If you are in the US, then there are only two model years that the E320 CDI was imported in, 2005 and 2006. I doubt that there is signicant difference in reliability between them, on average. I have a 2006 that I bought 2 years ago with 21,000 miles on it and extended MB warranty out to next spring. I only drive it summers, but it has been 100% reliable up to now. I know other owners of E-series Mercs cannot say that and have sworn Mercs off as a result. It really is luck of the draw, I think.

Now some things that you may know, but that are worth keeping in mind. The 2005/2006 E320's GPS is absolute trash. I think that stayed true right up until the end of the model run. You will find many threads bemoaning how miserable it is.

I bought the CDI instead of the Bluetec V6 version of the post-freshining W211 because I did not trust Al block diesels, steel liners or no. I do not really regret that, but the 2005/2006 CDI is definitely smellier (exhaust) and noisier (some diesel clatter and engine noise vs. next to none with the Bluetec. You will defintely smell diesel exhause in your garage with a CDI. Balancing that is the somewhat better mileage of the CDI. I get 42 mpg highway (cruise at 70 mph on flat terrain with AC on in summer) and low 20's with REAL stop/go city driving. Be aware that mileage suffers a lot until the engine warms up...I think that is true of all diesels. MB should have made a block heater standard for cold weather use. I can break under 20 mpg on very short trips in cool weather.

We had a 1992 LT1 Corvette (300 hp, autocross suspension, 6-sp manual) and a CDI is no Corvette and vice versa. Having said that, the CDI is a torque monster and once the turbo spools up (from stopped), it is very quick. You WILL get turbo lag and it is sometimes annoying when you want to zip accross a busy highway. It's just a fraction of a second until the turbo spools up, but it came seem a lot longer when traffic is hurtling your way. Not sure if the V6 diesel suffers from this...probably does. CDI is very fast in passing.

I still like my car a lot, but it is not perfect (dumb design features not related to the engine and transmission), but it is a good sedan and I like it better than the 2003 330i ZHP it replaced. If it were a wagon, I would probably keep it forever.

 

nopcbs: thank you that is the kind of thing I wanted to hear. I think I'll be getting one one I find the right one. I live in Arizona so the cold isn't an issue. I have had deisel trucks and know about the turbo lag and can live with that. There aren't many '05 & '06 around here so search has expanded. I've been looking for a local one to test drive just to get a feel. I'm hoping for as good a luck as I've had with my '96 Sclass. Again thanks

 

I live in mid-MI and there were very few to be found when I was looking (in Autotrader) and ended up looking "way out". I found my car in Florence SC at a MB/BMW/Chevy dealership. Did all the negotiating over the phone, flew out to Florence for just $120, picked up the car and drove home (some 600 miles). Great opportunity to "bond" with the car and I got one with no rust-belt history. This is the second time I have bought a car from a dealer "way out there" and it was a pleasant experience each time. Made the purchase an adventure.

This time the only "rude surprise" was how truly bad the MB built-in gps is. It worked very hard to get me lost. Fortunately, I brought along my Garmin portable. I have simmered down on the gps by now, but if I had experienced it before I bought the car, I might not have bought it on the theory that anyone who can put such a bad gps in a high-rent car can't possably know what the heck they are doing or has no repect for their customers. Real story may just be that Germans don't do well with designing electronic devices and should leave that to Japanese or Koreans. (End of rant.)

Good luck with "the hunt".

- nopcbs