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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans
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Comments
See posts 53 and 98.
KRV03: Great work and great effort to write what you did. I know it took more than a few minutes to write it and we appreciate.
I think that when someone takes time and thought, no one is offended. I for one respect a well thought out opinion. I looked at the Rl but did not drive it. Part of my decision is emotional and not pratical, so I went no further. I think acura is moving in the right direction after years of an unsure identity crisis, and like many Japenese auto co.s, a cash flow problem. Quality is rarely an issue for acura. The TL is a value leader and MDX is gaining alot of attention. The dealer did mention that they were heavy discounting the RL, but we never got to price. The supply and demand curve worked in your favor. The car is nice and well into its production cylcle, and you should have a good experience. Regarding resale, you bought cheap and it may not hold great, but you will have a good experience with it. I think apparent value was important to you and you achieved it. 320 w/all wheel drive is a high dollar car, and im guessing you spent about $37-38k for your car. 18k difference is alot!RL is alot of car for the money. Good luck with your purchase and thank you for sharing with us your thoughts!
Having owned an Acura RL (1997)I agree that it will come with all the major options that a person needs. It's a quiet car but don't try any heavy cornering-handles a bit on the mushy side.
As far as reliability goes, the only things that I had go wrong were....Moonroof stopped operating (glad it happened in the closed position) Power window stopped operating, and heater blower stopped working. All were fixed promptly by the dealership.
All in all, I thought is was a nice car but wouldn't put it in the same class as Mercedes, or even the Lexus. That's why they don't command the same price as the above mentioned. ;-)
My car is an 2001 E430. I've had it exactly 1 month this weekend. Good shopping.
bargamon2: you mentioned that I attained my goal of "apparent" value. Let me walk through some numbers and see if I achieved more than apparent value.
A. Sticker of comparably equipped M-B E 320 AWD = $56,000. The ALG residual value after 36 months is 57%, or $31,920. If I paid $53,000, I'm out-of-pocket $21,080 after 3 years.
B. Acura RL w/ navi sticker = $44,700. The ALG residual value after 36 months is 48%, or $21,360. I paid $36,000 (very common w/ solid negotiation) for the RL, so I'm out-of-pocket only $14,640 after 3 years.
I appreciated your reasonable response to my post--most people respond with a form of "road rage" if your opinion differs from their's.
ctic & parfive1: next time I'll attempt to discuss my definition of "perceived" value.
parfive1: Try the '00 RL, I think you may find the handling to be significantly improved from '97.
P.S. There is an S-Class in my future--hopefully they will do an AWD(??)
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
I had no complaints about owning my 97 RL. It was probably one of the few (of many) cars that I didn't get bored with after 2 years.
As for the handling of the 00 model as compared to the 97, I couldn't honestly say. I just wasn't interested in driving one.
My choices when purchasing a new car were either the Lexus GS or the MB E class.
I thought the GS handled great and the interior was beautiful, however, I thought that the exterior styling was just plain ugly.(My opinion)
The E class interior is very nice, and the exterior is absolutely beautiful.
Here again, everybody has there own opinion. That's why there's so many different cars out there.
Regarding perceived value.
Perception IS reality. I see it all the time.
I was happy when I brought my new RL home.
I was ecstatic when I brought home my new E320.
If it cost me a few dollars more for my MB, so be it. It made me happy. :-) :-)
Good luck with your new RL, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
The first season, the car handled OK, but the next season (after the tires wore down) it didn't handle good at all.
I went out and bought four Blizzack tires and mounted them every winter. Handled very good then.
Price is excellent, I was not looking for a 4matic, but with the 430 is very attractive. I would welcome any comments on the system. Besides the apparent saftey addition of full time four wheel traction, is there a performence addition when cornering? I know 0-60 is slightly compramised by about 4/10 of a second, but what about mpg?? Thanks in advance.
KRVo3: Don't sweat it.
I have to admit that the seat has never retracted this far since I took possession 11 months ago. The seat travel is at least 3 inches more after this fix.
I thank you and my knees thank you!
My last two cars (1997 and 1999) were Acura 3.2TL's. They were reliable, efficient and affordable cars. However, my '00 E430 Sport invokes satisfaction that my Acura's never did. I am looking forward to test driving the
new Acura Legend; but, I doubt Acura will get the MB E430 "feel" in their flagship car.
My brother owns a '00 RL and I like the car. Yet, for me the E430 is the real "value" car because I enjoy driving it.
for the 4matic. If anyone has a 430 4matic, That would be great. Thanks.
Turbotc or Drew: Do you guys have any advice or maybe instructions on how to go about doing this in the best way? Any tips on what to look out for and not do?
Then they get defensive.
