If you had no issues getting around in that the MB should be fine.

Note I drove a Nissan 370z (sports car, in the winter daily with snow tires for 6 years, never got stuck, close on one day) in a city that does not plow secondary streets, just the main roads. Heck everyone 40 years ago drove RWD cars all year with no stability control and much worse tires)

Yeah, but then I look up stuff like this.

Never buy a Mercedes or drive one during snow. - YouTube

 

[Superfly]

Volvo's are either AWD or FWD, no RWD models

Got it. I haven't owned a Volvo in probably 12 to 14 years, so I don't remember. I do know that it made such a good impression on me, that I bought a second one after my first one died.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

I have a nice situation- I get a car every four years or so for work, and I can choose from about six models.

I’m up for a new one to replace my 2015 Volvo S60.

I drive mostly in the city with some longer (three or four hour) highway trips, and I really don’t need to haul anymore than just myself usually, although it’s nice to have a functional backseat and some trunk space. Another consideration is that in 4 years, I can generally buy the car and I think one of my kids could be interested at that point.

My choices are (in order of my interest):
Mercedes S300 - basic model
Toyota RAV4 Limited, hybrid, AWD
Volvo S60

Other options are a Mercedes GLA AWD, Chevy Equinox,GMC Terrain, or a Toyota Avalon XLE- I’m not that interested in these.

My main issue is that I really like the Mercedes, but the S300 is only available to me in rear wheel drive. I’m in Chicago, so we do get some snow, and I remember how awful RWD cars were when I drive them back in the 80s. I’ve actually never had anything other than a FWD car for the last 30+ years.

But reading a bit, it sounds like the new traction control and electronic stability systems have helped this issue, and I do have the option of getting snow tires (but I really don’t want to deck with storing them).

I like the RAV4- it’s larger than I thought, but seems to be really nice. I like SUVs generally since the ride is high and visibility is great. I don’t pay for gas, but I like the environmentally friendly aspect of the hybrid- plus it’s AWD.

So... is a RWD car a dealbreaker for me because of Chicago winters?

One question

Are you sure the MB is the S class and not the C class or E class? I don't believe MB offers the S300 in the US (that would be a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine). The cost for it would be upwards of $75 000, while the S60 and Rav4 are around the $35-45 000 range. If it is the S class go for it. It costs at about double that of the other vehicles

 

[Threegoofs]

One question

Are you sure the MB is the S class and not the C class or E class? I don't believe MB offers the S300 in the US (that would be a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine). The cost for it would be upwards of $75 000, while the S60 and Rav4 are around the $35-45 000 range. If it is the S class go for it. It costs at about double that of the other vehicles

My bad. It’s C class. C300.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

My bad. It’s C class. C300.

In that case drive the new S60 2019 model. It has been dramatically improved over the older model. Probably a better car than the C class.

But if you really want to give it to your kids in 4 years the Rav4 would be the better choice (only reason to choose it)

 

[Quag]

I hate SUV's they are just total crap the Rav4 is one of the worst (personal opinion I know) So I would never ever in 1000000000 years consider it.
The Mercedes well I just dont particularly like them myself but RWD is not such a big deal in winter. Can be hard to go up steep hills if icy. You can always drop some sandbags in the trunk to help wit traction. Hit the gas turn the wheel and go down roads sideways is always fun in winter.

Of the list the Volvo would be my choice.

 

[Mach]

Yeah, S300 base vs loaded Rav4, that's a wicked choice. I mean...2x the price, serious luxury vs loaded SUV, so different! Value becomes a huge factor.
Since you corrected it, a C300 base model RWD - and if a good chance you want the hand-off to the kid option, I'd go rav 4.

You're right, the new RAV4 is a mid-size, best-seller. You're getting the top package limited, I just feel that being up higher in a mid-sized SUV, with a fairly loaded car, AWD in Chicago, will feel better overall than the C300 base model.
You won't have that luxury polish, but the features/up-high/cargo may make up for it. If you can jazz up the trim, etc., all the better. With the AWD in Chicago and a good hand-off to a kid for safety, I'd go RAV4.

