czienkosky

Hi all, I'm new here...
My Jetta TDI was totalled a few weeks ago, so now I'm looking to upgrade to the CDI. After doing some research on here, I found one that appears to be in good shape, a one owner car that was dealership maintained. I'm looking for advice in terms of what I can expect to spend in maintenance per year, and whether I can successfully integrate my iphone (or at least listen to its music!).

This particular car doesn't have the speaker upgrade or the panoramic sunroof, which might be a blessing since I understand those tend to break. I test drove it last week, and it felt like a tank compared to my Jetta, but the ride was smooth, and it handled well. The independent inspection checked out fine.

I loved my Jetta, but I don't like the newer body shape. It was also a stick, so I'll definitely miss that, but I want to keep at least in the mid 30s for fuel economy.

Has anyone made this particular jump, and how did you like it? Regrets?
Thanks!!

stickygreen

Our '05 designo e320 cdi has been extremely reliable, with only a few pricey repairs along the way to 180k miles (a few injectors, keyless go shifter, and a set of glow plugs). Averaged about 33mpg for the first 100k or so, and mileage has jumped to 35mpg since. Plenty of power, and the last of the MB diesels that will leave a little puff of black smoke when you mash it.

Personally, I much prefer the buttery smooth (albeit stinkier) inline-6 of our CDI to the BLuetec v6 in the GL320, which is also a good engine (so far). But with the later 07-09 v6 models, I believe you don't have the supposedly-problematic SBC to deal with. We have never had an SBC issue in 180k for what it's worth

kurtismayfield

But '07 and later have the 7sp trans & the DPF...love the MY06 CDI

Don't sweat the pano it's just window dressing

czienkosky

Ha! I had a sunroof in my Jetta that I opened maybe half a dozen times during the 7 years I owned it. I liked having the option, but there are many more useful options on the cdi that I'll actually use. Oh, and I saw the original sticker on it who pays an additional $1200 for a particular color of paint?! This is new to me as well...

czienkosky

Thanks! I've read about some of the brake system malfunctions on the 05-06s, but it seems to be hit or miss. Also, I've come across some threads about a fuel leak issue with the e class, so I'm concerned about that as well. The 06 cdi vs 07 bluetec thread is very informative too. I also wonder why the cdi has depreciated so much. It seems uncharacteristic of mb. I'm really just looking for something safe that I can drive for the next 10 years assuming I maintain it properly. A 7 gear transmission seems like more moving parts that can potentially break. Am I wrong?

DubVBenz

I will never buy another MB with Pano again... fwiw. Mine is in perfect condition, nothing is loose, it's been serviced, etc, but it continues to rattle more and more with age, and the sunblinds also rattle with even air pressure movement. It's been the major factor in me wanting to dump this car.

Maybe other manufacturers have figured it out better, but MB sure hasn't.

czienkosky

I also discovered that this car may not have iPhone connectability. Does anyone have experience with this? I'm told no Bluetooth or auxiliary port is present.

kurtismayfield

What did you decide to do??

Cheers

czienkosky

Hi! Thanks for asking - the car I was looking at actually was sold before I could make a decision/get my act together. I think I may have found a better car, a 2005 with a few more options and the same color combo. The only trouble now is that it's quite a bit farther away than the other, and I've never bought a car out of state anyway. Makes me a bit nervous.

The specs on the newest considerations:
2005 CDI Pewter/Stone Interior
Full Leather
Pano roof
110,000 miles
Keyless Go
Dynamic seats - Heated/Cooled
Wood/Leather steering wheel

The vehicle history report from the dealership where it was maintained indicates that it has had an electrical fault concerning the battery, twice. It apparently had to be towed within the first few months of ownership. That doesn't inspire confidence. The current owner says he's never had any issues, mechanical, electrical, or otherwise. He just wants something sportier and also a stick. I don't want to get stuck with a car that's always in the shop. Otherwise, though, the maintenance records are complete; it appears to be a very well maintained car. Spent its whole life in Virginia and is now in New York. I also fear road salt.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

pricej01

Its hard to go wrong with the 05 or 06 CDI. My 06 has only 53,000 miles and believe me it will outlast any of the disposable V6 diesels that replaced it. The 06 was the last of the diesels made without the extremely stringent emission controls that began in 2007.

