Actually P2 is around $6400. And your right - here in FL too every E class has the vinyl. ( I am going to call it what it is not the politically correct term MB would like) So yes I would have to order one. But to get what I want in colors and options be glad to order- if I'm going to go 60K.

 

Important correction: that's ventilated seats, not cooled seats. the option only circulates the air in the car thru the seats..

 

Haha, well said. But keep in mind that the lowerend S-classes (350/400/550) come with standard leather which is the same as the optional leather on the E350 sedan. And the door and front center armrests and instrument binnacle are MB-tex. Yet, unlike the E-class the door panels are solid pieces of plastic like on the C-class without leather. The Premium leather option does include leather on the door panels and dashboard.

That said, I remember when the W116 S-classes had plastic with imitation stitching on the doors. Back then, however, it was acceptable unlike today.

 

Off topic, but that was one of the best ad campaigns...everyone remembers Ricardo Montelban speaking those lines.

 

It isn't so much about Tex, but more about how the great deal comes with sacrafices.

P1 cars were heavily discounted last year, but they were missing features many believe should be standard. Several from the NE and all parts of the country found either P2 cars, or cars with leather, (and a few of the lucky scored both) but as you stated, they likely didn't get the same percentages off. Maybe they were more diligent in their search, or more patient in their purchase or happened to hit the right lot at the right time to find the cars with more options and equipment. I'm not debating whether or not certain features should be standard, as I tend to agree. However, MB-USA doesn't seem to agree and they fill their lots with cars equipped at a price point that gets buyers.

Then the choice becomes ours. Do we buy the cars equipped with less? Evidentally yes, but in exchange for better price points and/or discounts and MB keeps shipping more similarly equipped cars to sell to the next buyer. No one is forcing us on the lot and no one is forcing us to buy an MB at all. I wanted leather, but I settled for Tex, but that was a choice I made. I found P1 cars with leather, but I wanted P2 - another choice. We had the choice to wait and keep searching, to order, to go to other marques, to move up the model ladder, etc. No one forced us to buy the car we bought. We are only victims of MB-USAs marketing strategy by our own choice.

We have the choice to keep complaining that MB doesn't equip the cars the way we want, or we have the choice to buy a car that might make us happier. It seems an easy choice to me.

 

True! I wasn't a fan of Chrysler, but I wanted that leather!

 

Has it occurred to you that the E is clearly not intended to be a $50K car loaded? It's a car with a $50K base price, and if you want it loaded, you gotta pony up mid $60's. If you don't think an E is a $50K car in its base form, then look elsewhere.

People say that a "$50K car should have this or that".... when they completely fail to realize that the cars are priced that way as core cars. For example, an S-Class is a $90K car but it doesn't have Radar Cruise Control as Standard equipment.... Blasphemy! Any $90K car should come with that Standard!

I don't see why so many are hell bent in taking MB Tex away from the people who would choose that. If you have a problem with it, take it up with MBUSA and the Dealers and get them to order more Leathers, and convince more people that Leather is worth the premium, or that MB Tex is in fact plastic (most won't ever know!). Keeping the Option alive is beneficial to all.

Who sold you on that BS? Where did you even get that from? I'm beginning to figure you as a common complaint/disgruntled troll if nothing else.

MB Tex has been used on Benzes since before the 70's, as far as I know, FAR before Japanese manufacturers made a peep in the Luxury segment.

Those "old time" Salesman might just be suffering from alzheimer's disease, because the E Class, in its purest form (the "E Class/S Class/Etc." names weren't used until the 90's) has been in the Mercedes timeline for DECADES. It wasn't some car rolled out to compete with the Japanese on pricing.

I spend a lot of time around M-B's, in person and on E-World, I've owned an S-Class, and a few E-Classes, my family has had Benzes since I was born, and NEVER have I heard one person say that the initial difference between an E and S Class is "Leather standard in one". Considering most people don't put much weight into the E coming with Vinyl (or don't know that it does), proof being in Sales and popularity, I'd guess that, oh, maybe something as significant as the S Classes SIZE might get a mention before Standard Leather does.

I love a nice Leather interior, I really do, and I'd gladly drive and enjoy an E-Class with Leather or M-B Tex, however, what some of you are saying just makes no sense. The only argument that I can personally agree with is MBUSA supplying, and Dealers ordering more Leather cars for variety's sake and to supply the minimal demand there is out there for Leather.

If you don't think an E-Class is a "real Mercedes Benz", then you clearly don't understand the brand or its history at all. Makes sense considering how unhappy you are with your car.

 

I know not all casual owners are enthusiasts, but please, BenzE350 especially, read up on the "E Classes" history a bit before spouting off misrepresentation of the E Class lineage, the E Classes place in Mercedes Benz's lineup, how important the car is to M-B (the "Bread and Butter", if you want to be accurate), and what M-B represents in its historical form.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_E-Class

As an example of just how far back MB Tex goes, it was used on the W110 Fintail, and even before that. The W110 was released in 1961! We're talking OVER 50 YEARS OF M-B TEX! Saying MB Tex is "un-Mercedes" isn't a good argument, nor is it true.

 

Love this thread! Some folks are so passionate. Just get the 550 and the decision is made for you.

 

WOW!! I had no idea and much thanks to K-A for informing us all.

 

Very interesting indeed. As per above link, all US market W124 cars were assembled in Germany. Now 25+ years forward, with basically same price as in mid 1980s for 6-cyl cars (in real dollars W212 costs only half the price of W124, if not less), I wonder where the US bound cars are assembled now?

