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Sold my E-350 Bluetec after I got the dreaded $4000 oil leak last year.
Finally sold the snow tires and wheels, so I am happily MB free.
I wish you all well, and please please please sell your cars before the warranty expires.
Not really relevant, but you had a diesel. Yeah, MB diesels aren't what they used to be. Would never advise anyone to buy a diesel but some people like them, especially if they know how to work on them. Both my MBs were always out of warranty and I've had one for 6 years and another for 4 years and so far no 4k repair bill for any oil leaks although I did do the intake manifold on my M272 and that was a tad over $800 for the new Pierburg intake, labor and parts. Had about 130k when it went. Had an indy mechanic do it, lots of videos on how to do it, just basically disconnecting a lot of stuff and reconnecting it. Probably could have saved $300 if I had used a rebuilt one instead of a new one.
My warranty was already expired when I bought it 5 years ago lol. Still running great, no oil leaks. Major things I had to do so far was replace both front and rear airmatic suspension parts and the water pump. The rest was maintenance. No plans on letting it go any time soon. It's more cost effective for me to maintain this car than it is to buy a new(er) car.
I’ve spent about $4,500 on my non-diesel this year on a small laundry list of repairs, one including an oils leak on the front of the engine. It’s 6 years old and at 54,000 miles now. True, I never have spent that much on repairs for any car I’ve ever owned before (47 years old), but I didn’t mine too much for this car. I think about like this - what can I replace it with that won’t cost me a lot more than that, that can even compare and not be in the same spot for repairs? Mine is paid for, so that does help as well in deciding on spending the money on repairs.
I would say, I wouldn’t own one too far outside of warranty that required a loan to purchase. But if you can buy one where you can align the loan term to around the warranty term, and you’re not too high on mileage, then it’s a little different to digest the repair cost at that time. Mine looks and feels brand new on the inside and the way it drives, has a few road chips on the outside but nothing a touch up pen can’t fix well enough for a car that’s approaching its 7th year (March 2021) and likely around 56,000 miles by that time.
I had a beautiful W211 E320 BlueTec that was the worst car I ever had including a Buick Riviera with the infamous GM diesel V8! I tried to get an extended warranty but even MB wouldn’t write one. That should have been my first clue. Within ONE YEAR it required almost $9,000 of repairs. It was at that point that we parted ways. I’ve had four Mercedes-Benz diesels but this was the only one that had problems. Every time I had a repair I thought “this is it, I’ve turned the corner” but then the next week something else would fail. Because I’m stubborn I traded it in on a new W212 E350 gasser and never looked back. The new owner of the BlueTec sued the dealer. Not sure how that turned out. Apparently it broke down before he could even get it off of the dealers lot! Own a modern diesel IF and only if you can do all of your own work!
Modern Mercedes-Benz diesels are just not what they used to be.
Got my 2011 E550 out of warranty and it’s been nothing but a dream, I’ve only had to replaced typical repair items other than the transmission oil pan and that was from rust
If you want the most reliable car on the road, bar none, buy a Camry, But before you do take it for an hour ride, You will run not walk back to your Benz saying " My God I just dodged a bullet! And almost made the biggest mistake of my life"
I was frustrated when my air suspension went out on my '07 S550, so the wife and I went shopping, driving the ES350 and the LS430, my wife looked at me after about ten minutes and said "You're kidding right?" People who buy Lexus are not car people, we liked the GS the best but then we went and drove the E-class, as soon as we pulled out in the street from the dealer, my wife said "Buy it". This ends my Lexus story...
Last edited by pierrejoliat; Nov 30, 2020 at 02:58 PM.
If you want the most reliable car on the road, bar none, buy a Camry, But before you d take it for an hour ride, You will run not walk back to your Benz saying " My God I just dodged a bulet! And almost made the biggest mistake of my life"
I was frustrated when my air suspension went out on my '07 S550, so the wife and I went shopping, driving the ES350 and the LS430, my wife looked at me after about ten minutes and said "You're kidding right?" People who buy Lexus are not car people, we liked the GS the best but then we went and drove the E-class, as soon as we pulled out in the street from the dealer, my wife said "Buy it". This ends my Lexus story...
