E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

My first Benz...

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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 10:17 AM
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was '03 E320 - now - '04 S4
My first Benz... (updated w/pics)

My new E320 Black/Stone E2 + heated seats is being detailed today and will be delivered tomorrow!

I'm very excited - my Mercedes driving friends tell me that I won't want to drive a lesser vehicle from this point on.

Last edited by lig; Mar 14, 2003 at 01:07 PM.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 10:29 AM
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03 E320, sport package, moon roof, sound upgrade, brilliant silver, charcoal leather, heated seats..
Oh, Right!, and remember to maintain your cool if/when your car drifts to the left or right, the engine ticks, HK radio fails to work or produces static, headlight lamps fail, cd changer fails, SRS light comes on reporting failure, MBUSA ignores your requests for clarification, Teleaid tells you the problem needs to be reviewed at your dealership, your heated seats are only tepid, and the hired help drop a screw driver on your trunk lid while changing your plates and produce a nice scratch. Don't ask about Command navigation because no one anywhere claims to know anything about it, or ask any five people who should know and receive 5 different opinions. Keep the lesser vehicle brochures in your desk, you might want to review them in 6 months.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 10:42 AM
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'03 Mercedes E320
lig: Mine has been great, almost 6 months now--enjoy yours.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 10:47 AM
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03 E320, sport package, moon roof, sound upgrade, brilliant silver, charcoal leather, heated seats..
lig: Mine has not been so great, almost 3 months now--enjoy yours.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 10:49 AM
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Yowza! I've read a few posts that have detailed some problems with the W211's. Not enough to change my car decision, but certainly enough to make me a little leery of the problems.

I'll post my pet peeve - even before I take delivery. My fun car (Honda S2000) was about 33K. It is a fantastic car and I expect it will be for some time to come.

It came standard with HID xenons AND metallic paint. Mercedes wants about $2,000 more for those items - on a $50K car! ?!?

I would hope that the "first year" teething problems are something that Mercedes would be immune to. I would expect that from a GM vehicle, but not Mercedes.

Still excited about my car...

lig
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 10:59 AM
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How about build dates? Any certain dates to look out for when picking up an E on the lot?
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 11:02 AM
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Thanks for the well wishes, guys. The only thing that really disturbed me in some of the posts was the response from MBNA regarding problems. My wife's Lexus has been an incredibly good car - 148,000+ miles and she wants to keep driving it until the wheels fall off or she no longer feels safe.

It still looks terrific and the ownership experience has been outstanding. Even three years and 50,000 miles out of warranty the factory rep split a new power window motor/relay replacement with me.

I hope the Mercedes experience is similar.

Now if I could just find some nice rims/tires for this beast... :p
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 11:03 AM
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03 E320, sport package, moon roof, sound upgrade, brilliant silver, charcoal leather, heated seats..
Originally posted by lig
Yowza!

Still excited about my car...

lig
I hope you will see no problems, but if you do prepare to be patient, very patient. The first time you take your car in, the problem may not be recognized by the computer, and you will be told your problem cannot be confirmed. This scenario might take several frustrating trips. The mechanic might leave grease on your door, steering wheel or seat, as happened to at least one poster. Most everyone here will tell you all these problems are minor, first year issues (some will say that notion is bogus)...so your experience and excitement may vary.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 11:10 AM
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Grease on the leather? Had I known about that I would have gone with Charcoal, for sure! :p

Keeping my fingers crossed...

lig

Seriously though... are you talking about OBD II diagnostic codes? What did they find/not find and what should I be looking for ( feel free to direct me to a thread outlining this stuff!)

Thanks again...
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 11:22 AM
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03 E320, sport package, moon roof, sound upgrade, brilliant silver, charcoal leather, heated seats..
Originally posted by lig
Grease on the leather? Had I known about that I would have gone with Charcoal, for sure! :p

Keeping my fingers crossed...

lig

Seriously though... are you talking about OBD II diagnostic codes? What did they find/not find and what should I be looking for ( feel free to direct me to a thread outlining this stuff!)

Thanks again...
yes the diagnostic codes. The threads are too numerous to single out on this forum although someone may have time to do that research. Suggest you perform a search using the problem list and you should find dozens of threads.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 12:32 PM
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lig, hope you really enjoy the car and avoid these problems. I do think you have to put in perspective that a forum like this one generally tends to draw the people at the ends of the car owner spectrum: those that are passionately happy and those that are passionately unhappy, so you may tend to see more problems, for example, than exist in most deliveries. (Comments not intended to diminish your own experience, drb, I've faced similar with my CLK)

That's not to make excuses for MB, however. At this price point, they should be delivering cars without this many complaints, and recent studies have shown that their owner sat figures are dropping primarily because of electrical problems with their newer cars, but nonetheless, I think problems may seem worse if you surf these threads.

Best of luck, can't wait to get mine next fall.

dtm

Last edited by dtm; Mar 11, 2003 at 12:34 PM.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 08:36 PM
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2003 E320
lig, congratulations on your new car! Enjoy-- and remember, we want pictures!

By the way, I bought my first Mercedes 17 years ago and have always loved my car. My Mercedes ownership experience has always been outstanding (dealer/purchase experience not always so fantastic, however), and I would never even consider driving anything but a Mercedes. I think the E320 is one of the most exciting cars on the road! LOVE IT!!!!

Last edited by rickyfanmdr; Mar 11, 2003 at 08:43 PM.
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Old Mar 11, 2003 | 08:51 PM
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Hey kids... I'll take some pics at the showroom on delivery. They'll be boring, I'm sure since the car will be bone stock (for a while, at least :p )

How's this for service - they are going to pick me up tomorrow afternoon at my home so I can get my car. If the shuttle was unavailable, the salesman offered to pick me up himself!

It's nice to see peeps that have strong feelings about their cars! I'm looking forward to the whole ownership experience. Too bad I can't afford an E55!

lig
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 12:46 PM
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updated with pics

pics as promised. Took delivery yesterday. It was pretty cool - they put the car right in front of the showroom! I'm beginning to wonder if stone was a good idea... it's going to get dirty in a hurry!

Very smooth and quiet - so far - I love it.
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 12:47 PM
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was '03 E320 - now - '04 S4
out to the street...
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 12:49 PM
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I had to take a picture of the brakes on the CL55. I think I left drool marks on the car. My apologies to the new owner... :p
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 02:04 PM
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lig, that dealer showroom looks suspiciously like Phil Smart. Yes? That's where my order is as well.

Congrats on a beautiful car
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 02:17 PM
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Talking

Your new car is just gorgeous!!! Enjoy!
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 04:03 PM
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2003 CLK 500
WOW!! Stunning.....
Your new purchace is BEAUTIFUL!
I would not worry about the stone interior getting dirty though. I have stone in my clk, and its very easy to maintain...and its a big plus to be able to see where the dirt is, instead of having it camoflaged in a darker interior.
enjoy,
jules
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Old Mar 14, 2003 | 08:24 PM
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Thanks, guys! I'm loving every minute. Debadged it this morning. I didn't have any "GooGone" handy so I relied on the old favorite - WD40. A little Zymol and it was good to go!

Good to hear about the stone and dirt... I was gettting a little worried.

Good eye, dtm - Len @ Phil Smart really took good care of me. I would recommend him without reservation.

Now if there were just some rims out there that fit the W211...

Silly me... I didn't pay much attention to the exhaust tips when I went to check out the car. Looked at the brochure and thought maybe MB photoshopped them out. I didn't realize until later that they are essentially hidden from view!
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