benz5dubbleOh

sup guys...

new to the forum. in the market for a e500.

one question: do the new benz cars have the self lowering/raising function? i remember on my uncle's cl500 the suspension would raise the car up at the push of a button, but not sure if the suspension could lower the car too.

tks

Silver_Lana

Quick answer: Yes it does on the E500.
It is optional on the E320.

Cheers!

benz5dubbleOh

oh nice..tks...

i guess that means i wouldnt have to buy lowering springs for the car and save the $$$ for wheels??

bmms8

yea, you can also raise it, but i believe some of the big rims won't work, because of the lowering system, ask crazy4cars he will help

E55 KEV

No springs on the E500 or the E320 with ADC suspension option.

benz5dubbleOh

ok guys...

i've been browsing arount this forum for a while and found some pretty disturbing news.

i've heard one member say he is not going to buy the new E anymore cuz the thing swirves to the right and the ride is horrendous.

I've also heard ppl in the S class section complain quite a bit about their cars.

Whats going on? I know Mercedes (especially 1st yr cars) has a history of nagging probs. but for 60k+ car such as the E500 and a 100+ car liek the S500, shouldnt these probs be non-existent?

I really need eveyrone's input here. I cant affford to buy a E500 (as great as it looks) and have it be a big POS. To be honest, I've always been a Lexus and Bimmer fan, but I've always dreamed of owning a mercedes one day. I jsut dont wanna dive into a 4-5 yr. commitment for a car thats gonna cause tons of trouble.

Help Pls!

bmms8

well, the ride on the new E is very good. especially on the 500 model, because you can choose 3 different settings, comfort, sport 1, and sport2 2. yes you are right about 1st year models, but the thing is, MB's use more advanced electronics than lexus. if you look at a rx300, a older camry, or a older es300, the interior is exactly the same. they use the same electronics, that are not the newest technology. maybe you should wait for the 2004 models. or buy an extended warranty. you dealer should offer a 7 yr/100,00 mile warranty for less than $2500. we got this option knowing we might have prolems in the future, especially with a new generation car. i would buy an e500 over a lexus ls430 or gs430 anyday nowm, because comparing it after owning it is a big difference from comparing the three by just hearing the stories. i suggest go for a o4 e500, and get the extra waranty, you'll be safe both ways

Carnaught

I'm on my 4th Benz, an E320 and did not feel like "springing" for the E500, an even better car. Needless to say, I am very happy with the car, now with 2 mos. of ownership. It is fun to drive, sturdy and well built. The drive inspires confidence and security. The fit and finish are excellent with zero squeaks and rattles, thus far "bullet-proof". Go for it.

lig

I own both an ES300 and am taking delivery tomorrow on an 03 E320. Your comment on the interior of the Lexus and Camry being the same is just plain wrong. More advanced electronics? What exactly do you mean by that? I know you aren't referring to Nav systems. Our Lexus has given us 148,000 trouble-free miles. I'm hoping that the Benz is going to be as good or better.

You would offer up advice "just by hearing stories" to someone about to make a $60K purchase?

Please don't spread misinformation. Opinions, obviously are one thing. Everyone is entitled to their own... factually incorrect statements are another thing altogether.

etenn

I am surprised at your attack on bmms. You sure seem to read his post different than I do. It looks to me as if he is stating his opinion. I fail to see the "factually incorrect statements".
I believe the "hearing stories" he is talking about refers to the posts on this forum.
Pretty strong attack for no reason.

Ed

CRB

Yeah, those Lexus' have throw back electronics...all the way back to the good old days when navigation systems actually worked.

Lexus ( Toyota) tends to lock in a spec and build the cars the same way for the full model run. And limit option permutations. All in the interest of reliability, I think.

lig

Ed -

You're right. I was having a really bad day. My car was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but it wasn't.

I stand by the "interiors are the same" comment - it's just not true.

My main beef is that folks on the internet are looking for information. I believe it's one thing to say - "I had/have one of those, and here is my experience"

I initally read that post and thought that he hadn't owned both - he'd "just heard stories"

bmms -

I apologise. My response was unduly harsh and came about because I think I misread your post (if you have actually owned a Lexus) . Sorry, dude!

Peace.

lig

bmms8

hey no problem, but my daily commute is a 98 camry, and my friend has a 02, and 00 es300, and rx300. the door handles, upper lighting section, and many other things are the same. i did not hear this, this is a fact that a rx has 40% same parts as a camry, and a rx is a suv. the es has around the same, just dont know the #, sorry about your car, but if it makes you feel better, we waited for 9 months . we also had to go through the west side dock strike or whatever it was

lig

Thanks, bmms.

I feel you. Nine month wait for a car?!? That's a LONG time! I had my kitchen remodel held up by the strike. GE Monogram dishwashers are made in Austrailia. I had no idea... paid for it up front, and three and a half months later - there it is.

I see what you are saying about interchangeable parts. The RX and the ES and Avalon were all built on the Camry chassis before. I don't know about the current generation, but I'd be surprised if they weren't. There are definitely a lot of parts shared between cars. The overall interior though - to me the Lexus interior is much nicer than the Camry/Avalon interiors.

Pity the poor Porsche 996 owners... their car now has the same front end as the Boxter!

DPBlessing

Actually, we should ENVY the Boxter owners as thier cars have the same front end as a 996
... and no, do'nt go giving me any stories about the Boxter being out first, because the design for the 996 was secretly being worked on long, long ago and the Boxter design group recognising a great design just stole it

Doug
'03 E320
'02 PORSCHE C4S (with a different front end)

lig

C4S? Very nice. I love that car! I've only driven the 996 C4 - never the rwd. How different are they? The C4 makes going really fast really easy!

I guess I'm one of those guys who never considered the 912, 914 and 944 "real" Porsches. I'm kind of torn on the 968 - simply because I've seen some really fast ones at the track! :p

The Boxter? I'd rather have a used 911 variant... Obviously, I dig the front end - but the car just doesn't move me the way 911/993/996's do.

my .02

E55 KEV

lig, I do agree that Toyota products are probably the most reliable (statiscally), however, I am quite sure there are others out there with ES300's that were full of problems and there is some guy out there with 148k faultless miles on a Ford Taurus.

In conclusion that guy with the Taurus will swear that Ford makes a better car than Mercedes because he got 148k miles on it he read on the Mercedes board that the E-Class was terrible because it drifted right and had a harsh ride.

lig

very true, Kevin. I would like to meet that Taurus owner, though! j/k I'm sure there are plenty of very satisfied Taurus owners out there.

I had a 96 Explorer. 85K on the clock and the only thing that went bad was a thermostat. Even got free tires courtesy of Ford because of the Firestone debacle.


I'm assuming the dealer will align the E if it pulls to the right!

I once read on the internet that....

benz5dubbleOh

u guys have been a big help...jsut wanted to say thanks.

i know that the final decsion msut come from me...but i feel that with allthe info and feedback i got, i can make a better decision.

tks again


btw...does anyone have a quarter i can borrow (coin-flip)