Have owned an My 2009 R320 from new since Nov. 2008. Fantastic car when it doesn't need stupid repairs. Repairs are always costly on this thing. There is nothing like it anywhere. My wife wouldn't trade for anything.

 

Sadly this will likely be my last. I've owned all the major German makes, Audi, BMW, VW, Porsche etc and at this point, I dislike Mercedes the most. I got a 2006 couple years ago with about 83k miles with good history. Bought off dealer who got from dealer auction. I should have done more research, but wife was so enthusiastic, we went for it (it passed inspection of course). I had total engine failure at just under 120k miles. Essentially, I had codes for cam sensors (magnets) come up, replaced, codes went away. Thought I was good, but later had a "random misfire" occur. Shut-off and restart, codes disappeared and was running on all cylinders again. Cleared stored codes, and misfire didn't happen for a long time, maybe had another occur 8k miles later, did the same thing and it didn't happen again. Started poking around the engine and noticed the arm on the intake manifold broke. People said it wasn't a big deal, but I intended on fixing it anyway. Ordered new arm and gaskets, engine blew while driving up a hill before I received the parts. Combination of intake manifold complete internal failure, all flaps broken, intake leak etc and balance shaft failure = jumped timing. Boroscope revealed missing piston. It had shattered into pieces which I found in the oil pan along with exhaust valve head.

I've since put in a low mileage M272 from a 2011 GLK and it's working well, but honestly I still don't trust it. In for a penny so in for a pound: I wasn't willing to drop $14K off at the junk yard so I did the engine swap - but my confidence is shot... just waiting for something else to fail - which I'm thinking will be the POS 722.9 transmission next. Of course I've replaced every single fluid in this thing, diffs, transfer case, obviously transmission fluid, coolant, oil, ps fluid etc that would be required during engine swap - but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. When it works, it's nice; is really good in ice and snow and it's really comfortable for long commutes. But as a DIY'er it's obvious that Mercedes does not want my business. I can fix pretty much anything, but when the entire system is rigged against the little guy, I just can't support it. They don't want an enthusiast, they want rich suckers that want an appliance with "prestige" and will pay the stealership whatever they want with no questions asked. I don't give money to dealerships due to the sub-standard service and work they provide.

There are a lot of things I like about the R350, smart thinks like 3 latches holding the hood, the chassis is very rigid, really good brakes, dual intake, infinitely variable cams, 2/3 of the engine is behind the front wheels, good sound deadening, nice interior, great seats, lots of room (bought it to fit baby and toddler seats) - but the no-transmission dipstick, transmission shift module failure, balance shaft-ageddon, Intake manifold failures, 722.9 valve body/conductor plate failure, the 40+ solid state modules that fail and that satanic Star system kills it for me.

I'll drive this one into the ground, because I will never get back what I put into it by selling so I have to ammortize the cost over as many years as possible. Wow do I regret switching from a BMW 4.4i X5 for the R350- 5 years and just oil and gas in the X5. Take this post as a warning, but also I don't mind giving pointers to anyone who asks - I get sweet pleasure out of depriving Mercedes dealers from extorting ransoms from my fellow suckers, er, owners.

 

Best car I have ever owned - amazing 2nd row leg room and a mountain goat with snow tires - has been a fantastic car.

 

I posted earlier, but what happened to the R500 was a damn shame. The airmatic pump was replaced at 20K, where I left off from the last posts. I ended up having to replace all struts and air bags all the way around before hitting 65K miles. A transmission module went bad and had to be replaced on the road, thank goodness I was near the Columbus GA Mercedes dealer, about $900, discounted because I had a coupon from one of the threads here, THANKS MBWorld, saved $200 off the $900.

After all this, frequent valve gasket changes were needed, then the transmission went nuts around 85-90K miles, started skipping. Replaced transmission about $5K rebuilt. At this point, my wife had enough of it, as it was her transportation. I got it sold it and she moved over to Hyundai, a Genesis 3.8.

I know there have been threads questioning the reliability of MB's these days, in talking with shops, MB Techs, they all have been noting certain models and years that are disasters for owning. Perhaps we should have a thread again on that, open, honest, unbiased and no one getting butt-hurt or being disrespectful, as one of those threads ended up that way, which does not help us as MB World members and enthusiasts.

My rambling thought off topic:

I have noticed differences between my CLS500 and CLS63, I have to replace more on the 63, and while some are expected such as motor mounts, the front strut driver side went out on both, The driver side regulator for the window went out on the 63, never happened on the CLS500, which I had until about 145K miles on it. The rear diff at 70K on the 63 had to be replaced? While I understand the HP and torque is much more on the 63, I just expected better MTBF on certain things. I also noticed the quality of the leather on my 63 is not as good as the 500, which seems to be very backward to me. Just my experience, been driving MB's for over 10 years now.

 

Real old timer here. I would only buy one with factory or extended warranty. Definitely no 2010 or older. My 2006 R500 accumulated way more than $20K repair bills. Here was my diary of the repairs.

https://mbworld.org/forums/extended-...ss-w251-4.html

 

Bought a new Scion iA a few weeks ago... it's a sub-compact rebadged Mazda 2... averaging near 40mpg all round. Very fun to drive, tech up the ying yang. Great little car that I have been/will be using as my daily drive.
But did 120 miles yesterday in my R500, first drive it's had in 2 weeks, and I have to say, still in love with it. It's smooth, it's powerful, i don't feel it when i'm sitting on 80mph... i definitely know I am in the iA. The drive is quiet, it's really a very different driving experience and with the family in it on the highway, I appreciate it's solidness. The sacrifice for that is the 18mpg i got in that 120 miles lol.
Will be holding onto it for a few years yet.. and yes, i will likely let it go once it's extended warranty is almost done... to be replaced with a newer R class

 

Pound for pound best family vehicle ever built in terms of features, space and style. If I could import the newer models from China I would!

 

We bought a 2006 R350 in July 2016 (having owned a B Class in the U.K.) when we moved to New Jersey. I thoroughly researched several makes and models before settling on this one. The known issues have all cropped up (suffice to say my first experience of car dealers in the USA left a lot to be desired), but I found - ahead of time - an independent to service her, and all in all she has cost me much less than leasing something of a similar capability.

Cabin is cavernous when you fold down the seats, interior is faultless - except for failed infotainment - which I am replacing with an aftermarket unit.
Running costs are acceptable, the worst being the fuel consumption - but I find that regular motorway runs improve even the mixed use consumption (no real “cities” in South Jersey).

If I could buy another I would. Definitely.