How can it be good for the environment when a Bluetec diesel engine injects fuel into the combustion chamber on the exhaust stroke to actively burn out the particulate filter. It reduces engine efficiency and contributes to global warming - way to go EPA.

06silvercdi

Road salt is worth considering. I thoroughly enjoy my fully loaded 2006 E320 cdi..thoroughly! 140k miles and loving it!

kurtismayfield

I purchased mine from out of state in 2011. I sold my wife's Explorer on e-bay to a women in Union KY in 2005. Banks deal with it everyday...not too involved. Just be sure to have those insurance ducks all lined up!

It should not be too much trouble to find a reputable shop wherever the car is and work out an independent inspection appointment with someone over the phone. After you are satisfied with that...get your *** down there and drive that puppy HOME!!

My brother-in-law, who is an attorney purchased a used BMW M3 from a non-BMW dealer 400 miles away and simply told the SR on the phone that he was satisfied with the photos and the description as it appeared online and that he was purchasing a oneway plane ticket to pick it up and drive it home! He let him know that he was an attorney for Wells Fargo, who was financing the purchase and expected no problems! Need I say he had no problems!! lol

You will have a blast driving it home and that will be one drive you will never forget!

Remember this, well cared for 05's and 06's are becoming more scare especially with dynamic seats. It's not the cooling feature but the bolster in turns and the massager that make a difference. If it also has fold-flat rear seats you have a rare one indeed!

As for road salt, if it was as well maintained as most of us maintain them, it saw a brushless car wash with a bottom blaster at least weekly during the winter. Plus, the vehicle has underside covers that provide sound proofing as well as protection from salt & slush spraying the under belly.

Let us know what happens.

Happy New Year & Go Irish, Roll the Tide!

Kurtis

czienkosky

Thanks for everyone's comments! I am pretty much ready to pull the trigger. Seller is asking retail nada, which is quite a bit more than the KBB on it for private seller. He is citing 13k in options. What do you guys think? I get the feeling he'll have no problem getting his asking price if he wants to wait, but it's about a grand more than I want to pay. I've been looking since October and have only seen this one as having all of the options with an asking price below 20k. The back tires need to be replaced, and any kind of iphone hookup will be an additional cost for me.
Who else wants to enable me?!

kurtismayfield

How long do you plan to keep it?

$1000 over 5 years is about $16 a month.


How long will it be till you find another 'find'? You might get lucky and find a better deal in 2 weeks...bbbbut it could be further away and cost you more than that thousand you refused to cough up earlier.

Life is too short for such anguish...put on your NIKES and just "DO IT"!

Cheers lol

kurtismayfield

So, is there a final chapter??

czienkosky

Grrr, yes, well kind of.
I can't seem to convince my husband that buying a 7 year old car is a good idea. He thinks that for the money, I could get a newer car, still under warranty, blah blah blah. He is also concerned with the potential for very expensive repairs. Trying to convince him that these cars are soundly built and will last another 10 years + if properly maintained has proven more difficult than anticipated. Plus he isn't keen on the extra expense of all of the bells and whistles on the particular car I've found. I guess I don't need the pano roof, but I will stick to my guns when it comes to all leather. And I like the look of the wood steering wheel. Heck, if I'm the one that has to drive it, I might as well really like it, no?
Fact of the matter is that none of the newer cars really blow my skirt up, so to speak. I could get a 2009 Jetta TDI and probably be happy, but honestly something as mundane as the three spoke steering wheels that all newer cars seem to have really drives me up the wall. I flat out hate them.
I've actually expanded my search to include the newer Bluetec models just to include the possibility that a newer car might be easier to pitch. But since I've been researching (for about 4 months now), it seems that all I've found on the newer v6 engines has been less than convincing. I don't want run flat tires. And I'm looking to stay under 20k.
I can get a 2005-2006 for about 16k, but why settle?
Will keep everyone posted on the outcome. I don't want to get divorced over a car!

kurtismayfield

Will be waiting to hear how it all turns out!

Now, when hubby goes looking for his vehicle do you have the same/equal veto power??!!

Cheers

Green E-300 DT

It would seem like you are suffering from buyers' remorse BEFORE you buy.

I would look further for another CDI because this car has the Plano Roof which you already have
learned can be trouble and very costly to repair. Also, I have read that they can rattle.
Also, perhaps the Keyless Go can and might give you trouble down the road.

