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ptbowman · 08-09-2007, 07:36 PM

I got my R320CDI in March 2007 and it's been mostly flawless. Early on it had a leaky seal on the oil filter housing (leaving a mess on the driveway), but that was quickly fixed by the dealer and it's been trouble-free since. Along those lines, there was a service campaign to fix a seal on the oil filler neck. I guess one might argue that based on these issues MB still is way behind Japanese reliability (although both Toyota and Honda are not nearly as good as they used to be either!) but then again the Japanese don't have anything that comes close to the R Class as a total package.

With MB's really bad reputation for quality, I was really concerned about this vehicle ending up being a dog but decided to get it regardless because of its fantastic styling, "Mercedes feel", utility, space, handling, fuel economy (remember it's a diesel) ...

Nevertheless because of my worries I decided to lease the vehicle to make it easier and less costly to get out from under if necessary. I purchased a 4-yr, 48K lease (i.e., 1K/month). Here is the problem: we love the vehicle so much I've put 8900 miles on the vehicle in 4 months! We're either going to pay a huge penalty at the end of the lease or more likely just buy it off the dealer. This car is so comfortable that I take it on road trips constantly, getting as high as 29 mpg on 1 trip from Pittsburgh to Indy. This is the 14th car I've had in my life and I've never had one that is this much of a pleasure to drive on long trips. I can go 500-600 miles easily without feeling any fatigue whatsoever. I really have only 2 complaints about the vehicle: 1) the transmission occasionally makes a jerky shift (a little disappointing in a vehicle this pricy), and 2) the GPS system (and the COMMAND system) in general can be clunky to use and is way behind what you can get in an portable aftermarket unit. Otherwise, a fantastic vehicle!

Hope this helps

2007 R320 CDI
Pewter metallic/black interior
Premium III package (Premium II + Distronic + Keyless remote)
Rear entertainment
Heated seats front and rear
Ipod integration kit
6-cd changer

08-09-2007, 07:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
ptbowman BenzWorld Member Date registered: Jul 2007 Vehicle: 2007 MB R320CDI Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 83	Used R I got my R320CDI in March 2007 and it's been mostly flawless. Early on it had a leaky seal on the oil filter housing (leaving a mess on the driveway), but that was quickly fixed by the dealer and it's been trouble-free since. Along those lines, there was a service campaign to fix a seal on the oil filler neck. I guess one might argue that based on these issues MB still is way behind Japanese reliability (although both Toyota and Honda are not nearly as good as they used to be either!) but then again the Japanese don't have anything that comes close to the R Class as a total package. With MB's really bad reputation for quality, I was really concerned about this vehicle ending up being a dog but decided to get it regardless because of its fantastic styling, "Mercedes feel", utility, space, handling, fuel economy (remember it's a diesel) ... Nevertheless because of my worries I decided to lease the vehicle to make it easier and less costly to get out from under if necessary. I purchased a 4-yr, 48K lease (i.e., 1K/month). Here is the problem: we love the vehicle so much I've put 8900 miles on the vehicle in 4 months! We're either going to pay a huge penalty at the end of the lease or more likely just buy it off the dealer. This car is so comfortable that I take it on road trips constantly, getting as high as 29 mpg on 1 trip from Pittsburgh to Indy. This is the 14th car I've had in my life and I've never had one that is this much of a pleasure to drive on long trips. I can go 500-600 miles easily without feeling any fatigue whatsoever. I really have only 2 complaints about the vehicle: 1) the transmission occasionally makes a jerky shift (a little disappointing in a vehicle this pricy), and 2) the GPS system (and the COMMAND system) in general can be clunky to use and is way behind what you can get in an portable aftermarket unit. Otherwise, a fantastic vehicle! Hope this helps 2007 R320 CDI Pewter metallic/black interior Premium III package (Premium II + Distronic + Keyless remote) Rear entertainment Heated seats front and rear Ipod integration kit 6-cd changer