Hi all,
Just found this forum. I am a car nut and am in the process of buying a new E-350. I was going to pull the trigger on a 2011, but with all the changes coming to the 2012 model, I have decied to wait a few weeks.

This is killing me, because I know I can get a screaming deal on a 2011 right now. I am going to trade in my 2008 Caddy CTS, so I qualify for the Conquest credit of $4K. How long has that discount been going on? Do you think it will continue into the new model?

Also, a couple of quick questions if you dont mind...

1. Does the new interior get rid of the PCMCIA slot and replace it with something a little more modern? like a USB slot?

2. How do you get actual leather on these car? Is it a package? I have to tell you, that one stunned me...$60,000 car and it has plastic seats? Will I care (are the fakes good enough?)

3. What kind of discounts are people getting on top of the $4K conquest? What are the typical amount of discounts people get off of sticker for these cars?

4. Service Plan. Is this a good value? I mean, I am pretty handy with a wrench and would not even think of letting someone change the oil in my Corvette...Is an oil change a nightmare on these cars, or fine for do-it-yourselfers?

5. Any "gotchas?" What I am talking about is little service suprises like "Must change timing belt at 60K miles, or it voids warranty" (I had a car that had this once)

I look forward to chatting with you folks!

 

I say go with the 2011 and mod it like I am going to Deals are insane on the 2011's.

Conquest is only good for 2011 models and not 2012, as per my dealer.

 

Re leather: In my 2010 E350 4M leather was a stand alone option. In fact it was the primarry reason I had to order the car as opposed to taking one in inventory. They could not locate a leather car with Xenon lights. I have had leather in all my Benz's for years and refuse to sit on Plastic.
I have never purchased a service plan and all my work is done at the dealer. Dealer visits usually happen for me once a year. Coming up on 2 years with this one and have had zero faults.
MB's do not have timing belts. They use a chain which typicly lasts the life of the engine and thats lots longer than I keep a car.

 

So I'm a brand new MB owner, but, I do a lot of research!..here are my opinions (Note - My opinions may not represent those of others, Mercedes-Benz Corp, or actual reality )


1) Sorry, no idea. BUT I was told you can replace the standard two-cord connector (for Ipods, iphones, or whatever) in the 2011 E350 glove box with a three-cord connector, one of which is a USB. So if your real question is "will there be a USB slot in 2012" its sounds like you can have one now in the 2011. If however your question is really about switching the slot in the center stack - no idea.

2) Hmm - this is fightin' territory. What I can tell you is that from what I've read, the MB-Tex wears better, requires less maintenance and the vast majority of people wouldn't know the difference anyway. One dealer claimed to have had a customer attempt to pick the leather from the MB-Tex, and couldn't do it. Now, from personal experience, I'll tell you that I was 100% set on getting leather until I sat in a leather-optioned car....after I had by right butt cheek repaired from the concrete-like impact, I determined MB-Tex was not only better, but would cost less in buttock rebuilding fees. The leather seat was seriously hard - not necessarily uncomfortable, but I much preferred the non-leather seat. I've heard there are two "grades" of leather too - so perhaps I sat in the "titanium reinforced" leather rather than the premium stuff . In any event, I strongly advise not ordering leather until you try it out.

3) Prices are all over and are often dictated by simple things like, is the dealer having a good month or a bad month. My Car MSRP was $58855, I paid $50706, which included Conquest cash. I'd recommend using the Consumer Reports or Amex build & buy service as a starting point (all powered by ZAG). TrueCar.com gives you the same data but I'm not sure if they also provide guaranteed prices from local dealers. Personally, I used Consumer Reports build and buy as a place to start with negotiations.

4) IMHO, no. It will save you some money in the long run (assuming you use the dealer exclusively for service) - Finance manager quoted a 30% savings over paying for the services as you go. The covered services though aren't all that great - basic stuff like oil changes and chassis lubrication, etc. This is an area where MB should take a lesson from BMW - their plan includes everything Mercedes does, plus brake pads and Disks.....oh....and its free, for 4 years.

