03_E500

I have owned this Mercedes for about 1.5 years and I am ready to say that the previous W210 E320 was built much better then the W211.

I bought this E500 with 58k miles and now I just hit 81,500 this morning. Its a comfortable and stable ride but **** just keeps braking. Interior trim just falls off and chrome starts peeling.. Rear shocks are pretty much out.. Keyless go trips out.. Bushings, engine mounts, ball joints going out.. And this car is pretty much is my wife daily driver.. about 50 miles a day to go to work..

Obviously Im not too happy with the car, but to make things worse she gets rear ended in the rain. So my main question is, had anyone ever been through anything like this? I will be going to the insurance company to get an estimate, What should I look for? Any hidden damages that might appear? The rear bumper has holes in it. The car doesnt seem that bad but I did notice some water in the trunk since it was raining, and the gap between the quarter panel and the trunk seemed to expand a little. I couldnt find any dents, bends, or kinks on the actual quarter panel. The pipe coming out of my muffler seemed to be bent.

The Altima that hit my wife was destroyed. Whole front end was gone and deployed the air bags.. Impact was somewhat severe. about 30+ mph. If you think 30mph is slow, watch some crash test videos at 30-35mph..

Any advise will be appreciated.

Clinton Horn

You may be on the bubble for a total loss. At that age / mileage a rear collision can gobble up so much labor that it becomes cheaper for the insurance people to scrap the car. The trunk well can be pretty expensive to try and re form. It is pure speculation on my part but don't be too surprised if they make you a lowball offer. On the plus side, you can elect to purchase it from them for the salvage value. It does not sound like you are very satisfied with it to begin with. Rear end collisions can be nasty and usually they are much worse than they appear. You are right about 30 mph. That is a severe hit. Driver will likely have delayed neck pain. Careful about a medical release

SZMB

That's another reason for buying MB -- safety; it keeps your family free of injuries in the event of accidents. That alone is worth every dime.
If the insurance company does not declare a total loss, then I would go to the dealer and get an inspection of the damage and let them decide to see if it's still safe to drive, and get an estimate on the repair cost. Also get an estimate from the body shop for repairing any structure damage. I assume you have a police report on this.

chokaay

OP, in regards to the numerous quality issues you've had, it looks like your car is a 2003 E500. It is widely known (at least on several MB forums) that MB's quality tended to be severely lacking during the period your vehicle was made (I would say at least late '90's-2004). Starting 2005, MB started to mak strides in improving reliability and quality, and I'd say it's safe to say that at least from 2007-2009 they have very much succeeded (2010 is a completely new model that just came out, so the verdict is still out on that model... although in general things are looking very good).

That being said, I am happy to hear that your vehicle performed as it should in a rear-end collision and that it protected the occupants well. Among the many reasons to buy a MB, the one I hear the most often is safety, and I too believe that MB is among the safest brand of car you can own today (due to various test results, eye-witness accounts, 3rd-party testimonials, 1st-party observations, and 1st-party experiences).

In my opinion, if the vehicle is totalled by the insurance company, I would purchase a 2007-2009 W211 (that is IF you want a another E-Class MB). If you want the latest-and-greatest, then the 2010 W212 may be up your alley (although I don't think you can find this CPO'ed yet). Based with your (and many other people's) experiences with pre-2006 E-Classes, I would avoid buying another pre-2006 W211 (and personally IMO, I'd avoid 2006 as well... the face-lifted 2007-2009 version looks better anyway, but that's my opinion).

gdinerio

My 2006 E350 4matic just got rear ended by a 2010 honda civic. Reading your initial post the damage seems near identical. The driver of the civic hit me at 30 to 40 mph as they were texting and didn't notice my break lights. Had the vehicle repaired by a facility my local dealer uses to repair all their vehicles. Total damage came out to be in the 7k range if I remember correctly. Bumber seperated from quater panel, left exhaust needed to be replaced, trunk liner replaced, bumper replaced. There were more parts but those stick out to me right now. Again like your accident the civic was demolished on the front end, with airbag being deployed. I saw the impact coming so i was able to brace myself but I must say i expected it to be much worse as I was at a standstill, I was more surprised by the active headrest activating than I was the impact.

MBZ16V

My 2004 211 was rear-ended at a stop light where my daughter and i were waiting for pedestrians to cross. The lady behind me thought we were going to go forward and from a stand still accelerated and hit us. Initially, it seemed like a small damage, which was just the bumper, as her car's front was lower than our rear bumper, but the next day, and everyday thereafter the rear suspension started bottoming out. They ended up replacing the rear air springs and rear air shocks.

That wasn't even close to 30 mph. Depending on who your insurance carrier is, if they repair it, they will warranty the repair of the car for as long as you own it.

Frasmat

It looks like a total loss due to the age of car and potential cost of repairs

vettdvr

I feel you pain on this car as I also own a 2003 E500 and have had every issue you mentioned + air suspension, memory controls, cruise control, front shock seals, SBC brakes and many other items.

I have also been rearended twice. Look closely at the rear of your car. If the rear qtr panels are buckled and any flexing of the roof it probably will be a total. My incidents were all in stop/go traffic where only the trunk lid/bumper were involved with no buckling of the fenders.

So for you car if the rear fenders are buckled you may be lucky enough to get out of one of the most unreliable cars I have ever owned.