How Bruce fell in love with the Mercedes brand
Mercedes enthusiasts around the world can fondly recall when they first came to love the brand, and that’s no different for SLSHOP Managing Director Bruce Greetham.
Coming from a background of mechanical engineering, Bruce has always had a slightly different and more involved view on cars than that of a ‘normal’ car lover. He’s learned to appreciate the quality of the engineering that goes in to manufacturing vehicles. It was at an early age that he first recognised the quality with which Mercedes is synonymous with.
During his first job in his teenage years, Bruce developed the admiration for Mercedes which would become a constant in his life and influence his future career.
Bruce recalls: “I will always remember that one of the company Directors at my first job drove a Mercedes 124 300 TE. It was the E-Class of its time. As a mechanic, I would get to drive the company cars and clean them on a regular basis. This included taking them to fill with petrol.
“One particular day, the opportunity arose for the Director’s Mercedes to be in my hands. I took it to fill with petrol and I just thought ‘this is quality’.
“The quality and grade of the car was something I hadn’t experienced across other cars that I’d worked with, such as Vauxhalls or Fords. This was special. I remember taking the car to the Mercedes dealership in Hereford. I was sitting behind the wheel looking at all of the staff thinking ‘this is a good place to be’.
“At this point I thought ‘one day I will own one of these cars’”.
The love affair with Mercedes had started. It was the 124 that drew Bruce’s attention to the prestige and quality of the brand. His new target in life was to own a Mercedes for himself, something that was a long way removed from where he found himself at that time.
Buying his first Mercedes
“I always liked nice things and wanted something a little bit special. I wanted something in the garage that would pay off one day.” Bruce recalls.
His first experience of owning a Mercedes would come many years later. A routine weekend visit to see the cars on display at an independent Mercedes specialist near his home in Malvern was to be the catalyst for that first purchase.
Bruce explains: “I was looking at their display of cars one Sunday afternoon. There was a sorry-looking E220 Coupe 2.2 by the fence. My father-in-law had owned one of these cars. I had experienced the model and knew how they drove.
“It was sat there looking a bit sorry for itself. It was in a blue-black colour which I liked and had a beautiful cream interior.”
Bruce knew that this would be his first Mercedes. He raced home to find the out-of-hours telephone number for the dealership, arranged a viewing and agreed to purchase it. The dealership wasn’t comfortable with selling the car in its current condition, so did a little bit of work before allowing Bruce to collect it.
Bruce recalls: “I got the 124 home and was proud as punch. It was a car that I never thought I’d get. Now it was our main family car, which was difficult to believe from what I’d come from.”
To find out more about Bruce’s car history, click here
To speak with Bruce about buying an SL or improving your own, contact us directly
How Bruce fell in love with the Mercedes brand
Mercedes enthusiasts around the world can fondly recall when they first came to love the brand, and that’s no different for SLSHOP Managing Director Bruce Greetham.
Coming from a background of mechanical engineering, Bruce has always had a slightly different and more involved view on cars than that of a ‘normal’ car lover. He’s learned to appreciate the quality of the engineering that goes in to manufacturing vehicles. It was at an early age that he first recognised the quality with which Mercedes is synonymous with.
During his first job in his teenage years, Bruce developed the admiration for Mercedes which would become a constant in his life and influence his future career.
Bruce recalls: “I will always remember that one of the company Directors at my first job drove a Mercedes 124 300 TE. It was the E-Class of its time. As a mechanic, I would get to drive the company cars and clean them on a regular basis. This included taking them to fill with petrol.
“One particular day, the opportunity arose for the Director’s Mercedes to be in my hands. I took it to fill with petrol and I just thought ‘this is quality’.
“The quality and grade of the car was something I hadn’t experienced across other cars that I’d worked with, such as Vauxhalls or Fords. This was special. I remember taking the car to the Mercedes dealership in Hereford. I was sitting behind the wheel looking at all of the staff thinking ‘this is a good place to be’.
“At this point I thought ‘one day I will own one of these cars’”.
The love affair with Mercedes had started. It was the 124 that drew Bruce’s attention to the prestige and quality of the brand. His new target in life was to own a Mercedes for himself, something that was a long way removed from where he found himself at that time.
Buying his first Mercedes
“I always liked nice things and wanted something a little bit special. I wanted something in the garage that would pay off one day.” Bruce recalls.
His first experience of owning a Mercedes would come many years later. A routine weekend visit to see the cars on display at an independent Mercedes specialist near his home in Malvern was to be the catalyst for that first purchase.
Bruce explains: “I was looking at their display of cars one Sunday afternoon. There was a sorry-looking E220 Coupe 2.2 by the fence. My father-in-law had owned one of these cars. I had experienced the model and knew how they drove.
“It was sat there looking a bit sorry for itself. It was in a blue-black colour which I liked and had a beautiful cream interior.”
Bruce knew that this would be his first Mercedes. He raced home to find the out-of-hours telephone number for the dealership, arranged a viewing and agreed to purchase it. The dealership wasn’t comfortable with selling the car in its current condition, so did a little bit of work before allowing Bruce to collect it.
Bruce recalls: “I got the 124 home and was proud as punch. It was a car that I never thought I’d get. Now it was our main family car, which was difficult to believe from what I’d come from.”
To find out more about Bruce’s car history, click here
To speak with Bruce about buying an SL or improving your own, contact us directly
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