c55m8o

Thinking about a better 4-season-able daily driver then my Jeep. Considering a CPO E500 4-matic Wagon in the $35K - $40K range. Any love , or not , for it from anyone here? Anything to look out for?

Thanx for any thoughts on it.

jallison12

Me have a wagon

Definitely love it. I am thinking we will let my wife's Honda Pilot go when the lease runs out, as my E500 has all the capabilities of an SUV. Plus a whole lotta luxury and convenience. It also has 4Matic for winter driving, which was a feature I wanted. Not to mention power

I am not really a car techie, but I got to say I am in love with my "new" car. After having it for just 2 weeks, I had in for servicing for a week. God, I missed it, and had to drive my Oldmobile for the week. Jeez, that was a long week.

Jay in Lindenhurst did the servicing and I also had BT put in, which works like a breeze.

Good luck with your search.

carpersn

Just upgraded our 100k mile 2000 to a 30k mile '04 E500 (my wife would accept no color other than midnight blue)...we LOVE it. i would never buy a 211 from 03, but then the wagon wasn't even out then. Go for it, you will never regret it, especially the CPO-the only way to go!

jallison12

Still working on my MB-speak. What does CPO stand for?

Barry45RPM

Certified Pre Owned - Inspected, brought up to a rigid set of specs where needed, cleaned & detailed & sold with an MB CPO warranty. CPO'd cars are only available from MB Dealers who get them from the better Lease Returns & Trade-Ins.

jallison12

Ah, thank you Sir!

rkao

My parents have an '05 E500 4matic wagon and they love, this despite some quirky glitches that included total shutdown of the entire climate control system during 90+ deg days on a few occasions and the recalls on the SBC brake system.

They find it to be of high utility for transportation and the V8 gives them the power they crave. Too bad MBUSA is not importing the E550 4matic wagon and none of the other teutonic marques are bringing their V8 powered wagons either.

Barry45RPM

The a/c shut down problem is a known problem with a known fix. "I had it in my '04". There is a blower motor controll module of some sort under the dash (Rt. Side) which will shut the fans off under certain conditions when the system goes into Defrost or Max Cool mode, both of which require the fans to jump to high speed. They had to replace my module a couple of times to get a good one. So theres no need to be tortured, as it may also quit in the winter when they need the Defroster.

bzliteyear

MB speak is for cpo is "starmark" -
however, STARMARK does not equal STARMARK of yesterday. buyer beware.

keep in mind that MB and its dealers have been deceiving people w/o being totally upfront. NOBODY else is reducing their certified warranty except MB.

STARMARK used to refer to add'l 3 yrs and 50k warranty to bring used car up to 7 yrs/100k total. this was certainly better than BMW's 2yrs +50k miles(6yrs/100k total).

during the past year or so, MB changed the definition of starmark to "1 yr plus 50k miles." that's only 5 yrs/100k. if you want the original starmark's 7yrs/100k total, the dealer will charge you another $2500-3k+ for it.

reminder - STARMARK does not equal STARMARK of yesterday. buyer beware.

c55m8o

Thanx for the contributions everyone. I really need to make a move and get one. The only thing delaying me really is I then have to go deal with selling the Jeep and have to deal with all the salesmanship and testdrives and low-ball haggling.

You remind me of Starmark bzliteyear. I forgot about that. Interesting. I'm thinking MBUSA is no longer using that Trademark. If it's on MBUSA I didn't notice it on the website, nor is it on the the Inventory Search Results. They seem to be exclusively using Certified Pre-Owned & CPO now.

What I gather from the post however is the cars that aren't showing up as "CPO" either on MBUSA's own website search results, or say on a Cars.com search, can still have the extended warranty purchased for it. That's pretty good, as there's some 50K'ish mile cars for near $30K; even with the extra for the warranty seems almost like the bargan.

loubapache

Make sure to check the transfer case so there is no leak. Dealers will quote astronomical number for transfer case replacement/repair.

The W211 transfer case does have a drain, fill, and level check plug. However, the drive shaft has to be removed to access these plugs.

The W210 (03 E320 4Matic wagon, for example) has only a fill plug.

WEBSRFR

It's a shame that the CPO warranty does not cover the navigation system though. That's a big reason I would consider finding a good condition pre owned E500 and buy a warranty with better coverage. I can't understand why MB would offer a substandard warranty with their CPO program that does not cover everything.

Barry45RPM

On my '04 the MB Extended warranty specifically excluded Comand & Nav (& probably the whole audio system) I wonder if that's different on the '07 extended warranty being offered now... and if so why. (That's part of the reason why I didn't buy the extended warranty on my '07.)

cyclerider

Extended warranty now does cover everything in the whole system, even the speakers. It also costs way more than it did in 2004.

carpersn

Yes, when we bought our last car, which was "starmarked" it covered all but audio...just bought the E500 which is "Certified PreOwned" and the warranty pretty much covers it all...it cost almost 2x what the "starmark" version did, plus you can't get 4 years any longer, only 3. Oh well, i know i got my money's worth on the starmarked car, and will on this as well.

Also got the extended on my new GL, totalling 8 years or 100k. Fairly expensive but cheaper to do it at time of purchase.

c55m8o

If I get it, the NAV will probably be replaced by a Euro one from MBenzNL anyway. But yes, I certainly got my money's worth on my C43 while under factory warranty. I'm in a better position now, as I have a friend (who did my engine swap and is reworking the SL) and his friends who work as a MB or in parts, and they can run the service record for the VIN of anything I'm considering to let me know if it's a lemon or a peach.

