22nd Sep 2005, 09:00
The other day I went to a Mercedes Benz dealer near Dublin. The Mercedes E Class 200 Elegance painted in black with chrome door handles and beige seats looked absolutely superb. Unfortunately the price including taxes came to approximately 64,000 euros. The E 200 Classic came to approximately 61,000 euros. In the U.K. people get the same car about 16,000 pounds cheaper according to a well known magazine.
Dublin is a lovely place to live. Unfortunately prices go up with financial success. Some day I will definitely try and buy an E Class.
30th Sep 2005, 21:31
Just curious - How does the rear wheel drive E-320 handle in slick conditions/ snow etc given that it does not have a 4-Matic option?
My old C-230 which does not has ESP etc does tend to slip in bad weather.
21st Jan 2006, 01:12
No one is talking about the paint quality of Mercedes. Please share information regarding the durability of the dark colours offered my Mercedes especially the black paint. For how long does the showroom shine lasts?
Is there some kind of cover or plastic coating available to protect the paint while the car is travelling in dusty environments?
21st Jan 2006, 09:07
If you are looking for long term paint durability I suggest you get your Mercedes sprayed with Permaplate or TST. These products are amazing. I have a friend who got it on his Infiniti G20 he bought in 1994 and the car still looks showroom new today and no bugs/tar/bird droppings stick.
Just be VERY careful when buying. These applications are sold like rust proofing, meaning the dealer pays some ridiculously low amount for it (plus labor) and charges upwards of $1,000.
I'm guessing a good amount to pay would be $200 or so, and definitely shop around.
15th Mar 2006, 16:05
I live in the UK and have just bought a late 2004 E320 CDI Avantgarde, for the wonderful price of £16,000!! It was crash damaged, but repaired at no extra cost to me. All I can say is wow, this car is unbelievable for a diesel, and for the price I got it for!
Acceleration really pushes you back in the seat, the car is quiet and refined. fastest I have been so far is 140mph, and it still had plenty of oomph left!
15th Mar 2006, 20:54
Try this out for size; prices for the current E Class here in Malaysia are as follows; E200k (MYR373,000.00 @ US$100,000.00), E240 (MYR420,000.00 @ US$113,000.00) and E270cdi (MYR468,000.00 @ US$126,000.00) All models mentioned are locally assembled. Same models and specifications for imported ones cost 20% more. So stop bitching!
21st Jul 2006, 08:55
I have a 2000 Mercedes E320 CDI. This is just an unbelievable car. It combines a fantastic fuel economy with a strength that is second to none. I clocked 130Mph a few times and still had a lot of power left with tremendous stability.
No major problems with this car. The G- force is unbelievable for a diesel as it powers from 0-60 in under 6.5 seconds. Mercedes have truly got this right. I am on 133k at the moment, but will change for the newer version when I get it to 150k.
2nd Aug 2006, 21:04
I just traded my 2002 E320 V-6 for a new 2006 E320 CDI. I've been wanting to go diesel for several years, but only recently did Mercedes start offering diesels in the US again. I loved my gas fired '02 E320, which I bought new for $48K. Amazingly, I bought the '06 CDI for $47,500 and this included the premium package (Nav and CD changer)!!! Compared to prices around the world, we have it really good in the US. Comparatively, both cars are quite solid (caveat...I've only had the CDI two days) and seem ridiculously over-engineered. The 02 E320 has rock solid reliablity. I'll report back on the CDI as the miles pile up. I am SOOO looking forward to that delicious torque and low fuel consumption!
15th Jan 2007, 16:48
Well...here I am to report back on my '06 E320 CDI. So far, it's been flawless with one exception noted below. Among the differences compared to my '20 E320 V-6 gas... I believe the interior materials in the new car are not as good. Definitely more plastic. And I much prefer the older car's vacuum locking system (virtually silent) compared to the new car's electro-magnetic devices. Also, I really got a kick out of the previous car's single wiper arrangement. Now for the bad news... the transmission in the new car (which is the same 5 speed installed in the '02) has started slipping first thing after start up. And...it's dripping red tranny oil on the garage floor. Off to the dealer. I will report back...
17th Jul 2007, 09:53
I took that car to the dealer to repair the tranny leak. They said it was a control arm (?) that had a seal that was leaking? Oh well... fixed under warranty. I've had the car one year no and, after 8,100 miles... no other problems to report. Fuel economy has settled down to about 26 mpg... all city driving. During recent road trips, the car returned 38 mpg. Not bad for a 4,000 pound vehicle with excellent performance. Diesel prices have also been surprising. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the disparate prices in my neighborhood. There are two Shell stations less than 1/2 mile apart. One sells diesel for 2.89 per gallon and the other $3.25! In both cases, however, they are below the cost of regular gas and WAY below the price of premium.
21st Sep 2005, 23:03
Outrageously priced car? Are you serious?
What planet do you live on... a Mercedes Benz with that kind of performance? It's a bargain at $65,000... the price of a well equipped model in the US by the way.