2004 E320 Wagon - Yeah or Nay?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Well, my Ebay wagon didn't sell. Kicking around flying out to take a look in person. Selling dealer says it's documented that the bags on the air suspension were recently replaced. I guess it gets extra points for that.

One thing that concerns me is that similar cars that are slightly older seem to be worth half as much. Think this one's about to take a big drop in value?

Lee, I would say that it seems reasonably priced. Not a bargain but not a rip off either.

Being that it's a dealership, what do they have for service records? That can be a big deal with an older European car, and is one big reason why I tend to buy from individuals.

Have they sent you any high resolution large photos outside of Ebay? The little Ebay pictures suck and can hide a lot, I would ask to be emailed a bunch of photos before buying a plane ticket. Maybe there's a Houston area Pelican that could check it out in person for you?

[5String43]

We also had a W124, the same series as Shaun's. Lots of little niggling problems, including head gasket, which required a head rebuild. Not cheap. Bought it new, picked it up at the factory, kept it until it had 140,000 miles, and were awfully happy to see it go away. Never again. Our current '03 BMW 525 Sportwagon - which also now has 140k miles on it - has been a much better vehicle. Unfortunately, it's now time for that to go away too.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Lee, I would say that it seems reasonably priced. Not a bargain but not a rip off either.

Being that it's a dealership, what do they have for service records? That can be a big deal with an older European car, and is one big reason why I tend to buy from individuals.

Have they sent you any high resolution large photos outside of Ebay? The little Ebay pictures suck and can hide a lot, I would ask to be emailed a bunch of photos before buying a plane ticket. Maybe there's a Houston area Pelican that could check it out in person for you?

My wife is an airline pilot so there's no cost for the trip. The dealer has detailed all of the dings, scratches etc in an e-mail. Sounds like it was cared for.

The other question that came to mind last night... is this car really safer than mine? IIHS has not crash tested my car, but the Euro NCap tests make them look about equal safety wise.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by LeeH

The other question that came to mind last night... is this car really safer than mine? IIHS has not crash tested my car, but the Euro NCap tests make them look about equal safety wise.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but what are the odds this will EVER be an issue?

If you are seriously worried about that there are likely hundreds (possibly thousands) of things you could do to reduce your risk of an accident. And yet we don't do them....

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Maybe I'm in the minority, but what are the odds this will EVER be an issue?

If you are seriously worried about that there are likely hundreds (possibly thousands) of things you could do to reduce your risk of an accident. And yet we don't do them....

Safety is just a very small part of the equation. Other factors - My Mazda5 has had a variety of issues. Don't have the confidence in it that I would like. Haven't had a Porsche in a couple of years. Getting the itch for a German car, but another 911 doesn't make sense for me right now. My wife's parents live in TX and are getting older. We're going to be making more Phoenix to Amarillo round trips over the next few years and would like a high speed cruiser.

[1990C4S]

Once someone says they drive an older 911 then I throw safety out as a factor. In terms of safety a newer car is light years ahead, to the point where differences between two newer cars are incidental.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Once someone says they drive an older 911 then I throw safety out as a factor. In terms of safety a newer car is light years ahead, to the point where differences between two newer cars are incidental.

Absolutely - this Chevy vs Chevy test proves your point! Had I not seen this I'd have thought the old heavy Chevy would have inflicted a lot of damage on the newer one.

[kaisen]

That old Chevy is lighter than the new Chevy, believe it or not.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by kaisen

That old Chevy is lighter than the new Chevy, believe it or not.

Looks like they were pretty close... "The vehicles were similar in weight -- the Bel Air weighed in at 3,629 lbs., while the Malibu tipped the scales at 3,452 lbs, according to the IIHS."

[onewhippedpuppy]

Generally speaking newer will be safer. Crash standards are continually increasing and automakers are continually striving to meet them. There's a great video of a city car and an old Volvo 960 colliding head on, I believe it was set up by 5th Gear. The city car's crumple zones spared it's "occupants" from major injury, while in the Volvo they would have been severe, despite it being the bigger, heavier, and "safer" car.

[1990C4S]

Scroll through these. Interesting that some very high end cars are 'poor'....

In pictures: Crash test results for mid-sized luxury cars - The Globe and Mail

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Generally speaking newer will be safer. Crash standards are continually increasing and automakers are continually striving to meet them. There's a great video of a city car and an old Volvo 960 colliding head on, I believe it was set up by 5th Gear. The city car's crumple zones spared it's "occupants" from major injury, while in the Volvo they would have been severe, despite it being the bigger, heavier, and "safer" car.

Yep... I would have put my money on the Volvo as the car to be in when they collided. The Renault did an amazing job protecting the passenger compartment.

Fifth Gear - Renault Modus v Volvo 940 Crash Test - YouTube

[LeeH]

Ok... found the MB wagon that I REALLY want! Now about that price...

Mercedes-Benz : E-Class Estate Wagon in Mercedes-Benz | eBay Motors

[speeder]

Price is in the right ballpark for that model. I love the E55 wagon but not in that color. I like them a little tiny bit more stealthy.