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2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
My E450 Wagon FAIRY TALE--I still can't believe it!
Being quite disappointed that MBUSA will not be importing a "Luxury" trim version of the E Class for 2021, I saw my chances of obtaining an acceptable T-Model slipping away and decided to start looking around. I feel the Luxury Trim W213 Wagons with the traditional grill are quite beautiful and stately, while I don't personally care for the "AMG Line" trim.
So, I was looking all over the country and there were virtually zero vehicles out there that met my desires. First of all, I truly HATE the Panorama Roof, so any vehicle with that option would not be considered. I didn't want a black car either. What I really wanted was a loaded car in a lighter color, with one of the Exclusive Nappa interiors, Air Body Control, Acoustic Comfort Pkg., etc. In short, I was looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack." Most loaded wagons have the Pano Roof and many of them are black. It was not looking good for the home team!
Well, this morning, over my coffee, I opened AutoTrader and there was a nice 2019 Luxury trim wagon, 9200 miles, loaded up, no Pano and most every option I wanted, except Air Body Control. But, it was stated to be Selenite Grey MAGNO! I hate those colors! So, I almost passed it by, but then I noticed that the car was at a BMW dealer. The dealer was one I pass by almost every day along my morning walk route! THE CAR WAS LESS THAN A HALF MILE FROM MY HOME!
So, I figured that I would like to drive the car, since it was so close by and such an easy thing to do. The fact of the matter is that I had never driven a wagon, so this would be an easy way to get the experience. I called, made an appointment and then walked down there. Imagine my surprise--and delight--when I see that the dealer made a mistake: The color is not a Magno, but the beautiful Selenite Grey METALLIC!
I gave him my license & insurance card, he made copies and he hands me the keys, for a solo test drive. I am driving up a bumpy street I know very well and I am amazed at how nicely the car is riding. At the next stoplight, I open the glove box and there is the original window sticker. I read it and there it is: "489 AIR BODY CONTROL Air Suspension!" So, I pull over to the curb and read the whole list of options on the $88,745.00 car. It had virtually every option I wanted and I said out loud to myself, "I'M BUYING THIS CAR!" And, I did! $62,000.00 plus T&L.
Here are a few photos. I'm not thrilled with the Black Piano Flowing Lines trim and might look into changing it to Burl Walnut. I might also look into swapping out the steering wheel for a wood/leather unit, even though I know I'd lose the heating feature. The original beige floor mats were included and are unused, but I'll get some darker ones that match the interior better than the black ones the previous owner put in. The run flat tires ride amazingly well, which means that when I put a set of Bridgestone QuietTrack conventional tires on, the ride should really be wonderful. But, over all, this car is very close to my "dream" T-Model and I can't believe it virtually appeared on my doorstep!
Thanks for reading!
Last edited by Streamliner; Jul 11, 2020 at 12:04 PM.
Fantastic - congrats on a great purchase. You got a bargain. This is a very rare vehicle as built. I'm totally with you on your preferences; e.g. air body control, PAF, 319, 445, 917 etc. Now you need to upgrade your lights to full Euro specifications - check the forum.
Being quite disappointed that MBUSA will not be importing a "Luxury" trim version of the E Class for 2021, I saw my chances of obtaining an acceptable T-Model slipping away and decided to start looking around. I feel the Luxury Trim W213 Wagons with the traditional grill are quite beautiful and stately, while I don't personally care for the "AMG Line" trim.
So, I was looking all over the country and there were virtually zero vehicles out there that met my desires. First of all, I truly HATE the Panorama Roof, so any vehicle with that option would not be considered. I didn't want a black car either. What I really wanted was a loaded car in a lighter color, with one of the Exclusive Nappa interiors, Air Body Control, Acoustic Comfort Pkg., etc. In short, I was looking for the proverbial "needle in a haystack." Most loaded wagons have the Pano Roof and many of them are black. It was not looking good for the home team!
Well, this morning, over my coffee, I opened AutoTrader and there was a nice Luxury trim wagon, 9200 miles, loaded up, no Pano and most every option I wanted, except Air Body Control. But, it was stated to be Selenite Grey MAGNO! I hate those colors! So, I almost passed it by, but then I noticed that the car was at a BMW dealer. The dealer was one I pass by almost every day along my morning walk route! THE CAR WAS LESS THAN A HALF MILE FROM MY HOME!