Agreed. Lexus makes a great car however there’s just something about driving a Benz that makes a task like getting groceries a pleasure
If you want the most reliable car on the road, bar none, buy a Camry, But before you do take it for an hour ride, You will run not walk back to your Benz saying " My God I just dodged a bulet! And almost made the biggest mistake of my life"
I was frustrated when my air suspension went out on my '07 S550, so the wife and I went shopping, driving the ES350 and the LS430, my wife looked at me after about ten minutes and said "You're kidding right?" People who buy Lexus are not car people, we liked the GS the best but then we went and drove the E-class, as soon as we pulled out in the street from the dealer, my wife said "Buy it". This ends my Lexus story...
Similar story: we loved our '06 GS430 - but it was totalled by an idiot in a one ton van. We shopped and drove a ton of Yawn cars - even Lexus had dropped v8s. Then we drove a '13 E550 and had an OMG moment. We absolutely Love the car. BUT, back to the OP's warranty point: we bought the Carmax 5 year warranty, our 550 is in at MB right now, hoping to get the last bit of warranty repair done before it expires in 2 months (engine/trans mounts) - even without this latest claim, the warranty co. has paid over $15K in repairs... We plan to keep the car, but if it has a major issue on our dime, it'll likely be time to move on...
The later, gasoline W212s are well sorted. My original, OEM 4/50k warranty just expired a month ago on 10/11/2020 and now my CPO warranty is in effect until 10/10/2023.
Personally, I don't find our RWD E350 (currently 41,700 miles) very scary to own - even past warranty.
Our Macan, on the other hand, is a goner at its warranty expiration in 7/2022.
The later, gasoline W212s are well sorted. My original, OEM 4/50k warranty just expired a month ago on 10/11/2020 and now my CPO warranty is in effect until 10/10/2023.
Personally, I don't find our RWD E350 (currently 41,700 miles) very scary to own - even past warranty.
Our Macan, on the other hand, is a goner at its warranty expiration in 7/2022.
Did you not just buy the Macan? What has you convinced to ditch it?
Did you not just buy the Macan? What has you convinced to ditch it?
Yeah in July with their CPO coverage for unlimited miles or 2 years. There is this pervasive... myth.. about Porsche quality and reliability out there. They do really well in official testing and rankings, but it's a farce. The Macan is fine. It drives way better than any crossover has a right to, it has a bunch of niceties and all that. But we purchased it to give Porsche a go and to see if they're as exceptional as journalists and Porsche themselves would have you believe. The answer is a definitive "no". The Macan has 45,000 miles and our E350 coming up on 42,000. If either vehicle is superior in materials/build quality, it's the Benz. Aside from absurd maintenance costs (dealer cost for Mercedes oil service in my area $199, Porsche $470 even with same oil), projected repair costs are astronomical. $10,000 oil leaks and $20,000 transmissions.. just stupid. Brand new the Macan stickered for about $61,500 but the repair/service costs are more like a Urus than a GLC.
It doesn't help that our Mercedes dealership has always treated us well and I have never needed to ask corporate for anything. The Porsche dealer experience was a disaster, and when I attempted to enlist Porsche customer service they wouldn't even pretend to care. They basically acted like I was allowed the pleasure of purchasing one of their CPO vehicles and to pound sand.
All cars have their things, and Benz is no value brand for sure. They make vehicles I would not trust. The facelift W212 is a gem, though.
I’ve spent about $4,500 on my non-diesel this year on a small laundry list of repairs, one including an oils leak on the front of the engine. It’s 6 years old and at 54,000 miles now. True, I never have spent that much on repairs for any car I’ve ever owned before (47 years old), but I didn’t mine too much for this car. I think about like this - what can I replace it with that won’t cost me a lot more than that, that can even compare and not be in the same spot for repairs? Mine is paid for, so that does help as well in deciding on spending the money on repairs.
