Calcio

Got a call from salesperson responding to my email request for a price on an 06 E350 4matic. Salesperson responds with invoice less $3000 if financed with MBC for the 06 E350 4matic. Works out to MSRP of $57,955, my cost of $50,952, with premium and lighting options. But wait there is more - salesperson says how about a leftover 2005 E500 4matic with MSRP of $64,970, my cost of $51,970, with heated seats, sunroof and cd player options. Mmmm.... V8 I start thinking. But there are pros and cons:

Pros- faster (but not that much), all leather, air suspension, 4 zone climate control, what else?

Cons - no NAV, no upgraded stereo, no bi-zenons, $1,300 gas guzzler tax (included in above numbers) and lower gas mileage, what else?

All opinions welcome!

KosherBenz

you are gonna kick yourself in the pants for not getting the Navi. Mark my words!

alboogiee

you can always buy the model with less upgrades and do them yourself! in my opinion that is half the fun of owning a car!!

Calcio

$1500 more to add the NAV, and WTF is it with all the cars around here ordered with sunroof, CD, heated seats instead of the premium package!!! Is this a dealer trick to get you to pony up $1500 more for the NAV? Plus the Harmon Kardon sound upgrade is included in the premium package, but let me guess, the dealer can add that too for another $1000 or so!

Matt230K

Starting with July '05 production, they repackaged the cars and now it is a great value to get the premium package. It used to not be as good of a value. My dealer orders everything with premium package now, but they didn't used to.

Now, premium package gets you CD, Sunroof, Heated Seats, plus Navi and Harmon Kardon for only a few hundred bucks more. I tried to get one of these cars, but at the time I was buying, they were just coming out, so I had to settle for CD, Roof, and Heat to get the color combination I wanted.

aceman

V8 With lots of torque - you wont regret it but i'm just a little biased

Aceman

CE750

E500 + Add Xenon and NAV for a total cost of $55K

Calcio

NAV can be added but they tell me that Xenon can not. True?

CE750

BULL ****

Buy the two lights and plug-n-play... they only need to version code the computer for "Xenon-present"

do a search, there's tons of info on it.. Also, Steve (MBenzNL) can get them probably for a better price than the dealer who'll charge you $1800 for the pair.

Forget the autolevel sensors, that's the 10 hours extra labor you don't need.

cyclerider

The Premium Package is $2950, which is lots more than "a few hundred bucks more". It is, however, a very good value compared to ordering the options seperately at a cost of over $4000. The H/K Logic 7 is only available in the premium package. Last year the Premium Package cost $3950, and heated seats were an additional $680. Drive-Dynamic seats and rear door roll-up blinds were de-contented to help lower the price.

CE750

Those blinds are a requirement in Arizona.. glad I kept my '05, and didn't sell to into CA...

cyclerider

I noticed that the rear door blinds are available separately on the '06 for $148. I have not been able to find one with them, though.

Matt230K

I meant that premium package is only a few hundred bucks more than getting CD Changer, Roof, and Heated Seats separately. Those few extra bucks get you NAVI and Harmon Kardon.

Calcio

Is there much of a difference having the HK?

That's Harmon Kardon for you gun club members, not Heckler & Koch which could come in handy for defending against road rage!

StapleGun

V8 baby...but hey I'm biased...you want a 55K vehicle and are concerned about mileage - I can see it with the CDI not with the two choices you're presenting here though.

Heckler & Koch P7 M8 baby...whaaaaa??? Not included in the glovebox? That's a deal breaker!!!

Barry45RPM

The HK radio is not the best OEM radio in the world, but it is the BEST radio I have ever heard in any MB! Go for it!

Calcio

I asked if they would throw in the new HK first aid kit but the salesperson advised that it was not available for DC drivers

mbnj

The dealer can add Sirius and Nav. They want to move the '05. I bought one a few months ago (500 AWD) and just negotiated everything in (HK, Nav, Sirius, winter mats). I'm a cash guy but wanted the additional financing discount so I negotiated a 90 day only obligation on MB $10K financing(minumum loan I could talk them down to, I tried to get them don to $1K but the manager spit the bit on that one) but got the full credit, then just paid it off 90 days later.

CE750

much like I did... I just sent in the check to pay off the car, and raised my insurance deductible back up to $2500!

cyclerider

I hope you are keeping $100 deductible on comprehensive

CE750

No... I crunched the numbers, and based on the raise in insurance rates if I file a claim, $2500 is the logical level to pay out of pocket.


If I were to have an accident, I am prepared to pay out of pocket $2500.. I save $1000/yr doing this... it's a form of self-insurance.

cyclerider

Wow!!!!!!!!! I only pay about $600 a year for $1000 deductible collision/ $100 deductible comprehensive.

Maybe your agent has seen your time slips from Firebird!

CE750

I'll look into it.. But I had a claim on my V70 about 3 years ago, and they raised my rates by enough to more than pay back the $3000 I filed... it's a waste of money. I'm with Farmers and pay about $1200/yr now for the MB, it was closer to $2000/yr for the 1000 deductible.

Good driver, home owner's discount, and life discount..

AZ is expensive though.

Calcio

Thanks - a couple of questions: the HK can be added? If yes, is it just the head unit? What additional financing discount? The MBC $3000 discount is only on the 2006 E350s. There is $6000 marketing support on the 2005 E500s.

cyclerider

Tell your agent you are shopping other insurance companies for a better rate. They will often give you a much lower rate to retain your business, especially since you have multiple policies with them. Otherwise, start shopping around. The Volvo claim shouldn't hurt you if it is 3 years old. Insurance companies have become very competitive lately, so you should be able to save some cash.