ml350er

Hi All,

I have a 2006 R500, bought it new and it now has about 90k miles on it. For the most part its been a great vehicle for the wife and hauling around the kids.

I took it recently to an indy shop for maintenance (first time at an indy, usually at dealer for service) and discovered there are oil leaks at the main seal, power steering is acting up and some minor fuse issues. The indy shop told me that he couldn't change the main seal and there's a part that's about $20 that needs to be replaced but to replace it you need to take down the tranny etc and he can't do it. He said that I would need to go to the dealer to do and it would probably cost upwards of $3k or so.

The question now is do I drop another $60k to replace my R500 with a R350? or pay for the repair? Which gets me more bang for my buck? The wife is pragmatic and wants to repair but I'm looking more long term.. If I were to buy a new R350, what deals should I expecting?

Thanks in advance!

aggst1

I would take it to the dealer for an accurate quote before making any decision. If it needs a rear engine seal it is probably expensive but 3K sounds high to me.

I also think that you will miss the performance of the V8 if you go with any of the current offerings although the diesel has high torque and it's probably close but not at the same level.

Personally I would keep it for another 40-50K miles. That's my two cents.

supernsx

If your R500 doesn't have air suspension and folding mirrors, I will lean on keeping it. As aggst 1 said, I will definitely take it to the dealer or another indy shop for estimate. May be even pay the dealer two hours to have the whole car inspected. It should give you even better info on keeping it or not.

Btw, if you replace your R500, go for the R350 bluetec. Feel similar.

TINMan22

I seem to be in agreement with supernsx on a regular basis. The r500 is hard to replace in my opinion. If you don't have an extended warranty, upwards of $3K is a lot of money. However, compare that to the sum of monthly payments over the life of a newer vehicle.

Our 07 R500 has ~84,000 miles. It has the typical range of problems, e.g., tailgate not working as designed. However, the most expensive repair has been replacing the power steering pump, paid for by the extended warranty. It is in the shop now to have the steering rack replaced. Cost - $100 deductible under extended warranty compared to dealer charge of $1800. The engine is tight, still giving good torque, reasonable mpg. The tranny will be flushed this time around under Service B.

The technology has been overtaken by such things as easier folding rear seats, rearview camera, and relocated turn signal lever in the newer 350s. However, I wouldn't give up the over 300 ft-lbs of torque for anything. I've autocrossed it in the summer and was able to beat v-8 MB sedans using all-season tires. It goes from 70-90+ for quick passing maneuvers in the blink of an eye. I got stopped doing 96 in a 70 last year and I didn't realize I was going so fast until I passed the trooper and looked down at the speedo. I encourage you to do what you can to keep the car.

aggst1

I agree with the above comments. Regarding airmatic suspension, if you have it then chances are you already have replaced some of the components do you know about the expense.

ml350er

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Just curious I thought all the rear suspension on the R500 was the air suspension and the option was for fronts as well?

Also I do have the folding side mirrors, what difference does that make with the previous comments regarding the mirror option?

Tinman22 - how much was it to replace the power steering and steering racking quoted without the extended warranty? BTW I think that's awesome that you autocrossed your R! One of my ideas is was to get a souped up station wagen like a A4 Avant and have a sticker in the rear window that reads "you've just been passed by a station wagen" while tracking it! Never dreamed of tracking or autocrossing my R but now I'm curious.

I think my $3k estimate maybe now inching up to $5?!?

houseofdiesel

I was quoted $800 to replace the rear main seal on my R320 diesel, @$140 hour 5 hours plus part. It is NOT hard to remove the transmission enough to replace the seal, but in my case they diagnosed the wrong thing leaking-the oil is coming from above the bellhousing, not inside (I looked into myself before committing!). A couple of turbo intake seals and breather seals solved it.
Have it checked out thoroughly by your local dealer before making a decision, sometimes you can get another year out of your vehicle with minimal investment, other times you need to run as fast as you can to buy a new one! Make an informed decision, that indy may have been shopping for work...or just glanced up and saw oil drops but did not clean and investigate. payments on a new one average $1000 a month plus a high down payment. Repairs can make more sense, but it is a complicated vehicle and they can add up fast.
Why the comment on folding mirrors? There is nothing wrong with them that 10 minutes of repairing broken wires inside can't fix! The housing come apart real easy and the broken wires are right there.

TINMan22

The steering rack quotation was $1800 parts and labor through the dealer using an MB OEM part. The labor quote was for more than 4 hours. I think the power steering pump would have cost me around $600 parts and labor.

JR