After owning an R Class would you ever consider buying another?

[mhass350]

Originally Posted by gforaker It was interesting for me to find out that the Mercedes overall length was just about identical to my previous 2002 Chrysler T&C. The van was much taller and seats were more upright giving more storage. My guess is that within a year after the arrival of your child, your wife might become a bit more practical. 3 children under 10 years old will put her into survival mode. Take a look at the Town & Country Limited version. It is far more luxurious than the vans you may have seen. Similar for the top line of Honda. I'm not a fan of Toyota. Originally Posted by Cal To answer your other question, YES, two car seats and a booster will fit in the middle seat. I'm in the same situation as you and tested this many times before deciding on the R. Of course, this also depends on what car seats and booster(s) you select, but as long as they are not the real bulky ones, they should fit, if in a pinch. Luggage room behind the 2nd row should be ample, but still not minivan level. One of the main advantages of the minivan is that the spare tire is not in the back, so the spare tire of the R takes up a lot of valuable space (as does the dual exhaust system). Imagine removing the cover in the back, taking out the spare, and you'll have more room closer to minivan levels. Nevertheless, the minivan is the way to go though for all out practicality in your current situation, but the R might just work for you too. I agree with gforaker and would also check out the T&C. Best bang for the buck, 100K powertrain warranty, etc. Originally Posted by W203Ramos I have 3 1/2 year old twins and a 10 mo. old. I did consider the town and country but I made it work instead....you can do the all across the middle row if you like but i dont think it would be safe for whoever is in the center. In my case, I have 2 britax seats in the 3rd row for the twins and then i have the baby seat just behind me. And for the stroller the sit and stand or the dual mclaren fits fine even with the seats up. then you would still have 2 empty seats in the middle row. and for trips I bought the mb rack and a cargo box from craigs list. IMHO i think it looks good on the R. here's a couple of pics w/ and w/o cargo box Originally Posted by OldMBGuy mhassy350, We were fine in the 6 passenger R-class, even with 4 young ones, but sold it anyway because it was too unreliable to safely haul the children. You don't have to remove the armrests, kids can slide by easily, though it will be a challenge getting in when your eldest has 2 rear facing convertibles to get by. The secret to having plenty of cargo space is to ditch the stroller. They're a major PITA, waste tons of time and space, and are bad for developing children anyway. Get a sling or backpack (or both) and carry the kids instead; better for them and more convenient for you. This will be a little difficult for about 3-6 months with a both a two year old and an infant, but all in all it'll be less difficult than the hassle of lugging a stroller around. Great points everyone. I appreciate the insight and the feedback. gforaker -- Will do on the T&C. That would be choice as well. Not a fan of exterior styling as much as the Honda but like the interior much more. BTW, I love that Honda commercial with the dad who's getting back into his Honda and it turns into a Panther and the Nav says "Redemption Road"... gee, who is that geared to? W203Ramos-- Its nice to know that three seats will fit across (depending on brand/type) but you are right, I wouldn't feel too safe with that config. We have certainly considered the roof top carrier, if we keep the R. And I agree, it doesn't look too bad. OldMBGuy -- I dont know how we would get by without the stroller! With the wife pregnant she uses it as a leaning post half the time while we are out during the winters it becomes our coat rack and holds my wife's gigantic purse and other stuff. At my son's indoor soccer games and tee-ball it becomes our our own private locker. We tried this slings with my 1-yr old when she was born and it just didn't work for us. I do like the baby carries across the chest but they limit your abilities to do things. Talked with the wife and when I told her I was on the forum she said, "oh no, what are you buying now" ...haha. I then told her about this thread and how many folks were encouraging the minivan option as a bang for the buck solution. She nearly cried. So, we agreed to put the discussion on hold until the Memorial Day New Car Dealer Sale/Show held here in town. This is where all 30+ car dealers in town bring this inventories to one outdoor shopping center parking lot and offer great deals -- they also do it on Labor Day to help clear outgoing MYs. So, we agreed to go, walk around and check out ALL of the cars to get a feel for what we are each looking for. Then, we will wait until the Labor Day Sale/Show to get something else, should we decide to go that route. You know what would be nice.... if MB would up the size on the GL by like 20% overall. Wouldn't make too much difference in the drivability but it would make a world of difference on passenger volume and cargo volume. Instead of 85cu-ft of cargo you would get over 100, thats inline with the GM vehicles, the Infiniti QX, Sequoia, etc.

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[houseofdiesel]

If you've already have an R class you cannot accept a minivan, they are just plain unsafe in driving dynamics/safety-you cannot avoid anything at any rate of speed. They are a comprimise. The marketing dept got everyone sold on them...
For those with lots of kids, install one child seat in the third row and one in the second row, this leaves access room on one side to the third row. We run ours that way most of the time and have room for an adult in the third row with our youngest and a guest in the second row and everybody can get in and out. I cannot live with child seats in both second row seats. We also fold the vacant third row seat at times for luggage/groceries when needed. A booster seat is easy to install on the fly too in the second row.

