...I had the briefest (3-mile) opportunity to drive the new E-Class Coupé yesterday.
Helped the guys at the local dealership out by manning a 5-vehicle M-B display at my old employers 40th anniversary open day celebrations.
Until yesterday morning I hadn't seen any variant of the new E-Class in the flesh but on arrival I was overwhelmed by the external appearance of the E350 CDi BlueEfficiency Coupé Sport.
It looks the absolute business in Obsidian Black with Nappa leather, AMG front and rear aprons, side skirts, sports parameter steering (wassat?) and AMG 6 x twin-spoke 18" alloys.
So, having stood alongside it for much of the day I naturally made a grab for its key when the time came to return them to base camp!
Awesome, absolutely delicious, repeat to fade...
Amazed to see that it only emits 179k/gm and costs £175 for 12-months VED.
So, having now read HJ's full Road Test and in possession of a min-brochure and the promise of a 2/3-hour solo test-drive I never imagined that I would be 'diverted away' from my desire to own a 3.0 Diesel S XF, but I believe that I'm about to be?
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Don't get to excited. MB is not the marque it was once.
Owned one of it's famous rusting E class saloons for 5 years. New wings, new bonnet, new tailgate, new drivers door and several attempts at rear arches.
Then their service department fixed a leak that was never their and gave us a constantly failing high pressure diesel pipe.
Finally agreed to take it off us for well above trade in price if we took one of the newer E classes of them. Gave them a second chance and after one month of trouble, it fried it's own brain on our path and died. Received a full refund to the amazement of the salesman 9 I write really good letters )
Sorry but the 3 pointed star is nothing more than an over priced , over engineered luxury car wannabe.
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The corrected version !!
Don't get to excited. MB is not the marque it was once.
Owned one of it's famous rusting E class saloons for 5 years. New wings, new bonnet, new tailgate, new drivers door and several attempts at rear arches.
Then their service department fixed a leak that was never there and gave us a constantly failing high pressure diesel pipe.
Finally agreed to take it off us for well above trade in price if we took one of the newer E classes off them. Gave them a second chance and after one month of trouble, it fried it's own brain on our path and died. Received a full refund to the amazement of the salesman ( I write really good letters )
Sorry but the 3 pointed star is nothing more than an over priced , over engineered luxury car wannabe.
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Read the various MB forums.. and weep.
Been selling expensive unreliable junk for over 10 years...
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The one thing they now seem good at is making something very ordinary seem desirable.
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If you believe customer surveys you will see that the dip in quality from the mid 1990s seems to be a thing of the past - (E-class 8th overall in latest JD Power). Certainly my families experience with three E-class Estates from 04/05 bears this out over mileages up to and over 100,000.
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Once you've blown £31,000 on a whole heap of trouble, you tend to live on your memories and ignore surveys !
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The launch for the E class was the same day as I went to look at the X type and the Merc dealer is next door to the Jag dealer - had a nose around, but it was no more than a bloated C class.
For me the XF interior is still the class leader and everything the XF has as standard will no doubt be an expensive extra on a MB.
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I haven't liked much of anything MB have made for probably the last 12 years (with the exception of W215 cl coupe)...this however is a very fine looking vehicle, interior looks very sumptuous with proper combination of dark wood and light leather and the all important half wood steering wheel.
I wish them the best of luck with it, hopefully they learned never to be forgotten lessons during the dark days of 210.
Strange sour grape posts above from someone who was so disappointed by a poor model MB that he then bought another to compound his mistake...and complains about it...;)
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It was an attempt to minimise my loss. They upped the trade in above what it should have been and discounted the demo model quite considerably. I gave them a second chance, something I've seen others advised to do on here. They chose to abuse my benevolence.
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They chose to abusemy benevolence.
They apparently allowed you over the odds trade in on the 210, and refunded you when the 211 died.
Doesn't sound like abuse to me, more like a decent honourable way of dealing with a customer who had unfortunately been supplied with a duff vehicle.
I'm not in the income bracket to spend that sort of funding on vehicles (and i wouldn't have had a 210 as a gift), despite a previous problem with my own W124 coupe, over the past 7 years (it's now 13) it's been a very pleasurable car to own overall....and it's still in better condition and drives better than most 3 year old cars on the road.
Maybe it's just possible MB have put their dark days behind them and rediscovered what made them special, mind you it'll be a few years before we'll know...just like the competition that everyone is currently raving about.
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Maybe it's just possible MB have put their dark days behind them and rediscovered what made them special mind you it'll be a few years before we'll know...just like the competition that everyone is currently raving about.
You generally only see the problem posts on forums, and obviously you only get one side of the story, but MB and its dealers do sometimes seems to screw customers lives up in a momumental way.
