zheka

Hello people. I came across 2003 E500, with 90K miles. I really like the look, and I really want to buy. I know the maintenance on Mercedes cost a lot, but I'm curious, is there any known issues with this model? Will I regret buying it?

Benz-O-Rama

The 2003s have been the most problematic, historically. I would stay away from the 2003s and 2004s altogether, even though my 2004 has been mostly great.

If you're stretching financially just to get in a 2003, you're going to regret it. These cars are very expensive to maintain, and 2003s are going to need the most service most likely. At 90K miles you're already due for some very expensive, major services.

Get a 2005+ and thank me later.

zheka

Thank you very much for the response... People from 2 different forums, are saying pretty much the same thing... What other GOOD mercedes I can buy, that I wont regret spending million$ on repairs, that has the equal amount of power. I had 97 E420, that was a fast strong car. I'm looking somewhere below 15K. 2005 E500, is around 20K+, thats a lil too much for me.

Benz-O-Rama

If 15K is your budget, I'd skip Mercedes altogether. Owning a Mercedes outside of warranty is not for the feint of heart, especially one of the newer more sophisticated ones. Annual repairs and maintenance will be in the thousands, not hundreds.

With that low of a budget, I'd stick to Honda, Hynudai, Toyota and cars of that ilk.

SZMB

If you can set aside an average of $2k per year for repairs, then go for it. It's a really nice car, minus the expensive repairs. I have the 2004 E500 for 3 yrs now; the repair bills under warranty were totaled around $6k to $7k, and I also pumped it about $1.5k for repairs after the warranty expired. And all these repairs were done between 45k mi and 65k mi.

crazypotato

Get a 2005 E320 instead. 2003 E-class suffers from bad coolant in transmission to bad ball joints. Airmatic is another expensive item to repair.

CharlyE500

Get 04 E500..... I loved that car !

CharlyE500

As long not the 03

nstanford99

yeah dont buy 03, i have a 2004 and it isnt bad, youll love the power though if your jumping from a 420 to 500 too. but dont buy a car with miles that high, you can find better for around 15-17k.

GOOD LUCK!

zheka

what about S class? like 2001 S430 or, 2000 S500? those any good cars? or should I ask that in S class sub-forum?

nstanford99

yeah i mean for the price of w211 E Classes, you can find similar miles on an w220 S Class in an 04, but anyone can buy a mercedes, you just have to be able to maintain it.

justdonating

I recently traded in a '03 E500 w/ 75k miles. I'll list the repairs I had over the past 7 years. I didn't list FSS stuff covered under warranty.

Replace Rear Sunshade - covered under warranty
Replace Heater Shut-Off Valve - covered under warranty
Replace Rear Speaker - covered under warranty
B-Service - $600
Replace SRS Sensor - covered under warranty
Replace Lamp Wiring Kit - covered under warranty
Replace Right Turn Signal Unit - covered under warranty
Replace Oil Sensor Level Unit - covered under warranty
Replace Lower Ball Joints - covered under warranty
Replace Torsion Bar Struts - covered under warranty
Brake Fluid Change - $75
Front and Rear Alignment - $125
A - Service - $300
Brake Rotors - $790
Replace Washer Tank - $150
B Service - $400
Replace Both Batteries - $600
Brake System Flush - $130
Transmission Electrical Connection Leak - $185

All things considered, the maintenance costs weren't too bad, but most of them came after the warranty expired. Also beware of issues with the air suspension. I had an issue once that cost $1000 to diagnose and repair. It was covered under warranty.

nstanford99

yeah theres a lot of little things that will more than likely need replaced, for example i just bought a new 3rd brake light around xmas, and now its in the shop for some wiring problem and the light doesnt work

vettdvr

Left out a few items as I also have 2003 E500:

Motor mounts
Rear Air springs
Ignition key
cracked wood grain dash panel
power plug in ash tray
2 sets of brake pads/rotors
airmatic compressor
Many alignments to correct right pull
A/C blower fan
Arm rest blistered

Had I known all this prior to purchase I would not have bought the 2003

zheka

well... im definitely not buying 03 E500 now

hpdrifter

Where are you located? I have an 05 E500 with 65k on it and I've been considering selling it. Has Navigation. I'd be looking for 20k.?

zheka

Sorry, the price is a lil over than what I'm looking at. I'm considering a 2001 E430.

s5benzo

hey zheka theres plenty of w220 s classes around 15k$. dont buy first year production of s or e class. if you keep up with them itll be fine, my friend has an 01 s500 bought years ago with 20-30k miles on it, now has 160k miles on, only major issue he had was airmatic failure and crank sensor , which is common, but he regularly maintains it. 2000 s classes had the first year bugs , then benz slowly worked them out. even 02's are good starting 03 they got even better with quality also had a facelift.

gaazmon

the 00 - 02 s/cl had their share of problems too. i thought of getting a 02 S class back then (definitely wouldn't get 00 and not even 01), but opted for the E, more practical, found better options (the S's were pretty bare the ones i found).

also remember, there's some amount of luck involved, but track records for MY's are the best bet. 03, generally, was a horrible year. when i told my uncle i wanted to buy an 03 E55 instead of an 04-05 320/500 (there was a significant price difference), he said to run away and stay away. 04s had their share, but not as bad. 05+ is generally better (some stuff was updated for 05).