Even a base class mercedes will be nice and pretty safe, but Mercedes is up-front about RWD being worse in snow/ice, it's because they feel RWD is better in all the other conditions (for driving feel, etc.). Mercedes is a safe car, but I'd feel better with my kid in Chicago with an AWD mid-sized SUV, that's just me.

I got a luxury sedan that's fast and RWD, and it has to hit traction control even in dry conditions. I prefer my wife's mid-sized SUV (Acura) to my sedan, and my next car this year will be an SUV for that "higher up" and cargo space convenience.
I generally would prefer a loaded car vs a base model...base model is just meh in my experience (depends on standard options but you know how it is).

 

[joko104]

Forget Mercedes. They have become the most unreliable and costly maintenance cars you can buy short of Ferraris and Lambos.

 

[PIPEWRENCH]

I have a nice situation- I get a car every four years or so for work, and I can choose from about six models.

I’m up for a new one to replace my 2015 Volvo S60.

I drive mostly in the city with some longer (three or four hour) highway trips, and I really don’t need to haul anymore than just myself usually, although it’s nice to have a functional backseat and some trunk space. Another consideration is that in 4 years, I can generally buy the car and I think one of my kids could be interested at that point.

My choices are (in order of my interest):
Mercedes S300 - basic model
Toyota RAV4 Limited, hybrid, AWD
Volvo S60

Other options are a Mercedes GLA AWD, Chevy Equinox,GMC Terrain, or a Toyota Avalon XLE- I’m not that interested in these.

My main issue is that I really like the Mercedes, but the S300 is only available to me in rear wheel drive. I’m in Chicago, so we do get some snow, and I remember how awful RWD cars were when I drive them back in the 80s. I’ve actually never had anything other than a FWD car for the last 30+ years.

But reading a bit, it sounds like the new traction control and electronic stability systems have helped this issue, and I do have the option of getting snow tires (but I really don’t want to deck with storing them).

I like the RAV4- it’s larger than I thought, but seems to be really nice. I like SUVs generally since the ride is high and visibility is great. I don’t pay for gas, but I like the environmentally friendly aspect of the hybrid- plus it’s AWD.

So... is a RWD car a dealbreaker for me because of Chicago winters?

Not so much any more. Chicago is for the most part flat and the few icy wet snows are taken care of pretty quick anymore. The new traction controls and advancement of all weather tires has made rear wheel drive much better. The old differentials where only 1 tire turned and you were always stuck are thing of the past. The other thing is with the heavy traffic and higher speeds around a major city an SUV will not let you steer out of a situation that the Mercedes will. The Mercedes handling and ability to recover at higher speeds are big plus. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to make a quick lane change at 70 mph in and around Houston that could not be done with an SUV. I love my SUV but it is not a sports car. You have to drive them with that in mind.

 

[Threegoofs]

Not so much any more. Chicago is for the most part flat and the few icy wet snows are taken care of pretty quick anymore. The new traction controls and advancement of all weather tires has made rear wheel drive much better. The old differentials where only 1 tire turned and you were always stuck are thing of the past. The other thing is with the heavy traffic and higher speeds around a major city an SUV will not let you steer out of a situation that the Mercedes will. The Mercedes handling and ability to recover at higher speeds are big plus. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to make a quick lane change at 70 mph in and around Houston that could not be done with an SUV. I love my SUV but it is not a sports car. You have to drive them with that in mind.

A very good point.

 

[joko104]

Mercedes of the past are not the Mercedes of today. We have had and have Mercedes - top of the line - and the are overpriced unreliable POS. I expect Mercedes to keep making the front circle emblem bigger and bigger to try to sell them past reputation - that is increasingly in the past - trying to sell status rather than a fine automobile.

 

[PIPEWRENCH]

Mercedes of the past are not the Mercedes of today. We have had and have Mercedes - top of the line - and the are overpriced unreliable POS. I expect Mercedes to keep making the front circle emblem bigger and bigger to try to sell them past reputation - that is increasingly in the past - trying to sell status rather than a fine automobile.

