askmax108

First off, apologies for the wall of text. I'm new here, and I figured you might have more in-depth advice and experience than I would get elsewhere. I'm currently carless and looking at my potential next car. I've never owned a Benz before, but the ultra-high MPG numbers on the diesels, coupled with plenty of torque, make the last 2 generations of E class diesel very appealing to me. However, I would need a car that I can trust not to break down when I need it, and that I can prevent expensive repairs by spending a reasonable amount on preventive maintenance. I don't know very much about cars, but I would like to learn to work on whatever car I get so I can avoid the most expensive labor charges. With that in mind, I have a few questions:

1. Which generation is easier to work on yourself, if at all possible: I6 E320, V6 E320, or V6 E350?
2. Are there any specific problems to watch out for on a used model? I know a similar car in this segment, the BMW 335d, is known for having carbon build up issues.
3. How much should my annual repairs/maintenance budget be on any of these cars? How much cash should I have in reserves before I start looking at a Benz?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can give me!

DubVBenz

Easiest to work on: I6, but also the oldest car
We haven't had any of the carbon buildup issues, but some higher mileage cars have needed their DPFs replaced or cleaned. There's also an issue with some oil leaking into the turbo on the V6
Annual maintenance? It's a used German car, so it'll be more than an accord but not as bad as many people on message boards claim. If you get an I6 W211, be sure to avoid the ABC suspension as it's expensive to repair. It was not offered on an US-Spec OM642 V6 Diesel E-Class.

askmax108

Thanks for the advice. I'm currently looking at a 2008 W211 E320 Bluetec with the V6, since the emissions are supposed to be a lot cleaner than the previous CDI model. The dealership is asking $20K with about 50K miles, so it's above KBB but not too outrageous. If they still have it when I have the budget to afford it, I think I'll go for it. Otherwise, there's a 2005 CDI model for half as much, but with about 130K on the odo.

marc hanna

Cars are always a little more expensive at the dealer, but you expect a higher quality product. Get a firm commitment about what types of repairs they will cover within a specific time period and mileage. You can itemize this in the sale agreement.

Maintenance won't break the bank so long as you don't take it to the dealer. But if you do take it to the dealer, expect to pay $500 - $1000 every time.

marc hanna

BTW, the fact that the diesel forums seem to have very little chatter suggests to me that they generally run fairly problem free.

DubVBenz

If you're going with a 211, look for 2009's. They have a slightly updated COMAND system (infotainment/nav/etc). It won't be modern, but it'll be a hell of a lot better than the earlier 211s like mine.

marc hanna

Or you could go a little older and with the money you save, buy a really awesome aftermarket unit.

DubVBenz

Very difficult to integrate into the MOST systems found in any COMAND equipped car. If you could find one with APS-20 or APS-50, it'd be much easier, but every car post 2007 in the US got the MOST COMAND system standard and it was pretty rare to find an 05-06 with an APS system either. The diesel was not sold in the US prior to that.

To replace the MOST system, you have to basically rewire the entire car and replace the amplifiers located under the rear seat. In addition, you will likely lose any steering wheel and instrument cluster integration.

So yes, if you want to get a 2007 and spend 5-8K on rebuilding the car's communication systems, sure go ahead.

meazz1

Mine is a 2013 C250.
Besides tires and service A & B, only had to change the front mounts. My local indy MB shop charged me $500.00.
I'm pretty happy with it so far after 60k diven.

JG26_Irish

I am on my 5th benz which should tell you something. I like them. The 2006 E320 BlueTec V6 Diesel is my daily driver. I currently have 121k on it an love the car. It is torquey and relatively fast and still gets mileage in the low to mid 30 mpg range (most of my driving is 80mph interstate) depending on the terrain. I have gotten as high as 35mpg on interstate and upwards of 37-38 on slower level highway runs with little to no stop n go. They excel on that kind of driving and running fast interstate all the time tends to keep the DPF cleaner. The mileage drops quickly if you see lots of stop and go or are a lead-foot and like to accelerate hard and fast. Stop and go leads to more deposits and faster clogging of the DPF if your car has one. I think the I6 is more efficient (38mpg) and easier to work on if you like the DIY route. I would have loved to have found a nice I6 W211 and in fact I did find one with 30k on it but the owner wanted KBB + $9k for it and I thought that a bit much. Plus the SBC braking system is in all of the E-Klasse cars from 2002 thru 2005. The more I learned about it, the more it scared me away. The 10y extended warranty from MB on that flawed design has expired and the $2k plus repair bills sounded horrific. I drove a 2005 I6 CDI and really liked it but it also had a brake system code showing. The dealer was not willing to fix that first and I was not feeling like gambling on it. It was a nice car and frankly had as much power as my V6. Had it been in a little better shape? It is a trade off: Lower price CDI with better engine, no DPF to clean, better fuel mileage, longer life but with a failure prone braking system? or a newer more pricey BlueTec V6 which is lighter and slightly more powerful but which gets less fuel mileage and likely is not going to last as long as the older I6 engine or go for the newer still I4 E250. Much better fuel mileage and newer styling but with a complex more highly stressed smaller engine that will likely not last forever either, and has the urea injection and the DPF to deal with. If you run out of the urea fluid those cars will not even start.

All I would add is that I am highly satisfied with my E320 BlueTec. I have a very competent and reasonably priced MB Dealer nearby and one really good independent shop to provide maintenance. My 14 yr experience with MB has been 99% positive and for me the Benz (mostly AMG's) were trouble free and very economical to operate, aged well and looked and ran like new cars for many years. They rarely break and most systems were rebuildable. It does seem to me that the older cars were better designed, better built and possessed fewer serious flaws. Not flawless but just overall better. But their more simple systems and fewer emissions driven add-ons helped. Things like water cooled transmission coolers that leak coolant into the transmission or SBC braking that have failure modes that could lead to No Brakes have become more frequent. This distresses me because I like MB and would like to keep at least one in my driveway if I can. I drive my cars hard and aways figured that any car designed to run on the German Autobahn would have better brakes, better cooling and in general hold up better to my abuse which is nothing compared to running on the Autobahn. Look at the disc brakes on most other cars. Look at the engine oil capacity. The radiators, etc. Most of the MB's are good cars. But some have big flaws. I would love to own a 2003-2006 SL500 or SL55 but after learning about SBC, I want nothing to do with any car possessing such a flawed system. I wish we did not need to ferret out that info ourselves too. I wish MB would design a permanent repair or retrofit for those older cars but they seem intent of letting their owners fend for themselves. Let the buyer beware.

Irish

kajtek1

When there is more I6 v/s V6 diesels to compare, I am more and more impressed with my I4.
Haven't pushed it to governor kick yet, but I see engine making 150 mph easy.
Last week we took 560 miles trip to CA and then back. I was keeping CC at 85 mph, but did not mind to go faster if I had "radar volunteer" in front of me.
For some distance I was following Charger. The guy was pushing the pedal to the metal on passing and I could hear each transmission downshift, sometimes double downshifting when Charger was struggling to accelerate.
My 4-banger, while keeping some distance was easy following without dropping from 7th gear
Still making 40 mpg.