[Ludicrous Speed]

Originally Posted by mhass350

Our R has captains chairs and we have a 6-yr old, 1-yr old and we are expecting our 3rd child in early August. As it stands our 6-yr old will climb through the middle (i'll remove the armrests to allow for more room) to get to the back to sit BUT there is not enough room behind or next to that third row seat for the double stroller we just bought. If you factor in any type of sports gear for my son, groceries or even our pack-n-play we will be out of space. I do not want to get a roof container for everyday use - vacation is one thing. Also, with this setup our son will have to crawl underneath the newborns car seat or squeeze by the 1-yr olds which will be forward facing at that time and I am sure it would get old, and it would make for a difficult time when the wife tries to drop him off at school. She'd have to get out to open the door which is not ideal.

So, do we...

- Switch to an R with 7 passenger seating. Concerns: will two car seats and a booster will go across the middle row? What about cargo volume for vacations and such behind those seats? Will it be enough through the years? Our son will still have to pass by the seats.

We have a soon to be 9 yr old who climbs into the back before buckling in our soon to be 4 yr old. The 4 month old then goes into one of these things:

http://www.chiccousa.com/gear/car-se...-rattania.aspx

No problems, although we don't do the double stroller deal. We occasionally fold down one of the 3rd row seats to throw in the stroller that accepts that baby seat, and we still have space for a grocery run. If we bought another R Class, it would probably be the diesel to offset the ****-poor MPG I get with my happy foot.

[xxGenericSNxx]

What type of MPG do you see in your 63? Do you have an interest in selling it?

[Ludicrous Speed]

Originally Posted by xxGenericSNxx

What type of MPG do you see in your 63? Do you have an interest in selling it?

My fuel economy may not be indicative of someone else - I have to sit through the DC beltway rush hour. The trip computer thinks my avg speed is 11-13mph during the week with fuel economy anywhere from 9-13mpg. On the weekends, I can bring the average speed up to around 40ish and the fuel economy gets better. I do keep track of my miles and do the math after a fill-up - best I have seen was around 17mpg.

And no...no interest in selling. Nothing else comes close.

[jlbunting]

Interesting thread. We have an R350 and 2 kids right now. We are having a 3rd kid in Aug. We have 2 boys, ages 2 almost 3 and 1 1/2. both boys sit in the very back 3rd row seats. They love sitting back there. True we can't fold the seats down but so far it's not an issue. We use an umbrella stroller if we need one. Shopping carts work most of the time. We also have a double stroller. When we do take it we fold the middle sits flat and stick it there. Once the 3rd kid arrives, we will put her behind the passenger. Then there will be one seat open behind the driver. We will need to get a cargo carrier for vacations and road trips. I think the R works with 3 kids in car seats but I also think that is the limit base on the seating. When we have 4 kids we will get a new car. Possibly in another 3 years we will need to consider the GL.

[Ludicrous Speed]

The GL seems to have less space in the 3rd row than the R - we debated picking up the GL350, but decided to snag the R63 once the rear seat space was factored in. Then again, my mind may have been clouded by the purty badges.

[xxGenericSNxx]

Originally Posted by Ludicrous Speed

My fuel economy may not be indicative of someone else - I have to sit through the DC beltway rush hour. The trip computer thinks my avg speed is 11-13mph during the week with fuel economy anywhere from 9-13mpg. On the weekends, I can bring the average speed up to around 40ish and the fuel economy gets better. I do keep track of my miles and do the math after a fill-up - best I have seen was around 17mpg.

And no...no interest in selling. Nothing else comes close.

Thank you. To be honest, looks to be the exact same as my ML430 yet you've got so much more power.


In regards to the GL vs. R, the third row really seems similar in both of them. However, the next generation GL that comes out at the end of this year may end up having more room than the old one. With no plans for a next generation R (at least not for the US market) your choices are limited if you're looking at MB. At least they have plans for a GL63 this time!

