vettdvr

Lexus

Dema

It looks like not anymore at least for Benz. New C had almost zero bugs at 1st year production. S class looked also very strong. I can't tell that for BMW, since 1st year 3 series had tons of problems.

lapok25

My brother owns a 05 525 and I have a 05 E500, I can only compare the interior since engine wise and performance no comparison. The way I observed it (interior wise) will depend on what kind of a car person you are. I am a kind of simple guy so I rocked the classy looking gauges and body, that is why I like the E. The 5 series is more sporty looking inside. From the seats to the gauges to the steering wheel. It is yelling I am classy rugged and sporty, while the e500 is saying Im pure class. The feel inside is that the BMW is more enclosed even though it looks bigger than the E. I think the seats for the 5 series is more bulkier and deeper and the front seat in 5 is hugging you more (which I really like ). The 5 dash is more bulkier. Space, it is the same. I don't see any difference.

BTW = the leather in 5 series is much softer than the E.
cars that I tried when it comes to leather:
C>5 series>E

Davel

They both are nice cars, i've owned 4 of each and currently own a Benz and a Bimmer. The 5 series is a true sports sedan and it translates to the interior with a taunt and teutonic (german hard) feel to everything. The E is a luxury sports sedan capable of doing pretty-much the same things as a 5 series, but it drives so nice and smooth that you sort of slow down and enjoy the ride and feel of the car. Depending on the type of driving you do, each has its strengths and weaknesses. On isolated twisty backroads (if you can find many of them these days) the 5 series feels perfect! On city streets and long highway drives the E class is on another level than the 5. Also, 5 series demographics tend to be a little younger than Eclass owners....

Dema

What I immediately noticed after switching from BMW to Mercedes that I need to stop at gas stations less often. It isn’t because Benz has better MPG (I think Bimmer has it better). It is because E class has a big fuel tank.

AMGTTV8

HAHAHAHA....Amazing!
:r olf:

AMGTTV8

And my two cents....

E over 5 any day...quality, design, functionality/comfort

I used to sell both and would sell people away from the 5 - it just isn't the same caliber of car...

anyone agree?

LaicepsYdobon

Having never owned a 5 but having my 2nd E I would agree. I was recently looking at the 5 but hated being inside it. It's just too "plasticey" for me. And I'm not fan of the Bangled up design of the current gen either. I really liked the previous gen. 5 series from the outside but the inside was still a bit of a bummer. I also think the E's ride quality is better; granted the 5 has a sportier feel. I commute everyday and sit in traffic about 80% of the time. I'm very happy sitting in my E with the tranny switched to Comfort mode.

landru64

fwiw they say the current 5s had some improvements in interior quality.

The 550s lease really well right now due to a good money factor and a navigation credit. You get a lot of car for a very reasonable lease payment. ...I would venture to say you can't get an e550 for the same kind of payment, all other things being equal

The buy rate is also 0.9%. But i would never buy a 550i or an e550. These things drop like rocks in value. (There is a beautiful loaded e550 in the classified btw.)

Marshall_K

I recently did the same comparisons- but I was looking at 06 E350 vs 530.
Thing I did like about the 5 - sporty ride , front seats.

I didn't like crash rating, especially rear. Now this part tugged on the heart strings since the wife and I are trying to have kids. So I thought "The E has been rock solid in all impact ratings for years. The 5 just got better. Which do I really want my babies to be in in the case of an accident?... I've got the 350z for sporty. I want my family to be safe"

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_res....aspx?mercedes
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_res...aints.aspx?bmw

Just my $.02

Dema

Any ideas on lease payments for 550? Can you get them under $800 with zero or a little down?

landru64

e550 or 550i?

easy to get them confused

Dema

550i. I know numbers for E350, since a leased one a month ago. I'd love to lease 550i for myself, since consider it more suitable for men.

landru64

it's going to depend on the car and how loaded it is and how great a deal you can negotiate, but here's an example of a car local to me:

550i - titanium silver
sport package
sport trans
cold package
ipod/usb
shades
nav

MSRP 71,150
INVOICE 65,410

there is a navigation package credit of the wholesale price (about $1700) that effectively lowers the dealer's invoice price by that much. if you strike a tough deal, you might get invoice-$1700. i have never been offered anything worse than $500 under invoice.

so let's assume worst case $500 under invoice. 15k/a year. 3 years. 2 year leases on these suck, so don't bother.

money factor is .00155 if you aren't a bmw owner.
1 refundable security deposit of 1 month's payment brings it to .00140.
7 more of those brings the money factor to .00091

residual is 55% (for 15k miles per year)

at the full money factor, with a marked up bank fee ($825 from $625 cost) and NO capital cost reduction down (you will still have to pay first month + license fees):

you end up with $901 plus tax.

now if you do all 8 multiple security deposits to reduce the money factor, it goes to $834 plus tax.

now if you grind the dealer to the full 1700 under invoice (i have had one dealer offer me that straight off the top), your payment is $799 and change PLUS TAX.

that's a lot of car for 800 bucks.

of course all these go down if you need less than 15k/year miles.

and obviously if you are willing to have a car with fewer options (except you have to have nav to get the credit), it gets that much better.

and finally if you put 2 or 3 grand down as cap cost reduction, the payment comes down quite a bit...low 7's easily. MB has no problem asking for $5k drive offs for these impressive sounding $600ish e350 deals, so 2 or 3 grand shouldn't seem excessive.

so my analysis is give or take you can get an 550i for basically the same as an e350 with comand, no leather and p1 (no xenon). the 550i comes with park distance, leather, and some other nice stuff, and this deal presumes getting nav.

hope that helps.

