Hello everyone. I take delivery on a fresh of the boat 2006 E500W4 today! (The car is black with stone leather, Sirius, wood wheel, Xenon lights, Premium Package w/ Panorama Sunroof.) This is my first Mercedes after owning marques from Lexus, BMW, Porsche, Audi and others. I am looking forward to it whilst not wearing my rose colored glasses. I expect that it won't be as trouble free as Lexus, but I remain optimistic. I prefer it over the Lexus because of the intangibles. (Also, the 4Matic) No, not perceived prestige or snob appeal, but the tactile, indescribable qualities of the car. Volkswagen called it “Farfegnugen”. The E500 is great on the open road with enough power and poise to keep me form wishing I was in an Audi S4. I’m also not trying to start a flame war about what car is the best. They all have advantages as well as downsides. There is no perfect car, but E500 with 4Matic seems to suit my needs for long distance commuting in the north east. (To bad the diesel is not available in 4Matic now) Wish me luck and thanks to all who post in this forum for their advice.

 

[AE]

You can be somewhat more positve. I am completing my first nine months of trouble free ownership. Also my first MB and I am very pleased. I find it to be several steps above the competition in that is very well "put together" with good quality control. The power of the V8 is substantial and comforting. Also a very smooth and quite ride.

Does take a lot manual reading to set it up, but after that it should be a fine. Certain that the overalll experience will be great. Good Luck.

Larry in San Francisco

[Sunny, but cold]

 

Amen!

But the E500 was a close (very) second choice for me when I got my CDI.. and frankly had I known about some of the added features of the E500, I may have tilted towards it.

I think it's the best choice, you'll be very pleased.

Vote here for your car (Its already in a commanding lead but..)

http://motortrend.com/multimedia/pol...ll_luxury_car/

 

sure is! But on Thrusday when I came it, it sure wasn't!

 

Drifter,

I too was on the fence prior to buying my first MB (E500 4matic) this past June. I looked at the STS, and was leaning towards the M45. After some convincing by some friends to check out the benz, a test drive sold the car. Thus far - 13000 trouble free miles. I do recommend you buy a radar detector as my avg cruising speed is now upwards of 80-90 mph at times with a clear highway. This car is built so damn well that you have no clue how fast you're going. The ride quality is just sick IMO. I'm also grinning ear to ear whenever it rains/snows as nothing can stop this thing!

Aceman

 

Best of luck to you. The E500 is certainly more comfortable and roomy than an S4. (my E was black/stone as well)

Keep a microfiber cloth in the car and something like Meguiar's Interior Detailer handy to keep the interior looking good on a daily basis.

 

I find those "Swifers" work great to pick up the dust, and also a blow bottle of compressed air to dislodge any dust or tiny dirt getting in between switches, etc..

Also, I dampen a Meguiar's Microfiber cloth with some of their speed detailer for the wood trim.. works great. I did my friends A4 V6 with all of those items and he was amazed.

 

Post pics and goodluck with your new ride. Just over 25,000 miles and no complaints here...

 

My car has pretty much been trouble free. It was a Nov '03 built 2004. So far its had:

Audio Gateway reflashed for static & cut offs during 3rd month of ownership. Since then its been good.
SBC Recall
Battery Module & Alternator Recall
Disk Brake pads on all 4 wheels @ 21,000 mi
A/C Fan mysteriously cuts off when in Max mode - Battery module recall took care of that.

The stereo/single slot CD something thinks there is no CD in the slot, won't eject, wont play the CD but everything else plays... irritating but the next time you get in & drive it works.

Once in a while the single slot CD says its playing Track 1 when I started the car but in reality it resumed playing the last track it was playing when I shut the car down earlier. When it goes to the next track it displays the correct track.

Once in a blue moon, the Comand screen will stay in the daytime mode overnight but the next night its fine. ( Has happened once or twice)

Comand screen NEVER displays track titles on any store bought CD, but if I burn a copy on the computer using Realplayer, the Comand displays Track Names (Titles) and the dash displays Track Numbers. Never displays Album Title, but I don't know if its supposed to.

Great car, the electronics are a bit over-engineered & obtuse. Car has features & programming perks that you will discover by accident for months to come.