5) Can't speak to this one, only had my car 1 day.


Here's some extra info on the 2012's though that may,or may not, sway you.

1) As I understand it, the "eye-brow" or "hockey-stick" style LED fog lights are going away...completely. Instead, you'll get a style similar to that on the new C-class. Essentially a straight bar going across the fog-light opening in the bumper. Its a personal preference thing, I like the current "eye-brow" design, some hate it. Either way, the "eye-brow" is being shaved for 2012.

2) I've read at least one review of the 2012 E350 that mentions the odd sound of the new engine, and said it reminded them of a "Turbo Diesel"....now, I've no idea how accurate that is, and I've also no idea what a Mercedes Turbo Diesel sounds like, but....that's what they said.

3)Since it is a new engine with more HP, better fuel economy and an upgraded transmission to match, I can't imagine discounts will be very good, at least not at first. Probably worth deciding how much that extra 30-odd HP is worth to you

 

Thanks,
Very nice reply and very helpful.

I can actually help with the engince noise on the 2012's.....Because I have had that type of engine in my caddy for three years. I notice everybody is kind of freaking out about it on this forum. Let me put your mind at ease, the once you hear the "noise" you will almost laugh because of all the fuss made over it.

The "Noise" is a very slight ticking sound that you can only hear if you are outside listening to the engine or maybe at a drive through with your windows down. It is not odd or weird, just a slight, steady tick of the injectors doing their job. It won't sound like a diesel, a hybrid, or a 4 cyclinder. By the way, the DI engines are great and the MB community will be full of praise once they sample it.

 

Have you considered trying to find a deal on a 2011 e550? That way you get leather, the v8 and airmatic suspension. There may be enough there to offset getting the new v6 if you could find a great deal. You may pay near as much for a new e350 which they may not discount heavily until the year end sales battles with BMW. I too was amazed that leather was not generally available except through special order on the e350. While the fake stuff looks and feels nice I'm not sure it breaths as well as leather on hot days. Regards. Ned.

 

+1

Not sure if you care all that much about passing power and what not but the 550 is a beast. Also, my opinion on the real leather is it "smells" much better than the fake stuff. I have a 2009 with 15k and I still get regular comments about how great my interior smells which is due to the quality leather.

Do not let the 550 HP steer you away if gas mileage is a concern either. I easily can get 28 to 30mpg on the highway and upper teens in the city. Just depends how heavy your foot is of course.

While I do not know for sure but my guess is insurance is a bit more expensive on the 550 vs the 350. Although I highly doubt it is enough to matter especially if you're in the market for a 60k car.

If you live anywhere but the upper NE or anywhere else with extreme snow weather, don't bother with 4Matic. I'm a strong believer in this as I live in Chicago where we have some decent snow months and I have yet to have any issues with my RWD 550. I also had a RWD C55 for 3+ years with zero issues as well. However on that car I did need to replace my summer tires with winters for obvious reasons. For some reason folks get it stuck in their head that 4WD is a must. It's not.

Good luck and post some pics when you get your new ride!

 

+1 of the E550 but I do highly recommend 4MATIC whatever you buy. I have it in mine and would not have bought this car without it. Traction in wet and snow weather is astounding compared to other cars I've owned and FWIW you also get very sure footed and quick acceleration from a stop with no drama. Of course if you live some place where it is dry and nice most of the time, the incentive is less...

 

Unfortunately, my options are rather thin here in Kansas City. We have one dealer with two locations and there are only about a dozen left in the city. The conquest bonus ends on Wednesday and I won't have the time to get it from another city. I plan on offering them about $11K off sticker including the conquest bounus....we will see.

On the 4-Matic, I agree it's not needed in most places, and I have an SUV to drive in the junk anyways, but there are only two 2WD models left in town, one has an ugly interior and the other is the old model without the color instrument cluster.