I would say, I wouldn’t own one too far outside of warranty that required a loan to purchase. But if you can buy one where you can align the loan term to around the warranty term, and you’re not too high on mileage, then it’s a little different to digest the repair cost at that time. Mine looks and feels brand new on the inside and the way it drives, has a few road chips on the outside but nothing a touch up pen can’t fix well enough for a car that’s approaching its 7th year (March 2021) and likely around 56,000 miles by that time.
It's cheaper to own if you use an indy. I find I get stuff done for between 1/4 to 2/3 of the price that people get quoted at the dealer. Dealer prices seem to vary a lot too. I did a bunch of other stuff this year too, springs/struts were in the $800 range for the front. I did the axle seal a while ago, it's like a $10 part plus the fluid but prices were in the $600 range at another indy and I seem to recall around 1k at the dealer, got it done for around $200. Took less than 2 hours, no idea what those other indys were thinking it was going to take time wise to quote $600. Next on my is list the motor mounts, that's going to be fun.
Yes, I Agee. My buddy has a Cayman and hates the maintenance and repair bills, I also agree it's the best small SUV to ride in. He also has a Maserati Quatroporte, which is a bigger nightmare, rides and sounds awesome, but he is still on the extended warranty thank G@d. Wish you a quick recovery!
Last edited by pierrejoliat; Nov 30, 2020 at 02:57 PM.
I’ve had several Toyota products over the last 15 years - two Lexus V8’s (LS and GS), one Toyota V8 (4Runner), and one 3.5 V6. They are great is many many ways - but all have the same characteristic that drove me nuts that German cars in general don’t suffer from - the application of torque! Always drove me nuts when cruising down the road under light load (say cruise control), and road inclines a few degrees and they have to downshift to get up the incline, or speed up in general. MB’s seem to be able to hold the gear and still get up the slight incline and speed up gradually.
My OEM warranty expires in March of 2021. She's been rock solid so far and have had no issues getting warranty work done including new burlwood trim, rear window and firmware update for the head unit.
My OEM warranty expires in March of 2021. She's been rock solid so far and have had no issues getting warranty work done including new burlwood trim, rear window and firmware update for the head unit.
What issue did you have with the rear window?
I've got a rattle in the driver door up where the window slides in, not always heard and sometimes goes away when I open/close the window. I think I'm off the OEM warranty and on the CPO.
It was the rear hatch window of the wagon. The defroster grid had for lack of a better term "burned out" and only worked on about a 5" round circle. You can tell because the part of the grid that worked was still copper looking while the rest was dark brown and parts of it was no longer actually attached to the window. They had to replace the whole rear window and wiper arm. I forgot they also did the steering bolt recall along with an alignment.
I’ve spent about $4,500 on my non-diesel this year on a small laundry list of repairs, one including an oils leak on the front of the engine. It’s 6 years old and at 54,000 miles now. True, I never have spent that much on repairs for any car I’ve ever owned before (47 years old), but I didn’t mine too much for this car. I think about like this - what can I replace it with that won’t cost me a lot more than that, that can even compare and not be in the same spot for repairs? Mine is paid for, so that does help as well in deciding on spending the money on repairs.
I would say, I wouldn’t own one too far outside of warranty that required a loan to purchase. But if you can buy one where you can align the loan term to around the warranty term, and you’re not too high on mileage, then it’s a little different to digest the repair cost at that time. Mine looks and feels brand new on the inside and the way it drives, has a few road chips on the outside but nothing a touch up pen can’t fix well enough for a car that’s approaching its 7th year (March 2021) and likely around 56,000 miles by that time.
That was the old Click and Clack rationale for whether you should repair your car or get rid of it. "Can you replace your car for the cost of repair?"
Sorry to see your car goes . I sold mine as well. I have to say it's the only car I regret selling afterwards
Hopefully, your new car will be trouble free for you
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