I apologize in advance for the lengthy initial post, but some background. Ok, this is not as big a MB dive as some options but I somewhat impulsively bought an 2016 E400 Cabrio. I have had a drop top weekend car of some fashion for the better part of the last 20 years but something usually a bit older and with mileage. The last was a 2005 Saab 9.3 120k on the clock that I traded on a 2015 dump trailer, a pretty good trade as far as I was concerned. Ultimately these were all sub 10k cars and I did quite well as far as maintenance issues, no major costs – actually only usually oil changes and wear and tear items. I am generally pretty OCD about spending and mechanical enough to make a decent initial evaluation. Fasts forward to 2020, I am 53 and while I think I have avoided any major mid-life crisis, the state of affairs of the world have reacquainted me with the concept we really don’t control our destinies and I guess I became determined, perhaps obsessed with finding something really nice that I could jump in and drive pretty much any distance at any time without much worry. Also, something I hope I can take care of and be reliable for at least the next decade. With that being said, I was taking a really long and hard look at a 2016-2017 Jag F-Type. I have talked myself out of them (Jags in general) many times over the past few decades because of what may be perceived reliability issues or actual, who knows, having never owned one. I went and test drove a 2016 F-Type S and it was, well sublime. It really caught me off guard on how nice it felt and drove. The dealership, non-Jaguar, seemingly had no interest in working with me… I kept hearing do you realize the MSRP on this new was 95k? I basically was ok with their asking price but the tires on it appeared like they wouldn’t pass inspection and I brought this up and all I got was, ‘It is what it is’ at their listing price; which was not bad, but nothing fantastic. So went the next several dealers I would attempt deal with. They seemed to think they had been given the Holy Grail on trade and all would come running. I did this dance for about a year and well, the MB E Class was always out there as my safety pick. After spending that much time scrutinizing ads and photos I could tell you what model F-Type I was looking at by subtle option differences. When I turned to the MB, honestly I knew a little but not a lot. They definitely were more plentiful in availability and at least I had more experience around them and friends that owned them, mostly successfully. Although, it seems like later model MB, 2010 and up seem to run into their own reliability issues as of late. Blamed often on doo-dads they felt compelled to add to keep up with the Joneses, it seems. So along came this 2016 E400 Cabrio, w/29k on the clock; not particularly optioned out but a pleasing color combo (according to my wife) white exterior and tan/beige interior and seemingly meticulously dealer maintained. It was about 30% less than the Jags I was looking at, I liked its backstory and ownership chain so I jumped, perhaps without looking. So this is a long way to introduce how I got here and I have 2 initial questions. Primarily, is there anything I should be looking out for** and or precautionary notes. Secondly, so 2 batteries they have. Ironically with the Jags I learned through those forums, that they seemed to have such a latent battery draw that if you did not drive them at least 2 times/week and did not have them on a tender, you were asking for issues. From starting or code lights at the very least. Would anyone say these are similar? Thanks in advance all that managed to make it through this diatribe and any nuggets of wisdom you may have. Steve



** Initially was looking at E350’s and through the process learned they had some front head covers that were susceptible to seepage. Haven’t seen anything similar about these, but is it a concern?

 

I had a 14 F type s vert with the 8 cylinder, I traded it in for the e550 cab because of the back seat. I have owned Jags for awhile with the xk8 and xkr convertibles. When I went to the f type it limited what you can pack if you went to the beach or away for the weekend. I have had the 550 for a few years now with nothing more than regular maintenance.