DubVBenz

I'm sure the regulars around here are pretty sick of my constant questions about a car I've never owned... but I finally joined the club today. I just purchased an 07 E320 Bluetec with about 28K miles on it and 7 months of warranty left for 34K. I know it may seem a little high, but it came with the P2 package and a pano roof, which seem to be pretty rare for a bluetec. It's also missing some very common options, such as linguatronic and the ipod adapter. I'm not overly concerned about linguatronic, and I can add an aftermarket solution for external music (I'm thinking the Dension Gateway 500 MOST, input welcome).

The car came with a few flaws (see my post about a scratched windshield), with the most obvious being a dead driver side door lock actuator. I'm assuming that will be repaired under warranty. I had to fly from DC to atlanta this morning and then left the dealership about 2PM and made it back to NoVa around 11PM. I'll be having a trusted mechanic fully inspect the car tomorrow. I looked it over pretty well while there (obviously missing the windshield problem, and you can see my other post for the reasons why), but it doesn't appear to have any damage related to an accident.

A few spots on the chrome trim indicated door dings that had been removed, but I had to expect that much for a non certified 3 year old MB, I suppose. Aside from the door lock and windshield, the only other item of concern was what appeared to be some chipping or white spots on the inside seam where the trunk lid meets the top of the fender. I'm hoping that doesn't indicate rear-end work, and perhaps is just a sign of the previous owner closing the trunk carelessly with stuff hanging out.. I could find no other obvious signs of damage to the car. The carfax was clean, and I had two MB dealers that previously serviced the car give me VMI information. Neither could find bodywork history.

Anyways, if anyone wants to see some preliminary pics of the car (in pretty poor quality too), check out the following link : 2007 Mercedes E320 CDI PANO NAV - Stock # 5972

Like I said, it's missing some pretty common features, but it also has options which I couldn't really find in other places. I'll be uploading some pics in the next few days. It performed very well on the 600 mile trip home, however I only averaged about 33MPG at 80-85MPH with the AC on.. I was sort of hoping for around 36-38, but I guess I was being too optimistic.

Additionally, the NAV DVD was missing, so they ordered me a brand new one to be fedexed to my house. I'm hoping they indicated it was a pre 09 model, otherwise I imagine it won't work. Worst case scenario, I sell the new one on ebay and buy the one that does work with my model. Assuming the car checks out tomorrow after a thorough inspection, I've been pretty pleased with the dealer. Seemed fairly honest , although one guy pretended he didn't know about the locking issue, until another guy came running out with the warranty information in hand. Their lot seemed to be filled with good condition, non ghettofied (read: large RIMS, TINT and insane financing rates), german and lexus cars. I'll keep everyone appraised of my adventure, and I'll update my sig soon! I'd like to thank everyone for putting up with a constant barrage of questions from a guy who has owned 20+ year old mercedes for 10 years!

gaazmon

congrats on the buy and welcome aboard sailor

P2 and pano are quite rare on a CDI (it's hard to find a P2 car period here in Los Angeles on 350s or 550s).

WRC7732

You said, you flew to Atlanta to pick up the car. What was the name of the dealership you purchased from???

DubVBenz

Malone's automotive, right near you it looks like. Opinions? Good/Bad? Car had a few flaws, but it was used. Like I said above, I ended up with a scuffed up windshield that I'll need to fix somehow..

WRC7732

Too funny. I bought my e320 CDI from them back in February and was just looking at that Bluetech on their site last week.

The day after I bought mine the EGR valve started crapping out. I took it back in and they agreed to repair it under their 30 day powertrain warranty. The mechaninc though it was the MAF sensor first and so replaced that only to find that it was the EGR all along, so I got both replaced. They also extended my warranty to 90 days in case anything popped up again. This made me more comfortable.

I've since driven it 6,000 miles in the last 3 months and it's been great. 'knock on wood'.

I also had niggly little things that didn't work. The Rear Dome light didn't work (ribon cable was broken, replaced myself), and the homelink garage door buttons on the mirror didn't work (Malones fixed for me while getting the EGR and MAF done).

I also found a broken foglight and wrong clamp on the lower drivers side intercooler hose. After further investigation it apperas that there has been some form of minor colision on the front drivers side that was partly repaired. Mine also had a clean Carfax and AutoChex.

Other than those issues the car has been great. And it's very clean too. Looks more like a 10,000 mile car, not the 72,000 that it now has on it.

Bummer about the windshield. Mine doesn't have any scratches but doesn't appear to be a factory windshield either. I haven't had a chance to look at someone else's yet, but It doesn't have the MB symbol stamped on it like the side window do.

Not sure what they would do for ou being so far away, but I'd atleast try. They were pretty helpful to me. Either way I'd just get it fixed and enjoy. Not sure if they can do much for you as far as refinishing the glass goes.

Good luck, and hope you enjoy your Diesle MB. I know I do.

MB_Forever

Congrats, the bluetec's are great

DubVBenz

I've found similar scuff/scratch marks on other glass parts of the car. It appears that some idiot may have used the incorrect buffer to try and clean the car up (which may have been the reason why the price was lower than expected). I have the same scuff marks on a portion of the rear windscreen and the passenger side rear window. Those aren't as bad and don't really concern me. I'm going to buy some mild abrasive polish and see if I can't fix the glass. At first I thought about blaming (in my head) the guy prepping the car for my arrival for being too quick to scrape off the windshield sticker with something that damaged it, but after seeing the same patterns on two other patches of glass on the car, I'm assuming it happened at some point prior.

I don't think I can fault malone's. The guy selling me the car acted surprised about the locking problem, but I can't imagine I would have behaved much differently if I were in his shoes. Today's inspection went well. The STAR diagnosis program found a few faults (some were older and had been logged faults), and it included the lock actuator in the drivers door. I also have one of the trunk lights out, and it appears as though the fixture itself was unplugged. I discovered this after the OBDII was unplugged, so perhaps if I had cleared the fault code and replaced the bulb, it would have worked.


Aside from the lock and now it seems the trunk bulb, I would like to ensure my tranny is at the latest firmware version. Can I ask an mb dealer to check it and update it under warranty despite the fact that I'm not really having troubles? It seems to downshift to 1 too early when slowing, but not with the over the top jerky motion that one of the bluetecs did that I test drove. Any suggestions on getting warranty work done that I've already diagnosed with a STAR system without insulting the dealer and/or causing them to do extra work that'll cost me money since I already know the root cause?

WRC7732

I'd say just take it in and ask. If you are under warranty then they should fix anything that falls under that warranty. As far as ensuring you have the most up to date firmware and such, often times you have to speak to the right person as the Service Advisors typically do a poor job of relaying your request, if the relay it at all.

If the codes are still in there then they will probably do the work as requested. However, if you cleared the codes then it's unlikely they'll do anything until they pop up again. That's always been my experience anyway.

Good luck, hope you are enjoying it.

And let's see some pics already....