guitarplayer

Hey everyone. My first Mercedes. I was on vacation 2 weeks ago in Florida and spotted a beautiful 2002 E320 with only 25,400 miles on it at a MB dealer. CPO and got it for $29,500. Did I do ok? I also bought the extended warranty which lasts till October of 2008 for another $2,400. They shipped it home for me for $600.

Now I have been reading different MB forums and hear of all the so called nightmares and it makes me a little nervous. I'm sure with my warranty I'll be ok. So, are there really this many issues? I have a 98 Accord with 124K miles on it and have done nothing but take it to jiffey lube!

A mechanic at the MB dealer here told me he thinks all the detailed inspections really do more harm than good by taking so many things apart then putting them back together. Could this be a part of the issues.

My car was a lease return from a single woman who said no one has ever sat in any of the seats! Honestly, it looks brand new. Paint is Desert Grey. Can you tell I love it? Thanks for listening.

vraa

Welcome to mbworld!

Any pictures of the new car?

phatstyles

Jiffy Lube? Change it yourself =) its a honda and you can get better oil quality.

Make sure when you take your car in they used the oil recommended for your car. And if its synthetic use mobil 1 0-w40. Or castrol syntec germa 0-w30 even better then mobil 1. Only available at selected autozones, You need to get lot numbers m03-m0501 its these that are green in color and that smells bubble gummy.

Other synthetic oils in the US is not up to euro standards.

Congrats on your new purchase.

Keep the honda it will go 300k miles ++ =)

RobertG

Did you do a car fax on it?
If those are the original miles than it sound like a cherry.Good luck with it, btw your e-class will please you more than disappoint you, and that is just sitting in it without driving it :p

sosh

You will really enjoy this car. Keep in mind though that it will cost lots more than the Honda to properly maintain. I would suggest the MB maint schedule and inspections by a dealer. In the long run, more expensive but it will keep the car more reliable and up to date as so far as TSB's, etc. are concerned. No one ever said that owning an MB was cheap.

sbarsap

It's wise that you got the extended warranty, I also bought a Starmarked 01 E430 from the Dealer with the 2 yr extended warranty.

So far I haven't used the ext. warranty as my factory warranty expired 05/2005.

I did have some minor issues fixed with the factory warranty and also got a free Service A done with brake and coolant replaced too. Make sure, if your car is still under factory warranty to make use of the free Maintanance/Service if you car is approaching the Service A/B or need any other service.

Good Luck.

OceanView

The extended warranty is a good investment for peace of mind.
If properly maintained, these cars will last. There will always be some unexpected maintenance but such are most cars. Not likely to be as trouble free as a Honda but the driving experience will be much better in the Merc.
By the way, my E320 has 169,000 miles on it and I still enjoy driving it.

So start modding yours and enjoy it.

guitarplayer

Thanks so much for the posts guys, made me feel better about my purchase. I have until October 12 when the factory warranty/maint. runs out and I will definately have the A inspection done. However, it is not due for 9,500 more miles. Come October I will still not be close to the required miles for the inspection. Will they still do it early for me? Also, was the $29,500 a decent price for it?

stemags

Welcome to the show,do post up some pics of the car when you can.Is it a special edition 02 or the regular?You might want to check under the ding moldings on each door for small rust bubbles,as well as under the door seals on each door,and around the license plate frame on the trunk lid.Seems to have been a particular problem on the last 210 chasis.I know personally.
Good luck.

guitarplayer

stemags, mine is the regular E320. I'll take some pics this weekend. As for my previous question, will the dealership do my A inspection early????

stemags

My experience with them is they are accomodating,and usually grant those small requests.I'v gotten the state inspection stickers from them gratis.As for the maintainence on an early basis,they adhere pretty close to the schedule,give or take a couple of hundred miles.If it was done upon purchase,you dont need it.The only thing I hated about giving them the car for an "A" or "B" was that they mess up my interior with dirty hands,scratched my wheels on the rotation,and even had a scratched fender once.So,give it a special" look see" when you drop it off,and ask the rep to do the same so there is no discrepency.
I think the price is fair but be sure and rest your mind by using edmunds.com,,,or nada.com and see what a fair price would have been.You have a great car there my friend,keep it that way and it wont disappoint.

RobertG

I do my own service but,does anybody know how to get rid if the message from the display?

JimE430

No wonder so many of you hate your dealers! The one time I dropped my car off they gave it back to me perfect, washed, clean. I was getting the battery replaced and the gal asked if anything else was wrong. I laughed when I explained that the cup holder was sticking and she quickly said "no problem, we will replace it" They did. How cool is that? All under warrenty. They gave me a loaner car (MB) and asked which model I wanted (SUV, 2 door, Sedan etc.) I have gone there after work, dirty, tattooed, in a tank top, and get treated just as well as if I was in a 3 peice. Just the way it should be. All dealers should treat customers this way and they will always get the new business.
You did good, you and your car will be fine.
There are many threads on how to clear the service message. I also thought I read it in my manual.

guitarplayer

That does it. I'm going to drive to California for all my service and tell them I am Jim's best friend and advisor.

Dema

What is your dealer? I used to be serviced in autobahn motors, but your dealer is simple amazing. I never got car washed and my loaners were Ford Focus.

JimE430

Smythe European.

Helmut430

Gosh, i didn't realize that I was getting such good service from my dealer either. I ALWAYS get a loaner and a washed and clean car back from having service done. Never any "dirty" spots . Guitarplayer, you may very well be able to get the dealer to perform the scheduled maintainance, I did even though I was WAY off from the milage. Guess it will depend on the dealer. And from what I'm seeing , you paid a really decent price for the car.

guitarplayer

Everyone, I just got kind of good news from my daughter. She decided and got accepted into Med. school and is going. We thought she was done. I can't believe but I need my money back from my new E320 to help with school. I just posted it in the classifieds.

I don't even have the title yet. My first payment arrived just today. Breaks my heart to have only just gotten this wonderful car. But family comes first. If you know anyone interested please have them email me. I'll have to wait a few more years for it.