I've had my '03 E320 for less than 8 months. Had less than 100K miles when I got it. The interior/exterior looked almost brand new. With that said.. I hate the car, and here's why..

1. Within a month I had to replace both batteries.. $250. Yes I know batteries go bad and this alone would be fine.

2. Within 4 months the SBC pump died. $1600 (Certified MB tech, NOT the dealer. they wanted $1500 for the part plus $1000 labor)

3. Within 6 months.. Major battery drain. $800 to diagnose. The dealer wanted $1200 to replace the seat module, $500 to replace the siren and $5000 to replace the radio (dealer said it had bad reception It actually works fine).. The main issue was the seat module, which took them 1 week to find (kind of shocking because it took me less than 10 minutes on the internet to find that the seat module is one of the major causes of battery drain. They should have checked that first). I did NOT have them repair this. I bought the seat module for $170 and replaced it myself.. Took me an hour. Very easy. I mentioned this to MB today and they said that there is a lot of programming involved when switching the module...really? Stupid canned response

4. This week.. Car started shutting off when coming to stop. Brought the car in this morning to the dealer.. Crank shaft sensor $550. (I could have done this myself but I'm going out of town tomorrow and I don't have time to do the repair).

5. This week...Red battery light (but both batteries are new). Not sure the exact name but it's the relay that is connected to the aux battery (any help on the name would be great).. They want $500. I will do this myself. The dealer did program the computer to ignore the relay..

6. So what's next?


To add this up...$3300 that I spent but could have been over $10000 if I would have let the dealer do everything including the radio.

And yes it's a used car, however... i've never heard of this with say, a honda, toyota, mazda or bmw. I had a 323i before the benz, it had 220000 miles and I never had this kind of issues. I've also had a 2 Mazda's, honda and VW with no issues like this car.

When I was in my early 20's and in college, I had a Ford Taurus. Almost everything that could go bad on it did. And every time I got it fixed at Ford, they almost always said "This is a common problem for a Taurus". I'm starting to see that as well with my E320. I would consider myself a very low stress person, but this car makes me mad as hell.

Right now I will never buy another Mercedes. And on top of this my parents were about to buy a new MB and decided not too due to these issues. Not that the new cars would have the same issues, but I think it says a lot about MB's quality, or lack there of.

anyway.. I'm just venting..

 

Sorry for all the bad luck you've had. However some of those items are maintenance items and if you read the forums, you would have found cheaper DIY ways around it.

Also 2003 was one of the worst years although I think maybe 2006 would be the worse as that had the balance shaft issue. You would have been better off spending more and avoiding some trips to the dealer. I've had my 2008 for about a year and a half and haven't really been to the dealer aside from a PPI and an item that was covered under warranty. The newer E class is a different platform and some years are better than others. That's pretty much true of all cars. Later model 2007-2009 were way better than the earlier models.

 

You bought the car without checking SBC count coming to the limit and you blame car for it?
Your stealer is hosing you, what hardly is car fault.
Now show me which car had original alternator brushes at 220,000 miles?
Anyway, you had your dose of bad lack, or lack of checking, but you do have good base.
Once you fix the maintenance items, you should have several years of service without major expense.
Yes, some people consider CPS a wear out item. I never had one failing on me, but carry spare in all my vehicles. It is easy to replace, while hard to buy when you are on Mojave Desert.

 

I'm sorry you've had so many problems with your E320, man. I bought a 2003 a few months back myself at a great deal (from the estate of a friend's family who recently passed, not cheaply because it had problems).

I knew I was getting a good deal, so I immediately set aside the extra money I would have spend purchasing the car for when I'd have to deal with the SBC issue. I knew this was a problem because I researched the hell out of this car before I pulled the trigger, as I do with everything I buy. I knew all of it's problems before I pulled out my wallet, and in doing so, I had an understanding that it will have some reasonable expenses down the road. The car is 13 years old.

Now, mine sounds very similar to yours. I bought it with 70k on the clock, and both the interior and exterior have been immaculately maintained. The difference may be in that every time there was an abnormal squeak or unusual shimmy, it was serviced by the Mercedes dealer. I know you can't control how the people who owned it before have treated it, but you have to go in with an understanding that it's used, and it will be expensive at times. I bought it outright and budgeted for that.

The way I see any used car is this: If you can spend $200-300 per month keeping it on the road, it's a hell of a lot better than a car payment. And better looking!


For the record, I love my car. I'm getting it tinted next week, and I plan to maintain it meticulously like the people before me. I will shell out the expenses that I've planned for, and will continue to stow away extra money for the ones I hadn't. It sounds like you're just having a spell of bad luck.

 

OP, sorry to hear about whats happening with your E. mine was the same year and had it for a while without any issues apart from the normal wear and tear and annual service. it was a lovely car.

i cant blame you for not wanting another MB and not recommending it to family and friends, i might do the same if i was in your shoe. but also consider you may have gotten a lemon and its a 13 yr old car. if you sell your 211 (if youre planning) after all the repairs you did, the next owner may have worry free driving for the next few years. goodluck mate!

 

Please name me someone who is a first MB buyer who would know to look for a breaking system item that goes bad, other than brakes/rotors themselves.... The SBC is a poorly thought out/designed component that should never have been added.


My BMW had the original starter and original alternator and it had 220K miles.

 

Hi. My name is Guy and I bought a Benz with the SBC system, something I'd never heard of before I started researching the 2005 E320 CDI that caught my eye. But after I started researching, I quickly discovered the well known issue of this "brake by wire" system and the cost of the inevitable repairs.

I still bought the car. I don't regret my decision. YMMV.

Edit: Did your BMW have the original radiator/water pump? How'd the dash display look? Ok, that's all I know about the general BMW issues because I don't have a BMW. Point is, each and every car has known issues. These issues are easy to find in the internets. VW diesels require a $900 timing belt service every 100K miles. A certain model of Cummins diesels would throw a pin and destroy the engine block. Duramax engines used to eat $500 injectors for lunch. SBC brakes are incredible when they work and expensive to fix. Life with a $50K car.

 

SBC is loved by users who made educated decision buying one.
Sure when you buy car cheap and few months later you need to do $2000 maintenance it sucks, that is why I am highlighting education.
Look at parallel tread when potential buyer come here with questions before putting cash on the table.
Same with alternator brushes. Depends on the use they last 150-200,000 miles.
Same with brake pads. Even they last me 100k miles, I don't expect them to last forever.

 

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Now that you've taken care of all the maintenance, hopefully you have now entered the stage of actually enjoying the car.


I am pretty mechanically adept. However, I have learned that whenever I am considering buying a used car, I take it to my mechanic to give it a once-over. Even then, I'm conscious that when I buy someone else's car, I'm inheriting a headache to some degree. Most of the time, people sell a vehicle because there's something about it that they don't want to deal with. As such, I always take into account the fact that I will have to spend on maintenance/repairs soon after purchase.


Having my mechanic give me a heads-up before I let go of my money has been a great investment, as I can know ahead of time just how big of a dent it will be on the wallet, and thus whether I'm willing to accept those issues or keep looking for another car.

 

Plasma sorry to hear about your issues with your car, although some of the issues may have been discovered with a PPI which may have saved you money (SBC and battery). However, a 13 year old car will have issues and finding a good independent Mercedes mechanic is a must (avoid the dealer unless you need to use the lounge, want a free car wash, or need a loaner for a quick trip).