I was wondering how the reliability of the 03-04 E500's were. I have a CL500 and the only problems I have had with that are the dash and active body control. I am just looking to pick up another car and really liked the 500 motor
Thanks

 

Stay away from 03. 04's are better, but I had to have my tranny replaced because of glycol problem. 05s and 06s are better.

 

thats not good at all. anyone else with problems

 

2003 E500 83,000 mile

memory seat
ignition key
SBC total failure of braking system
door locks
ball joints
air suspension
brakes every 30,000 in the beginning but me doing has raised the #
hot water control valve to heater
a/c blower fan
cigarette lighter didn't work for power to GPS

I have to look at the records to find all the failures. Don't know if I would buy another MB after all the dealer trips. Each failure I had to drive 200 miles. Dealer has been great.

 

As the current owner of a 2003 E500, I'll tell you:

DO NOT BE AFRAID of getting an early (03-04) W211. But you MUST do your homework before you do so. It'll work out fine and you'll save THOUSANDS if you do it right.

People tend to say "stay away from ALL 03s and 04s". As with anything in life, making generalizations is not only misguided, but naive.

There ARE good cars out there, you just need to do your research BEFORE you buy one. By now, all the issues the cars had early on were most probably fixed by the original owner, so an E500 with low mileage that received proper service is actually BETTER than when it was new. You'll get an awesome car for the money and save thousands.

I purchased my E500 in 2007 with 35k miles (have 61k as we speak). Needless to say, I saved THOUSANDS from the original sticker of over $60k.

I first had the vehicle THOROUGHLY inspected by MB of Chicago, and then bought a premium bumper-to-bumper warranty. It gets serviced religiously at the Benz dealer, and if anything goes wrong (nothing major so far) all I pay is a $100 deductible.

I've never needed a 2nd vehicle to cover time at the shop, build quality is EXCELLENT (NO squeaks or rattles whatsoever), and electronics are superb; I even installed a EURO Comand with DVD in motion, OEM Bluetooth (less than $400 for 03-04, over $2k for 05>) , and SIRIUS Satellite Radio, ALL of which function perfectly and seamlessly with the vehicle.

So you see, whereas the 03-04 W211s have developed quite the bad rap of unreliability (perhaps deservedly so), there ARE good cars out there, SPECIALLY if they have low mileage and were serviced appropriately. I happen to have one and am sure there are HUNDREDS if not thousands of early W211 owners out there that would agree.

MOST OF ALL, my Savings Account has been quite happy with my original savings. So much so that I already paid off the vehicle, and I'm now enjoying doing all the mods I want as there's NO monthly car payment, even doing an 07-08 front end conversion to make the car look pretty much new.

You can do the same if you educate yourself before the purchase.

 

Run.
one guy that lucked out and thinks he saved money,is an oddity.
You would be buying the third most unreliable Benz in Mercedes history after the 98 ML320 and the 03 W211.You might as well play Russian roulette
Or when asked about an S500 from those years for a friend, a tech foreman at Mercedes said shake his neck until he comes to his senses

 

Interesting the above quote comes from someone that doesn't actually own a W211.

Like I said: "Making generalizations is not only misguided, but NAIVE" (I believe that's true for ANYTHING in life).

Key words in my earlier post: DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

I still find it amazing people will generalize, and completely disregard TWO full production years for the w211 .

Then again, it IS easier to generalize and write them off, than actually take the time to research the vehicle you're looking at ( I also believe that applies to everything you buy; you research before doing so = you save money).

By the way, I don't "think" I saved money; I DID.

I have a trouble-free E500 that looks pretty much new after an 07-08 conversion, and it's already paid off .

 

I have to agree with Chicago Buckeye, I have an 04 E500 that currently has 65K (bought mine used as well) and the only time it's been to the dealer for repairs, ever, is for a defective purge valve. It's been fantastic otherwise.

 

THANKS Brother!

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one here with a trouble-free early W211!!!

Then again, according to some people you and I are probably the ONLY ones .

I think they tend to forget that by now most issues have been ironed out, and you can save a TON of money if you find one that's been well taken care of.

 

I currently own one of those dreaded '03 W211's with 29K miles. Since my ownership I've had to fill it with gas occassionally, change the oil, rotate the tires and a few times some general maintenance. I also installed the Bluetooth Puck Adapter and so far works just fine. I must say for all the trouble I've read about the '03 -'04 W211's, I must be a very lucky boy. I also agree with Ohio Buckeye, I purchased my '03 W211 used(1-Owner), purchased a 3/36 bumber to bumper extended warranty, saved a ton of money, and have yet had to have anything replaced. So far, it is the finest "Automobile" I have ever driven or owned.
Ooops, I lied...under warranty had the left front door lock cylinder replaced because the IR switch went bad and I couldn't open my windows with the key fob.
Have a Great Day!!!

