LYSHOLM

My 03' was $76,500....what has changed??

David

PS-I am sooooooo tired of the trolls!!

xraymd

I have a 2005 E55 on order and so far it seems a lot like I'm going to pay more for less.

norb

Yea, MB is decontenting their cars. But its the only way to make up for the weak dollar.

CynCarvin32

Base price used to be 76k and that was very fair! @ 80.2k the car is getting very expensive! I just re-speced my car adn if I were to buy an equal 2005 it would cost me 92k sticker vs 89k stick back in 2004. I am just glad I paid way back of sticker for these cars wont stay in demand for ever . Darn euro!

Dont see much de-contenting going on just a weak buck....

schwarzwagen

They are making up for the weak dollar by charging more.

Can you give me some quantifiable examples of MB decontenting the E55? I know that side-window blinds were dropped for '04.5 but that is far outweighed by the addition of standard nano-paint. Other examples??

norb

No free maintenance, no puddle lights. Two off the top of my head. Go to the E Class forum for the rest.

AMGe55

Also the ventilated seats and dynamic seat options are separated. No more comfort package. I believe the two items cost more separately than they did as the package.

xraymd

Hey Norb, my E55's going to be lighter than yours! (Well, by a few ounces anyway.)

About the only advantage I could think of after I'm "decontented."

norb

Here are more decontended items, just for you CanyonCarver:

No REST feature.
No Fresh Air Scroll in the center dash.
LED lights on Sport Package, but don't know about E55s.

I think all these qualify as Decontenting. Also the break up of packages with the price increase makes me glad I got an 04.

Dr Chill

FYI, nanopaint came standard on the 03 E55.

norb

Here's another one; A/C vent inside the center console.

CynCarvin32

Wow u might have to pay 200-300 bucks for a service or two in the first 50k of ownership. Wow.. im so sad my new daily driver W203 does not have that... Saw some person at a dealership passing up the new 2005 W203 for a 2004 simply because he wanted 2 free oil changes (and the 2004 costs 100 more a month almsot -- given the current lease promotion -- where they saw any savings is beyond me!). Some people don’t get it. You get 2 free oil changes... is this so exciting?

as for the puddle lights? I swear they are useless.... if you want light the brabus led lights are the way to go. I would say they are removing the items which are useless and which are not cost effective. Last story I heard about the vent in the center compartment was that many cars had issues where the heater would go wacko and pump ultra warm air in the that nice box. That would melt your Snickers bars... what a crime! Then again the brits just called the storage box next to the front air vents as mars bar holder! Thought that was funny.

CynCarvin32

Rest Feature --Chilly in Texas? -- Had many benzs in the past 10 years... never once used that other than to say ... hmm it works ... or what do you know the air really is 2 degrees warmer than ambient! Cool… So for me im am not to worried about this. At least in my life it has been useless… even when up in skiing in the Sierra Nevada’s. Maybe the figured no one used it so take it out?

Fresh-Air Scroll... Sorry but that was done to simplify the HVAC system as most people had no idea how the system worked. Cars can be too complicated for the average customer and removing items can be a way to solve an overly and pointlessly complicated car. Same happened to the W203.

LED Lights -- Well that one WOULD (if true) tick me off, butthe E55 still has them, as does the Appearance package. The "AMG sport pack" does not have them because it does not have the " avantgarde" package from Europe. No blacked out wood, not LED lights, no xenon’s with the package either. So its a feature specific issue Norb not a cost cutting. Just the way MB packaged its options. If you want LED's with AMG body kit for the non AMG car you might be SOL. Maybe you could order the Appearance package with the AMG sport package but why pay for the avantgarde body kit when you will be paying for an AMG kit as well (not sure its possible but the build you own page permits it). LED's still on the E55 and the Appearance pack cars. Nothing has changed there

schwarzwagen

I think it was phased in on late production cars, right? Not necessarily the case for all '03s...

