sunsetranch

I'm in the market for my first MB. I want to buy a certified used vehicle rather than purchasing new. I'd like a white (either diamond or artic) 2011 E350 sedan, luxury (not sport) with P2, wood/leather steering wheel and driver assistance package. I'd also like the pano roof, but I've been flexible on that option. My husband would prefer I go with the Bluetec, but I've not made that a requirement either. I've had three different dealers looking for more than two months now and none have found a vehicle with exactly the options I'm looking for. I don't want to spend what a new vehicle with the options I want would cost. Leasing is not a good option for me because I put a lot of miles on a vehicle and typically keep them many years.

There is currently a 2011 E350 Bluetec, luxury, P2, wood/leather steering wheel, pano roof, heated/ventilated leather seats, and illuminated door sills available. It does not have the drivers assistance package.

What's your opinion of the drivers assistance package? Would lack of this option be a deal breaker for you? Is it really useful? Any other options you would not do without? Are there options you purchased and wish you had not?

Thanks for your help!

telemakhos

I quite like the driver assist, i.e., the blind spot warning is something that I will want on any car I buy in the future. Other options I have come to really like
- keyless go
- back up camera (useful for backing into a parking space to see just how close the rear bumper is to something)
- heated steering wheel (it is cold in Canada in the winter!)
- pano roof - brightens the interior

I don't need the power trunk but it came as part of a package.

My only regret is not getting leather and heated rear seats.

Good luck

oggie

You can also search on Mercedes website on their used car inventory to see what is out there before going out to see a dealer. It would best to get your hands on a demo or from MB staff vehicle because of the lower mileage.

sunsetranch

I have regularly been checking the Mercedes website, autotrader, cars.com, and even ebay. I started out looking in a 500 mile radius and have now extended it to 1000 miles. No luck so far. I'm not exactly in a rush, but even finding luxury model vehicles in the color I want with the P2 option has been rather difficult. Adding the drivers assistance package as a requirement seems to have made finding one a pretty long shot. If I wait long enough I'm sure I will eventually find one, but it looks like it could be a very long wait. That's why I'm possibly reconsidering the driver assistant package. I don't believe I would care that much about the lane tracking, but the blind spot assist sounds like it'd be helpful. That said, I guess I wouldn't miss what I've never had. The pano roof has really grown on me too...

I really appreciate any and all opinions.

RSIKR

MBUSA website. You can spec out the used car and the radius of your search. There are less luxury vs. sport models available, but you have probably discovered that already.

I do not have P2 or driver's assistance so I cannot comment on those options.

I do have a panoramic roof and enjoy it. it allows a lot of light in the car front and back and makes it feel larger. I have had no problems with it.

Worth looking for is a car with the split fold down back seat which includes a passthrough from the trunk if you just need the space in the center for a long object.

BM2BZ

i have sport so i'm not sure about wood/leather steering wheel but i think it's one of the options. i don't know how much easier but you can always have the steering wheel done after you purchase the car. i know it'll cost you a bit more if you have the dealer install it for you later but it could broaden your chances a bit. other than that, i don't really see you have picked any hard-to-come-by options/accessories. oh, also, you probably need to look for cars with more options/accessories than you want. otherwise it'll be quite difficult to find something exactly as you wish in a used car market. good luck!

BenzV12

Opinions vary . I would prefer night view assist rather than rest of driver assists . However, you need Comand for it . Some people say night view is useless and unnecessary . However, it's better to have night view in your ride rather than pano roof if safety is your first and foremost concern
It would be cool to have lane assits,blind spot and such things but I refused to pay to have them in my ride .

newyorktoLA

Well, I can comment on DISTRONIC Plus b/c of my S class. It's a great feature, but definitely not a necessity. I barely use it in L.A. Traffic b/c the 40% braking power is barely enough to completely bring the car to a stop and it leaves too much distance in stop and go traffic.

I ordered Blind Spot Assist & Lane Keeping Assist on my cancelled order for a 2012 C250 in April 2011. After some research, I learned that the lane keeping assist only works where there are solid lines, so it won't work on freeways, unless you're going over into the carpool lane, for example. It's not that functional...Blind Spot Assist I wanted terribly...oh well!