BTW, I should have asked this earlier? What kind of fuel consumption are you folks (or your folks, whose parents have one) getting?

jallison12

I have a 80 mile round trip commute each day, along the LIE, Throgs Neck and Hutch/I95, here in NY. I don't always get to cruise at 60, but I am still averaging 19.7 mpg in my E500 wagon. When I got the car about a month ago, I drove from just outside Philly to Long Island, and had a 24.? mpg for that trip, which was a smooth as could be, with minimal traffic congestion.

So, I am very happy with the consumption, given I have a big heavy wagon, and a big heavy 5.0 V8.

c55m8o

Thanx jallison. That's pretty amazing. I have a heavy foot but that's very encouraging.

On a different note, I'm not sure if you're into the social car-enthusiasts get together, but there's a meet this Thursday here on LI in Plainview at a local speedshop that does a lot of Mercedes customizations:
https://mbworld.org/forums/events-gatherings/209245-ok-i-couldnt-not-do-northeast-mercedes-meet-oct-6-7-a.html

edit: Barry45RPM, and rkao and all other locals too!

-steve

jallison12

Since I discovered that stats screen in the speedometer (gives trip time, mpg, average speed, etc) I can't take my eyes off it. If my average speed dips below 40, I start flooring it (when I am able to) to get it back over 40. Just my li'l game to make the commute a little more bearable. Well, actually, since I swapped my Oldsmobile for a Benz, my commute has become almost orgasmic....well, comparitively speaking, of course.

And before anyone else does it....
Thank you

Plainview is just up the road from me, I'm in Syosset! I will try to make it along. Thanks for letting me know.

GDawgC220

535xi wagon and throw in a ECU flash, you're good to go

c55m8o

GDawgC220, what do you ahve to say about the allroad Audis BTW? Though I don't mention it here, a used allroad was in the running in the past. Would have to be the 2.8T, manual, however.

GDawgC220

A used allroad would be sweet, esp the 2.7T with a 6-speed manual. Chip it and you're over 300hp/300tq. A few more bolt on mods and you've got yourself a sleeper for sure. I've driven them and they're nice for utility, power, luxury, etc all in one. Adjustable suspension to raise or lower the car, etc.

SmashF15C

I have a A6 C5 (previous version) 4.2 quattro wagon - and just bought an E500 wagon. I live in Germany so performance and utility are what I need. It has been interesting to compare the two wagons - I will eventually sell my Audi - the primary reason we bought the E500 wagon is because of it's size - it is the largest wagon on the market and the Audi is just too small as our 'biggest' family car.

That said, a few comments - the Audi A6 Avant is actually quite a bit heavier than the E500 Wagon. I have not had the E500 in Germany yet to wring it out but it feels (like the #'s show) that it is a bit faster car at speed, but a little slower torque delivery off the line. The Audi just rips off the line, very enjoyable around town. I bought my Audi but hated the suspension - I changed it to Eibach springs/Bilstein shocks and it rides like an RS6 now - VERY fun to drive that car in the twisties/autobahn. I also love the 4.2 engine, both performance and sounds. I am a member of audiforms.com and would recommend going there. You'll find 2.7T lovers and haters - biggest reason to get the 2.7T would be to save fuel (very popular in Europe also because they pay displacement penalties in insurance and registration), but you will pay higher MX costs once the mileage builds. The 4.2 is a more reliable platform.

The E500 is a smoother car (if you can believe that), and although posting higher torque numbers than the 4.2, delivers the power a bit differently. It doesn't handle like our C-Class wagon but then again I have not been out in the twisties with it yet.

The new A6 (C6) wagons are slightly bigger than the old version, but still not as large as the E class wagons - they sure are beautiful though! I would never consider the A6 C5 allroad - IMO they are very ugly with the 'high' look of the car, and the different colored plastic, etc. on the body. I think the M/B is a better buy from a maintenance standpoint, but that will remain to be seen. Our C-class is a bulletproof car, the A6 has not been that way.

I'll post back in Feb/March when I'm driving the A6 again and have the E500 at 200 KPH or so and tell you more, if you can wait that long

Smash

c55m8o

Smash, your comments are very well received and appreciated. I look forward to your return!

wae320

I have driven pretty much all the all wheel drive wagons and have owned several (E320, 325, Volvo XC70, Passat). The Audi's are nice, but don't really have anything on the Mercedes or BMW. They aren't as sport as the bimmer and not as cushy as the Benz. My neighbors have an allroad and A6 wagon, both purchased used, and both have had a ton of problems. I'd avoid them...

OTOH, we got the '04 E320 new and it has been flawless. Granted, it only has about 25,000 miles, but it hasn't really had any problems yet, and only goes in once every 13,000 miles or so for regular servicing. The 325xi has been flawless as well, but I'd imagine a new 535xi might have some more problems since its way more complex. Don't get any of the Volvo's, they really don't drive that well, cost more than a 3 series, and ours had way more problems than any other car we've owned.

In terms of snow performance, put a good set of winter tires on and any awd car with stability control won't have a problem. We live near Seattle and don't get much snow but drive skiing every weekend and have never had a problem with all seasons, but if you live in the snowbelt get some winter tires.