Faults:

Motor mount needs replacement.

General Comments:

An incredible strong and very smooth driving car.

This particularly car has been on the road for over 15 years and accumulated 569000 km, but still feels and look like new. This is of course mainly due to a meticulously maintenance and yearly undercoating.

This car was made for the autobahn and it cruises easily and relaxed at 200+ km/h. The comfort and quietness in the cabin is superior.

The engine is a chapter on its own. The L6 3,2 liter common rail direct injection turbo diesel, has pulling power like a muscle car and a fuel economy like a Honda Civic. The sound is awesome and yet very quiet for a diesel, once it has warmed up.

Don’t hesitate to buy one, if you come across one....

Faults:

Brake service.

License plate light bulb.

Spark plug service.

General Comments:

This is just another great example of quality engineering. I have commented before on this website about my great experiences with Mercedes Benz automobiles. This is my 5th Mercedes Benz, and my admiration with their craftsmanship has not changed from every model that I have owned.

This particular one (2003 E320) is quite clever. Great storage space, comfortable, practical and very sophisticated looking, and will most assuredly turn heads everywhere you drive it.

I particularly enjoy the gas mileage it gets, as well as the computer screen to indicate everything I need to know about what is going on with my car.

As stated above, this car has not required much maintenance lately, but just the typical servicing that is good for any make of car. I will say that yes in some circumstances there are some services that need to be performed that can cost quite a bit of money, however you are paying for a top quality product that will not let you down, so long as you take care of it. I drive mine every other weekend from Provo, UT to St. George, UT and I always look forward to the drive. It's such a great ride and it's definitely a great driving car!

For those interested in purchasing a Mercedes Benz product, please do your research first and have your MB inspected before purchase. If the MB you have chosen is in good "nick", you will not be disappointed.

Always remember as a good rule of thumb with Mercedes Benz automobiles: The higher the number next to the particular series of Mercedes, the higher the running costs. IE the E320 will be cheaper to service VS the E500 (V8), which will be more expensive. I hope this review will be of good use to those interested in purchasing either an E Class or any other series Mercedes Benz.

HAPPY MILES!

Faults:

Intermittent electrical faults, front end bushings/ball joints, crankshaft position sensor, A/C compressor, motor mounts.

General Comments:

Although I purchased this vehicle with fairly high miles and some known issues (front end/motor mounts/bad A/C), I still really enjoy the driving experience. I am somewhat fortunate to be able to "tinker" with vehicles and have performed most of the repairs myself, with the exception of the A/C compressor replacement, which I had the MB dealer perform to the tune of $1200.00.

With that said, the vehicle runs extremely well, gets 28 to 29 MPG on the highway consistently at 70+ MPH. It is very comfortable and has a pretty quiet cabin. The vehicle feels extremely solid, and one feels very confident in the way the vehicle handles. The turning radius is excellent for the size of the car, and making u-turns or parking is easy.

The fit and finish on the car (exterior and interior) is excellent, and it has held up very well for a 10 year old car.

The only gripe I have is that the low beams on this car are a bit weak, but the high beams are adequate.

If you are mechanically inclined and enjoy working on cars, then a well maintained E320 could be a good vehicle for you. If you decide to have it serviced by a professional independent mechanic or the dealer, then it will be a fairly expensive vehicle to maintain, especially as it gets older. These vehicles have very sophisticated systems in them such as SBC brakes, low pressure A/C systems, and the list goes on and on. Even though I enjoy working on cars and I consider myself a pretty good "shade tree mechanic", I still wind up at the dealership about once a year for a good financial thrashing by the service department, for issues that I cannot resolve.

With all of that said, I still really enjoy driving this Mercedes.