 

I'm not sure that I fully agree with the Wiki. Up until the mid '60's (ie the Ponton and fishtail years, the "midsize" and "upscale" cars were built on similar platforms with similar designs and sizes. The distinguishing features were trim and engines. At that time the S (after the model designation) stood for "super" and were fitted with either leather or cloth, while the lower models were fitted with cloth or an early variant of MB-Tex. MB-tex was primarily in the taxi market in Germany and Austria.

It wasn't until the W108/114 model lines that the two model lines visibly split apart into two separately sized vehicles and to what we now know as the E and S classes. Entry S levels (again primarily the taxi market) got the MB tex while any of the upscale cars got leather or premium cloth.

 

KA, I like your passion - sometimes I wonder if you get paid for each post by Mercedes marketing.

1. I think I have been very fair in summarizing the things I like and dislike on my E350. I'm not a fanboy of any brand.

2. I never said that the E was not a "real Mercedes Benz" - I am simply telling you how the Mercedes dealers in Boston market and position the E350. If you don't believe me, walk into Mercedes Benz of Westwood, or Herb Chambers.

 

87 replies and counting. No shortage of opinions on this.

 

I'm going to go a little off topic here but Vinyl (MB-Tex) smells more than leather. A number of my cars had MB-Tex and the off-gassing was always too strong, which gave me minor headaches. In my leather cars, the smell was actually a lot less and no headaches.

If I purchased an E350 I would have opted for leather so going for an e550 with standard leather was a no brainer.

 

my 1984 300D 293K miles has MB-tex equivalent and only have one tear in the driver's seat from where the corner of my wallet digs into the seat.

i will be ordering the mb-tex

plus, i don't like sitting on dead cows. i prefer to wear them on my feet

 

[quote=i don't like sitting on dead cows. i prefer to wear them on my feet[/quote]

 

Welcome to MBWorld.

 

I'm a fanboy for Breakstones sour cream, that ish is the best!

 

Please point out where I'm spitting Marketing drivel, and not facts backed up by opinion in this Thread?

First off, those Salesman have absolutely no idea about the cars that they sell, if that's the case. Secondly, no one in their right mind takes what a Salesman says with even a grain of salt. So why bother to post such hyperbolic BS?

My Salesman told me that MB Tex is blessed by God (every God, all at once), and that the E350 was meant to compete with the Bugatti, but M-B being so nice and caring to their customer base, they decided to price it in the ballpark as the 5-Series, and had to lower the performance statistics to justify this. However, the car is so vastly superior to the $50K 5-Series, because it's actually a $1 Million+ intended car.

If you don't believe me, walk into any Dealer with an open check.

 

No problem sir! I think some history lessons are in order after some of the crazy stuff going on in this Thread! Lol.

Well, Mercedes themselves to claim the 120 "Ponton" to be the father of the E-Class line, and using it to market the W212 as the spiritual successor of, etc. But I guess at those times, the cars were so visibly similar, it's kind of uncertain as to whether they were more like SWB/LWB wheelbase Sedans, or two separate models entirely.

Even if the E line started with the W114, it sure was a long while before those aficionado Salesman at Mercedes Benz of Westwood or Herb Chambers assumed. I mean, who would have thought that the Mercedes Mid-Size Luxury Sedan was brought out simply to compete with the Lexus GS and outsourced to a 3rd party with a Star thrown on it (I guess that's what they mean by "not a real Mercedes Benz").

 

this has to be the reason for the vinyl seats. They must be shooting for $14 billion. From CNN Money website today. Most profitable cars for the corporate CEO's.

7. Mercedes-Benz E-class
7 of 12



Est. profits since 1995: $13 billion
The E-class combines the desirable attributes, from a business standpoint, of being both pricey and popular.
In fact, the E-class would have even fatter profits than the S-class but for one problem: huge warranty costs for the last problem-plagued generation that drained virtually all the profit from that version, according to Warburton.
Fortunately, the new E-class seems to have the bugs worked out, said Warburton, and it's selling very well.

 

Dude, stop with that crap. They've been using Vinyl Seats since before the 60's.

Find a realistic argument!

Edit: I don't know what the profit margins on an E-Class will be with the W212, but there you go, they were 7th place, proving that the cost built into this car, giving it a $50K selling price shows that the core car without any frills is $50K, as it was engineered and intended. Those Infiniti's you mentioned are cheaper cars, in their core state, then the frills that come Standard push them into higher ranges. Simply put, the E is a more expensively engineered car in its most naked state.

 

Sorry Dude, it irkes me big time. Just because they been doing it so long does not make it any less outrageous. You sound like my Benz salesman when I put him on the spot about the plastic seats - quote " well we have 90 cars here and they all have MB- Tex" They won't shove that cheap crap down my throat to boost profits.

 

Then buy another car and get over it. .... or better yet: Pony up the meager extra dough and get Leather.

If MB Tex is so cheap, then why will it look like new when leather looks old and wrinkled in 10 years?

Problem is, you don't know what you're talking bout, in this subject. You know how you feel, but you don't know the logistics behind why they use MB Tex. You assume that its some modern day way to boost profits, when it's actually a quality and trait that they've had and held onto since way, waaaaaayyy before I was born.

You have every right to express your opinion against it, push reasons as to why Leather is superior, but phase out the BS agenda against it. Remember, there are people who do like it, and many of them have had M-B's since the 60's.... with MB Tex.

Let's not forget the humanitarian aspect. Many people are happy that a Luxury Car manufacturer takes the resources to engineer remarkably quality Vinyl seats, rather than skinning as many Cows as they can.