Fuzzo

This may have already been asked but does anyone know what the new E starts at?

TIA

NirenS

For the past few days I have been trying to figure out what the W211 prices are going to be, since I'm in the market for one and can't decide between W210 or the W211.

The following deductions are from the info available from the official Mercedes pages in Germany and France where the W11 prices are known. What I'm trying to do is co-relate the prices to good old USDs. Now, just so everybody understands that these are pure guestimates and what MB will do is anybody's guess.

So anyway, looking at the current prices for the C-Class, E-Class (W210 and W210) and the S-Class in Euros it seems that with the Avantgarde model (which we get on this side of the Atlantic) there seems to be a common multiplier of 1.05-1.15 if you use the non-VAT prices or the multiplier is 0.80-0.90 if you use the VAT-incl prices across pretty much all the sedans with a few exceptions of course.

So, what I believe that will happen is that E320 will be reduced in price to the $42K-$45K range (inclusive of Xenons, in-dash 6 CD, Thermotronic, leather, metallic paint, etc.) and the E500 will retain the $54K range (inclusive of the E320 options + Airmatic). The major options should be the usual - Distronic, Keyless-Go, Linguatronic, Navigation, CellPhone, Panoramic Sun/Moon roof, etc.

Now, I know lowering the price of a model usually gets the existing owners pretty mad, but I think MB has to either lower the E320 or import something like E240/E280 to complete with the Lexus GS3 and the BMW 525/530.

Just some thoughts - what do you guys think? If somebody else has gone thru a similar effort - please post your conclusions.

Thanks.

Fuzzo

do you think these options willl make it to the US... because i know that we dont get all the options available in europe

JamE55

My dealer told me that the prices are going to be about the same as the current model actually maybe a little bit higher.

NirenS

The dealer told me the same thing about the prices being the same or increasing slightly. But the German/French numbers do not match. Here's the German example (the prices have been adjusted for the Avantgarde model wherever applicable):

Model Euros Ratio US-MSRP

C240 29750 0.95 31200
C320 34850 0.92 37500
C32 49250 0.95 51500

S430 67700 0.93 72500
S500 71700 0.87 81800
S600 99100 0.84 117500

CLK320 38000 0.87 43200
CLK430 46200 0.90 50800
CLK55 67700 0.98 69000

So if we use 0.92, to get the E500 close to the current E430, we get the following results - i.e. E320 drops to $43750

E320 40250 0.92 43750
E500 49900 0.92 54239

Or, if we use 0.81 to get the E320 close to the current E320, we get the following results - i.e. E500 increases to $61604

E320 40250 0.81 49691
E500 49900 0.81 61604

So, what I'm saying is that the price does not co-relate to keep both the E320 and E500 at their current prices. Unless MB is going to do something goofy, one of these senarios should play out and I think (and hoping) the first one is more likely.

Guys/Gals, feel free to shoot holes in this theory - I'm just trying to have some fun and see how well I can predict the numbers. And also, I don't want to get burnt buying a W210 E320 @ $50K when I might get a W211 E320 with more options for that price a few months down the road.

NirenS

Regarding the options, MB might decide not to give us the Distronic or the Keyless-Go, everything else should make it to the US. Also, I think Distronic and Keyless-Go are available in the S-Class as options in the US, so MB might as well put them in the W211.

But you never know, MB sometimes does do late entry options and some of them might not be available till early next year. Usually, MB has a very well defined set of cars as the initial 2000-3000 batch that comes to the US for the new model year - according to my dealer they should be mostly Black or Silver with the most common options like sunroof, heated seats, cd-changer, etc.

vinmanc32

they are expecting the prices to be similiar to what they were in 02.. my E50/55 is expected to be 71k but that is not firm. I ordered one about 2 months ago and will be impatiently waiting for another 14 months.

Fuzzo

WOW!!
14 month wait... thats insane! it's a good thing that you have something else to play with while you wait....

darkLCD

I spoke with a dealership today. They have a memo stating that the base prices for the E320 and E500 will be a couple thousand higher. As a result, more options will be included as standard. No specifics were mentioned in the memo.