danpE320

put money down on one and I am picking it up tomorrow. I can still not go through with it. My question is after reading the whole SBC problems and looking over all the recalls, am I buying a car just full of problems?


It seems like they are a ton of recalls on it? The FSS whatever that is?

When I went to buy the car I brought in a print out from this forum of all the recalls and I told them I wanted the car at MB to make sure there are no open recalls on the car. What else can I do?

If I do go through with it I am going to call MB and give them the vin just to make sure also.

what do you guys think?

DWP

I think that you should go ahead and buy the car, if that's your question. To paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, "Don't go wobbly on us, Dan." Some people here think that the '03 W211 is the Spawn of Satan and should be avoided at all costs, but that's not been my experience with my '03. The FSS is the Flexible Service System and it just tells you when service is due. It's not a source of recalls or trouble, so far as I know.

vettdvr

AS above the FSS is just the dash computer you read to set the preferences on the car and allows access to maintenance needs such as checking the oil. (no dipstick). We have owned a e500 for 45,000 miles of driving and had no issues other that a heater valve replaced under warranty. It has been a very solid reliable car. I don't have the on board navigation (GPS) system which had some early issues. As for the SBC system it has been reliable with no issues and now 55,000 miles. If the car you are looking at is in good shape and priced right then it should not be an issue. Buy an extended warranty from the MB dealer if possible. BTW,, I had a bit of an issue paying the Big $$$$$ to buy the car also, but gave it to my wife for valentines day. It was in the dealership with a big red bow on top. Later I showed her that HER E500 cost $18,000 more than my loaded out Corvette. So since the Corvette is such a low price special my next new one won't get so much Jim

paulv

My 03 E320 has also been well-behaved. Since the factory warranty expired, the only $$ I had to put into it was for scheduled maintenenace, new rear brakes (pads/rotors), and an aux battery replacement. It now has almost 64K miles on it.

But,..........., there are some people on these forums who did get the "w211 from Hell".

Regards,
Paul...

danpE320

I will just pray this car will not have problems, I will bring it in to make sure its 100% and nothing left to do on the car. I do want to give this car to my wife so I am worried about the whole SBC thing...

Dan

Benz-O-Rama

The W211 is great. Having said that, the 2003 has been the most problematic, historically. I'm sure you'll love the car but under no circumstances should you own this car without an extended warranty. These cars are just way too expensive to fix outside of warranty coverage. Every W211 owner who plans on owning outside of the manufacturer's warrany should get an extended one. This goes double for the 2003.

My $.02

DWP

Not to hijack this thread to a discussion of extended warranties, but some of the text on the MBUSA extended warranty web page has me stumped.

http://www.mbusa.com/care/warranty/extended-limited.do

The page says:
The footnote then says:
So, the main text says that original owners can purchase extended warranty coverage "at any time" during the original warranty period, but the footnote seems to say that the option of purchasing an extended warranty beyond the first 12 months of ownership is available only with MY 2005 and later cars. I've got a MY 2003 car and have had it for three years. Can I purchase an extended warranty before the original warranty period runs out or not? If I can, what is Footnote 1 really trying to say, not very successfully?

danpE320

any1 know which is the best extended warranty for this car? I need to get it on 2 cars... both 03s

LA320OWNER

My old '03 E320..... where do I begin.....

The multiple recalls?

The ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDING TO BE REPLACED AT 9,000 miles!!!

My service rep. looking me square in the eye and telling me not to buy it.

They have an incredible lease special on the '07 E350's much smarter to go for that. It's a 27 month term and rolls you right into the '09's which will be a complete redo

sklasse

if the warranty is still there and you have records like an accountant I would do it. else I would be a little hesitant.

DWP

You should ask the dealer or MBUSA if it's even possible to buy an extended warranty for an '03. It doesn't seem like we're going to find out here. That's what I plan to do when my '03 gets a little closer to the expiration of the warranty next year.

paulv

When my 03 was getting close to the warranty running out, I started receiving post cards in the mail from a couple of companies offering extended warranties -- I'm still receiving them on the average of one mailing every 2 months.

Regards,
Paul...

Godfather

Hi Guys, I have decided to get myself a E500. I am just now starting to do my homework. Are these recall issues and problems mostly on 2003 model year?

paulv

Don't know the exact distribution over the W211 model years, but since 2003 was the intro year, I would expect "most" of the problems then. By looking at the TSB list, one could deduce that 2004 had its "reduced" share.

BTW, the TSB list is on:

http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Mercedes-...sue-index.html

Good luck on your pursuit of an E500.

Regards,
paul...

cyclerider

Keep reading the W211 forum. The more you read, the more you learn. Some think the cars with the fewest options have the fewest problems. Barry45RPM has a 2004 E500, and has posted extensively about his experiences.

edspider

Just remember people with problems are more likely to post their experience to a forum than people with no problems. Your post resulted in a lot of happy 03 owners saying their car is ok. Go with the silent majority, buy the car.

I was a little nervous when I ordered my 06 about several things I read in this forum. But I'm very glad they didn't change my mind. I haven't had any complaints.

Hardy1111

I have a 2003 E500, 28K, Obisidian Black, fairly standard. I'm very happy with the car.

However, I have had issues:
1. Rear defroster not working (never worked I think, just noticed the top part of the window staying frozen a bit too far up one day). Replaced the glass under warranty and got a loaner for the week it took.

2. Broken latch in the bin under the driver's seat, probably my fault (I'm over 260)...replaced under warranty.

3. Numerous TSB's completed when the car is in the shop, received my loaner and let them keep the car for 2 days when required, no problem there for me.

My .02; get the car, just check everything up front and be sure any issues are fixed before you have the car for a long time. Oh, and I do recommend an extended warranty when your original comes up (my dealer offered one last year...about 3,600-3,800 I think (4 more years or 100,000 miles), but it went into effect at the day of warranty purchase...so I'm waiting until the last month of the factory warranty).

lig

As a former '03 owner - I would stongly suggest saving a few more $$$ and getting an '04. Mine wasn't totally loaded - sunroof, HK, leather, heated seats and a couple other little things. Total PITA. I won't be buying an M-B in the near future - I can guarantee you that.