AmazinglySmooth

I just bought a MY05 E500 from Carmax with 53k miles. Car seems great, but I'm reading up on all the problems and am having second thoughts. Carmax has a 5 day return with today being my last day. Should I keep it?

chokaay

Honestly, that is your decision, and yours alone.

Remember that online forums are NOT the place to get a 100% accurate sampling of any product line. People are MUCH MORE LIKELY to post when something goes wrong and they need help (as opposed to when everything works fine and they have no issues). Not only that, but the people on MBWorld (or any other online forum for that matter) don't make up a majority of Mercedes-Benz owners either... in fact I'd be surprised if we all make up 0.1% of all owners!

That being said, Mercedes-Benz are expensive cars, and as such are expensive to repair when something goes wrong. Could there be a lot of issues with your 2005 E500? YES! Will it be expensive to repair if something goes wrong out-of-warranty? HECK YES! Could your 2005 E500 perform flawlessly for the next 10 years? YES, IT COULD! There is no way to predict the future, so it's really up to you what you want to do.


And just to let you know, expensive repairs can happen to ANY car (either "expensive" or "inexpensive"). My uncle just bought a brand new 2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited V6 (top of the line) for around $26,633+TTL. The 2nd day of ownership, the GPS command system stops working. He brought it into the dealership, and they mess around with it for a whole day and got it working again. He goes to pick it up a day later, starts the car, the GPS command system is dead. The dealership then says they'll order a new one, and to come back in 1 week. Until then, he's stuck driving around in a car with a non-working GPS command module and display. (The dealership won't give him a loan car because his vehicle is still "driveable", which apparently is Hyundai's policy on loan cars, even though many functions besides GPS aren't accessable since the LCD display is inoperable. In fact, apparently if the customer doesn't buy Hyundai's Extended Warranty for $1,000 more, they aren't eligible for loan cars at all!) If this repair wasn't covered by warranty, it would cost my uncle over $5,000+... and that's on a vehicle costing only $26,633 (about 19% of the vehicle total price). I know Hyundai is supposed to be within the top 3 manufacturers in regards to vehicle quality (and I think reliability), but this experience obviously says something...

AmazinglySmooth

What are expensive repairs that are occurring often?

chokaay

I don't know, as I don't have a 2005 E500. But search the forum and see which problems pop-up in threads about 2005 E500's most often...

viku_st

I have a E500 2004, I like mine very much. I can advise that a regular maintenance and keep you eye on will prevent you from expensive repairs, unless it is something wrong not only with your. Check for recall on this cars and this forum. And depend, how much you are redy to pay, to have this car .
good luck

Jen_Kenne

Ah, buyer's remorse. Indecision may or many not be an issue.

AmazinglySmooth

Yeah. This is kinda the problem with Carmax: you can buy without any commitment. Therefore, you don't have to research anything ahead of time. I've decided to keep it and get a service plan.

We shall see if this is a bad choice--I've never owned MB before, and I've had tons of luck with Honda, Toyota, and Lexus.

Jen_Kenne

I have owned more than a dozen Benzes - photos are in my "photo gallery." I have never had a bad experience with one of them, or with any of the dealers from New Jersey to Florida. I have a 2004 E500 with the balance of the original factory warranty and a two year extension. I hope you and I have a happy ownership experience.

CharlyE500

Keep it ! I used to have a 04 E500 and loved it. I had it for 2 years NO problem at all. Only change the breaks and BallJoints (they last about 60k miles) The only reason I sold it because I bought E55.

AmazinglySmooth

I've decided to keep it. I have 25 days left for Carmax to fix anything, so I'm looking closely. Anything else I should look at?

What breaks with the ball joints? Is there a sound?

Benz-O-Rama

1. Ball Joints
2. Engine Mounts
3. Various Airmatic components
4. Transmission (if contaminated with glycol)
5. Random electrical gremlins like Dynamic Seat modules, if so equipped. COMAND/NAV issues....etc..
6. Control arms and thrust arm bushings

Those would be the most common, especially on the 2003-2006 MYs. I have 2004 E500 and have only had problem #1 and 6, plus I needed an dynamic seat module once. I also needed a front wheel bearing, recently. I currently sit at 86K miles. General maintenance can get pricey, depending on what you consider pricey. Keep in mind that an oil change will cost you 100-125 unless you do it yourself. In that case, it will cost you $75 or so. I did my own spark plugs a couple of months ago. That would've cost about $600.00 at the dealer, I believe. Complete brake jobs are about a grand or so.

My point is, unless you have the funds to keep the car running correctly, you're gonna end up in trouble. This is not a Toyota Camry, but can almost as reliable if proper maintenance is performed. The engines are pretty much bullet proof on these dune buggies.

Good luck with her.

Eich

Is GLYCOL contamination really a potential issue on a 2005? I thought they solved that by 2004?

Benz-O-Rama

Yes, for the most part is was the 2003 and early 2004's that had this problem. But I didn't feel like creating a list for each model year.

dsm2925

guys you are scaring me!! im only at 57k and warranty just finished.. im looking into aftermarket warranty.

bigben320e

Very good points, and pretty accurate on those prices as well. The CLS being that it shares the E platform is pretty close as well. I am at 58K now, and it has been a good experience thus far. One thing to keep in mind, like you said is to keep some funds for maintenance items such as brakes, rotors, etc. My service A is around $267, B is usually mid $300's.

Another observation I had is with the oil changes, being that you only need it at 13K intervals that $90 actually is even when I had my 300M which needed a change at every 7K.

On the DIY, I have to admit I am a little scared to do the plugs myself. How hard is that to do? Now I do recommend doing your own wipers, air filters, cabin filters, those are very easy DIY's and much cheaper to buy yourself.

Benz-O-Rama

Plugs were kinda of a pain on my E500. Remember, there's 16 plugs and 8 coil packs that have to be removed. I guess it all depends on your level of mechanical experience. It's not a hard job, per se, but it is time consuming and unless you have the proper tools, just getting the spark plug boots off can be hard. MB sells a special tool, but I just used a 15mm open end wrench as a lever. You'll also want some dielectric grease to lubricate the boots before you reinstall.

220S

Since it sounds like you didn't do a PPI when you bought it, then do it now. Find a really good Indy (or a reputable dealer is okay, too) and pay the $350 or so to get a thorough PPI done. And along with that, do a paint meter check and make sure there's never been any structural damage, etc.. (CarFax tells you nothing 80% of the time.)

It will give you peace of mind and since you have 25 days for fixes, you'll be able to work with CarMax on it. And you'll know what you just bought.

(ps, people should really do a PPI no matter where the car came from. It's a given when buying used cars, at least in my world. CPO or not (even dealers can be a bit shady sometimes.) You wouldn't buy a house without an professional inspection, would you?)

bigben320e

Yep, I knew about the 16. I have done plug changes on V8 455's, etc. I also did my 300M, which were the COP as well. However, they were easy to get to. I may end up getting the plugs, and go the indy route for that job when the time comes. Is there a DIY guide around on the CLS/E 500?

vettdvr

Heater control valve
Ignition switch
Airsprings (part of the components to include the compressor)
SBC brake system
Blower motor
Electrical items

Just a few add on's to the list.

BUY A WARRANTY HAVE A GOOD SERVICE DEPT.