Hi everyone! I am new to the forums and looking for advice on selecting our first MB vehicle. We are currently looking at the 2019 E450 with the AMG styling. However, we have not been able to find one anywhere in the country with the exact options that we would like. Our local dealer has found one that has more than we would like and is missing one option we wanted (heads up display, so not a real biggie but my husband wanted it). Here are some of the questions I have for those of you with experience with MB vehicles:
1. Is the Driver's Assistance Package features worth the cost in your opinion? Do you find yourself using and liking them? Or do you feel that the Blind Spot Assist is really all that you need?
2. We are now past the point of being able to custom order a 2019 E450. Would you prefer custom ordering a 2020 with exactly what you want? And have you had any dealerships give a discount off the MSRP for custom orders? Our local dealership says MSRP only but I would think that with a custom order their costs would be lower and should be willing to give a discount.
3. The other car we are considering is a CPO 2018 AMG E43. In your experiences, would you either definitely consider or definitely not consider this?
A. I will be the main driver of the car and do like a sportier ride as I test drove both this car and the E450 in the sport mode and preferred it to the comfort mode. Also, is there much difference between these two? The engine doesn't seem that much different. What am I missing?
B. The AMG E43 has most of the features that we would want in a car except it does not have the 360 surround camera that I was wanting. In my current car, I tend to scrape the curb when pulling into a parking spot and was thinking the parking assist package was what I needed. In your experience, would just the parking sensors suffice?
Thank you so much for any advice/suggestions/recommendations that you can provide!

 

I have a 2017 E300 with the P3 package that includes the full distronic semi-autonomous drives aid. I use mine 99% of the time and wouldn’t have purchased the car without it. I also had it on my C300 before this.

If you do long trips or lots of stop and go traffic driving it’s so worth it. The safety of the system is also very comforting. I know they have also improved on it since 2017 because this is much better than the one that was on my 2015 C300.

FYI, that’s bull your dealer is telling you that ordering would be MSRP only. I ordered my 2015 C300 and received a great discount. I would have ordered the E as well to have all the options I wanted but couldn’t resist the deal I talked myself into. The only two options I was missing are airmatic suspension and heated steering wheel.

Nothing wrong with a CPO, I would definitely get the extended warranty if I were you.

My car has the 360 degrees camera and I can verify that it’s awesome, I absolutely love it. When I pull into my garage it pops up and I can see all around the car. Yellow, orange and red indicators depending on how close you are to the object with audible alerts as well. You can also change the camera angle and view. There are narrow, wide angle and both sides downstairs. If a car pulls up too close to the rear, side or if you are too close in front it also pops up

 

Love the distronic safety feature and wouldn't not have them. The 360 degree camera is more than worth the price of admission. These puppies sit low and a lot or curbs can scrape the undercarriage. Being able to see how close you are to something you're pulling up to is GREAT!

BULLCRAP from your dealer that an ordered car will be MSRP. BULL BULL BULL. Find another dealer. I can't list the percentage off I got on mine per my dealers request, but it was terrific and there's no reason other than hoping you're gullible to pay MSRP for an ordered car.

 

True that on the MSRP, same here on both my previous C300 and current E300. You have to do your research and walk in demanding what you are willing to pay. Check other dealers if necessary. You can purchase from any dealer, in your state if leased and even have it shipped to you if you are financing

 

If it helps, I was able to get 8% off of MSRP for my custom order. If I remember correctly it seems like last summer some were saying 9 or 10 percent on the forum, but I wasn't that lucky.

 

It’s always figuring out how much something is worth to you personally. I’m on my 4th Benz now and each purchase was quite different. Each time I had a new feature I’ve never previously lived with. Some I thought were silly gimmicks until I had them (keyless entry and go). Some I never knew what I was missing (heated steering wheel). Some I was worried wouldn’t be worth the cost (Acoustic Pacakge). Some I was worried would reduce reliability (Air Body Control). I could go on for quite a while. With each vehicle I got pickier and pickier to the point my latest is a custom order. I’m quite happy with it, but I do wonder if I spent too much for “just” an E-class. I am sure many would say I did. I’m happy and that is what counts. If you’ve got the time and opportunity, I very much suggest getting some experience with these features you’re considering. Maybe a rental for a weekend or something. The parking assistance package should be fairly easy to find on a vehicle. The HUD maybe not. To me it takes more than a test drive to really get the feel for a feature. In a test drive everything is new and an adjustment that distracts from the subtle details an owner might find glaring. I wish I had more ability to have done that for each vehicle.

To your specific questions - I have the HUD. I am happy I have it, but I am sure I would be fine without it. The Driver’s Assistance Package is not as good as I expected, but I’m still getting used to mine. I have a love-hate thing going with Distronic at the moment. I had similar feelings when starting to use an autopilot in aircraft, so the jury is still out. I love the 360 view for parking. I wouldn’t want another vehicle without it. That said, my previous vehicle (also an s213) only had the parking sensors and the display for those is better than what you get for the same sensors with the 360 view. I don’t want to go back, but I wish that view was available in the more advanced system. Custom order with exactly what you ask for vs CPO that’s close to what you want is always a toss up. How close is “close”? How big are the savings? It’s a personal question. And can you get a discount with a custom order — a resounding yes. Others have said it already. I got one too, although not much in comparison. I did have a dealer tell me there is no incentive for them to discount a custom order. They actively ignored my even considering such a thing. Boggles my mind, but I digress. Hopefully you wind up with exactly what you want.

 

Thank you all for your comments, advice and suggestions. We took your advice and talked to another dealer about getting a discount off of MSRP for a custom build, which they would be willing to do. I have decided against the CPO 2018 AMG E43 since it does not have the 360 surround view, which I have decided I definitely want. Now trying to decide if I want the E450 that is half way across the country that has more than I want but does not have the heads up display and is a 2019, or if I want to order exactly what we think we want in a 2020 model. (As some of you mentioned, every time I drive a car with more options I think there is something else that I would like to have...trying to decide the "like to have" from the "must have"!) . The 2019 is a polar white....what are your thoughts on that color? In one respect I think it is a sporty looking color with the black interior and tinted windows, but on the other hand I sometimes think it is rather plain. Oh my....if only I could make up my mind!!!

 

Have you considered European delivery? They automatically take 7% off and there's a few dealers around nationally that may knock off a few percent so you might end up with 10%+ off MSRP. Plus they don't have a destination charge with European delivery so that's an additional 1k in savings. There's a European delivery subforum and a few vendors are mentioned regularly there.

Discounts vary depending on the time of the year and the time of the month. Usually your best discounts are at the end of the month, end of the quarter, end of the year etc. I'm not surprised the dealer didn't want to discount this early in the month.

 

In retrospect, I kicked myself for not doing European Delivery, but hopefully next time (in 10 years, knock on wood).

 

I ordered mine just the way I wanted it. your paying for it get what you want exactly not almost. order it.

 

I ordered mine with polar white and the dark interior (and night package). I love it. I haven’t tinted the windows yet, but I will.