 

I have a MY 2003 E320 (built 12/02).

Only problem so far was a leaky vacuum hose and the drivers side seat motor stopped working, both were covered under warranty (no charge). My OEM brakes lasted 43k miles. I never had the glycol contamination problem or any issues ever with my transmission. I have the SBC brakes and have never had an issue with those either.

Just passed 75k miles last week and the car runs flawlessly.

I think people that have a lot of problems with their cars are simply more outspoken than those that dont have problems.

 

They're not all bad, but I'm not a lucky person in life so I don't really like to play that game. Mine was a 02/04 build E320 and it had the old radiator, Valeo (I guess the a**holes at the MB factory had some left over and where using them even up until the end of 04 production). I don't know anything about the 05's, but haven't heard anything bad. I honestly love my 04, just wish I had a V8, but hey, I chose it for the options. I haven't had any other problems except the wipers are crap and haven't been right since I bought them.

 

the updated radiator is 230 bucks shipped and takes about 3 hours to install- i replaced mine proactively with no issues-

i also replaced the front passenger side air strut- 1400 installed

other than that i cant complain. car has 46k on the clock as of today-

Vettdvr has owned his since new and does most of his maintenance himself- he and some others can save you big bucks if you decide to buy one and maintain it yourself.

 

2004 E500 at 60k miles: only issue after 5 years has been a failed front driver airmatic shock at 55k miles. Granted, it was an expensive repair at $1200, but otherwise its been pretty flawless. It also runs like new. I agree with above, I would not hesitate to buy one, but make sure you do your research well before buying. E500s are a steal now ( Im helping my friend find one).

 

i saved around $40,000 off retail price for buying the 04 e500 4matic used last month. so far 1 balljoint failure and spent $150 to replace it at local indi garage and new set of brake pads and new e63 amg rims! now its just like new and im loving my car. just make sure to invest on some extended warrenty then u are all set.

 

I also have an "early" W211 and it's been 100% flawless. All service bulletins and recalls have been performed and have never paid for anything besides regular maintenence. With that being said I only have 20k miles so it's very early in the game.

You know the saying, "buy the newest, cleanest example you can afford".

One things for sure is these vehicles are terrific value... I paid 1/3 the original invoice.

 

Well bought something totally opposite. Escalade I guess I will stick to the CL class if I want another mercedes down the road

 

My friend just turned his in. Wow, that car was amazing, the power was unreal for a car that big, 400+ hp, beautiful. Congrats though, I love that thing. Btw, the CL is the best MB model out there, I love the one we have.

 

Which bumper-to-bumper warranty did you buy and are you satisfied with the service? My MB CPO Warranty expires in Jan 2010 and plan to buy a new third party one. My vehicle currently has 65500 miles and since I'm now retired, I don't put that many miles per year on it.

 

It's managed by PRIZM, and it's the premium warranty they offer (I believe they have 3 or 4 levels).

My deductible is $100 and most importantly MB of Chicago accepts it, so the car gets serviced there.

 

I say "RUN!" as well. This is speaking as a former owner. My car was really nice looking but it was a nightmare.

I pity the fool who got my car after I turned it in. (it was a lease)

The dealer treated me well - but it was almost comical. Pretty much "guess what malfunction the MFD will display this week"

 

Since he asked about 500's, my post is a little off base but I purchased a 12/02 build date E320 in Sept 2006 off of a 39 month lease. The car had 15,320 miles on it when I picked it up. I paid a premium to get it but it looked, smelled and drove like a new car. To date, it has one visit to the shop for a loose battery cable in the trunk. We have only logged 25000 miles on it but I enjoy owning it and the mileage on the highway is almost unbelievable. Everytime I think about the previous owner (lease) and the hosing they took to get first ownership, I wonder why they just did not call a cab. It would have been cheaper.

 

There's a reason why those cars' prices have taken a nose dive, no brakes (yikes!) SBC dropped by MB in 2005 LINK, search on these forums regarding the problem...It occurs more than any brake system EVER should. But like anything, buyer beware and do your homework - if you love this car and get one ensure you get a warranty of some sort. I've worked on many Benzes and unfortunately the quality on these vehicles nowadays is not what it used to be. I would never have my family ride in a car where the possibility of a brake failure exists. You're asking for opinions and you'll get it all here but that is my two bits.

 

Actually the "Quality Issue" is with the '03s thru the '05s. The '06s were pretty good, and the '07's onward are remarkable.

 

SBC was taken out of the E-classes for MY 2007. The 06's still had them. Also, the E63 still has it. I don't recall if they took it out of the SL's as they were the other model with SBC in it.