The problem is they are not worth the extra money you pay for them. I bought a Dodge Caliber in 2009 for $12,000. Back when Dodge was closing all the dealerships. It was a gamble. Turned out to be the best money I ever spent on a car. Not a single problem in 10 years and 100,000 miles. I am still on my second set of tires and brakes. I changed the serpentine belt because It was 5 years old. You can keep your Toyota. I wish I had bought 2 or 3 of these. I could have for the price of a Toyota.

 

[beerftw]

My bad. It’s C class. C300.

If it is a c300 I would avoid it like a plague, the c and clk classes were the dodge neon of german cars, they were designed to be cheap and cheaply made so people who could not afford a mercedes could buy a mercedes, but much like the neon right as it is about paid off it will fall apart at the seems.

all mercedes are expensive to maintain, but the cheaper ones often by the end of 5 years cost soo much to maintain vs the value of the car it is not worth it. I have seen the cheaper mercedes with wheel bearings failing so bad wheels fall off at around 80k but never seen such with their better models, engines failing, transmissions failing, and despite being a low end car any repairs either need to be done at a mercedes dealer or someone who can access the security system as most parts with anything electric are tied to security, especially transmissions, seriously transmission theft must be a thing in germany or something because I have never seen it in the us nor has any company tied their transmission or injectors or throttle body to a security system where any changes require re coding the modules.


Oh and dipsticks are not a thing on a mercedes anymore if you like to check your fluids, they started doing it with transmissions where you needed a dealer tool, then they moved on to engines where there is no dipstick, you need the special tool just to make sure you have oil. Were it me I would pick the rav4, oh and the new volvos coming out stay away from those as well, some models you might end up spending 2+ grand for a headlight going out, because they use modules for the headlights with special leds designed to keep from blinding ongoing traffic, but they are bloody expensive when they do not work and usually require the entire module assembly with headlamps replaced.

 

[joko104]

The problem is they are not worth the extra money you pay for them. I bought a Dodge Caliber in 2009 for $12,000. Back when Dodge was closing all the dealerships. It was a gamble. Turned out to be the best money I ever spent on a car. Not a single problem in 10 years and 100,000 miles. I am still on my second set of tires and brakes. I changed the serpentine belt because It was 5 years old. You can keep your Toyota. I wish I had bought 2 or 3 of these. I could have for the price of a Toyota.

Dodge is best deal out there - car or truck. They lack prestige to those it matters for.

 

[joko104]

If it is a c300 I would avoid it like a plague, the c and clk classes were the dodge neon of german cars, they were designed to be cheap and cheaply made so people who could not afford a mercedes could buy a mercedes, but much like the neon right as it is about paid off it will fall apart at the seems.

all mercedes are expensive to maintain, but the cheaper ones often by the end of 5 years cost soo much to maintain vs the value of the car it is not worth it. I have seen the cheaper mercedes with wheel bearings failing so bad wheels fall off at around 80k but never seen such with their better models, engines failing, transmissions failing, and despite being a low end car any repairs either need to be done at a mercedes dealer or someone who can access the security system as most parts with anything electric are tied to security, especially transmissions, seriously transmission theft must be a thing in germany or something because I have never seen it in the us nor has any company tied their transmission or injectors or throttle body to a security system where any changes require re coding the modules.


Oh and dipsticks are not a thing on a mercedes anymore if you like to check your fluids, they started doing it with transmissions where you needed a dealer tool, then they moved on to engines where there is no dipstick, you need the special tool just to make sure you have oil. Were it me I would pick the rav4, oh and the new volvos coming out stay away from those as well, some models you might end up spending 2+ grand for a headlight going out, because they use modules for the headlights with special leds designed to keep from blinding ongoing traffic, but they are bloody expensive when they do not work and usually require the entire module assembly with headlamps replaced.