[bys123]

We bought the Saks Fifth Avenue (launch) edition of R500 when it was offered initially in 2005. We have since put 95,000+ miles on the car. It did have its share of maintenance and repairs done with and without warranty, but not any different from other mercedes we have owned. Most notably the replacement of the lower ball joints which took more than a month for the parts to be ordered (from Germany, I was told). The failure of the airmatic pump due to a leaky airmatic strut. Otherwise, there were mostly routine maintenance issues. However one has to be extremely cautious with the MB dealers who service the cars. When we had the airmatic pump and strut replaced, the dealership failed to reinstall the front axel properly which lead to the front axel breaking down while being driven and led to the car being in the shop for another week. Fortunately, it happened in the parking lot and not on the highway, that would have been a disaster!! Other than the dealer competence in repair, one also have to question the dealer's diagnosis for many of the repairs. The dealer told us that power steering is failing and we have to replace the entire pump assembly and all the connecting parts. I brought it to an indy repair shop, all it needed was a rubber gasket replacement.
In terms of comfort (interior room and ride quality), performance, ergonomics, and style, there just is not another car that have possesses the same combination of qualities. In particular, the 3rd row space in other 3 row SUVs (Q7, GL etc) are not the same. The ride of these cars are a lot more "truck-like" (we do have the fully adjustable airmatic, which I believe significantly improves the ride).
We just have a new addition to the family and now we need the 7th seat (which was not available in '06). We looked at many different car options, but there are simply no other car that has the same combination of attributes. I would buy the same car again, but leather or alcantara is not even an option (which I think is outrageous for MB). So, we are looking into adding the 7th seat to our R500. If anyone wants to sell their middle seat (in Black) or know where to buy one, please let me know. Thanks.

[2006_MB_R500]

I bought my 06 R500 a year ago. Had 51,000 kms on the clock when I bought it, and it just clicked to 70,000. Have had no problems whatsoever (until now, one corner is sagging), but it appears a lot of problems have to do with the Airmatic suspension and power lift gate, and mine doesn't have either of those features. It's very hard on gas, but an absolute pleasure to drive. I would definitely buy another one, probably the diesel. I test drove a Lexus X350 and Infiniti FX35 prior to driving the R. There was no comparison, the R beat them hands down in my opinion, especially when it came to build quality, ride and handling (especially the ride).

[Cal]

Originally Posted by xxGenericSNxx

In regards to the GL vs. R, the third row really seems similar in both of them. However, the next generation GL that comes out at the end of this year may end up having more room than the old one. With no plans for a next generation R (at least not for the US market) your choices are limited if you're looking at MB. At least they have plans for a GL63 this time!

Problem is that the middle row on the GL is fixed, so 3rd row legroom cannot be improved if one needs to. Also, you can only access the 3rd row via the passenger side. You also have to push in the headrest in order for it to fold completely. The R, on the other hand, has seats on both sides that move and/or fold forward to get into the 3rd row, can move forward/backward to adjust legroom on both 2nd/3rd rows. In addition, the 2nd row middle seat can fold to the ground, and kids and/or adults can get to the 3rd row through there as well.

Let's see what the new GL improves on. I'm sure they will at least make the 2nd row adjustable in terms of legroom.

[xxGenericSNxx]

Originally Posted by bys123

We bought the Saks Fifth Avenue (launch) edition of R500 when it was offered initially in 2005. We have since put 95,000+ miles on the car. It did have its share of maintenance and repairs done with and without warranty, but not any different from other mercedes we have owned. Most notably the replacement of the lower ball joints which took more than a month for the parts to be ordered (from Germany, I was told). The failure of the airmatic pump due to a leaky airmatic strut. Otherwise, there were mostly routine maintenance issues. However one has to be extremely cautious with the MB dealers who service the cars. When we had the airmatic pump and strut replaced, the dealership failed to reinstall the front axel properly which lead to the front axel breaking down while being driven and led to the car being in the shop for another week. Fortunately, it happened in the parking lot and not on the highway, that would have been a disaster!! Other than the dealer competence in repair, one also have to question the dealer's diagnosis for many of the repairs. The dealer told us that power steering is failing and we have to replace the entire pump assembly and all the connecting parts. I brought it to an indy repair shop, all it needed was a rubber gasket replacement.
In terms of comfort (interior room and ride quality), performance, ergonomics, and style, there just is not another car that have possesses the same combination of qualities. In particular, the 3rd row space in other 3 row SUVs (Q7, GL etc) are not the same. The ride of these cars are a lot more "truck-like" (we do have the fully adjustable airmatic, which I believe significantly improves the ride).
We just have a new addition to the family and now we need the 7th seat (which was not available in '06). We looked at many different car options, but there are simply no other car that has the same combination of attributes. I would buy the same car again, but leather or alcantara is not even an option (which I think is outrageous for MB). So, we are looking into adding the 7th seat to our R500. If anyone wants to sell their middle seat (in Black) or know where to buy one, please let me know. Thanks.

Take a look at this: Successful Center Seat Retrofit

That's right, I forgot about the method that one gets into the third row seats in comparison to the GL. The R is so much easier to get into.

[bys123]

Originally Posted by xxGenericSNxx

Take a look at this: Successful Center Seat Retrofit

That's right, I forgot about the method that one gets into the third row seats in comparison to the GL. The R is so much easier to get into.

Thanks. I did look at that link. Just have not been able to find a center seat yet. Any advise where to find one?

[xxGenericSNxx]

The dealer?