Alan Yeung

I just recently purchased a 2012 E350 p2, lane tracking package. I would say that the blind spot assist is one option that impressed me quite a bit. At first, I thought that it wasnt a big deal having it on my car or not, but then after getting used to it, its actually a very useful features, especially in heavy traffic on the 405, when you need to make lane changes. Of course, I do not rely solely on it as I still do shoulder checks. It's just a very useful feature that lets you make sure you have enough room when making lane changes.

As for the lane tracking assist, I don't really feel for it because all it really does is just shake the steering wheel whenever you are going off the lane..

In conclusion, I would definately take the driver's assistance package into account into buying a car.. Considering you have the active cruise control feature as well.

listerone

You seem to be looking for a lot in a one year old "pre-owned" vehicle.If you insist on pre owned I hope you're prepared to settle for something less than "everything".Driver Assistance was a must for me.Lane Assist,Blind Spot Assist and automatic braking are excellent safety features that I wasn't prepared to do without (I worked for years in a hospital ER).The availability of these features...along with more rear seat room...were the only two factors that convinced me to sell my BMW (an amazing car!).

As for diesel...I don't know how much experience,if any,you have with *current day* diesels but I'm on my second one and I'll never go back.It would take me years to explain all the benefits of diesel over gas.

You say you keep your cars for a long time.Seems to me that,although buying new does cost more initally,this would argue in favor of you buying new...particularly with your very specific wish list.

And again....go diesel.You won't regret it!

ImInPA

+1 on the diesel.

WEBSRFR

I know this was not on your list and don't want to make your search harder but if you drive on snow or lots of rain, you might want to consider 4MATIC...

My advice is to figure out exactly what you want and wait. You are doing the right thing with cars.com and 500+ mile radius. That's what I had to do to find my car. Took 8 months but I got pretty much everything I wanted... I'm glad I waited until I found what I was looking for. You will too...

listerone

I've owned only one AWD car and that was for about 2 winters.I've always lived in southern New England where we certainly get our share of snow,ice,slush etc.Certainly not as much as Buffalo...or Minneapolis...or Denver however.My experience...in *my* neck of the woods...is that if you keep your speeds down and always think 100 yards ahead of you you'll be OK with 2WD.My attitude would almost certainly be different in Buffalo or Denver...or if my wife drove alone in the car or young kids were riding along.

CEB

The proper winter tires will make up for the lack of 4matic.

The OP has some very specific requirements that she won't find in a new car on the dealer's lot - much less on a used car.

Finding a luxury package will be the first hurdle, finding it paired with P2 will be very difficult and finding those two options paired with Distronic is near impossible - oh yeah, I forgot that it has to be white.

I suspect that of the 20% luxury package (IIRC, the split is about 80%Sport/20% Luxury) the majority will be black. Add the different grays and there's probably a good chance that only 25% of those luxury packages will be white. Now you have to drill down for the options - not a likely scenario.

If you're looking for all that and diesel then the available cars are even fewer.

Given the extra horsepower and gas mileage of the 2012 models, it might behoove the OP to order a car - perhaps a Euro delivery to save more money.

listerone

Considering the whole picture...as I understand it....ordering new might be her wisest choice (in the long run).Regarding European delivery...as tempting as it might be to some it might not work out dollars-wise.Europe is *amazingly* expensive today because the US dollar has been reduced to Monopoly money status...and airfares are outrageous even from the East Coast.But on the plus side you get a European vaction...with a "free" rental car thrown in.

Raymond Lee

This site is really good with so many nice people contributing with their helful thoughts. You'll like the car you are thinking of buying. I have no regret whatsoever that I bought my 2012 BlueTec. I really enjoy on the road in the car. Mine has only P1 package but I don't perticulary miss P2.

Mbenz260e

Is this car in white? If so I think it sounds really like what you wanted and the leather in an added bonus. The drivers assistance package is definitely nice but I don't think it would have been a deal breaker for me. If never used it you won't know what your missing if that makes sense.