We have to replace the headlight on the Mrs. Mercedes 2 to 3 times a year, and have it towed in at least twice a year for the identical computer failure - couple thousand each time - and it has been that way for at least 3 years, maybe 4. It is common to get in the car and turn the key and it does nothing - though nothing wrong with the battery. It also has put itself into drive while idling in park and no one in the driver's seat plus sometimes the back hatch will open in the middle of the night for which anyone could steal anything in it - and we will never have it back from the dealer more than 3 or 4 weeks before at least one warning light is showing on the dash.
My Mercedes, CL series, sat for nearly 3 years my not willing to spend more on it. Finally fixed it myself.
Mercedes seems clearly designed to assure non-stop being in the shop for outrageous repair costs as soon as the warranty expires. The bottom of the line cars are less quality than Japanese or Korean imports. Their top of the line cars are designed to essentially force you to buy a new one every 4 or 5 years. However, the dealer may offer yo a free cup of coffee in the service department.
It's all about status and they treat scheduling a repair like it's a doctor's appointment.

Oh, and about dipsticks... maintenance is not optional unless you don't mind a dash full of warning lights telling you you are overdue for something - that have to be reset by the dealer to assure you must take your car to the dealer. Only a few non-dealer repair shops can turn them off. It's a real dealership maintenance racket.

 

[Threegoofs]

If it is a c300 I would avoid it like a plague, the c and clk classes were the dodge neon of german cars, they were designed to be cheap and cheaply made so people who could not afford a mercedes could buy a mercedes, but much like the neon right as it is about paid off it will fall apart at the seems.

all mercedes are expensive to maintain, but the cheaper ones often by the end of 5 years cost soo much to maintain vs the value of the car it is not worth it. I have seen the cheaper mercedes with wheel bearings failing so bad wheels fall off at around 80k but never seen such with their better models, engines failing, transmissions failing, and despite being a low end car any repairs either need to be done at a mercedes dealer or someone who can access the security system as most parts with anything electric are tied to security, especially transmissions, seriously transmission theft must be a thing in germany or something because I have never seen it in the us nor has any company tied their transmission or injectors or throttle body to a security system where any changes require re coding the modules.


Oh and dipsticks are not a thing on a mercedes anymore if you like to check your fluids, they started doing it with transmissions where you needed a dealer tool, then they moved on to engines where there is no dipstick, you need the special tool just to make sure you have oil. Were it me I would pick the rav4, oh and the new volvos coming out stay away from those as well, some models you might end up spending 2+ grand for a headlight going out, because they use modules for the headlights with special leds designed to keep from blinding ongoing traffic, but they are bloody expensive when they do not work and usually require the entire module assembly with headlamps replaced.

Good to know.

But I literally don’t care, since I’ll only have it for four years and it won’t cost me a cent.

But... I’m leaning toward the RAV because it’s a hybrid.

 

[beerftw]

Good to know.

But I literally don’t care, since I’ll only have it for four years and it won’t cost me a cent.

Oh if you don't plan to buy it out later than it is just personal preference, it should be under warranty or your company paying for it.

 

[beerftw]

We have to replace the headlight on the Mrs. Mercedes 2 to 3 times a year, and have it towed in at least twice a year for the identical computer failure - couple thousand each time - and it has been that way for at least 3 years, maybe 4. It is common to get in the car and turn the key and it does nothing - though nothing wrong with the battery. It also has put itself into drive while idling in park and no one in the driver's seat plus sometimes the back hatch will open in the middle of the night for which anyone could steal anything in it - and we will never have it back from the dealer more than 3 or 4 weeks before at least one warning light is showing on the dash.
My Mercedes, CL series, sat for nearly 3 years my not willing to spend more on it. Finally fixed it myself.
Mercedes seems clearly designed to assure non-stop being in the shop for outrageous repair costs as soon as the warranty expires. The bottom of the line cars are less quality than Japanese or Korean imports. Their top of the line cars are designed to essentially force you to buy a new one every 4 or 5 years. However, the dealer may offer yo a free cup of coffee in the service department.
It's all about status and they treat scheduling a repair like it's a doctor's appointment.