So, I figured that I would like to drive the car, since it was so close by and such an easy thing to do. The fact of the matter is that I had never driven a wagon, so this would be an easy way to get the experience. I called, made an appointment and then walked down there. Imagine my surprise--and delight--when I see that the dealer made a mistake: The color is not a Magno, but the beautiful Selenite Grey METALLIC!
I gave him my license & insurance card, he made copies and he hands me the keys, for a solo test drive. I am driving up a bumpy street I know very well and I am amazed at how nicely the car is riding. At the next stoplight, I open the glove box and there is the original window sticker. I read it and there it is: "489 AIR BODY CONTROL Air Suspension!" So, I pull over to the curb and read the whole list of options on the $88,745.00 car. It had virtually every option I wanted and I said out loud to myself, "I'M BUYING THIS CAR!" And, I did! $62,000.00 plus T&L.
Here are a few photos. I'm not thrilled with the Black Piano Flowing Lines trim and might look into changing it to Burl Walnut. I might also look into swapping out the steering wheel for a wood/leather unit, even though I know I'd lose the heating feature. The original beige floor mats were included and are unused, but I'll get some darker ones that match the interior better than the black ones the previous owner put in. The run flat tires ride amazingly well, which means that when I put a set of Bridgestone QuietTrack conventional tires on, the ride should really be wonderful. But, over all, this car is very close to my "dream" T-Model and I can't believe it virtually appeared on my doorstep!
Thanks for reading!
Very beautiful, congrats. I am with you on the Luxury model. I have the 2017 Sedan with P3 package fully loaded except for air body and heated steering wheel, same exterior color with brown interior. I am still in love with it and will be keeping it for a while.
That is a gorgeous unicorn of a car, congratulations!!
Good job picking up the last great E wagon before the hideous new All-Terrain!
And I share your revulsion to panoramic roofs. I loath everything about them but fear they will become so commonplace in luxury vehicles as to be soon unavoidable
Talk about the stars aligning. You should have picked up a lottery ticket on the way home. Beautiful wagon. I had to custom order to get the spec I wanted (loaded like yours, but AMG line and different colors).
This happens when you are supposed to get the car! Everything just falls into place. Congratulations! I love the interior; same color combo as our M8
I am also not a fan of the piano black but walnut would not work well with saddle brown IMO. Plus now you even have space for a spare! Wonder if the would fit under the floor board?
I usually like to use the online vin decoders to tell you exactly what options a car has. Dealers screw things up all the time. The only problem with a late model car is that the online database that those vin decoders use can be old and if it's a new car, it might not be on there. In which case it might make sense to pay the $75 to MB for their online version of EPC which will also tell you what options the car has.
I kinda like the look of that black lined piano wood with that color combo. It’s something really different in that you never see it with that color combo. I’ll bet that car holds its value real well in the future as it’s such a rare and different special order car. Plus as said with the luxury line going away. I’m jealous of those seats and Nappa leather. My car just has the standard mb Tex seats with no message. Oh well I mostly drive my S550 these days with it’s super comfy multicontour Nappa seats anyhow. The used 2017 I got last November has worked out perfect for me.
Last edited by 2012 merc amg; Jul 11, 2020 at 10:59 AM.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by ccww
That is a gorgeous unicorn of a car, congratulations!!
Good job picking up the last great E wagon before the hideous new All-Terrain!
And I share your revulsion to panoramic roofs. I loath everything about them but fear they will become so commonplace in luxury vehicles as to be soon unavoidable
At least on the E Class vehicles the Pano Roofs have been optional. You should see the ranting I have done on the W222 S Class forum! On the W222, in the US, the glass roof is STANDARD equipment and you have not been able to spec an S Class without the friggin roof since 2013, even though it is optional in Germany. To me, real luxury is having something the way YOU want it, not the way some clown at MBUSA decides you SHOULD have it. Some folks love the Panorama Roof and some don’t. Buyers of MB’s most luxurious cars should have the option of getting the car just how they want it.