There are many CDIs available although you might have to travel some distance depending on what you
find and where they are. You do want to avoid cars where salt is used on the roads during winter.

Do not be afraid of car with elevated readings on their odometers.
I bought ours in December of 2011 with only 107,750 miles on it, and it now has 136K miles showing.
It's a one owner local California car and looked brand new. Built in Nov. 2004 and bought in
Chicago in Feb. 2005 and immediately driven to the Golden State.
They were not sold here new, so there are not that many here in California.
Have had to replace the water pump, thermostat, one injector (it had the Black Death!) and one
glow plug. Did most all of the work myself except for the water pump labor which was $255.
With parts, less than $400, but would have had to pay over $900 at the dealer so I have read.
Found a good independant shop with factory trained mechanics, a must for sure!

Is the husband handy with a wrench? Parts can be had for less at several locations.

You are indeed correct in looking for a 2005-2006 E-320 CDI instead of the later V6s of 2007 and later.
Our engines (the straight six) are better and easier to work on than the V6s plus being slightly larger
in displacement and more powerful regardless of what the factory specs say.
They do get better fuel economy as proven by the facts and figures posted on Fuelly.

Also, the 2007s and later (all diesels) must have DPFs which you do not want!
What is a DPF? Known as a diesel particle filter, they are there to trap diesel particles
and they do restrict the exhaust and cut fuel economy and power to the rear wheels.
They are now beginning with the MY 2007 reguired by Federal Law and cannot be removed.

With the high torque output of the straight six (Mine dynoed at 386 ft/lb) seven gears as in the 2007s
and later are not really necessary, although the extra 10 percent overdrive would be nice,
but I have read that they do not shift correctly because MBZ did not program the compute correctly for the V6 diesels.

So look at all available CDIs without necessarily being afraid of those showing over 100K.
There are some really good buys out there.

BTW, you do not need real leather in these cars as I have heard
that the MBZ tex is better without all the problems of real leather.

BTW, I sold a 2010 Jetta JSW TDI with 43K miles on it to get this CDI,
and there is no comparison between a Jetta and an older CDI.

Also, I think the runflats did not come until the W-212s which are the 2010s and later.

Good luck. Questions?



DHG

czienkosky

Ha! I suffer from being married to someone who isn't the least bit materialistic and would be fine driving almost anything as long as it's reliable and goes from a to b without issues. I shouldn't say suffer - it balances me out quite nicely. So I have no upper hand there. He's an attorney without ego, believe it or not. I bought him a ridiculously gorgeous Burberry suit a few years ago, and he said, "Burberry, is that nice?" It has since become his favorite suit because it fits him better than the rest. Go figure!

czienkosky

This is fantastic, thank you! I've pulled another car into the fray, a 2005 with 80k for about the same price. It's in GA, so less of a road salt concern. Also, it's black, and being that I live in Oklahoma, that worries me a bit. I love the pewter color of the other option. No pano roof on this one, but otherwise, it's identical. Beige leather interior, wood trim steering wheel, dynamic heated and cooled (yea!) seats, etc.

Oh, the first one, the pewter one in NY has an extended warranty through May. The black one does not.

DH is not handy, with a wrench or any other tool so I'm looking at having a shop do all the mechanical stuff. Had the NY car inspected, and it checked out clean. GA owner claims all service records are current and that it's 6k miles from another scheduled maintenance. Only just saw the black one yesterday.

Just a couple of questions really - no one seems to have any experience with connecting an iphone. Seems the later models have an iphone kit. NY owner says there's no aux port but that a bluetooth kit can be purchased. Not sure about the GA car. I would be really bummed out if I was confined to my cd collection. Also, I know this car is going to be more expensive to maintain than my Jetta. But it should also be more fun to drive. Can I really expect to get another 10 years out of a 7 year old car or is this a pipe dream? What if I considered a gasoline model? That would certainly open up my options, but I've driven a diesel since 2005 and really loved it. DH is concerned that I could potentially have a $20k paperweight in a few years. Help me with some points that might alleviate those concerns

Cheers!

stickygreen

Cdi's with dynamic heated & cooled seats are VERY rare! It took me 3 months to find ours, and after seeing how few there are, I feel very fortunate that we found it. I too am not a fan of black exteriors, but if that car checks out after a pre purchase inspection, I'd say go for it! 80k is nothing for these cars, as long as they've been taken care of.

