Hello all- I am in the market for a larger vehicle (currently have an 08 Rav4) since we are expecting our 3rd child. I am leaning heavily toward purchasing the Mercedes R, it'll be my wife's daily. I have read quite a bit on this particular forum and appreciate all of the info, but apologies if I ask any redundant questions.

With that said, there is an 09 R350 for sale at our local dealership. It is Certified, has 22K miles, and the advertised asking price is 36,900. From looking at the available package Options, it looks like it has the P1 Package, Panorama roof, and Heated front seats. I took my wife to see the vehicle today, and she loves it. She wants to buy TODAY, but I have been holding out hope in finding an R320CDI that's nearby.

Carfax indicates a minor accident ("minor damage") where the rear of the vehicle was involved. It also shows that the dealership purchased the vehicle from the other owner in March of 2012. Sounds like a red flag to have the vehicle that long? Or is Carfax perhaps incorrect?

Opinions if I should hold out in waiting for a diesel or is the R350 I've mentioned a potentially good enough deal to try and work? If it's good enough to try, what kind of price should I try and get them down to? $33K? Less?

Thanks for any and all help!

http://tinyurl.com/b85qggp

http://www.mbofsa.com/used-vehicles (not direct link to vehicle, but is the only R on the website).

 

Looks to be a lot over priced for an R350 with that equipment that's been in an accident. I'd pass and keep looking. In my opinion a diesel would be a much better car than the R350. The 3.5L V6 is at the margin of "acceptable" for these 5,000 lb cars.

Check out Cars.com and Autotrader for better deals at the moment albeit not in your backyard.

 

Honestly, if you can snag a fully loaded R63 for $30k right now (albeit a little beat up- referring to the one in Indiana on cars.com) I don't think paying $37k for a 350 is very advisable, even if a few years newer. I say keep looking.

 

Thanks guys. I think I came to that same decision late last night too. Will keep my eyes peeled for a diesel.

 

Just a thought, the R63 is extremely nice but extremely rare. However the R500, not as much. If you can find an 07 R500 in good shape at a decent price, I will personally vouch for the fact that the engine/transmission combination is very satisfying in the R Class. That was my goal and I stumbled on a CPO car that was in near perfect shape and loaded. I jumped on it. Sadly, Mercedes killed the V8's after 07.

The diesel would be another excellent choice with the added benefit of a pretty good cruising range on a 21 gallon tank. They don't seem to have any recurring reliability problems according to my research and Mercedes has been building diesel engines forever. You'll probably find one easier, pay a little more, but be very satisfied.

 

Too expensive. If you really want a r-class, you should able to find a 2011 less than $40k. It looks much nicer and have a much better comand system than 2009.

 

That's incorrect. 2006-2008 is the old Command, 2009+ all have the same updated Command system.

And looks are subjective so you can't really argue that it's a selling point either way unless the OP agrees.

 

Yup, I specifically wanted the droopy snout that looks like it came off one of Mercedes sports cars. I do not like the "updated" look with the vertical grille. Now it looks like every other two box SUV / Crossover or some giant station wagon. The steeply raked front on the older version looked unique and a lot more stylish to me. Seems like the longer the R Class was in production, the less attractive it became for me personally. Dropped the V8's, lost the unique styling, slashed the options list. Oh well, my kids say I have a tendency to buy weird cars that no one else wants.

 

I kept saying that exact, the R kept getting crappier and crappier. 07 is definitely the best vintage as it brought the AMG! 08 was the first year of cost cutting, no MB Tex/ leather trimmed third row armrests like on the 06/07. 08+ they switched to hard plastic. You also lose carpet on the covers for the tail lights (from the trunk) and those turn to hard plastic. Lose V8s, lose options... only options gained later on for US spec cars were for ventilated front seats and integrated shades. You also lose the AMG bumpers on 10+ cars, IMO not very aggressive looking.

 

Thanks again for the opinions/advice offered in this thread. I would consider the R63 or 500 if the car were to be my daily driver, but the R I'm looking for will be driven 80% of the time by my wife, and she doesn't have a heavy foot on the pedal, so power will be further down on the list of priorities. Since it'll be hers, reliability and functionality will be the top priorities. I have seen GenericSN mention a few times how functional the vehicle is, and I can't wait to see for ourselves. Gas mileage would be a secondary priority, and I figured the diesel would be an improvement over the 350, 500, and certainly the 63.

For now I'm focused on getting a feel of market pricing, options, and learning from folks on this board because we haven't had an MB in about 7 years, and prior to about 2 weeks ago, knew NOTHING about the Mercedes R class. Luckily we aren't in any rush to buy.

 

LOL, you and everyone else in North America! Smart move. Take your time and find one that fits your needs. The diesel will definitely be tops in fuel mileage and range if not economy. Diesel fuel here in CT has been all over the place. Sometimes a few cents more than premium gas and sometimes almost $1 more. Never understood that. Supposedly refining capacity. Yeah right!

Anyway, the diesel should be a really nice engine to live with on a daily basis. Especially if you're looking for something newer than 07 where you only have the diesel or gas V6 to choose from. Happy hunting!

 

If you look hard enough, you'll find the right one. There's really a lot of option packages available for this car which can make searching for the right one difficult if you're particular about what you want.

Keep us posted!