johnnydee

I'm looking for a 03 or 04 E500 and was wondering what things I should be on the outlook for?

Thanks John

Barry45RPM

Many, MANY problems with the '03s and '04s. Newer will be less frustrating if you can swing it.

Benz-O-Rama

^^^^^ Listen to this guy.


I know the price of the 03s and 04s are attractive. Pass on them and look for a nice clean 2006+

gaazmon

+1, even the 05s are good too, but 03s and 04s you'll run into a lot of hurdles.

vettdvr

I own a 2003 E500 and at 93,000 miles it drives like a new car giving 25.5 mpg and using no oil between 13,000 mile service.

Issues:

1) SBC brakes
2) Airmatic suspension
3) A/c Blower fan will squeek and fail easy to change
4) Hot water valve to heater. easy to change
5) Ball joints you can also do yourself.

These are the big issues. If you buy the E series w/o airmatic suspension the only big issue is the SBC brake system which is warrantied for 10 yrs.

If I were to do it over I probably would not have bought the E500 2003 and would have bought something else.

However now that I own one and know the issues I can work around them and it is amazing that at 93,000 this car still drives like a new car the day I picked it up.

I realize your results may vary but I probably have had one of the worst reliable cars I have ever owned in the 2003 E500 but knowing the issues makes it more toleable and it is a great driver car.

Oh left out bubble on the armrest as a PIA but not a reliability issue.

Hope this helps note,, I drive a corvette the Mercedes is the wifes' car.

I wish the MB was as reliable as the Corvette. vettdvr

johnnydee

I would think that these issues would already have been addressed now that the car is up to 7 years old!

vettdvr

There were addressed in mine when I had the warranty repairs completed. However if the parts were identical to the ones that failed then I would expect another failure at the same mileage as the OEM because there would have been no improvement in the part.

Hopefully they are upgraded and I won't have to do a do over for the same reasons.

If I do have a do over my next car won't be a MB.

cyclrder

stay away from the earlier cars...

my car is practically new from the warranty fixes....

bluecl600

I was about to recommend a used '03 E500 to a female friend but now I won't. Nice looking car in white for $11k but buying it would be the least expensive part of ownership! Gone are the days of the inexpensive used Mercedes!

werewolf34

Wow 11k is tempting but I think you would want to see a long list of repairs / recalls made.

vettdvr

I own a 2003 E series and my advice is Buyer Beware! You might get a good one. But you might need deep pockets to keep it going. Granted the newer models are suppose to be better but at $65K for my First MB I really expect reliability which I did not get.

Breakdown list available privately as verification.

Ser05E500

Stay away from 03..04 are much better...if you do decide to buy one..make sure you get a VMI from the dealer and see which things have been replaced undert warranty, recall or campaign.

I have had a 2005 E500 build 08/04 and has been a wonderfull experience. One of the best cars I have ever had. Comofrt and drive is unmatched. So far I have had to change bushings and ball joints but that is wear and tear.

Maintnance is very expensive. Parts are very expensive. 11,000 seem cheap but thats not the real price.

good luck

alberico

2003 E500 has antifreeze transmission leak problem. Mine had to have the transmission replaced and torque converter with car only having 60000Km. Big expense for me so buyer beware of E500 2003 or 2004 with a valero radiator..... It will lean antifreeze in your tranny sooner rather than later.

Alberi co