bzliteyear

hi all,
been thinking about trading up from our 2000 E320 wagon with 113k miles to a 2006 R500. we can probably driven the wagon a bit longer, but heck - the R500 prices are so cheap it's making it very tempting. i'm hearing from many people these $65k cars that's 2.5-3 yrs old are going for less than $25k.
btw, i drove a 2007 R350 almost 2 yrs ago and thought it was just ok. also, whenever i get my car serviced at MB dealer, they use the R350 for shuttle car and i always thought it was quite comfy.
yesterday, however, was my first time behind the wheel of the V8.
first, the good news. i thought the ride was pretty good and i could see why people would like this car for long distance vs. stiffer ML suspensions.
however, i did not think this car felt like 6.7 seconds zero to 60mph. for me, it felt like closer to 8 seconds.
bottomline, it's a very nice car and it's terrific on the inside. my main concern right now is that my 3 and 5 yr old kids still are quite messy and eat in the car quite a bit. i think it'll be tough to keep in clean, and the car is almost too nice for them.
the other concern is that the R500 is quite large - closer to my S55 size, and certainly much larger than the wagon, especially for daily driving to take the kids around town.
therefore, my conclusion is...i don't know. i think i'll sleep on this some more. after all, it's not like the prices are going to spike tmrw.
Patrick

supernsx

Longer you wait, better price will be..... why rush?

btw, I do agree with you about the speed. I have one and it is in sport mode all the time and I don't feel it goes 6.7 second fast. However, I don't think it goes 8 seconds either. I am thinking more in the mid 7 seconds range.

The thing I do like about the engine is when my R is up to 70 and the engine still has a lot of left to push the car very quickly to hit 90 or so. For a big car, this is quite cool.

ct_r500

MB says the R500 ride quality is supposed to be somewhere between the E-class and S-class. It's definitely not sublime like the S. Engine noise is higher than expected but not too bad from inside. Overall power and acceleration are good. Sometime it seems to fly off the line - but other times it's not that impressive. Maybe it's just my foot. For me this vehicle is more about utility. I have a modded 328i for performance so it's not as much of a concern here. This car great for family road trips. Get one fully loaded for a cheap price and you will be satisfied.

THR500

$25K? Yikes!...I guess I will need to keep my R500 forever. lol

Anyway, I have a 7 and a 4 years old and the interior wasn't too hard to clean even we have the black suede/leather interior. If the car you test drove have full leather, it would even easier. Yes, the car is long and the back doors swing out wide. You will get used to it. By the way, make sure you get one with the Xenon HID.

supernsx

My friend just showed me the Manheim price today and there were couple R500's in average condition going for $18K in November. Now.... that is YIKE!!!

chilledbenz

The R class is actually bigger than the S55 in over all length and interior space and only marginally smaller than the current S class.

2009 S class length = 205 in
2009 S class width = 73.7 in

2009 R class length = 203 in
2009 R class width = 85.4 in

sc_trojan

Night and day difference as far as I am concerned. The "sport" setting makes a huge difference- so much so, that I wouldn't even consider purchasing an R class without it.

bzliteyear

thx to everyone for their input.

i had been trying to decide between getting a newer wagon or an R500. although the size of the 2004/2005 E500 wagon was nice for daily driving/kids, it's been tough to find one. by the time i find one, either the price was too high($25k-28k), or the color combo would not be as desirable.

i've also been monitoring the R500's for a while and while it's not as convenient to drive day to day because of its larger size, i thought it wasn't much bigger than my S55 and it would be a huge advantage over the wagon for winter/long roadtrips. further, the newer R500 was selling for not much more than the E500 wagon.

so as luck would have it, as i was about to leave work today to enjoy thanksgiving tmrw, i saw an ad that i couldn't refuse - fully loaded 2006 R500 Pewter/ash grey with 40k miles and orig. $71k MSRP.

Major options: Parking Sensors, Keyless start/stop, Navigation, Panoramic roof, Airmatics suspension, Multi CD, Harmon Kardon, Alloy Wheels, Hill Descent Control, Dual Power Seats, Stability Control, Premium Pkg, Leather, Traction Control, heated front/rear seats, automatic rear hatch, and HID headlights. Plus the dealer just installed new front and rear brake pads/rotors.

well - that's my story. the dealer's going to detail it and we'll get it in a few days. thx again for everyone's input.

p.s. main option missing was the dual head rest entertainment systems - anyone have suggestion that's better than aftermarket systems that have wires/power cable dangling?

Patrick

nkole

How much did you end up paying for it?

Zeyad Alkaisi

I have not seen Hill Descent Control feature but in one R350 that I am about to buy. I guess not too many R's have this feature.
How much did you pay for it?

bzliteyear

i paid just under $26k w/ the 100k CPO warranty - a bit more to add 2 more yr to make the 5 yr warranty become 7 yrs, but apparently that amount is completely refundable if i change my mind and want it back prior the the end of the 5 yrs/100k period.
btw, since the dealer just spent $1700 to get brand new brakes all the way around and make sure the entire car doesn't have a single dent/scratch, i feel pretty good about it.
lastly, did i mention the passenger seat bracket's loose, and they had to order the part from MB? i don't recall anyone having this issue - mostly i've read about the rear latch and sunroof rail causing a bizz. anyways, i'm picking up the car next week.
p.s. i saw a few other loaded models on craigslist in LA and OC around $28k, but i'm not sure if they're CPO'd.
Patrick

ct_r500

Mine has that. I thought it was standard on the 500's.

