Looking at '03 E500 or E320. Thought's?
 

So I'm about to trade in my 99 E320 for either an '03 E500 or a E320. Any known issues with these two models of that year? Any help would be great. thanks!

Run...
 

My advice... run! The first year ('03) W211s are nightmares: electrical and software issues, massive number of TSB's

'03 was also a carryover year for the W210 wagon... I bought a loaded W210 wagon (with the end-of-run 'premium' package, and a few months of factory warranty left) for a song. Perhaps you could find a late '02 W210 sedan?

John,

I have a 2003 W211 - E320 that I bought new in '03 in addition to my W210 wagon. There have been some electrical issues reported with the the '03s in general but I haven't had any of those issues.

Jim

what sort of issues have you guys heard of. I kind of want a late model '02 but just fell in love with the new body style. If it's just software issues shouldn't all that be corrected by warranty anyway?

Yes, just make sure that the car is a CPO so that it carries the extended warranty. I almost went in that direction as well with an '03 E500 but after driving my '01 E55, IMO there was no comparison...

Go visit the W211 forum...
 

Do your research - plenty of unhappy 211 owners, but also plenty of satisfied ones too.

All I know is my MB tech explicitly warned me off the 211 when I asked the same question... said the newer 211s were much better.

My motto... never buy version 1.0 of anything.... caveat emptor

I was looking for a 2003 E500 for a while too, the main reasons were for the 302 HP V-8 and the W211 body style (not to mention that the prices are also pretty attractive). Then I started to hear a lot of horror stories about the early ones. If I were you, I'd either get at least an '04 or '05, or as someone else suggested, a 2002 E320 or E430. In my opinion, the few "Special Editions" of both those models look good, but there were limited color choices (black or silver only), but M-B also added some no charge extras like the AMG black birdseye maple wood trim, sporty wheels, and a CD changer.