MB-JIM

I just received the invoice on my 2012 E350 and found a $1,090 increase in the base price. My option prices didn't change with my total price, including destination, coming to $62,010.
My car was built September 22nd.

SolidGranite

Fine with me if they put some quality back in to the W212 they removed in 2010 fur the redesign.

Tomshark

Were you able to negotiate any discount in your price?

MB-JIM

I'm using the USAA discount and the MBCA $1,000.

MB37

If that is MSRP, not offense to mbworld, but a 2012 535i is around the same price which I would get that instead.

SolidGranite

No offense taken. I'm sure both are very similar in price after normal options are applied. Each to his own.

konigstiger

FYI

USAA discount is available to non-military. USAA offered investment and/or insurance products through open enrollment to anyone a while back; if you have such an investment portfolio, you can take advantage of the discount by simply logging in online and choosing Auto Circle.

MB-JIM best of luck

Mr Snappy

SWEET!
That effectively gave me a even bigger discount on the 2011 I bought last week. Discount was $10,500....now closer to $12,000 difference.

K-A

I think the '12 5-Series is a gonna be increased by a little, and now that the E350 compares with it on paper, and considering even when the 535i "beat it" on paper the relatively similarly priced 2010/2011 E350 put a hurting on it in sales, 2012 marks a better reason to buy the E (considering it fixed one of the major areas it statistically lacked from the 535i).

Unless one is more accustomed to the 5'ers more homely looks or problematic nature, of course.

Mr Snappy

Yes and no.
I started off on the BMW lot to buy a 5 series. I had a 323i and was sure that I wanted to go back to BMW...then I drove the 535 X-Drive. Crap. Clunky, Cheap, lame.....although it did have leather

In my opinion, MB will never match BMW for sportiness...that is BMW's wheelhouse and they simply can not be beat. However, there are lots of areas that MB beats BMW and my choice reflects that.

MCF

One big difference between a 535i and a E..about $5K. BMW comes a couple thousand off of MSRP and MB will come off $5k to $8k....

K-A

I agree. Sportiness is where BMW will always take it, but as long as I'm buying a Sedan, sportiness will usually be amongst the least important traits to me. Fairly clunky operation compared to the E too, namely the "Tip-In" issue that plagues the 535i's.

The F10 has been derided as being the least sporty 5-Series of all time, while the W212 is the sportiest E-Class of all time (doesn't really mean all that much in the E's case though, lol), so the difference isn't as supreme as it was before, between the two.... More-so given that the F10 has focused more on luxury this time. M-B still holds the luxury candle, and BMW still the sport candle, but they've moved so close this time around.

listerone

Shouldn't be a surprise given how the Dollar has fallen like a lead balloon against the Euro.

MB-JIM

Actually, the dollar is getting stronger against the Euro. The recent exchange rate in around $1.36 for a Euro.

ghstudio

when looking at cars last month with my wife, we were going to test drive the BMW 535i but, in their infinite wisdom, BMW has fixed the seat belt height on the B pillar..no adjustment possible....and as it sits on my 5' 0" wife's neck, she would be decapitated if there was an accident. She (wisely) refused to even test drive the car.

The Mercedes, of course has the expected adjustable seat belt height and we're quite happy with our new 2011 e350.

ImInPA

Just shows that all of them are "de-contenting" cars to save money. A shame that such inexpensive things are disappearing from Luxury cars in this price range.

Tomshark

I test drove a 535i xdrive before buying the e and the seat belt non adjustment was one of the things that bothered me. To be honest i did not find the 5 all that sporty either. I truly was not impressed with the BMW.

listerone

Although I'm no expert in such things the rise of the Dollar against the Euro is very recent,and small,when compared to its drop over the last few years.It wasn't that long ago that a Euro cost 86 US cents.OTOH,as recently as a month ago a Euro cost $1.45 US.I know this because I have a little display on my desktop showing the exchange rate.

K-A

WTF? No adjust on the B-Pillar for the seat belt on the F10? You can get $12K cars with that.

Pretty ridiculous, especially if you're taller or shorter than normal.

MBNUT1

Can you clearify the MBCA discount? Is that money off of the car purchase or money that can be used toward other Mercedes accesories etc? That's what was explained to me previously.

konigstiger

“$1,000 off the price of any 2010, 2011 or 2012 Mercedes-Benz vehicle (excluding Sprinter Vans, SLS Coupe and SLS Roadster) that you purchase or lease from an authorized U.S. Mercedes-Benz Dealership”

http://www.mbca.org/benefit/2011-loy...rds-program-us

Live Oak

I was ready to buy a BMW 550 until I discovered it is available ONLY with run-flat tires and no provision for a spare. Run-flats are $600 EACH including mounting and tax at Discount Tire, etc. And, to make things worse, they have a bad reputation for lifetime.