Should I buy an E-Class?

[Stephen Brooks]

I have read with alarm the problems that so many of you have had with the E-Class. I am about to replace our Volvo V70 that in has been excellent over 5 years and 50,000 miles. Other than the need to repalce most of the light bulbs several times it has been faultless. I have narrowed the shortlist down to an E280 CDi or an Audi A6 Avant 3.0tdi Quattro.

I would prefer a Mercedes (we already have an A160) but am worried that I could be buying £40k worth of trouble. I test drove an Audi and liked it more than I expected. It is less appealing but gives better performance for about the same price.

What would current E-Class owners advise and has anyone yet had experience of the new V6 engined E-class?

 

[The Editor]

I was in the same position as you - Test drove a new Lexus GS (Twice) and ordered one (Take delivery 1st March).

I was 110% set on the new E-class with the V6 but then drove the Lexus !!!......

To be honest I wanted something that was going to be reliable and had bomb proof build quality. The Mercedes don't ( I already own one on a 04 plateand it's been in to have warranty work done more times than I would have expected, but it's the wifes car so not so important !! :lol: :lol: .. I'll get killed for saying that!!)

If you can get through the 'Oh I must have a German car with a three pointed badge' type thinking in my honest opinion the Lexus is a better car. The Americans have come to this conclusion and the brand holds the same status as any of the German marques (if not more so) over there. It's just the brits that don't seem able to get past the 'Oh it's not German thinking'. I can say that as I actually do own a MB.

Oh, and anyone that just says a Lexus is a jumped up Toyota has

1) Never been in one

2) Never driven one.

Just my two pennyworth. Everyone has different opinions and that just happens to be mine.

Do yourself a favour and take the GS300 or 430 out for a spin. In fact, if you can, borrow a GS for the day and drive to an MB dealers and take out an E-class, then come back and jump straight into the GS.... I'll say no more.

Happy shopping


The Ed

 

[jberks]

Whilst I may differ in the conclusion, I'd agree with the advice above. You need to drive both. Personally, having sat in Lexuses (though admittedly not driven one), I didn't get out with the "Want one" feeling. To me, even the LS400 felt slightly 'fake' compared to an S. The IS200 was a Toyota Avensis with a body kit and an even more hideous interior. I am told the new ones are good though. Anyway, 5 mins in the W211 and I was smitten.

If you want bullet proof reliability then I have to agree that the statistically, Lexus is better. I perhaps haven't had my E long enough for a full evaulation yet (2 months 4,000 miles), but I have no complaints yet. Problems so far are :
1) Horn made a slight buzz noise when vibrated (e.g. shutting the door). Had to listen carefully but it was there.
2) Air filter box mountings had slightly too much play so you could just hear it vibrating from the outside if you were listening hard enough.
So in a nutshell, nothing that would have been noticed by most people, spoiled my enjoyment or couldn't have waited until the service had I not been too fussy to live with any fault.
I have to say that I could probably find faults in your Volvo too. That's just me. The point is, even with this attitude, I am still happy with my E.
Everything clicks, works perfectly and feels well made. I'm even happy with the economy.

The crux is, which puts a smile on your face when you get behind the wheel. Even comparably unreliable cars are on the road 98% of the time so you have to buy what you like driving. If you like both equally, and are as fussy as me, then maybe the lexus is for you, but most W211 owners are very happy with their cars and I wouldn't say the reliability difference, such as it is, is great enough to sway a decision. There are horror stories, but most date back to 02/03 vehicles which I have to agree, were poor. I wouldn't touch an 02/3 one and kept my W210 for an extra year as a result. 2 years ago, MB finally twigged and put billions into improving reliability. Mine is a late 04 and is pretty good so I'd have to say 06 ones should be fine.

 

[Dr Claire]

Stephen its a tough decision. My E270 was 28 months old when MB and the dealer decided to settle my lease because of the appallingly bad relaibility of the vehicle. I had to take the deal for a new E320 which was delivered on Friday before Christmas. It is a great car however I am concerned about relaibility. I do not think it is just me. The independant surveys such as JD Power support the uneliability of the product and the poor customer service from dealers. Certain staff at my dealer is good but I insist on dealing with only two of the staff who I have built a good relationship with. Other staff are bad.
I read something yesterday which reported that 28% of MB cars return for warranty each year. The industry average is about 10% and Lexus is well into single figures. I am absolutely sure that if my deal had been to return the car and get money I would have bought a Lexus.
Just in summary I bought a Porsche Boxster in December 2004. It has had two tyres and a service. No oil, even top up. Thats it in 12-13 months. The E270 has been off the road, broken, for 9.2% of the year which equates to 33.5 days in 12 months. My four year old has made great friends with the dealer's reception staff 'cos we have been in there so much. She even took them some chocs for Christmas.
Head says Lexus heart maybe MB. Trouble is affairs of the heart cost mega bucks.
Claire

________________________________________________
E320 CDI A/G 2005
Porsche Boxster 2004

 

[Rory]

Apparently MB were doing some stunning deals on Contract Hire for E Class before Christmas - don't know if they're still available, or if they were available to private users, or just business deals.
Neither E Class or 5 Series are selling very well - BMW is offering enhanced bonus's to dealers based on what make of car is p/x'd against a new 5 Series.

Personal Contact Hire (or PCP) may be the way to go - you're protected from falling residuals and if you get full maintenance then at least they'll pick up the bill for any problems - as long as you can spare the time to get them sorted.