I'm sure you will share your discoveries of "Undocumented Features" as you see them occur. Some of the features are inginious, but totally "over the top" in a car, and appear in very few cars. Enjoy! Good Choice! This is the first car I have ever owne which rides as solidly/new car like today, as the day I picked it up. In most cars you can notice a difference in the suspension in 6 months. Not this one.

 

Hey AE Drifter, congrats on your purchase. That word you're looking for, it's teutonic. As much as I love my lexus cars benz has that thing no other marque has. Bimmers are german but not quite as teutonic. Only the reliabilty issues keep me from returning to benz. Hopefully you'll have years of trouble free driving.

 

Traded my 2002 M3 SMG for 2006 E500 in September. Expected a big let down in performance and handling. E500 is no M3 but performs and handles well for a luxury sedan. Also owned a 2001 BMW 540ia. Mercedes performs as least as well as that car and is far more comfortable. So far no problems at all. The SBC seems much better than E55 I tested in 2003.

 

After 50 light miles, can't wait until it is broken in, I like the car. It will grow on me too. Here are a few pics. The car is totally in factory stock condition. I might install the low profile star on the hood, after the ornament gets stolen. Thanks for the positive feedback. Oh and yes I have a radar detector.

 

congrats! we got an '06 E350 just off the boat 2 weeks ago. ours was a 9/05 build, so I guess it takes like 2 months to get from Germany to California.Seems like quite a while.What was the build date on yours?Look on the top right of the black sticker, on bottom of the B pillar on the driver side(in case you didnt know) Just curious, thanks.

 

Keep it stock, including the STAR.. MB Builds a beautiful car, I doubt we can do better.

 

I bought the all-weather mats, too. They are great.

Cloth, Stone floor mats will show all the dirt, fast.

My car is Ash, the original floor mats are in the house sealed in their plastic. I used the black all weather mats, it really has a nice look.

 

Many congrats.

Beautiful car and definitely very nice color combo.

Do keep a cleaning cloth handy ... Stone interior blends very well with the wood trim and it makes the interior very rich but it gets dirty real easy.

Don't ask why I know ...

 

Congrats on your car. My E class has been relative trouble free as well. Enjoy the ride.

 

Get a decent carpet cleaner... and a quality, lint free cloth to use to clean off your door sills, and door panels (towards the bottom) as they will get scuffed.. not so much by you, but by the careless people at the dealer, and pax you take along..

Carpet cleaner, and some rubbing, and they come clean.. I also treated my entire interior with scotchguard.. used two can fulls on all cloth/carpet surfaces.. and they repel stains well.

 

I chuckled at that. Some thugs tried mine, so I've also been thinking about the flat one, even though they don't look as good.

Enjoy your E500 though. Awesome car.

 

Generally like the car. Black and tan is hard to keep clean though. Still breaking it in, so I haven’t tested its performance envelope yet.

I do have one question though with respect to the climate system:

Is there a way to coordinate all four zones to the same temp in one step? For example, if all four zones have been set to different temps, can the driver press and hold a button to sync all the zones to the driver’s zone temp?

Oh, BTW, looks like I will be able to test out the 4Matic with stock all seasons tomorrow in NYC. 6-10 inches of snow is on the way.

 

BUMP
Is there a way to coordinate all four zones to the same temp in one step?

 

Not that I’m aware of. One must set each front setting, choose rear, and do the same. Excellent suggestion for your MBUSA initial owner’s survey though.

 

Hey Drifter,

I'm in western NJ and we just got 8-9" of snow this AM. My driveway & road were not plowed, and i got out of it with no problems, and more importantly little or no slipping/swerving. This car is AWESOME in the snow.

Aceman

 

you guys are hard core... I'd buy a used Suburu for the snow, and park the MB... but then I guess if you got into an accident in the Suburu, you may end up wishing you had the Merc! Glad I don't live in the snow!

 

Roger that! I'm near NYC and the car was great in the snow. I am breaking in the engine, so I have the shifter in the comfort setting for 2nd gear starts. I wish that the suspension raised more than .6 inches for the drifts though.