benz9

Hello Everyone,
I am considering buying my first Mercedes. I am 23 and currently driving a 13 Honda Accord (regret buying, super boring to drive). I am trying to keep my price around 27k. what do you all prefer? 2012-2013 e350 or 14 e350, it seems like the 14 e350 is a bit expensive. also should i go for a cpo or get a non cpo and buy a warranty on top. Are these cars very expensive to maintain in general? I am leaning towards the 14 e350. fyi i dont have a family, so if you were at my position would you all still look at e350 or the new c?

Thank You

kash2014

I'm in the market for a 2014 too, so I am pretty familiar with prices and wholesale auction prices

1) obviously the 2014 is superior to the 2012 - 2013, and if you can afford it you should go for it

2) you aren't going to get a 2014 with your budget, and if you do find one, it will be out of warranty >50k miles, and you will be hard pressed to find a clean low mileage 2013 for 27K OTD either, but you should be able to find a 2013 with something between 30 - 49000 miles for around 27 before ttl based on wholesale prices

3) major services are pricey, oil changes will probably run you 150 - 300 depending on your local dealer / depending on coupons / discounts, best to call your local dealer for quotes. I believe >2012 no longer require a 40K tranny service which is expensive, so the major services would be at 60K and 80K but confirm based on model year with the maintenance schedule

4) 2012 model year a) most models are out of warranty, and very few will be found off lease and with warranty, b) less than 15 off lease 2012 were sold this month by MB financial services, but they will be well within your budget and they should have a few months of warranty left, allowing you to possibly get a CPO or ELW if bought from an indy dealer

5) C class does not compare, but with your budget it is something you should consider, but of course it would probably be the old body and not a 2015 model

blegthbloo

The E350 will not be any more fun to drive than your Accord, and I would bet the Accord would be MORE fun to drive than a E350. I say that because the 3.5L V6 Accord is pretty peppy and is much lighter than the 3.5L V6 E350. If I was in your position, 27k could get you an early model C63 which will be MUCH more fun to drive than an E. Probably 2008-2010 at that price range for a decent one with moderate miles. You probably won't be able to get a warranty on that, but you will void it anyway once you start doing the fun mods. And for not having a family, you don't need a big sedan.

cetialpha5

Doesn't the C63 have headbolt issues? I thought that affected cars up to 2011. It'd be curious to find out why the Accord is considered boring. If it's a base model with minimal options it could be boring.

As for the E class Vs C class, class warfare continues. If you read the threads, people who drive the E hate the C, people who drive S class hate the E class. I think the main drawbacks is that the E class has several items which are standard, but are options on the C class and some of them don't even exist in the C class.

It's also interesting to see the E class called a big sedan, I'd consider it mid-sized and the C class is small. Size does matter when it comes to safety, specifically a bigger car is safer than a smaller car in an accident.

blegthbloo

I suggested the C63 because it's in OP's budget range. I drove plenty of C63s and a few E63s and I prefer the fit and finish of the E, but I would still consider a C63 if I was in the market for an AMG. For someone considering a performance vehicle, the C63 would be lighter and thus a better candidate for performance reasons. Has nothing to do with class warfare (from me, at least). My roommate's C350 was the reason I began looking at MB in the first place, and I chose an E because I didn't want the same car as him (ha). As for the headbolt issues, I don't know.

And yes, the E is a "mid-size" sedan, but I consider it big (not to be confused with "full-size") because I'm used to driving small coupes and the E is indeed a big car compared to those; even compared to the Accords I have driven (to include up to the 2015 EX-L V6). The E is even longer and wider than some SUVs I've parked next to. So yeah, it's a big sedan.

I'm also curious why the OP considers the Accord boring. If you didn't buy the V6, then I can see the lack of power when merging into traffic might not be very confidence-inspiring, which would make driving more "boring" during normal commutes or spirited backroad sprints.

benz9

I have the base 2.4l LX model, one more reason to upgrade would be looking for something premium!

MBSebas87

With that budget you're looking at a 2013. I would try to buy CPO since a lot of components are pretty expensive to replace if they go out. Also going from that 2.4 to the 302HP 3.5 is gonna be day and night difference when it comes to performance! I actually came from a c300 and noticed the power difference immediately! Now I'm looking to upgrade to an E550!

benz9

I test drove the 13 E350 few weeks and and it blew my mind!

benz9

given the new e350 (2016) is announced would it be a mistake to go with a 13? should i wait till the 16 comes out so the 14 or even 13 has some price drop?

