I like to buy a used R350, R500 or R320 cdi or used mercedes E wagon
I know that the 500 is stronger than the 350. But would be satisfied also with the 350.
Are their some people who can advise me on which year not to buy?
what is the warranty on the R class?
Also I do not find a lot of horor stories on this forum about the R. Is this the perfect vehicle?
Had our 350 for almost 6 months and it's been fault free. Love it, but there are times I'd wish I'd gone for the 500 but that's once in a blue moon. If you can afford it, get the 500. Loads more space than the E-class but depends on your own needs.
I must say I was a bit apprehensive about the build quality coming from the US after the bad press on the old M-class but I'm happy to say it's been absolutely perfect so far. We've a 3-year warranty in the UK.
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
I bought one of these about 3 months ago for my wife, it is a great car. We have the R350, SWB. If i could pick again, i'd probably end up going for the LWB, you can never have too much space right!
The 350 engine isn't bad, it has enough go for normal driving, its not a sports car though, so I wouldn't bother with the 500.
Go for the COMMAND with the reversing camera, it makes reversing so much safer, since you can hardly see out the back.
I bought one of these about 3 months ago for my wife, it is a great car. We have the R350, SWB. If i could pick again, i'd probably end up going for the LWB, you can never have too much space right!
The 350 engine isn't bad, it has enough go for normal driving, its not a sports car though, so I wouldn't bother with the 500.
Go for the COMMAND with the reversing camera, it makes reversing so much safer, since you can hardly see out the back.
Well said on both the LWB and the 350 vs. the 500. We just got done with a 600 mile round trip road trip and the R350 we have (LWB) performed great. Plenty enough power to get it going and I used the paddle shifters occasionally to get more pep from the V6 when needed for passing or going up hills. Was very satisfied with the power and handling of our R350...ride quality was great due in part to the long wheel base and our boys sat in the middle row captains chairs in great comfort. We have portable DVD screens on the back of the headrests and that made the trip very enjoyable for them as well. Cargo space was great w/ the 3rd row folded down...no complaints at this early stage of ownership, only smiles!
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