The point was that nanopaint kinda outweighs some of the other things, imho.

Honestly, I dont know why MB put puddle lights on the W211, the W220 doesnt have them. Its kinda stupid on MBs part to offer more standard equipment on the W211 than the damn W220. i.e. rear-climate control as standard for the E55.

I think full service was kind of a joke too. MB has been phasing that out for a couple of years now by moving the service intervals out year over year. Who leaves dirty oil in an engine for 15k miles anyway, not me.

All in all, I think you can look at this two ways:

1. MB is getting smart and not wasting money on parts owners dont know/care about at a time when every Euro counts. Keep in mind that MBWorld is not the average owner base.
2. MB is decontenting.

norb

Canyon, maybe to you those things don't matter, but note to you, the world doesn't revolve around you.

Anyway, you asked me about decontenting, and I provided you with examples. You obviously tried to call me out. I'm just proving again that you're wrong. They may be little things but they add up to big savings for MB once you factor in how many E class cars they sell.

Symbolic

What is the "REST" feature?

What is "Fresh-Air Scroll?"

What is the "HVAC" system?

I've only put 2,000 miles on my '04 E55 and have not had time to really go through the massive owner's manual.

chopperpl

I was also told, I will NOT get my solar panels. They discontinued them because of "lack of interest". What a bs!!!!

schwarzwagen

I think Cyn and MB are following that same logic of "lack of interest." For better or worse.

CynCarvin32

This is why the items were removed. They are pointless and only a few people actually understand them let alone use them!

Dont feel bad Symbolic.... you are not alone!

CynCarvin32

Now that was dumb on MB's part. I saw there was no longer an option for that and I was shocked. The Pano roof should have it standard IMHO. It actually is a great idea for a warm region where the car must sit outside in the sun for an extended period of time.

What I dont know (did not get the option -- old small sunroof was enough -- regret that each day lol) is when the fans turn on to cool the car? Is there a set temp? Can you set it?

Thanks!

CynCarvin32

If you want to misconstrue logic for an egocentric personality -- by all means go ahead. I just think they are simplifying the car for ease of ownership and to solve some of the nagging dumb quality control issues. These cars are way to complicated.

Not all your points were correct and some were removed to simplify the car. So show me where I am wrong Norb.

Ill take no puddle lights and trade that for a smaller Sat Radio antenna that does not need a hole in my trunk to have reception!

norb

What ever. You may buy into MB trying to simplify, but they are just cutting costs where they can. By your "logic" they can subtract 100's of features on the E. How about the foot well lights? The auto volume adjust? The auto headlights? Heck, why stop there, maybe MB should go back to metal key blades. How often do you use the trip computer? Just because YOU don't like some of the features that MB is getting rid of doesn't mean it doesn't matter to others.

Anyway, you asked for examples, I gave them. I didn't quantify those examples, you did that. Face value, MB is getting rid of features from the E class, that is called decontenting. You can't really argue that.

Symbolic

Now I'm even more curious to know the answers to my questions! Please chime in.

Symbolic

What are "puddle lights?"

CynCarvin32

Half those things you mentioned are JUNK. Last I checked my ears told me where to set volume and a metal key has hey to leave me with a car that wont start of open! Do I ever put my headlights on auto? No I am not driving a 1992 Towncar. What happened to the driver doing something? What’s next self closing doors so you don’t have to lean out, grab and pull?

From the looks of it these "thousands of missing items" are seriously missed by owners who had no clue they existed! Check out quality reports... MB is in need of SIMPLIFICATION! Back to the basics. The W124 E-Class was known for being the best because it was solid drove well and never failed. The new cars have every button imaginable but drive with less "excitement" than the competition and have seriously lacking quality. I doubt I am in the minority in saying that most owners would give up a few gadgets if it meant the car would not spend weeks in the shop.

Enjoy your features. Performance cars should perform... not do everything for you.