I +1 on the Bluetec, now have 2 diesels and won't go back to gassers though be aware of the runflats if that's an issue for you.

Diesel P2 with leather and ventilated and wood steering is very rare so unless you had your heart set on the drivers assist I would seriously consider.

I don't think you will find one on the lot, but have you discussed pricing of a new one? Especially if you decide on Bluetec I don't know how much of a break you are really going to get with a 1yr old. I would be a little concerned about why someone one is on the market so soon but maybe that's just me, shouldn't be a problem with the warranty anyway...

LaicepsYdobon

Love the drivers assistance package ! It's one of those things that you don't know how good it is until you've had it and after that you can't imagine your life without it. None of my previous cars had the driver's assistance package before and I didn't really care for it. Now that I have it in one of my cars I wouldn't order another car without it. Love the radar guided cruise control, love the blind spot assist but don't much care for the lane departure warning. They all work great in my opinion and some of the features have saved my butt before.

It's one of those things that you have to decide for yourself. This is my 7th Benz and none of the previous cars had the driver's assistance package but I enjoyed all of them immensely. Its not a deal breaker, for me at least, if my next car doesn't have it but it would get some getting used to not having these features present in the car.

As for what other features I'd recommend; I'd say 4MATIC if you live in a region that warrants it. Since you drive a lot you might also want to look into the massaging seats. None of my current cars had it before so I can't tell you much about them but I'd always wanted to try them. Oh, and definitely go for the cargo net. That is one, albeit small, thing that I need in all my cars. They are simply wonderful in preventing things thrashing around in your trunk.

ImInPA

LaicepsYdobon: I know exactly what you mean. I remember the first time I got heated seats in a car. That was a feature I never considered before. But, once I had them, I knew I would never have a vehicle without them. I do not have the drivers assistance package. I had something similar on my Volvo S80. For me, I found it useful but not life changing in the same way heated seats were to me. That said, if I found the car I wanted and it had the package, I would get it. If it didn't have it but had everything else I wanted, I would still get it.

sunsetranch

Thanks to everyone for thier replies. I had decided to buy the 2011 CPO that had all the options I want except the driver assistance package. Unfortunately, it sold this morning before we and the sales person connected. I know I may be looking for a needle in a haystack, but I believe I'll keep looking for awhile before I purchase a new one. There is a significant price difference. If I ordered a 2012 Bluetec with the options I want, MSRP would be just over $61,000. The 2011 I was looking at was advertised at $45,900. Obviously, MSRP would not be the purchase price. I'm assuming I could get $6000-$7000 off MSRP. Is that about right?

I did not know the lane tracking package only registered solid lines. That adds food for thought. I agree with the posted who mentioned good safety features are worth the price.

K-A

How many miles did that 2011 have, out of curiosity?

sunsetranch

Right at 23,500

Alan Yeung

Well, I have the lane tracking package. It works fine with normal dotted lines. I don't know where you heard that it only works on solid lines, because it works for me practically anywhere.

Dr Cytotec

Features that are great are lane assist (not a deal breaker), heated steering wheel, distronic, electric trunk opener and closer, heated seats and keyless go, back-up camera.
Lane assist, night vision questionable usefulness.
Dont stress though, you'll love your merc anyway!

RSIKR

Try pricing the new car at Truecar.com This will give you an idea of what others have paid in your area for a similar car. It shows above, below, and mean price paid for the exact car you spec out. It also shows what the dealer hold back is. Hold back on a new car is approximately 3%. That is 3% below so called dealer cost. Other websites such as Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds do not show the dealer holdback. I purchased my 2010 months before the 2011s came out for below the lowest Truecar price. This is only a guide.

Do you qualify for a $4000 USAA rebate? Are conquest rebates around now?

For the future the Mercedes Benz Club of America publishes a high quality magazine 6 times a year in addition to other benefits. After you are a member one year you can print your own $1000 rebate off their website. It is honored in addition to any other rebates available.