Frugal1

Hi All.

This is my second post here and unfortunately it is a double post. Sorry about that but I must have put this question in the wrong place before.

I did a search but did not find all of the answers to the following questions:

I'm most likely going to buy a 2005 E320CDI. My dealer let me try one for an overnight test drive and there were a couple of things that bothered me (however, overall, I LOVED the car a LOT!). The things that bothered me were the "missing options." The car is too expensive for me with the nav, phone and sat radio from the factory but as I drove this car, a car that did NOT have those options, I had to look at the controls for them the whole time.

Understanding mass production I can see why it's better for MB to build them this way. . . .but that "tease" will always be there!

So my question is if any of those THREE options can be "activated" after the purchase by the owner or an aftermarket shop. The car already has a GPS unit in it (for the Telaid, no doubt) and I'm sure the screen that's in the stock car is the same one as the nav. . . is there anyway for a tinkerer to get the nav up without having it from new as a factory installed option?

Same question for the phone . . . there are steering wheel controls . . there are dashboard controls. . . what would I need, in a car that came without ANY of the phone options, to get my V710 to work in there, with or without external antenna?

Same question for the sat radio.


Thanks,

The Frugal 1

DarkStar

the short answer is yes, all of these items can be added. The parts are not cheap tho'

CE750

Deja Vus ... dude do some post searches by me and learn a lot.

Short answer.. the owners manual will be FILLED with options you don't have on that car if you buy what most dealers have in the show room. They're (for all intents and purposes) stripped. Down to the Vinyl rear seats!

Buy your stripy and contact a forum member Steve@MBenzNL.com and he can add most of that crap back in.. but it's not as cheap as if you patiently wait, and order the CDI with it.

Yeah boy..... I've (and some others) been railing about this for a bit with MBUSA stripping these cars for us poor Americans..

Mass production 101 tells you that most of the options should be standard, as this would save them production costs, training, and add to their reliability.. but no.. lets trip over a dime to save a nickel!

Welcome however.. once you go past the short falls I mentioned, the CDI is a great car from a mechanical standpoint and as a Diesel its second to none. Order a fully loaded one and enjoy the best car in the world (IMHO).

steph280

Nav is not as simple as flip on a secret switch to activate it. You will need to install a map DVD drive in the trunk along with some fiber and antenna cable. I posted a detailed step-by-step here a while back which will give you an idea of what's involved. Same goes to phone and sat radio. They all require "modules" of some sort.

But yeah agree with all above, it will not be cheap. In most cases it will cost more than if you purchase it with the car originally.

Barry45RPM

I can tell you from my own personal experience... looking at all the knobs that don't do anything, for options you wished you had gotten when you got the car will eat you up. It is much more expensive to add the items later, because you will be ripping the car apart & putting it back together. (The car will be perfect arter all is said and done) Get exactly what you want. A stripped Benz will eat you up inside and make you wonder if you might have been better off with a lesser brand, with all the luxury car bells & whistles.

In 2000, I bought a new Caddy Deville with as little optional equipment I thought I could live without, while still feeling I had my "Luxury car". 18 months later I was at the dealer trading it in for a 2002 in the same exact color with all the bells & whistles I had originally wanted. I took a beating on the trade in, but thought I'd be happy with my "Luxury Car".

20 Months later I was in PA, picking up a custom ordered E 500 with EVERY damn thing I had denied myself of in an effort to save money, taking another loss on my 2nd trade in Caddy. Needless to say, my fully satisfying Benz has been a real pride & joy. I feel good every time I get into it.

You'd think I learned my lesson, wouldn't you. When I ordered the damn Benz, I thought the car was "way expensive", and I would really be "over the top" by ordering the cargo net for the floor for $ 40.00 more (LIST), SO I DIDN'T GET IT!!! After the car came in 3 months later I drove it around saying to myself "I spent all this money on THE car that would be everything I'd ever wanted, after making 2 BIG car mistakes and I drew the line at a $ 40.00 trunk net, and didn't get it?" Needless to say, I ended up going thru the parts department to buy the damn net for the full $ 40.00 PLUS sales tax, actually paying more for the damn thing than if I had ordered it at cost plus, when I ordered the car.

Moral? If you're willing to spend all that money on your "Dream Car" don't cheap out on what you KNOW you really want. You will not be happy. Spend the extra bucks. Spread out over the life of the loan, its not that much more per month.

CE750

Good advise Barry... I spent about $8000 AFTER I paid $55K for my CDI to get it like I wanted it.. (less full leather).. but if I had the wisdom of hind sight, I would have ordered one from the factory with EVERYTHING. I wasn't so much limited by a budget, as I was limited by time, and education.

Order the car, or use a broker to find the car you want with all options.

BTW... as an aside, I drove by the Penske dealer today near my MB dealer and saw a 600 mile CDI on his lot, Bone stripped, except sunroof. not even the metallic paint.. they were asking $59K for it.. Said the would get at least $57K for it... I asked how do they figure? he said, it's just a matter of time before some guy comes along and buys it with out doing any homework as the dealer across the street is out of the 1/2 the time anyway! amazing!

Frugal1

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely consider all of what everyone has said.

It's been unanimous in that I should order what I want initially. I was trying to save a big buck with the existing 2005's because I can get one that stickers in the mid-fifties for high fortys because of the $3000 dealer cash and the willingness of my local dealer to discount.

I've found that dealers near California charge a premium on used ones because after a certain mileage they can sell the Diesel's there.

BTW, I was attracted to this car more for the Diesel than the fact that it is a Mercedes. There are very few Diesel options here in the US.

Missing options and blank cover plates ALWAYS BOTHERED ME but MB is so damned greedy it really pisses me off.

My second choice is another Acura and I'm still tetering on which side of the fence to fall on.

Thanks again for the advice and tips.

And one last thing . . . I like Diesel not for the economy but the technology. I also like quality. That is why I stopped myself THREE TIMES from buying a 2005 Diesel Passat.

The MB is awesome even with these petty drawbacks.



Frugal1.

CE750

Hey guys.. I promise this isn't me with a different log in ID. Seriously.

Barry45RPM

The new VWs ARE nice. The problem with them is VWs well earned reputation for small, dirty dealerships, with cramped, crappy service departments, and no parts on hand. It seems all I hear is VW owners complaining that each visit is a 2 trip minimum adventure. Once to diagnose, sencond trip to return for the ordered parts to be installed. But the cars seem to be good looking & well made.

CE750

Well, JUST YESTERDAY, I took my friend down with his (was mine) 2003 Passat for a 20K sevice..

He had made an appointment for 9:45.

We got there, and they said.. "We don't have you on here"
We said "it must be a mistake, can you fit us in then?
They said "I guess, but we can't promise if it will be done before 5, and we have no loaner cars for service, and no courtesy shuttle past 3 miles radius, do you still want to leave it"

My jaw dropped! I though MB had a lot to learn about service!

needless to say, my friend, a Scotsman and former SAS member, proceeded to explain to her "in no uncertain terms" what they WILL do.

it was done and washed in two hours!