03-29-2005, 03:05 PM
2 weeks ago i went to help my grandparents move out of their place up in PA. while i was up there, I did alot of around-the-house cleanup work since my gramps just had to have his right leg amputated due to some complicaitons, and my grandma has her hands full just trying to get the place in order for people coming by to look at the house since it's for sale.
anyway, i decided i'd clean up my gramps' mercedes 190. its not that old, maybe mid 90's. the thing is....neither of my grandparents are very big car people. they take it to the dealer, and think that's all that needs to be done to it. i checked the tires....2 of them were at less than 25 psi. then i started washing it...
wax hadn't been on that thing for at least 2 years. the bugs plastered on the front were pretty much fused to the paint, and the brake dust on the wheels was so bad, that i literally destroyed an entire sponge on one wheel because i was putting so much pressure behind it to get the dust off. and it still didn't get clean! the wheels were also pitted form the accumulation of dust. to make matters worse, my gramps must have driven over a hot tar strip at some point, because tar was blasted all over the passenger side behind the front wheel. keep in mind this is on a white car.
i asked my grandma how long it had been since it had been washed. she said, "oh don't worry! i go out there with a rag and wipe the dust off every couple weeks!" she thought she could clean it like it was a peice of furniture :lol: now she's not dumb or anything, but her idea of clean was so far off base it was hilarious. it will need a professional detailer or total repaint to get back to the original beauty.
the sad thing is, this once proud merc has less than 60,000 miles on it. it's garage kept....and driven by an old man maybe once a week, usually either to church or the grocery store. had all the service records, too. if you were looking for an old 190, and saw that in an advertisement, you'd probably want to snatch this baby up, right?
i just thought i'd post this up because i sometimes hear people say how they perfect car to find is one "driven by an old man, low miles, babied...etc." obviously we're all intelligent people, and can tell a derelict car from a nice one, but be careful when you choose who you buy from. what might seem like a heck of a find is really a basket case.
anyway, i decided i'd clean up my gramps' mercedes 190. its not that old, maybe mid 90's. the thing is....neither of my grandparents are very big car people. they take it to the dealer, and think that's all that needs to be done to it. i checked the tires....2 of them were at less than 25 psi. then i started washing it...
wax hadn't been on that thing for at least 2 years. the bugs plastered on the front were pretty much fused to the paint, and the brake dust on the wheels was so bad, that i literally destroyed an entire sponge on one wheel because i was putting so much pressure behind it to get the dust off. and it still didn't get clean! the wheels were also pitted form the accumulation of dust. to make matters worse, my gramps must have driven over a hot tar strip at some point, because tar was blasted all over the passenger side behind the front wheel. keep in mind this is on a white car.
i asked my grandma how long it had been since it had been washed. she said, "oh don't worry! i go out there with a rag and wipe the dust off every couple weeks!" she thought she could clean it like it was a peice of furniture :lol: now she's not dumb or anything, but her idea of clean was so far off base it was hilarious. it will need a professional detailer or total repaint to get back to the original beauty.
the sad thing is, this once proud merc has less than 60,000 miles on it. it's garage kept....and driven by an old man maybe once a week, usually either to church or the grocery store. had all the service records, too. if you were looking for an old 190, and saw that in an advertisement, you'd probably want to snatch this baby up, right?
i just thought i'd post this up because i sometimes hear people say how they perfect car to find is one "driven by an old man, low miles, babied...etc." obviously we're all intelligent people, and can tell a derelict car from a nice one, but be careful when you choose who you buy from. what might seem like a heck of a find is really a basket case.