rjm

OK..I'll way-in with a minority opinion. First of all, if you would ask this question on a BMW forum you would get a whole bunch of different answers. I moved from a Mercedes E-Class to a 5-Series BMW because of reliability problems with the Mercedes. My Mercedes spent more time in the service department than on the street. Since then, I'm on my 4th BMW. This year I drove the the new E-Class again (I go through this every year) and was disappointed in the engine, the "fun-factor" in driveability, and the interior (what's an analog clock doing in the instrument panel?). Though cost was not a factor, a comparably equipped 5-Series was about 5K less and drove and handled so much better. I've never had a problem with any BMW I have owned, other than changing the oil and normal service. And as usual, I was turned off by the arrogance of the sales-staff at Mercedes. They have always acted like they are doing you a favor to sell you a car. I know my opinion will be attacked, but you asked for it, and since I have owned both cars, I gave you my honest one. For those of you who love your Mercedes, I'm sorry if I offended you. I've been very happy with my choice.

doriftomodachi

I've rode in a 5 series and I would have bought a one if chris bangle didn't design it. I have an '03 e320. I still like the E class more because of the design and amenities. If I want a driver's car then I'd get either a 335i or e92 m3.

landru64

my opinion:
the latest e class refreshes are beautiful cars. there is an openness to the cabin and sense of graceful design that the bmw doesn't have, although i don't know how they can get away with so many mb-tex equipped mid 50k cars. i do find the bmw seems to squeak less when you push on things. on top of the lack of sporting appeal (great ride though), i find the e's way overpriced for what you get as a driver's car. but then there are people who like a really smooth ride and have no concept of sport. it's why bmw's are 'the ultimate driving machine' and mb's are not.

of course, these cars are all pretty good and it's a very personal decision.

Dema

Sure it helps. I still have a credit for my previously owned BMW, so it will also reduce my price a bit. I guess I need to visit a dealer as only 09 models will be coming up; in this case I can negotiate $2K or more below invoice. BTW I configured a car like you + comfort access and got lower MSRP, $69,450.

Trango

Couldn't have said it better.

I considered a 5 series as well. You know... the whole sporty feeling and handling thing... every guy (even those who never drove an E / 5) will say "E is comfort, 5 is handling"... so I should try a 5 series as well no?

I ended up at a large BMW dealership this year... after spending quite a lot of time with MB dealers. Looked at one of the 5 series there... right... the exterior... never been a Bangle fan (he removed the "class" piece from BMW)... I like modern style though in every other aspect of life (you should see my house)... so I said to myself I could accept the outside - especially considering I was going to take the M body on it. Right... that was until I opened the door, sat inside, and was stunned by the absolute lack of cohesion (for lack of better word) in the interior!!! Where in MB everything just flows and comes perfectly together in an overly studied interior design, the BMW just felt like different pieces glued together. The front seats are not part of the interior. They simply have been fixed onto the chassis. The dashboard instruments were screaming... the plastic looked cheap... I can't remember ever having seen such cheap interior on a German car (my 1999 Audi was WAY above that). All this within seconds. In the meanwhile my wife had joined me on the passengers seat. I saw her disappointment (before that point she may have preferred a sporty BMW over a MB), she looked at me and we both stepped out of the car. This was ridiculous. Went to MB and never looked back.

If you think about it, this is one single area where MB considers things: how does everything "flow" together. You will not find that with BMW. Not even a little bit. Sitting in a nicely finished (with real leather) E is a beautiful thing. I can't help but thinking of cognac and big cigars! The curved leather, how the dash flows into the panels and how the seats are an integral part of the design. I love it. This is a classy lounge club! BMW has nothing there. Absolutely nothing. And that's a pitty. Otherwise I may have considered them.

The future? It almost sounds like MB is giving up this edge. With the 2010 around the corner and the spy pics so far, I would say MB is copying BMW both for the bad bangled exterior as the cheap interior. What's next to buy? An uncomfortable and overpriced Audi? A cheap looking 5? The ugliest E class in history? Let's hope I'm wrong.

Go for E - especially since you can still get the 2009 model. Hell, I would even pay full price for it. Could very well be the last truly beautiful out there.

Big J

Comfort,comfort,comfort that is what mercedes is. Fun to drive get a Porsche

landru64

yeah i may have left off some items from the list, but this was a real car at a local dealer and edmunds and the dealer's price lined up.... unfortunately it was sold

gaazmon

Exactly. But I have to admit, if I was looking at a small coupe, 335 would be my top choice. But I would really consider a g35, but still probably take the 335. I like the g35 4-door more than the 2-door, actually it will soon be the g37 4-door (now I'm really interested, especially cause money factor ways in).

But I love my E320, just have a little bit of money I want to drop into it, but not at this time (especially cause I have warranty till April 30, 2009. I'm really **** about risking to void warranty stuff). The only thing I can complain about on this car is the drive by wire and throttle learning. Reset my throttle computer the other day, the car woke up, literally. It's kind of like a nice suprise she gives me when I do this.

Dema

I do not see Gas-Tax Guzzling for 550i. Perhaps it made the difference.

gaazmon

I'm sure the 550i gets better mileage. 5.5L V8 v. 4.8L V8, big difference. But hey, I will pay for that extra gas cost just so I get that Mercedes V8 torque. Btw, I hear reliability wise, BMW V8s are horrible compared to Benzes and their V12s are nightmares. We are on our 3rd V8 from Mercedes (420SEL, S420, CL500), the engines have been pretty bulletproof, it's the other sh** that goes wrong.

howif

My brother in law just bought a BMW 550i. I can provide more feedback on this when I get a chance to drive it.

BTW I used to drive a BMW 540i and there are differences but each holds their own.