nyca

all of these cars were at the NY auto show - so in some pre-production form at least, they exist and are driveable. but that article was just a preview and design commentary.

DavidNJ

Buyers without a brand preference will consider any of these. With 8 brands (Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, Jaguar, Cadillac, Audi, BMW, and MB) and 10 or more models in this price range, I doubt any single buyer will evaluate all the alternatives.

All of these cars are good. Keyless entry/start, radar cruise control, impressive DVD nav systems, Bluetooth phones (actually, MB will be one of the few cars in the class without Bluetooth), voice response (MB couplng the feature with the phone system is way out of the norm) will be common as options (or even standard features) throughout the range.

Very, very competitive.

David

ColdFusion

The new GS300/430, m35/45, and RL arent even out yet and there have been no car tests that could compare any of the cars

modulated

Seems to me the extra money you'd get on '05 resale should be equivalent to the discount you should be demanding on the '04. I bought in November well below invoice, so I'd expect you could darn near steal an E when the '05s are so near.

Given the risk of damage (which I'm sensitive to these days since my wife just nearly totalled her purchased CLK), I'd take my savings today and avoid that risk. Especially here in Cali where you're required to disclose significant accidents.

Then again, you might be the type that feels a bit jealous when you see the '05 on the road with its improvements over your new '04. Me, I'd feel giddy that I'd saved thousands to drive essentially the same brand new car.

As for getting it the way you want, I must agree. I have the most beautiful silver E you'd ever want -- but everytime I see the tectite color I was too impatient to wait for, I get a leeeetle pee'd off.

phahn

Since you want to get just the car you want my comment would be to spend a few extra bucks and get the 500. Huge differance. You get almost 100 more HP. The car also seems to ride smoother with the extra weight. Everytime you see a E 500 you will sound like the old TV commercial, I could of had a V 8. I made the mistake some years ago and settled for a v6, never again.

DavidNJ

'04 vs. '05: the cost savings will probably not equal the resale advantage of an '05 unless you keep the car over 4 years or over 75,000 miles. That is, until the car has depreciated to 40-50% of MSRP.

E500 vs. E320: Huge power difference. The E320 can feel slow by contemporary US standards. However, if you test drive a an E320 and it seems fast enough, you are probably ok.

Changes '04 vs '05: Minimal. '05 may have some fixes, however '04 had options (standalone heated wheel with ventilated seats, 4-place climate control on E320, solar panel on Panaroma roof, Pacific Blue interior, valet lock on trunk) that are no longer available. So if you can find an '04 equiped as you want, and you want one of those features, an '04 is a way to go. Also, premium and probably appearence packages will be less expensive on '04s. $1550 difference on the premium package.

David

ajm0824

I plan on keeping the car about 3 - 4 years

I was really concerned about all the problems not worked out in 03-early 04 models.

I drove the 320 and it is appears power enough for me, probably a lot more umph from the torqy cdi, though I'm not brave enough to get my first diesel and mb all in the same shot.

Not getting Heated wheel, vented seats, solar pannel, pacific blue interier, valet lock?, premium package, or appearance package.

Instead I'm getting panorama,dvd-navi,keyless go, entertainment pkg, lighting pkg, Sirius Sat, in Silver/Ash.

Could not find any similarly equipped 04 with keyless go.

The only thing I wrestled with is the appearance package. and the loss of maintenance.

would have been nice to have free maintenance but for a $50K+ car, $1000 in service charges, over 3 yrs, does not seem all that unreasonable

Also, I only really wanted some of the items on the appearance pkg. Namely: lighting pkg (which I got), black wood , & LED Taillights.

The other stuff I can do without:
- I'm tired of getting 45 profile tires here in NY and having to bend my rims back into shape every other month.

- Blue tint. I plan on tinting the windows to match the panorama anyway

- If I really think I need the side/rear skirt I can put them on afterwards, I think I saw the unpainted ones here on thes board avail for a couple hundred.

- I kinda like the stock dash & front apron better. maybe I'm crazy.

Anyway, to each his own I guess. I'm sure there are tons of different configurations of E here, with or without some regrets, but from what I've been reading you all are happy with every last one of em!

Thanks for the feedback

DavidNJ

Sounds like your fine. Can't get a diesel in NY anyway.

I don't understand the attraction of the LED taillights. This was a feature the Cadillac was first to market with! Viewing both, the LEDs are faster, however the bulbs are more natural, and I think they are interpeted faster by other drivers.

Wood is too taste. I think the springs are a better ride than the Airmatic with 17" wheels, however the MB wheels look, to me at least, like they will hold up in NY.

I would add Parktronic for those tight spots and to give parking lot attendents one less excuse for license plate screw dents in the bumper.

Happy driving.

David