There's a thread running no where a guy has won a court case (story has been in the press) against MB over his S Class (so we're talking about somebody of some substance) and MB are still messing him around. His car has been laid up for 4 years.
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>>mind you it'll be a few years before we'll know
Yes, I'm watching how the later straight six E320 CDI estates fare, if they appear to age well, I'll be waiting until their prices fall into the range where SWMBO might consider releasing the necessary funds.
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Yes I'm watching how the later straight six E320 CDI estates fare if they appear to age well
The straights seem pretty good... the V CDI's..... Hmmmm (wonders off muttering........)
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(and i wouldn't have had a 210 as a gift) Maybe it's just possible MB have put their dark days behind them and rediscovered what made them special mind you it'll be a few years before we'll know...just like the competition that everyone is currently raving about.
dunno why.... early 210's (up to 99) where on the whole good motors, then they started painting them (and all other models) in iron oxide......
Then.. they got the paint sorted, in time to bring out the biggest dog they ever have...... the 211. I have it on good authority at least one of the launch demos had warning lights turned off as the repairs needed new looms and or control units......
the facelift 211's are not bad cars. all you need do is steer clear of 99-06 cars!
212... too early to tell yet, but there is a recall on the new 207 CLK - whoops, sorry 'E Coupe'
only a minor misbuild, that requires the headlining to be dropped....and only a handful of cars.
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Once you've blown £31 000 on a whole heap of trouble you tend to live on your memories and ignore surveys !
If I had 'blown' that amount of money, I would be most upset if the car was 'a heap of trouble'. The fact is I spent half that amount and the car has been 100% reliable. I don't take surveys as gospel, but I do listen to substantive evidence.
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>So, having now read HJ's full Road Test and in possession of a min-brochure..
Sounds like you now have an extensive collection of brochures.
>I never imagined that I would be 'diverted away' from my desire to own a 3.0 Diesel S XF,
>but I believe that I'm about to be?
Did you take a test drive of the XF I posted a link to?
Didn't think so.
Kevin...
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Good morning Kev ? ah, but you won't be up yet as I see you didn't get to bed 'til after 23:43?...
...I bookmarked your link ? thanks. I'm off to Brighton within the hour, returning, funnily enough, via Basingstoke!
So, who knows ? if they can 'lose' an additional 15% from that listed price (end of 2nd quarter needs/targets, etc.).
You'll be the first to hear about it obviously...
Best,
RickyBoy
(Upmarket brochure collector/tyre-kicker supremo)
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I have owned a number of Mercedes-Benz over the years.
My current car is a 2008 E class 220CDI estate. I am very pleased with it, I thought I might be disappointed with the perfomance - but not so. The fuel consumption is excellent, I get something in the 50s mpg, depending on how I drive it.
My previous car was a 2001 E class 320CDI estate. I thought the reliability was good, but I suppose it depends upon your point of view. The auto gearbox was reconditioned at 155,000 by King Autos of Epsom - recommended - the glow plugs were replaced quite early on and that is about it, apart from a diet of bulbs. I part exchanged it in August 2008 with 215,000 miles on the clock for my present car.
I understand MB kicked the accountants out around the end of 2006 and most models since then have had much better reliability.
Edited by drbe on 29/06/2009 at 10:57
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I was behind an 00W plate S Class on the motorway last week. Very clean and occupied by a well to do elderly couple from the looks of it. Despite being extremely clean it had a rusty tailgate lip and rear wheel arch.
It was almost as if the guy was making a point. Look at my pristine classy motor - that's rusting! Obviously it could have been badly repaired accident damage but having seen several E Class of this vintage with similar rot I think it's unlikely.
It's a disgrace and reflects very badly on MB.
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I was behind an 00W plate S Class on the motorway last week.
Despite being extremely clean it had a rusty tailgate lip and rear wheel arch.
S Class with a tailgate??
I think not.... they are all saloons.....
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>Good morning Kev ? ah, but you won't be up yet as I see you didn't get to bed 'til after 23:43?...
I find your concern over my sleeping habits very touching but slightly odd. Should I be concerned?
>returning, funnily enough, via Basingstoke!
So tell us. Did you like it?
Kevin...
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RickyBoy wrote:So having now read HJ's full Road Test and in possession of a min-brochure and the promise of a 2/3-hour solo test-drive..........
Please update the thread after you have had the extended test drive.
I am interested in one of these beauties as well, though I'll need to wait until I can afford a decent used one. In particular, I'd like to know if it is a comfortable cruiser. That is what I am looking for these days.
I got a useful tip in another thread to look at an Audi A4. I'm grateful for this, but don't want to put all of my eggs in one basket, naturally.
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"S Class with a tailgate??
I think not.... they are all saloons....."
Boot lid edge/lip - you get the idea though.
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