I just wanted to take time to introduce myself to the group. I live in TN and have been a (relatively) happy Lexus GS30 (1st and 3rd generation) owner since 1997. After my GS started burning oil at 100k mi and an engine light came on that would cost $5k to fix, I decided to start shopping. Not overly impressed with the body on the new GS...and not a lot of good pre-owned options yet since it's so new. Love the new Audi...but have heard nightmare stories about reliability and again..not a lot of pre-owned on market yet. Test drove BMW 535i and found the interior absolutely stunning...especially the Nav/idrive... but can't seem to understand why they would make the exterior look more like the 3 series... also, quite a bit more $$ than a comperable year/model MB. So after a long search for just the right option/color/milage... I found a pristine 2011 E350 with 11k mi, Black/Black with P1 and Sport package at Carmax. Thought about doing MB Pre-owned certified... but the cost was several thousand dollars more than Carmax with less extensive warranty. For those of you who haven't dealt with Carmax... they offer a 6yr/100k mi Warranty for about $1700. No deductible if I bring it to Carmax and they do all the service there, with reimbursement for loaner ($40/day). The 6 years starts from date of purchase from them...not date of vehicle inservice. So far I've been driving it a couple of weeks, and I'm loving it. Almost hesitant to read the forums because I don't want to hear about all of the potential problems/issues. Unfortuntely I found this forum while researching why my Command Control Knob suddenly stopped responding to rotation although the fwd/back/side-side fxn still works... sounds like it's common to fail around 4yr mark, mine quit a little early... I'll be bringing it in tomorrow for service. Also have the same burl wood fading (badly in some spots) that others have had... although my car is outside of the VIN range reported in the TSB... it's obvioius, so I'll try and get these panels replaced while I'm down there. Anyway...besides those issues.. I absolutely LOVE the way this car feels and rides. Thanks for all of the useful information! I'm sure I'll be talking to all of you quite a bit in the years to come.

 

welcome to the forum, hope you get the issue's sorted out soon, MB is a great car!

 

Welcome, these cars are reliable as stone so you can read the forums at your spare times and not to mention you can learn something new that you didn't know about it

 

MB is a great car, good luck with yours. I'm sure you'll agree after some time driving. If you forum name is reflective of your current or past life, I would like to thank you for your service as well as welcoming you to the forum.

 

Welcome ...
Time to develop a good relationship with the MB service center service advisor and he/she will take good care of you.

 

Welcome and congrats on your new "E".

 

Congrats and welcome. Best info on this site is 2nd and 3rd threads/Stickies by Konigstiger.
Recommend you spend a lot of time with the Operator's Manual and the COMAND Manual. There are methods to delete navigation and music information previous owner may have entered into hard drive. If CARMAX didn't already do it.