Oh, and about dipsticks... maintenance is not optional unless you don't mind a dash full of warning lights telling you you are overdue for something - that have to be reset by the dealer to assure you must take your car to the dealer. Only a few non-dealer repair shops can turn them off. It's a real dealership maintenance racket.

I owned an 87 mercedes, over 300k miles on it when it failed furing a freak blizzard, we got snow then warm then hella snow, the snow melted and got into the computer which had poor gaskets from age then froze again and split the computer, it still kinda ran after that but the electronic advance did not work anymore causing it to run so poor you would hear it backfiring just driving it down the street. Until then everything worked on it except the ac, which had a compressor go out and I was not willing to spend the money since the windows still worked. I later got it scrapped right before joining the army.


But the original owners manual and reciept was in the glove box, at the time it sold for something like 80 or 100+k for that specific 420 sel model, and when translated into modern prices was around 400k, at the price they charged quality was mandatory, now many mercedes cost less than a chevy pickup for the lesser models, you have to expect they cut corners and used cheap materials to meet that price range.


Oh I have two scan tools that can not only reset those pesky lights, but also do all mercedes bi directional functions and coding, the only thing I can not do is passthrough module reprogramming as that scan tool was too much for my budget for the few mercedes I fix(they come in a lot but trade them in when the repair quote hits)

 

[ModerationNow!]

I have a nice situation- I get a car every four years or so for work, and I can choose from about six models.

I’m up for a new one to replace my 2015 Volvo S60.

I drive mostly in the city with some longer (three or four hour) highway trips, and I really don’t need to haul anymore than just myself usually, although it’s nice to have a functional backseat and some trunk space. Another consideration is that in 4 years, I can generally buy the car and I think one of my kids could be interested at that point.

My choices are (in order of my interest):
Mercedes S300 - basic model
Toyota RAV4 Limited, hybrid, AWD
Volvo S60

Other options are a Mercedes GLA AWD, Chevy Equinox,GMC Terrain, or a Toyota Avalon XLE- I’m not that interested in these.

My main issue is that I really like the Mercedes, but the S300 is only available to me in rear wheel drive. I’m in Chicago, so we do get some snow, and I remember how awful RWD cars were when I drive them back in the 80s. I’ve actually never had anything other than a FWD car for the last 30+ years.

But reading a bit, it sounds like the new traction control and electronic stability systems have helped this issue, and I do have the option of getting snow tires (but I really don’t want to deck with storing them).

I like the RAV4- it’s larger than I thought, but seems to be really nice. I like SUVs generally since the ride is high and visibility is great. I don’t pay for gas, but I like the environmentally friendly aspect of the hybrid- plus it’s AWD.

So... is a RWD car a dealbreaker for me because of Chicago winters?

It seems to me, that if you don't have to pay anything up front for the car, and your company will pay for these somewhat upscale vehicles, I'd have to grudgingly admit that an AWD vehicle would be your best option, especially considering the inevitable snow & icy conditions you'll be driving in. I'd just research which vehicle has best reliability and cost to own ratings, and get that one.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I would suggest either looking at the top of the line Subaru or take the plunge when GM introduces the new HYBRID Equinox equivalent.
I say "Equinox equivalent" because it will most likely be built on either the Equinox or Buick crossover CUV/SUV body but it will probably be either full Battery Electric or it might feature the Voltec hybrid powertrain.

The Subaru is legendary for drive/ride quality and durability and the new GM BEV or hybrids will allow you to skip gas entirely for 80% of your commutes, so even though you do not pay for gas, you won't have to fill them up hardly ever.

The great thing about these hybrids and electrics is how they deal with winter driving, the traction control is top of the line.
If you're cynical about the idea of electric, I vote Subie hands down.

Or you could go Dodge but I'm mostly a MoPar (Dodge-Chrysler) guy so I am biased in favor of them.

 

[Dragonfly]

Toyota RAV4 Limited, hybrid, AWD

This would be my choice hands down.

Getting to learn about, and understand the whole hybrid thing with a car I wouldn't have to purchase would be awesome.
Plus the all wheel drive.

No contest in my mind.