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2003 Mercedes Benz E500
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An attorney acquaintance of mine is selling his 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 because he bought a newer S Class sedan from an estate that he's handling. He told me that it's in perfect shape, been garage kept, has almost all the options, and been serviced exclusively by a local imports garage. The car has 130K miles on it, but he qualified that by saying "...that's not much for a Mercedes."

He floated a price of around $15K, but I think I can buy it for much less. Edmunds.com has it priced at just < $12K. I'm just passively in the car market, but if this is a good opportunity I don't want to let it go by without a closer look.

It's for my wife (and she likes the look of the E500), mostly for her around-the-town type use. She's grown tired of her Town & Country.

I know nothing about cars of any type, let alone a Mercedes Benz. Any thoughts from MB owners...?



Lifeguard: "Do you need help?" Me: "No, that's just my butterfly."
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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He's cherry picking his "new" car from a client's estate, and you trust him enough to consider buying a used car from him?
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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I had a C, then traded it in on a B when I started cycling again and needed a hatchback with fold down seats. Before that I was a Toyota owner and prior to that, GM cars.

I love my B class and I love how, even though it is the bottom car on the rungs of the MB line-up, they still treat me really well when I go into the dealership for service (which is very seldom). They pay for a cab to drive me back to my office and also pay for a cab to drive me back when my car is ready.

When I went into the GM dealership, they made me feel like I was imposing on them asking them to service my car and would never really give me a clear explanation as to the total charges until I got the bill at the end of the day. The Toyota dealership was better but they would still put me on a shuttle with 6 other people and I would get to work an hour late.

I can't comment on how an E-class drives. It seems like a large car for maneuvering, to me, but I like small cars. The E-class may also be rear-wheel drive. I didn't like that about my C. My B is front wheel drive.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [DigDouggler] [ In reply to ]
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Hell, no. Hence my post...



Lifeguard: "Do you need help?" Me: "No, that's just my butterfly."
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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Unless you've go a shit-load of money to put in to repairs, and have a spare car to drive while the Merc is in the shop, I would run, not walk, away from this. If you want a reliable used luxery car in this price range get a Lexus GS. My daughter bought a used 'E' - mint. In the six or seven years she had it it cost more to keep it than to buy it. My 2 cents.

(For a good reference check out the reliability of Mercedes of the early 2000's in the Consumer Reports. The charts look like they came from a Yugo.)

Edit: You might want to read through the BMW thread. The main difference between a BMW and a Mercedes is that the Mercedes parts cost more, and there are more of them.

Azby
Last edited by: Azby: Jan 20, 11 14:52
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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I don't know about E-Class because I own a C-240w, same year. The car is a good one but I can't comment on how great it is because it has only 31k miles and I no longer drive it (it's in the garage) because I have no need for it. I now drive a mini van because of the bikes. I did have a few manufacturer problems like the gas gauge dropping and gas door locking but other than that, nothing to complain about. Servicing is not the cheapest however, oil changes need to be done ever 7500 miles or so. Should I ever stop cycling far from home, I may start driving it again.


_____________________________________
DISH is how we do it.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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I have owned two MB's over the last 15 years and I would never buy one again. I now lease. Turn it back in before the expensive problems start kicking in. They are well known for electrical problems. My 1995 C280 was a mess from year 4 (w/ 35k miles). My 2009 E500 is nice but I'll gladly turn that sucker back in when my lease is up. The general trend amongst my co-workers driving luxury vehicles is away from MB and towards Lexus.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [walnutcreek tri] [ In reply to ]
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I've had an MB and I've also had many of the same problems you highlight. Their quality control really took a dive when they expanded production (that seems to be a common problem in manufacturing, as Toyota's also found out lately). These days, I think MB's living off a hard-earned quality aura that it really no longer can claim to own. I'm in an Infiniti now, and I have no complaints whatsoever. Top-notch in every regard.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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[The car has 130K miles on it, but he qualified that by saying "...that's not much for a Mercedes." ]

To be more accurate " that's not much for a Mercedes ENGINE"

Fred.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [fred_h] [ In reply to ]
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fred_h wrote:
[The car has 130K miles on it, but he qualified that by saying "...that's not much for a Mercedes." ]

To be more accurate " that's not much for a Mercedes ENGINE"

Fred.

Indeed. I have an older 3 series with 140K on it. Just replaced the tie rods, ball joints, shocks/struts, fuel filter, 4 oxy sensors, front bearings, guibo, convert top, and clutch. Luckily I can do it myself.


****************

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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You don't get two things from attornerys! Their used cars and their exwives.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [fred_h] [ In reply to ]
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[The car has 130K miles on it, but he qualified that by saying "...that's not much for a Mercedes." ]

To be more accurate " that's not much for a Mercedes ENGINE"




SOOO true. Everything around it falling apart but hey, it runs like a champ.
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [walnutcreek tri] [ In reply to ]
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Sad, but true!

I just bought a 2004 SLK32 AMG, with less than 28k miles on it. I had it checked out by a mechanic, and it was fine when I picked it up in Long Island. I barely made it home to VA. I had ABS/traction control lights, then a check engine light, and finally it quit shifting. I had to limp the last few mile at low speed.

It turned out I had 2 bad speed sensors and/or bad wiring leading to them. Also it turned out the aux coolant pump went bad. Luckily the seller was a stand up guy and paid for half. I was still out $850! Repairs are very expensive on those cars!
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [TriHard Indiana] [ In reply to ]
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There is a bad batch about 99 - 2006 , electrical hell . Mercedes has slipped away from their quality
as the Name sells the car . The engine-frame -body-paint hold up well .
Newer BMWs start to die at 5 years as well .

You can ride in total comfort with a panel full of warning lights .
Earlier years had wiring harness issues with A/C component failures .

What a shame for the company that invented the car & motorcycle .
Plenty have switched back to asian cars ,,, screw the status .

The old german mantra , was to flip a car every 2-4 years and never
have repair issues . Eating 2 - 8 K a year in deprecation .
Last edited by: Helitech: Jan 22, 11 4:42
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Re: 2003 Mercedes Benz E500 [fred_h] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks to all for your feedback. Probably saved my a ton of cash and headaches...
I'll take a "pass" on this one for sure.



Lifeguard: "Do you need help?" Me: "No, that's just my butterfly."
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