It looks like I may attempt to get the deal done on a 4-Matic sport, Black on Black with P1, split seats, rear spoiler and stickers at $57,515. How successful do you think I would be at offering $46,000?

 

Invoice = $54050, Cost = $52204. At $46,000 they'd need to sell you the car for $50,000 before conquest cash ($2204 under invoice). Dealer hold back is $1846 on this build. Id say chances are slim. Unless there are current Factory to Dealer incentives we don't know about, the dealer would need to be willing to take a net loss of $358 plus other fees, interest and cost attributed to this vehicle once it came into inventory. They'd be basically paying you to take the car.

If they are having a terrible month and need just one more car to meet a sales goal and get a nice bonus from MB, they might do it. Or if there are other Factory to Dealer incentives, they might do it. I've read people have been able to get close to 10K off, but not more than that, and rarely even at 10K. If 4-Matic is a premium option where you are, less likely.

Still, its end of model year facing new equipment on the 2012......who knows.

 

Do yourself a favor and get P2 just for the xenon lights. I have P1 and the halogen lights are mediocre at best. Ifnu drive at night any u will want P2.

 

p2 for sure

 

P2 would be nice, but not one car in KC left with the P2 package.

 

If you call Chicago today they will have your car there in less than a week. They are dying to do a deal now. It can't hurt to call around. P2 is a must!

 

I wouldn't even get an E without P2. Honest to goodness truth. You can offer me an E550 with P1 for a clean swap for my E350 with P2, and I'd probably keep the P2 E350. It just "completes" the car, and the new HID's that started on 2011 models are so sharp and bright.

If the car had regular fog lights, and the inner headlight/parking lights didn't exist, it wouldn't be such a big deal to me. However, with the LED's underneath, they look mismatched with regular halogens IMO, also, the inside parking lights stick out like sore-yellow thumbs on P1 cars, while they are nice and crisp LED circles on P2 cars.

My .02. Obviously it doesn't bother as many people as it does me!

.... Oh, and the push-button start is a nice touch too, while the trunk closer.... I could live without it, but sure, I'll take it.

 

push button AND the trunk button rule!

 

+1 Love them both! Can't imagine how great that trunk button would be if I had kids.

 

trunk button is a dream! LOL........you get used to it QUICK.....
when I was first shopping last year in August, the lady showed me
the trunk button, and I scoffed!!! LOL....

but now......lovin' it

 

Funny you say that. It's interesting how people commonly scoff at creature comforts like that... HDTV, parktronic, HID lights, etc etc etc... People commonly scoff at those items until they get them and then can't live without them.

 

I got P2 for the lights - everything I read said the upgraded bi-xenons were all but required as the standard lights were....let say, less than optimal.

Ive read a few posts of successful and relatively inexpensive upgrades of non P2 cars to a better headlight (or perhaps more specifically, a better bulb). But the P2 headlight has a lot more going for it than just how bright it is.

I also liked key-less entry / start.

I think the trunk closer on the trunk itself is a bit pointless...and SLOWWWW. From inside the car, It has a few "ooooo ahhhhh" uses I guess . I know many people learn to love it......perhaps they don't mind if an entire Thanksgiving turkey can defrost in the time it takes the trunk to close itself.

 

oh jeez.....the keyless entry is the joint! as is the push start......
very different from the 'push start' on one of my old honda's, lol.....

 

Never noticed how long it takes to close mine. I would say somewhere close to 2.5 seconds.

 

yeah, never noticed the time it takes as I'm usually on the way to the door or buckling in the little one...........

 

Sorry I'm on the other side of the fence on the P1/P2 option.

I got the P1 to save $$$ and just upgraded my City Lights and Low Beam Lights with HIDs that match. Looks better than the Xenons...

I plan on keeping my car long term, past the warranty. I didnt want to have to pay the big bucks if I were to have to fix any of the options on the P2 outside of the warranty period.

 

I have to stay and watch because I put my "little ones' in the trunk (can't have their car seats marking up the interior) - they'll try climb out if I leave.