 

[maddog]

I have to say i'm not "that" unhappy with my MB, its not aged as well as i expected and its had the odd fault but no breakdowns in 4.5 years, worse fault was passenger window stuck down

but the dealers!!

They are the reason i wont buy MB again, owning a w210 means that i will probably be exposed to the corrosion issue at some point and therefore i'm pretty much stuck with the dealer servicing.

I'll probably buy an Audi next time

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Thanks to all of you for very helpful replies. Lexus is not an option because I need an estate car, so it looks as if I had better take a closer look at the Audi.

 

[Silver Arrow]

We have an A6 Quattro Sport Diesel 6sp manual. The boot is vast and the rear seats fold down making a level loadspace. The roadholding is superb (Lotus quality) and the cruising sublime. I saw one with a dog (Labrador) in the boot with one seat folded down and a grille fitted so he could see out.
However, the contoured sports seats make it a squeeze for me to insert my manly chest if the wife has left the drivers seat set up front!
My wife considers my E220 coupe too 'old man' and my previous Merc made her feel seasick!

 

[noby39]

MB E 270CDi on a 53 plate

So far I've had no trouble with this car. It's the second MB I've owned. Before that I owned BMW 5 series - I thought these were great. And earlier still I owned Volvo estates. There's nothing special about the E 270. I looked at a Lexus 300 series car a year or so ago and it seemed a bit cramped compared with the BMW 5 series and the E 270. I wish however that I'd stayed with the BMW 5 series.

MB dealerships and the sales staff have yet to realise that potential customers have greater choice than they had say 20 years ago. MB cars no longer sell themselves but some MB sales staff seem not to realise that and can be rather condescending towards potential customers. My wife has bought VW Golfs for many years and swears by them. Sales staff at the local VW dealership seem better trained than those at the MB dealership.

 

[benzo]

From what year onwards?

Hi,

I am thinking of replacing my 2001 Volvo S60 with a W211 E270 cdi or E240. The Volvo has been a pleasure to drive, but have had to take it in frequently for one thing or the other so getting fed up with it. In contrast my W202 C class just goes on and on, and only 'stops' for scheduled service.

I always buy used - preferably about 3 years old when most of the depreciation has hit and the cars are still in good shape, but for a W211 that will get me an 2003 model.

Problem is, I keep reading that the 02/03 W211s should be avoided. Does anyone have like a cut off point/time at which most of these early faults/gremlins would have been rectified?

AND what does EURO4 mean and what difference does it make?

 

[Sanny]

I had a E270CDI Avantgarde Estate which I bought new in Sept 2003. After 18 months and 43 warranty claims (125 days off-road), I finally reached agreement with Mercedes to buy the car back in October last year. I got a great deal on a new Mercedes (which was a condition of the buy back) and my new ML arrives tomorrow.

Personally I will never buy another E class until this model is replaced and the marques reputation for quality is restored - My best friend bought an E320CDI at the same time as me, and his has been bought back as well after spending 6 months in the workshop.

Buy something else IMHO!

 

[jberks]

Buy something else IMHO!

If he was suggesting an 02 E I'd have warned him off, but as he's quoting an E280 I presume he's after a new one.

On behalf of all of us with 04- E classes I would like to thank Sanny and all those who bought early E's and did MB's road testing for them. As a result (speaking on behalf of mine anyway), the reliablility of the current ones seems great! Not sure I'd buy the next model (in 2-3 years time) for a year or so, but the 211 is pretty good now.

 

[flagstaff]

AND what does EURO4 mean and what difference does it make?

euro4 is a recent (2004?) standard for exhaust emissions control. anything rated 'euro4' will presumably comply with this standard.

 

[PaulJS]

i know i've only had my 04-E class 6 weeks and nothing has gone wrong. I did get a chance to speak to the only other owner and he did 60k miles in just under 2 years, and he said the car was faultless. You don't cover that sort of mileage in that short time if the car is off the road all the time. I also spoke with the garage where he had the car serviced and they also confirmed that no warranty work has been done.

 

[Sanny]

Glad to have carried out the testing for JBerks and all others who bought E classes after 2003! I'm glad to had the experience as I managed to get a wonderful deal from Mercedes on the ML.

However, the message is clear - MB uses its customers to test for faults rather than testing for faults before releasing the car. This was confirmed (in not such succint form) by someone who I spoke to at DCUK whilst negotiating the terms of the buy-back. They say that this process has changed now but I would be extremely wary of buying the first release of any new model from Mercedes now.

We've been buying Mercedes for over 30 years and the last 5 years worth of cars have been pants as our supplyign dealer has confirmed. Our new S class is looking like a return to old style values so perhaps there is hope for the future.

 

[benzo]

Thanks for the tips guys, think I might just wait till after September when the late 53 ones are getting to about 3 years old. Also the facelift should be out by then so migt be a drop in prices for the current ones.

B

 

[OlafMaxwell]

My thoughts after 113k....MB is a prestige car but it most defintely is not a quality car. If you want quality go for Lexus. I reckon for a petrol car a blindfold test would see a Lexus win over a Merc for build quality, performance and sheer comfort/smoothness. Having been in and driven both in my opinion the Lexus is a great winner. They don't make estates or big diesels so they are limited in appeal to me, but if I were in a petrol market I would not give a Merc so much as a glance. You may get that supposeldy special feeling inside a Merc but the inevitable trip to the dealer will soon wipe that smugness off your face. The Merc is a lovely car to drive but there is walays the niggle as to when it it is going to go wrong again. It is not a question of if it goes wrong, but when.