I kinda like the look of that black lined piano wood with that color combo. It’s something really different in that you never see it with that color combo. I’ll bet that car holds its value real well in the future as it’s such a rare and different special order car. Plus as said with the luxury line going away. I’m jealous of those seats and Nappa leather. My car just has the standard mb Tex seats with no message. Oh well I mostly drive my S550 these days with it’s super comfy multicontour Nappa seats anyhow. The used 2017 I got last November has worked out perfect for me.
You would think that, but I got my designo graphite W211 which was also a special order basically for slightly under retail and I bought it at a retail car dealership. Rare does not equal valuable. I think someone did some calculation where if you took all the possible colors and option combinations, each car made could be unique and that would not make the car more valuable than the next. I had looked for about 4-6 months to find mine as I was also looking for one that was loaded. Haven't seen one as loaded since. The dealers just basically go by whatever the book tells them and the book only values a few basic options, all the extra ones you can get they don't really factor in so it's a good deal to get them loaded as they'll be the same price as one that doesn't have the options. The only difference is that they go fast, I went and bought the car 3 days after they had it on the lot. Kind of the same thing with my W212, got it one day after the guy listed it on Craigslist.
At least on the E Class vehicles the Pano Roofs have been optional. You should see the ranting I have done on the W222 S Class forum! On the W222, in the US, the glass roof is STANDARD equipment and you have not been able to spec an S Class without the friggin roof since 2013, even though it is optional in Germany. To me, real luxury is having something the way YOU want it, not the way some clown at MBUSA decides you SHOULD have it. Some folks love the Panorama Roof and some don’t. Buyers of MB’s most luxurious cars should have the option of getting the car just how they want it.
The S Guard models do not have a sunroof because the are a security hazard. That being said, I agree with you. I wouldn't have a pano roof either.
At least on the E Class vehicles the Pano Roofs have been optional. You should see the ranting I have done on the W222 S Class forum! On the W222, in the US, the glass roof is STANDARD equipment and you have not been able to spec an S Class without the friggin roof since 2013, even though it is optional in Germany. To me, real luxury is having something the way YOU want it, not the way some clown at MBUSA decides you SHOULD have it. Some folks love the Panorama Roof and some don’t. Buyers of MB’s most luxurious cars should have the option of getting the car just how they want it.
I couldn't agree more! I owned a car once with a panoramic roof and swore never again. They are loud, let in heat, place lots of very heavy glass at the highest point on the car, and are often points of failure. Further I'm not much a fan of direct sunlight and I can't even see out of them from the driving position. The ones with non-fully opaque shades are even worse, like on the W212. Pano roof was an absolute dealbreaker when shopping for my E250 BT. I would take no sunroof at all if given the choice. I've mused about lining the underside of my E250's standard sunroof with blackout film or with insulation and disconnecting the switches, but mostly it just stays out of sight and mind with the cover closed.
It is definitely disappointing that they cannot accommodate wishes for W222s without the pano in the US, even if only by special order. At that price point in particular, choice is a large part of what you are paying for when buying new.
I couldn't agree more! I owned a car once with a panoramic roof and swore never again. They are loud, let in heat, place lots of very heavy glass at the highest point on the car, and are often points of failure. Further I'm not much a fan of direct sunlight and I can't even see out of them from the driving position. The ones with non-fully opaque shades are even worse, like on the W212. Pano roof was an absolute dealbreaker when shopping for my E250 BT. I would take no sunroof at all if given the choice. I've mused about lining the underside of my E250's standard sunroof with blackout film or with insulation and disconnecting the switches, but mostly it just stays out of sight and mind with the cover closed.
It is definitely disappointing that they cannot accommodate wishes for W222s without the pano in the US, even if only by special order. At that price point in particular, choice is a large part of what you are paying for when buying new.
Both of mine have the pano roof. It was better on the W211, doesn't make that much noise. Worse on the W212, but I tightened the bolts and it's better although at extreme points, it still makes a little noise which I attribute to the having the pano roof. At least with the roof all glass, you don't have to wax it. I don't notice the heat, it's always hot the first time you get in a car on a hot day, always takes 5 minutes to cool it down. I'd rather have it than not, what's the point of owning a luxury car if you don't have any luxury features?
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