Zeyad Alkaisi

Possible in R500,but , not in R350.
I wanted to know if any one has it in an R 350? and how much is it worth?

supernsx

No, it is not standard on a 500. Mine doesn't have it.

Btw, I had a ML350 as a loaner while my wife's C was in service. Yeah, the V6 is still very much doable but the 350 engine is really lacking some punches. However, I got closed to 18 MPG in a ML 350 compared to my normal 14 MPG in my R500.....

Anthrassat

Congrats you will love it. As for the kids, have no fear as that too was my concern and have had no issues with my 4 and 8yo boys. They (as do we) absolutely love it.

I had the 4 screen, dual DVD system installed in ours as its sounds like yours is similarly outfitted with exception of the entertainment system. This too with our boys is a must have and I hated the way the OEM add-ons mounted to the active headrests. My dealer (which also owns a tuning company) ordered the oem headrest replacements. I also had him hard wire it to my aux input on the radio so the kids can either use the headphones (supplied with 4 sets) or just listen through the stereo. I still maintain full i-pod functionality when they are not in use as well. He also left me an open video feed so I can hook up the dash nav to view DVD's and wire in a reverse camera. He basically threw it in for me but I believe it will run between $3-4k for a similar setup. Here is a shot of the install.



Also, recommend dropping it with the adjustable airride links. They are a cinch to adjust and tighten up the handling considerably for such a big rig. Here she is sitting about 2" lower than stock. The only downside is it now absolutely swallow's the 19" AMG's........time for the next mod



I also just installed a Thule 460R rack system to accommodate our box for the ski gear. This is a MUCH better setup than the OEM bars. Mounts on the same stock fix points but sits about an inch lower and the bars also happen to match our paint

taranch

Nice Rig! Very nice DVD setup! Enjoy it! Btw, whereabouts are you from?

Cheers

Anthrassat

Thanks, I currently reside west of Cleveland Ohio on Lake Erie but grew up outside of Philadelphia.

R. Reyes

Sweet ride. I'm thinking about the same DVD set-up in mine.

How is the ground/parking clearance with it lowered 2"? Do you have any problems parking (curbs/parking space stops)?

Anthrassat

Thanks. I HIGHLY recommend the DVD setup. It is so easy to use, even my 4yo gets in, puts on the headphones, sets it to the correct setting, and starts his movie by himself. The dual setup is great so they each can watch what they want.

Ummmmmmmm yeah..........the lowering thing. Well be prepared to be EXTREMELY careful when parking. On 90% of the curbs there is no issue as it will clear it (only by about 1/2") but there are some higher ones that you definitely want to be sure not to pull up too close. I pay particularly close attention when pulling in that I'm actually back further than normal just to be safe. I've warned my wife about this but I've still found her pulling in a bit too far. The great thing about the links is you can adjust them to any height so you could essentially drop it only an inch or so and have no worries. I personally like the more aggressive stance so went with it a bit lower. I will say the ride in "comfort" mode is a bit bouncier than I'd like but really not that bad. overall It still rides like a dream and I usually leave it in "sport" anyway.

R. Reyes

That's what I was afraid of. I'm getting ready to put some 20" 'Alanz' MB wheels on, and wanted to lower it, but I think I'll only be going about 1.5".

I have the springs so I'll be using H&R to lower, but am still worried about the wife driving the car.

Can't wait till she get's hers.

As far as the DVD, I've been wanting it for a while now, but I think I'm ready to pull the trigger now with a 5, 3 and 1 year old who is just now really starting to watch videos.

Anthrassat

Nice! Please post up some pic's of the 20's. I'm debating on either 20 or 22's for her R. My fear is that going from 19 to 20 isn't going to be that different and I really love how the 22's fill out the wells. My main concern is on this car I don't want to completely ruin the ride. Not to mention I don't want her having to swerve to miss every pothole.

As for the DVD system, yeah you are definitely ready with those ages on board

R. Reyes

You should contact the guys at wheelexperts, they were looking to put some 22" D10 from Deluxe Designs on a R-class.

They're nice, but not what I was looking for, but you might be interested. I believe they're sponsors/and or advertisers of a part of this forum.

Anthrassat

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check out what they have but the R10's are actually a little too "blingy" for my taste. I'm more into the traditional euro look. I'm thinking more along the lines of the Brabus Monoblock VI's or similar.

davidbho

Hi, sorry for my ignorance, can you tell me more about the links? Where do i get them? How do they install? How much? etc etc...

thanks,
Dave

Anthrassat

www.adjustableairride.com $300 + shipping. Simply pop off the stockies and adjust these to your desired height. total install time is about 20 minutes for all 4. This is based on you having a full airmatic setup. If not, H&R seems to be the way to go.