E350 4Matic

[Wilywilly]

Thinking about getting one. Any opinions from anyone? I know Mercedes had a bad rapt after the 99 models until sometime in the mid 00's. Is the E350 part of that? Thanks.

Bill

[kaisen]

MRM has a 2008 E350 4Matic, maybe he will chime in.

They are good cars

[MRM]

Eric stole a beautiful 08 E350 and passed the savings on to me. I bought it for my wife and it was one of the best purchases we've ever made. They are good cars.

The model changed in 07 and everything was upgraded. We looked at E Class Mercedes and 5 Series BMWs forever before we finally settled on the one Eric got for us. The 03-06 models are mechanically almost identical, but the difference between an 06 and 07 is startling. The 06 feels nice, but it's kind of dowdy and the interior is not at all what I was expecting from a Mercedes. When we test drove an 07, it was like night and day. The interior was updated, the materials seemed higher quality, and the car felt much more like an expensive luxury vehicle.

The 4Matic is very nice for winter. we have Blizacks on and plow through when SUVs get stuck. The car wraps itself around you and tells you to settle in and be comfortable while it does the hard work. Fit and finish has been flawless from what we can see. We have the leather interior and I think that's worth paying extra for. It really dresses up the cabin.

Good cars. 07s and 08s should be plentiful on the lease return auctions now. Eric should be able to get you set up well. The other car we were considering was the BMW 535. That was a fantastic test drive too, but the E350 has proven the better car over time and we're glad we ended up with one over the 535.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

E350 4matic wagon goodness.

[kaisen]

No round lights there Shaun

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I can't wait to afford one!

[cantdrv55]

Nice! What's their fuel efficiency, how reliable are they and what's it cost? Or is it, if I have to ask I can't afford it? Can they be trusted as daily drivers for up to 30k miles per year? I may be looking for a different company car soon.

[audiman08]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

E350 4matic wagon goodness.

As for the wagons, the newer ones look much sportier IMO...but if you want an older E350 wagon, here's a pretty good comparison from TTAC:

Review: 2009 Euro Wagon Shootout: BMW 535xi Wagon, Mercedes E350 Wagon, Volvo XC70 T6, Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Wagon | The Truth About Cars

[MRM]

Can't Drive, if I had to drive 30,000 miles a year on my job I can't think of a car I'd rather be in, except maybe an E550. As I told Eric after i bought mine, it's like having a retired SAS paratrooper dressed in an evening jacket, serving as your butler. Driving an E550 would be like having an active duty SAS trooper dressed in an evening jacket, serving as your butler. Either way, it's: "Would you like to go there? Right away, sir. Don't mind me, sir, well get you over there now. Pardon me, sir, don't spill your drink, I'll merge you in now." The 550 would just do it that much faster but no less gently. We get 20 or so MPG. we drive 12,000 a year, give or take. we've had it a little over a year, and other than brakes we haven't done anything. It's at about 40,000 miles. Warranty expires at 50,000. We'll cross our fingers after that.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

Nice! What's their fuel efficiency, how reliable are they and what's it cost? Or is it, if I have to ask I can't afford it? Can they be trusted as daily drivers for up to 30k miles per year? I may be looking for a different company car soon.

The average 2009 E350 4Matic has 30K miles and wholesales for $32K (so retail/CPO ~$35K). A week ago today a 7,xxx mile car did $33,000. Not bad for a $55-65K car new.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by kaisen

No round lights there Shaun

you know looking at the 2009 that Brian posted, those round headlights are nice, very sporty. it's the 1996+ big "frosted" lights with hood shut lines as wide as the Grand Canyon that irk me stylistically.

[audiman08]

Originally Posted by MRM

Can't Drive, if I had to drive 30,000 miles a year on my job I can't think of a car I'd rather be in, except maybe an E550. As I told Eric after i bought mine, it's like having a retired SAS paratrooper dressed in an evening jacket, serving as your butler. Driving an E550 would be like having an active duty SAS trooper dressed in an evening jacket, serving as your butler. Either way, it's: "Would you like to go there? Right away, sir. Don't mind me, sir, well get you over there now. Pardon me, sir, don't spill your drink, I'll merge you in now." The 550 would just do it that much faster but no less gently. We get 20 or so MPG. we drive 12,000 a year, give or take. we've had it a little over a year, and other than brakes we haven't done anything. It's at about 40,000 miles. Warranty expires at 50,000. We'll cross our fingers after that.

That's some good writing...and good advertising for Mercedes.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by audiman08

That's some good writing...and good advertising for Mercedes.

That's good, but I'm still waiting for MRM to describe his 540 awhp Audi RS6 as Jason Statham in a tuxedo and white gloves, packing a sawed-off RPG

[HardDrive]

I can tell you that the electronics in my 06 E350 were problematic. Quite a few problems in the 2 years I owned the car.

I will say that they are very comfortable cars, without being boring or isolated. For a tank, it was a pleasure to drive. I think in terms of 'engaged luxury', they hit the sweet spot. I certainly felt safe driving thing.

The brakes are a bit odd, but amazingly powerful and controlled in panic stop situations. I say odd, because at very low speeds, the car would interpret a slight brake taps as a stop! and bring you to rather abrupt halt. I never did get totally used to it.

[kaisen]

As MRM mentioned, 2007 represented some changes. So my recommendation would be 2007-2010. They're pretty well sorted.