GSY

Hello,

I'm looking to purchase a 2006 E350 with lighting and premium packages but I still haven't decided on leather upholstery. Is it worth $1500? I know front seats have leather inserts but I'm assuming the everything else is synthetic. For those who have MB tex upholstery, how do you like it compared to real leather?

Thanks,
GSY

MBE55AMG

Leather is better, I say.

pasto27774

I dod not get the leather on my '05 E320 4matic and you cannot tell the differnce. My wife's '02 E320 4matic wagon has the leather and the driver seat is worn (cracked) on the side where you get in/out. It is a personal pref. You cannot tell the difference in IMHO.

X72

GSY, I agree with pasto27774. It is personal preference and there is no subsitute for you checking out your options personally. The upholstery on the doors is different too. Ideally, you would see the colors you are interested in both MB tex and the full leather before deciding.

I can tell you that the MB tex (vinyl) which my car has in the light color interior still looks good. I think the vinyl is more durable, which is important if you are going to keep the car for more than 3 years.
William
2003 E 320

GSY

Durability is important. If I can't tell the difference I'll probably stick with MB tex.

Thanks!
GSY

MB Fanatic

I would get the full leather option. The materials feel nicer and the car just looks better IMO. PLus its more durable and will help with resale value down the road.

CE750

The leather looks better, but I have to disagree with my friend Fanatic.. it's not more durable... No leather is more durable than Vinyl. That said, I am sad that MB doesn't give it to us for free, I was under the naive impression that they did when I go my car, so I ended up with the vinyl rear seats... I'm used to it now so I guess it I could argue it's not worth the $1500... but really in a car of this price $1500 isn't much extra.

BTW.. I am told it has minimal effect on re-sale since the overwhelming majority of buyers would not know the difference.

MB Fanatic

Thanks for the heads up Sam. Im still kind of pissed off that MBUSA would cut leather as a standard feature on the W211. Hell my W210 has leather everywhere and it showed no signs of wear and tear after 60K miles.

I too am very angry at MBUSA.

BudC

If the standard upholstery is MB-Tex and it's as good as in the past, it costs about 2/3rds what leather costs. It won't be as soft and won't smell like leather but it will never wear out. If you have children or animals riding in the back seat, it's a much better choice than leather.

When we sold our 17 year old 190D, the MB-Tex upholstery in it was *as new*. You simply cannot wear it out. To call MB-Tex *vinyl* isn't an accurate description. It might be vinyl but it looks more like leather and is actually nicer than the surface dyed leather you get in Caddies and Lincolns.

I did get leather in my '04 E320 but it's not nearly as nice as the leather in my '91 300E. Actually, it you have MB-Tex you can apply Zaino's Leather-in-a-Bottle and your car will have a nice leather smell. It's purpose is to maintain leather but it can also be applied to vinyl.

CE750

After dealing with them on this and another issue, I've come to the conclusion they are responsible for the majority of non-mechanical problems with MB. Service, customer satisfaction, and competitiveness against the inferior Japanese cars.. all MBUSA's fault.

MB Fanatic

I could not agree with you more. Look at the dealers in Europe, they dont have as many problems with customers as we do here. MBUSA has a lack of management at all levels down to their regional and local managment teams.

They are the reason behind the cost cutting and lack of customer satisfaction. I for one would rather pay 20% more for my cars and get many feautures standard. Hell even rear side airbags are optional now? WTF?

Whatever moron at MBUSA thought that this was a good idea?

frogstaple

The leather is nice. I plan on keeping my car a long time and I will treat the leather regularly to keep it in good condition. (Something you wouldn’t have to do with the vinyl.) I just couldn’t stand the thought of not having full leather in my Benz.

CE750

They run MB the same way is Chrysler, Chevy and Ford... no different.

- YES, I expect my *** kissed a bit more when I buy an MB, they don't get that.
- I expect a short options list, again... GM in the 80's has long options lists.. and MB had 2 or 3 items.. today it's almost reversed.
- I expect a lot of my MB, and Mercedes Benz AG can deliver it all, if the idiot Chrysler displaced managers would let them!

Did you know that Comand has RDS in Europe? Why the ***** don't we?

BudC

So who gets to choose which features are standard for that extra money? Why would I want heated seats in Arizona? Why would I want leather if I had kids and a dog riding in the back seat? Why would I want Sirius radio when I can't stand 90% of the so-called music they broadcast? Why would I want silly electronic gadgets? Why would I want Xenon headlights if I never drive at night?

I'm sorry but I can't understand why anyone buying a new Mercedes simply can't pick and choose what they want on their car. I'm not a big fan of MBUSA but it's not their fault if they have customers who don't pay attention to what they're buying.

Anyone who is spending tens of thousands of dollars for a new car had better do their homework because they can't blame anyone but themselves if they are disappointed in their choices.

CE750

who choses them for Lexus and Acura? Don't get me on rjm's side now.. Face it, MB's are high end cars in this country... is safe to assume that leather is standard in a high end car in this day and age, is it not?

as for picking and choosing.. EVEN IF I had the wisdom of knowing I had fake leather, and halogen headlights on this car when I bought it.. It turned out that MBUSA spec'd out the vast majority of CDI's very bare.. and that no a single OEM equipped CDI with Xenon's existed in all of Arizona.. This is direct from the horses mouth.. MBUSA

MB Fanatic

I guess its just a matter of perspective for us then. But something like Xenon, RDS, Sat Radio, LEATHER, Rear Airbags, heated seats, and a decent DVD-A system should be standard. Hell my TL has more standard equipment than my E350 such as DVD-A, Xenon's, XM, heated seats, Leather seats.

MBUSA has fallen behind the curve when they were the leader, however the prime motive in me purchasing a MB is for safety.

CE750

Hey Bud, applying your logic.. should we have cloth seats, manual windows and AM radio's as standard so we can give people a choice and keep costs down?

Apart form it's chassis, an MB is also a lux car, and as such needs to have at least what Cadillac, Honda (acura) and Toyota (Lexus) privide their customer for the same buck.

BudC

You've got me Sam. How can I argue with that logic?

CE750

I hope you really understand my point.. I'm not trying to say we need standard distronic cruise control, or PTS... some stuff is truely option worthy.. but leather? Split folding seats?

anyway..

BudC

No Sam, I don't understand your point. MB-Tex probably costs more than the leather in most other cars and it's a good choice for many families.

The point I'm trying to make is what's important to you may not be important to me. I've owned Mercedes since 1984 and BMW's before that. I think I know what I want in a fine German car. What I don't want is to spend money on things that I don't need or desire. I'd much rather spend it on other things like a Power Mac

CE750

I think we have a good topic for a poll..

BudC

Let's let it go Sam. A poll won't prove a thing.

CE750

sure thing bud.

Brian_I.

I like the added "plush" you get on the door armrests with the leather. You just get a flat vinyl cover on the standard upholstery. I also like the fact that, when properly maintained, the leather can remain soft and supple for many years. I had the MB-Tex on my '99 CLK and it felt really hard after a while. Even after trying to apply all the treatments and stuff.

Brian_I.

Btw, I did notice a lot of wrinkles and stuff on the drivers seat after about 5 months and they changed the entire seat for me. So even if you do get it and it wears out prematurely they will change it.