lig

My two year lease is up. The leasing company (not MBUSA) offered a non-negotiable buyout of $36.5K plus an admin fee. In addition to that I live in a city that adds 8.9% sales tax.

'03 Black E320

Sunroof/HK

Heated Seats

Stone Leather

~32,000 miles

I offered them $31K and they said they were firm on the price. I'm going to pass.

No doubt this has been the best highway car I've ever had. Still looks good to me as well. Not many sedans appeal to me but this one was styled properly. I have enjoyed the "badge appeal" of the car. The car still has a cachet that other brands have not yet achieved.

The car has been nice but the iffy electronics have me worried. Way too many unscheduled service visits IMO. Never liked the brake pedal feel even after the updates.

My service advisor has really worked hard to keep me happy but we shouldn't be on a first name basis

Just wanted to thank you all for your posts. I have learned so much from the board and enjoyed the interaction greatly.

Next up? Not sure yet. The M3 and G35 Coupe 6 speeds are on my short list as is the upcoming IS 350 Lexus. I didn't care much for the new GS. The M45 is a possibility as well. I may get a wild hair and try to beat down a Pontiac dealer on a new 400hp GTO. If I can get one for ~$25K that would leave me a lot of free cash for other kinds of fun.

Wishing you guys (and gals) all the best..

lig

clkcadet

lig, why not a e350? stay in the family!
if not i would also recommend an infiniti m35/45 its a great car and compares with the gs that you dont find to be attractive
there are others as well.....

lig

Thanks, Cadet.

I am going to go for something a little more entertaining for the next car. The W211 really excelled at highway cruising but most of my driving is more cut-and-thrust.

I miss having a manual tranny on the daily driver so that might take a bunch of cars out of the picture.

Still keeping the S2000 for auto-x and HPDE days.

DWP

I feel your pain. The list of luxury sedans available with a manual transmission in the US is down to one, the BMW 5-series, or two if you count the Cadillac CTS-V. Audi seems to have dropped its single manual-transmission model from the A6 range, at least in the US market. There aren't that many near-luxury sport sedans with a manual option, either, beyond the G35 and the Acura TL. Also, having a model theoretically available with a manual transmission doesn't mean that you will actually find one on the dealer's lot with the color and options you want. Check any dealer's online inventory of a model supposedly available with a manual - the cars on hand will be 90% to 100% automatics.

Let us know what car you end up with - I for one would be interested in knowing.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Geee lig....
I'm quite suprised you even considered buying your "E" let alone make an offer....With all of the complaining you have done here I figured you would never own and MB.
Anyway, good luck with your next purchase...

lig

At some point I figure they will either fix everything or replace the car

If the money was right I would certainly buy it - drive it for a while (at least while it was under warranty) and then sell it.

Alas - the money wasn't right so off she goes.

(now my passenger rear window won't auto-close and the brake wear "Visit Workshop" is showing up in the MFD - I guess the car is trying to tell me something)

Best of luck to you all...

liggy