Green E-300 DT

All cars, especially a used one are potentially paperweights, but I consider
a good used CDI as being a better car to buy then most any new car.

Have you been searching on AUTOTRADER?

Simply ad your Zip code and how far you will travel and go from there.

I agree with Raj.

There are seventy-three (73) CDIs listed on AutoTrader of which five (5) are too much at over $20K

There are many CDIs listed that are other than BLACK, and I didn't want a Dark Colored Car either.
With any dark color, it seems like you must clean it daily or it does not look nice.
That is too much trouble for me, so I passed on the dark colors. And with your climate in the Summer?
I got lucky, and found our Brillant Silver (Code 744) which is very easy to keep clean and looks nice even when it's dirty.
I wanted either Silver or White so we would 'fit-in' here in our senior-citizen community.
IF you are not sure of BLACK, look further, as after all, you will be keeping this car for a long long time, and in your locality?

Unless you are set on those heated and cooled seats?
I find with our MBZ Tex seating material, that my back sweats but perhaps that's just me?

Many times, the used car dealers will state that their cars have leather when most seem to have the
MBZ TEX material with 'Leather Seating Inserts.'
Real leather was an extra-cost item, and will show up on a VIN search:
See:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/new-...ml#post5614413

If you are serious about a particular VIN, you can email this guy in China and
he can provide you with all the options that this particular VIN came with.

So happy hunting and good luck. HTHs.

Regards



DHG

houseofdiesel

The 2006 E320 CDI is the very last Mercedes I would say will last 20 years with pleasant ownership experiences. That inline 6 is a beautiful engine, only a couple of issues are showing up fuel injectors and glow plugs. Glow plugs are known to seize in the deep cylinder head bores, so re and re them every couple of years and clean the bores out (very simple basic work) and use correct anti seize for the metal types.
Yes the potential for expensive repairs is there, however much lower then the 7 spd V6 equipped diesels and not much more then a Jetta tdi (modern one as they are very complicated now). The driving experience is much better but snow performance is weak due to the monster torque and rear wheel drive/traction control. There are complicated brake system parts (you cannot just bleed the brakes, there are procedures!) but I have not experienced issues with them, I have seen a few with over 200k miles around here and happy owners that still command a good price when selling ($13-18k for very used ones). You will be able to drive the car for very long periods of time without repairs like wheel bearings and suspension parts, they last much longer then VW parts. Parts are way more money though for lower control arms with integrated balljoints though, but they last if you stick with high quality parts. You can get fuel economy in the 40s out of them if you try, it is simply amazing. A much faster car then VW ever engineered too.
I would seek out HID headlights as a must have option, the rest is just eye candy.
So far rust is not really an issue on this body style (living in a serious salt belt that I do), they seem to have fixed that up vs the previous generation. It is always a bonus to get a southern car though no cold starts nor salt, just beware of flood damage from recent events!

kurtismayfield

I agree with all that DHG offers here but, when my obsidian black is clean it is SHARP! I get lots of comments and that alone makes it worth the extra care it takes. I love to see the blue sky and white clouds reflecting off the hood! Here's the example that actually swayed me from buying white and going to the dark side! It's in the Detail Forum at benzworld.org

Green E-300 DT

Indeed, there is nothing like a well cared for dark paint job when the vehicle is clean and polished.
Having owned BLACK and dark colored cars since the early fifties, I agree.

My fifty torpedo Olds 88 Tudor was always clean because there was a car wash in Lomita CA that
had a deal where you paid $5 a month and get it washed anytime you wanted all month long.

These days, I pay $9 for the 'early bird special' plus I tip the detailer $2, or $11 each time.
There is a place that has a $40 monthy price, but it is not local and they do a poor job.
Used them when I had the Black Azera, and even when they were finished, it never looked good
because their detailing left swirl marks and the drying cloths were not rinsed properly.

Code 744, Brilliant Silver looks nice all the time, even when it is not perfectly clean.
Once I get some dustless brake pads, I won't have to have it cleaned nearly
as often as it needs now. I hate that MBZ black (graphite?) brake dust!

Does anyone know who makes some appropiate dustless brake pads?

Thank you

DHG