What do they expect when they come into a topic full of E-class owners? They get what they deserve if they get flammed. If krv03 wasn't wanting to start a fight he should be posting his message in the RL forum where I'm sure everybody would applaud him. When I got my cars, I didn't go into some other forum telling others how good my car was compared to theirs. These people don't get no sympathy from me.
WRT it's AWD system, it's similar to the ML's, but doesn't have the low range gearing and the torque split ratio is RWD biased (38% front/62% rear vs. the ML's 48%/52%) to give the car a more traditional RWD MB feeling. C&D magazine compared it with the RWD E320 and found that it could climb even 30% slopes covered with ice/snow using the stock all-season tires. The RWD E320 (with winter tires) could only climb up the 10% grade at most.
FWIW, MotorWeek tested the E320 4-matic and liked it a lot.
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
As for tips, like all halogen bulbs, never touch the glass with your fingers since the oil from your skin will dramatically shorten the bulb's life. If you do accidentally touch the glass, don't worry. Just clean the fingerprints/oil off with some alcohol and a soft lint-free cloth. You may want to consider wearing a pair of gloves (I used surgical gloves) to eliminate this problem while installing the bulb.
Start on the passenger's side headlamp first as you'll have more room to maneuver around (and practice) without the windshield washer resevoir blocking you. Oh yeah, a well lit garage helps a lot.
Hope this helps! I'm sure others who have carried out this procedure will be able to add to this.
Drew/aling
Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
Jean
Jean
CTIC:
I think Parfive1 did a good job and did not slam our topic. If you reread his comment he did explain himself as a reader and felt compelled to contribute. He only mentioned that he needed front wheel drive or all wheel drive and 56k was alot of money. There have been other instances where harsh words were in order, but I thought it was well thought out and he expressed his position well. I doubt we need to discourage thought here if it conflicts with our views. Is the reason we come here is to always preach to the choir and only share the love? Or can we be open to new posts and ideas especially when they present their views well and are thorough. Just a thought.
I used to have an RL, but have since purchased a 00 E320. Was so impressed that I purchased a
00 ML430 for my wife two weeks ago.
What are you driving these days anyway?
http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/00e430.htm
Jean
I saw some time ago advice for installing CD player. Can anyone lend advice. I have bought from clairs before, But was wondering about instructions. Also, is there an alternative that uses the fiber optic technology but holds more than 6 discs??
Thanks to all, Drew and donald02 whom on post 53 did a spread sheet that was the basis of my initial pricing. End of the month and the hard cold reality that I was not going under any circumstances pay over 51k, but was going to buy a car, moved dealer to turn over stock. I basically got the 430 at the 320 sticker.
Just gotta figure out those steering wheel buttons!
It's not too difficult. I can't help you on the question of more than 6 disks.
Works great, and no coding was necessary from dealer. Just plug and play.
Very easy to install, and instructions for the fiber optic cables are on continentals website.
Also, clair parts has the regular stock MB cd changer for about $550.
Don't know if there's anything with more than 6 cd's out there.
If you need further help, just holler.
By the way, ctl, mbnut1 and my good friend bargamon2: You don't need to respond to posts that don't have your name in the title.
Fred132. I'll go back and look. Thanks. My salesman mentioned that service needs to program the system computer When installing CD player Is this correct? Plug and play compatable with 01'fiber optics and steering wheel controls?
Turbotc: No xenons in stock, deal for car was predicated on in stock only. Beggars can't be too choosy. I opted out of heated seats and other goodies. I needed the 430 motor more than some amenities. Oh by the way, picked it up tonite and man am I pleased.
Like most auto stereos, tapes and cd's play better than radio, and while I don't have a cd player yet, the bose tape sounded real nice. I thought speakers in front were interesting. It seemed that speaker grill mounted on inside of side mirror is not a tweeter but a vented port for the speaker below in the door. Grills in top corners of dash look like speakers but no sound emits from it. The Woofers in rear deck surprised me in that the too are ported as there is some soft lining in the deck that allows the trunk to act as a cavity for bass. Bose seems to have put more thought into acustics. Once I have cd in place, then I can better judge. I think salesmen alluded that I could get cd installed for $635. I'll wait to confirm programing issue if anyone has any comments. I'll call clairs.
Im curious if anyone knows power rating for amplification of system??
It may take a villiage to raise a child (or villiage idiot), but a townhall chat to help in purchase a E-430. Part of the fun has been exchanging info with all of y'all (aka:use guy's).
But your not getting my bud lite.............
Silver/ash 01' 35 miles on odo
Are we raging on the post and resorting to name calling? Rarely have I seen anyone call you names. CTIC is your name? Shall we bring SUMAC back from the dead?? Lighten up man, this ain't nuttin but a little "caw tawk."
It's amazing how much bad information you can get from car salesman, even at MB dealers.