MBSebas87

If you can wait a few more months than great. I would certainly go for a 2014 if you can afford it. Prices should really drop once the new w213s start hitting the dealers.

cetialpha5

It depends what you want. The 13 and the 14 have a lot of changes. In the 13, you could still get Bixenons with the headlamp washers. They got rid of that in the 14 and just have the LEDs, but they still had an option for the active curve illumination. The 14 also has the eco mode which some people hate and it's always on the first time you turn on the car, you have to shut it off each time. On the other hand the 14 has a bunch of new features like the collision prevention assist and active parking assist.

The price drops all the time, it's just a question of how long you want to wait.

benz9

i can probably wait till end of summer "The new 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan arrives in the U.S in the summer of 2016."-mbusa

Russ103

The Accord is FWD, saying "fun to drive" is a bit of an oxymoron there.

While the E-350 isn't sporty in any way, it is a much better driving experience then any V6 Honda Accord in any/every category.

blegthbloo

"Better driving experience" doesn't necessarily translate to more fun. I agree, the E350 is a better driving experience overall than any Honda as far as comfort and features go, but the E350 has too much body roll to be fun in the corners and is too heavy to be fun in a straight line when compared to the V6 Accord which handles better and can accelerate faster (although OP has since said he has the 4cyl LX, which makes my quoted statement that you're referring to a moot point because the LX doesn't compare to either E350 or V6 Accord, both of which outperform it).

Moving into a Benz from the Accord LX is indeed a better experience in any/every category, like you say, but I would be hesitant to say that the Accord V6 can't be more "fun" than the sluggish, boaty E350. Now if we were talking about an E550 instead, that's a different story.

jonUF02

Jesus H. another one of these. Please look up the other 2000 similar threads about warranties.

MBE550

Totally agreed. I just got 2014 E350 4matic Sport two weeks ago. It's a nice drive but NOT a fun to drive car. 2015 C300 I had for a loaner is much more fun to drive in fact.

Comparing to 2007 E550 I had until recently, E350 is no match for the neck snapping low end torque from 5.5 liter.

Lastly, you have to be willing to shell out big bucks to maintain any AMG cars even with warranty. Without warranty, I wouldn't dare to own one of those. It doesn't matter what the selling price is. On the other hand E550's maintenance cost is about the same as E350 except for the Airmatic.

El Cid

Don't know where you live, but maintenance will be much higher than for a Honda, whether at a dealership or an independent. 550 and AMG will be even more costly. Reliability of MB parts is much less than Honda's. Insurance and property taxes (if you have them) will significantly go up just because it is an MB. MB's cost more to repair than Hondas.
Just so you feel better, might want to try some other makes while you are waiting for E350 price to drop.
Best time to negotiate is 6:00 PM on last day of month and quarter.

benz9

Thank you all.
I am not considering any AMGs or even e550, just e350. To answer El Cid I have been looking at Lexus gs350 and bmw 535i xdrive. I test drove the 535i, it seemed nice but i prefer the bank vault experience of the benz. My insurance premium will go up with the benz. So far I did not have to shed a penny on my Accord, nothing broke within my 1 yr of ownership.

teksurv

I appreciate this post, and to a degree respectfully disagree. I recently took a friend to get his new-to-him, 2014 C63 AMG. He drove it like his previous Toyota. I drove it like an AMG. Tons of fun! That said I take my 302hp V6 E class around canyon corners and have a blast. I'm turning 40 this year so maybe that will change, but for now, an E350 can be a big, luxurious, comfortable car that can be flung around corners as well as or better than others in this class.

nly04

I was on the same boat for the last couple week and I finally purchased an E350 sport yesterday. it 2014 10K miles, with some nice option (sport package, P1, seat, wood/leather steering, navi, keyless, AMG wheel, back up camera...) but not 4Matic. KBB pricing between $38K-$41K with the same option from dealer and I bought it for $33.5K. This is my first E-class. I owned a couple ML. this car still under warranty for another 30 months or 40K more miles. Hope this car does not give me to much headache. Cheers.

kash2014

congrats.

was the 33.5K for a non-CPO model?

nly04

It's not CPO, since it still have 2.5 years warranty and near 40K miles on original factory warranty that why I bought it. MFG date on sticker is 7/2014 and first sold on 9/2014. Hope it help.

benz9

I was wondering which would be better? going cpo or non cpo +4yrs Mercedes-Benz Prepaid Maintenance?

because cpo + Mercedes-Benz Prepaid Maintenance get kind of out of budget! also i ave increased my budge to 30k

kash2014

are you finding 2014 CPO's around 30K in your neighboorhood?

I can't find anything near that in Texas, I saw a 2014 CPO with 14k miles listed at 28 grand, called and said I would pick it up in 20 minutes sight unseen if it was true, SA checked, and it was a mistake should of been 38k

benz9

im not looking around my neighborhood, 500 miles radius, theres a few within 32-34