WalterSFO

Is it a bad idea to buy a car with delivery in Germany and drive on the Autobahn?

On my current Mercedes, I bought it here and picked it up here... so.. for the several years I've had it, the car has not seen more than 75mph. Actually, due to the severe congestion in my area, my daily commute is about 2 hours long. That's 2 hours to drive the 17 miles roundtrip on interstate.(no other option because the interstate is the only road that crosses the river) 99% of the time, it's stop-stop-stop-and-go traffic. There is no public transportation option, unless I want to take the bus into the city and connect to another bus, which will make it into a 3.5-hour commute.(plus the time it takes me to drive to/from the bus stops) IIRC, the car has only seen 70mph speeds on the weekends... which is very sad for a car that should be able to do 150mph easily.

Anyway, I've been working with my MB saleman for a new one... he suggested that I should do European delivery to save a few bucks and enjoy the new car at 150mph for a couple of weeks on the Autobahn. I agree with him... but I'm worried... if I pick up the car from MB in Germany, is it a good idea to take the new car up to 150mph during the first couple of weeks?

LondonElite

Every single Mercedes I've ever owned I've picked up in Sindelfingen. It remains a fun experience. The rule of thumb they give you is that you shouldn't exceed 2/3rds of redline rpm within the first few thousand kilometres. As long as you don't accelerate like an F1 driver, you can still drive very quickly. You can check your GE model specs to see how fast you will go in top gear at ca 4,000 rpm.

However, if you are unaccustomed to driving at high speeds, I would not recommend exceeding 170 km/h or so. Things begin to happen very quickly, and even in Germany's more structured driving, there can always be an idiot who suddenly pulls out.

waffle

No. Please don't drive at 150 mph (240 km/h) on a public road, no matter if there's a speed limit. Besides the danger to yourself, you also pose a significant threat to others, especially when the highest speed you're used to is half that.


Exactly, although one might argue that part of the idiocy lies with the person approaching from behind at almost double the recommended speed.

SunshineStay

The problem I see is that the Autobahn is really a myth in most parts. There are a lot of speed limits on the Autobahn as well and driving at high speed (faster than 180 km/h) for more than a minute is often not possible because of traffic.

Of course there are still areas where you can go full throttle, but definitely not during rush hour and mostly only during night time.

Flying Lawyer

It is definitely a more than bad idea for a US trained driver with plenty of experience in interstate stop and go to run wild on the German autobahn. This is certainly a source of danger for everybody.

offerendum

I needed nearly 1 year to reach "top-Speed" with my car. OK, if I would have tried with all force, I could have done after a few days, but no thanks. Most time you met traffic-situations which may allow short periods with around 220, 230 or even 240 - but only for a very short time and depending on car. If driving fast is the goal visit a racetrack, much safer.

People do it during a few hours stop after a long flight at FCT - simply crazy.... Especially if you have the "force" to reach speed during 3 hours....

WorldLux

And during the night, it's particularly idiotic. At that kind of speeds, you are so fast, you won't see an unlit obstacle or animal. 150 mph is 220 ft/s. That's more than what the low beams will illuminate. Even during the night it's pretty much impossible to use high beams due to oncoming traffic.

And you think going twice as fast with apparently no experience is a good idea? What is keeping you from going faster? In the past, I have maxed out cars despite a 80 mph limit.

So much traffic and construction areas these days that it has become really hard to max out a car.

LondonElite

Have you been on the A20 on a Sunday morning recently?

offerendum

When I was young I often did it, today I hope i´m wiser

There are some Autobahnen which qualify for high speeds at several times. Some people do trips for it.....

TheBOSman

It isn't a problem. The vast majority of new cars don't need to be "broken in" anymore. Even then, it seems you're not keeping a car for more than a few years, so it is even less of a concern.

As for driving 150 mph, work up to it slowly. Get used to driving in Germany first (particularly what road signs to be looking for), and driving at a typical 100-110 km/h first. Remember, you're driving a new car that you need to get used to how it handles and brakes, so do that first. Test the brakes and how it reacts; you're not going to have a lot of reaction time at 200+ km/h, and you need to be looking out for traffic hazards, not also thinking about what may or may not exactly happen when you hit the brake pedal. Once you feel comfortable with the braking and handling, work up slowly. Max out at 80-90 mph, then 90-100 mph, and so on, until you're comfortable with each step up. Be aware of the signs and check traffic before you leave if you're planning to drive at a very high rate of speed so you're not surprised. And, enjoy!

WorldLux

During the night and without full moon giving additional light, I wouldn't go much quicker than the speed limit/recommendation on Autobahns. I simply had too much encounters with wildlife at lower speeds.

radium_mask

Lots has been said already on this, here is my 2 cents:

- going to 250 km/h takes most MBs above the rpm that MB recommends for the first 1500km or so. That said, you are not really taking much of a risk of reducing engine life. Modern cars do not really need to be broken in.

- driving at that speed when you are not used to it, especially in traffic, is less fun than you might imagine. It is stressful and scary. My guess is that you'll do it for 5-10 seconds and then slow down to a more reasonable speed, palms sweaty and heart about to jump out of your chest. At least that's how I felt the first couple of times.

-In any event, during daytime you will never have enough space to really go fast for more than 1-2 km before you either hit traffic or speed limits. But there are stretches of autobahn where you can go super fast without much risk early on a Sunday morning in Summer (4-5 am).

My advice: go for it, but don't do anything stupid. Take the time to get used to the speeds and then plan a Sunday morning drive on a nice stretch of autobahn that you checked out before. And do not go to the Nurburgring. Driving fast on racetracks takes serious skill. There are entire youtube channels devoted to showing what happens when people w/out those skills take their Benzes and Porsches on the Ring. Not pretty.

WorldLux

In my experience, this is particularly the case for smaller and lighter cars. I did take a rental VW Polo to 125 mph and it was definitely something you wouldn't wanna do for long periods of time. Heavier cars had a much more calm ride at higher speeds.

I might add: Check the stretch of Autobahn first. You don't wanna find out about a pothole while doing 150 mph.

^ And the Nordschleife requires much more talent than current GP tracks. There's a reason they call it the green hell. A friend of mine went of track in his BMW. He and the car were very lucky and the car only needed minor work.

LondonElite

You got a rental Polo to over 200 km/h?! Respect!

WorldLux

The speedometer indicated 200 kmh. I suspect that I was somewhere around 190-195 kmh. It helped that the Autoroute had a slight slope.