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I currently also own another Toyota product, the Matrix, and in the 18 months we have owned it, it has been near perfect; two tires wore out in 16K miles, which is abominable in this day and age, especailly when the exact replacement is $92 each from Tire Rack.
I actually test drove an Avalon 5 years ago but ended up buying the 2 year old MB E class instead. The Avalon was one of the most sluggish cars I had ever driven. They claimed it had 200 HP, but a few years earlier I had owned a Mazda with 122 HP that would have run circles around the Avalon; it was a much stronger drive system.
As for the current Avalon, given that it is about to undergo a major upgrade in late winter to a new 2005/2006 model, I just don't want to jump into buying a near obselete model with infant failure problems. My E class had no significant problems until it had 115K miles on it.. Which is the longest I've ever been able to keep a car.. I'm about to buy another used E class, because of the superior ride/handling/driving feel as well as the great warranty out to 100K miles. And it is relatively economical too; my current E class gives better gas mileage than our Matrix that has 40% less power...!!
Any comments on "sport" suspension. Ride is very acceptable--not hard. Anything else that I should be aware of---good or bad?
Previous owner ran it thru car washes so I have little scatches in the black paint. Looking for suggestions on how to remove scratches or minimize them. Responses appreciated
Re: swirl marks in the paint. My 96 E320 (to be loaded on a truck for Florida within the hour) was dark blue and I had good luck with the Zaino brand of polishes and compounds. One of their steps is a n aultrafine rubbing compound that will reduce the visibility of the swirl marks. There is a discussion group in Edmund's on it; check it out..
Has anyone had any luck with buybacks, extended TeleAid (so when things break while traveling you can push a button for assistance), Loyalty Certificate rebate on future purchase, extended warranty etc... or have a person and phone number for someone at MBUSA who gives a darn?
I finally caught on with it the other night. Turns out when the headlights are on and you honk the horn, the message comes on. Must be a short or some software glitch. I took the car in, switched the headlights on, gave a couple of toots, and voila! "lamp defective" came on.
I'll let you know how he fixed it when I get the car back.. after he finds out what causes the rubbery squeak from the brakes when I step on the pedal.
I took the leap... Bought a 2001 E320... About the only other cars which fit me, have a decent trunk, have a terrific suspension and handling, are reasonably economical, and are reasonably powerful, would be the Chrysler 300 Limited, Toyota Avalon, and the Nissan Maxima. The Chrysler is a brand new model and there is a significant wait to get one, the Avalon is in the last 6 months of its current design (and is a pretty boring car), and the Maxima style just doesn't do it for me.
The cruncher was seeing my 2001 advertised on the internet at 6K less than the showroom sticker price at my dealer. Two months ago they offered to take off 2K.. So I put my 1996 E on the internet and sold it in 1 week for 2K more than my dealer had ofered me in trade 2 months ago. So with the new 4K reduction on the new one and the increased sale of my old one for 2K more, I got the car I wanted for almost 6K less than if I had bought it 2 months ago. That savings alowed me to buy 2 additional years of Starmark coverage. I plan to trade it just before the coverage runs out in about 4 1/2 years.. Hopefully, I won't spend much on repairs or maintenance other than tires and brakes for the next four years and then I'll look to repeat the deal..
So far the 2001 is a superior car in every way than the 1996; there are so many little improvements I can't count them.. After almost two weeks of driving, it appears to be getting 1 or 2 more mpg too.. And it has the Bose stereo; awesome..
For now, I'm a happy camper...
So, I am now the proud owner of a brand new 2004 BMW 645ci coupe, one of the first in my area to have one. I love this car more than my SL or my E. Best of luck with the '04.
Best of luck to you with the 645, I'm sure it's a sweet car - I'm going to take a look at it on the website right now!
warranty.i have 2 questions and would appreciate any advice.
1. when the time comes to replace the front brake pads, is this covered under warranty? if it is not covered, is it a good idea to get them replaced by a non mercedes brake shop(to save money).
2. the front fog lamp lens cracked. is this repair coveed by the warranty?
thanks
2)Sounds like you recently purchased the car. Was the fog light cracked when you bought it? If so, maybe you can get the dealer to fix it. If not, I'll bet your warantee won't cover it since they'll assume you broke it somehow.
Good luck
HAVE GONE BACK TO DEALER 3 TIMES WITH CAR PULLING TO THE RIGHT FROM JUST A FEW MONTHS OLD. EVERY TIME, I WAS TOLD IT WAS FIXED. ALONG WITH THAT, I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY PUT AIR IN THE FRONT TIRES. I GET THIS FLOPPING NOISE FROM THE TIRES AT LOW SPEED. HAVE HAD ONE TIRE BLOW OUT ALREADY.
Today my right-rear window got stuck. I can pull it up almost all the up but it drops down on its own when I let it go. I can hear noises and clicks when I activate the window switch.
I am 120 miles away from my MB dealer and I would like to see if I could fix the problem by myself. Here are my questions:
1. What might be the problem with the window and how much would it cost to have it fixed by the dealer?
2. How do I take off the door lining to get access to the window motor and all the window mechanism?
3. Can I purchase the window parts on internet?
I would greatly appreciate any help in solving this problem.
Thanks, Andrew.
If anyone encounters a similar problem and would like to know how to take the door panel off, please email me or I can simply reply to their post on this disscusion board.
Andrew
My question is this, Someone told me that if the Nav System goes out on this vehicle, the cost to replace it could be as high as $10,000. Can this be true. It was only a $2,000 option.
Your commend greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
chitownmbblues
phill
My father has a 1998 E430 with electrical problems with the power seat - sometimes, the power seat doesn't go the direction that it's asked to go (and he's forced to use the "1" button of the memory seat adjustment to move the seat back into a more comfortable). As well, there are "check electronics" and "check engine" lights that go on and don't come off (this despite assurances from the dealer there's nothing wrong). Anybody with that problem? And if so, what exactly is wrong, and is there a fix to this?
bszeto
"pcvette"... I hope that doesn't mean that you drive your 'vette while using your PC ??
I took delivery of an E320 CDI on 7/9/2004 from Star Motor Cars here in Houston, Texas. At my last fill up I only had 2053 miles on it. Since delivery I have had no problems and my mpg is 27.9 which is mostly in city driving. I recently drove to Dallas and back and averaged 35.33 mpg. I have noticed that the mpg is slowly increasing as the car is accumulating mileage. This is my second E320, the first was a 2001 and of course had a gasoline engine. I drove it for something over 40000 miles with only one problem that I remember and that was very minor, outside temperature display became erratic and the dealer replaced the instrument cluster. It is my opinion that only a few of the actual owners of MB that respond to these boards are satisfied with their autos. Therefore, it might be unfair to conclude the entire MB line as bad.
thanks!