German taxis: E-class Mercs all round

#21

bruce_phipps (AT) my-deja (DOT) com (bruce phipps) wrote in message news:<27351d26.0310030021.75ff3309 (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>...

Quote:

Are Mercedes cars a lot cheaper in Germany?
I was over there on holiday last week (Cologne).

At the taxi rank at the station there must have been 20 cream coloured
E-class diesels *with leather* !
My local UK taxi driver drives a Proton Persona...maybe we should join
the EuroZone after all!

That's a good reason. If you're a taxi driver. What about the rest
of us?

German cab drivers pay for a diesel Merc somewhat less than what a new
black costs a London cabbie. Most Mercedes taxis I have travelled in
have a specification lower than the lowest available in the UK - where
a Merc is regarded exclusively as "luxury" transport and is equipped
(and priced) accordingly.

Then again, with Mercedes reliability being a shadow of what it was
(and it was never financially superior - repair costs after 100,000
miles are high) this could simply be a case of your local cabbie being
very wise. The Proton is a car shunned primarily for its poor image,
not because it is mechanically or electrically unreliable (that's
Alfa's job, anyway).

#22

"PeterE" <peter (AT) xyz_ringtail (DOT) fsnet.co.uk> wrote

Quote:

Tim S Kemp <news (AT) timkemp (DOT) karoo.co.uk> wrote:

Last time I was there it was a diesel C class auto, leather,
integrated phone. Quite impressive but makes a lot of sense, total
life cost (for a taxi thats often >250k miles) for a merc is really
not much different than any other car. The problem with taxi /
private hire over here is the lack of business acumen or vision.

The major local taxi firm in my area has recently invested in a fleet of new
Skoda Octavia SDis which are then leased to drivers. OK, not E-class Mercs,
but a big step forward from beat-up Toyota Carinas.

I may be mistaken but I am sure Brighton and Hove used Skoda Superbs.
Excellent choice for a comfortable taxi vehicle. And more legroom
than an E-Class

.

#23

bruce phipps (bruce_phipps (AT) my-deja (DOT) com) wrote:
: Are Mercedes cars a lot cheaper in Germany?
: I was over there on holiday last week (Cologne).

: At the taxi rank at the station there must have been 20 cream coloured
: E-class diesels *with leather* !
: My local UK taxi driver drives a Proton Persona...maybe we should join
: the EuroZone after all!

There is a taxi company in Dundee which has a fleet of 100 E-class 220
diesel Mercedes. Most of the other mini cabs are Skoda Octavia SDis.
Blair.

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German taxis: E-class Mercs all round

Miscellaneous UK car topics Other UK car topics (uk.rec.cars.misc)

Re: German taxis: E-class Mercs all round - 10-07-2003 , 10:19 AM

Re: German taxis: E-class Mercs all round - 10-07-2003 , 10:21 AM

Re: German taxis: E-class Mercs all round - 10-07-2003 , 10:46 AM