Newbie questions

[krlawless]

Hi Everyone,

I am a few days away form purchasing a 2006 R350 for my wife and have some questions for you experts.

Is there anything particular I should know about this car, i.e. problem areas, 1st year issues etc?

I'm wondering if I'm getting a good deal. The car is immaculate.

Here's what the car has for $29,500

Iridium Silver
CPO warranty good through 3/11
15,500 miles
Full leather
Harman Karden 5.1 w/ rear seat controls
standard sunroof
wood steering wheel
chrome trim package
Heated front and rear seats
Sirius
Power lift gate
power rear qtr windows
17" wheels

I am told it has an aux port for an ipod, but I don't know if the 12v outlet to charge it is near the port.

Lastly, does anyone know if the middle seat could be swapped for the bench seat of the later model years? The two captains charis will keep the kids far enough from each other to keep the fighting down, but eventually I might find the middle seat useaful.

Any information about this model year anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. We really like the car, but I'm not so familiar with it that I would be aware of the major pros and cons. so any and all comments would be extremely helpful.

Thanks a lot.

Ken

[nanoera]

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...-pay-06-a.html
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...et-iphone.html
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...e-several.html
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...t-2nd-row.html

Dig a little more beyond first page and you'll find lots of useful info. Or just do a search.
Configure all your options on Edmunds.com and select average condition. You should be able to get it close to trade-in price. CPO cost another 2k or so. Does it not come with Navigation and pano roof? If you really need a bench seat then go for '08.

I bought mine last July @ $28K no CPO, and I knew I overpaid, could have got it at $26K. Here's my option list:
26k mi
pleather (fake one)
Harman Karden 5.1 w/ rear seat controls
Navigation
Pano roof
Heated front seat
Power lift gate
Power rear quarter windows
17" wheels

[krlawless]

Thanks nanoera, those links and your information were very helpful and appreciated. I agree with the searching, but sometimes you need to be pretty specific to find what you are looking for.

Thanks again,

Ken

[lkchris]

Adding things like navigation, Sirius, etc. later is VERY expensive. Better to find car with what you want.

[krlawless]

Harder said than done. This car sounds terrific, minus a few nice to haves, but not need to haves. I'll see it Friday and if it looks good we're leaving with it. I'll see how it goes. Thanks for the input. If anyone has any more I'm happy to hear it. I have a few more days before I drop the hammer.

Ken

[mitaka]

Drive it carefully for a longer time if you can not just around the block. Pay attention to how the transmission shifts 1-2 2-3 and then when you come to a complete stop. Some earlier models have serious tranny issues...

[D_D]

I purchased a 2006 350 in May with Leather, Pano Roof, rear air, power rear vents, 18 inch wheels, heated front seats, driver and passenger power with memory, power hatch, Navigation, Harmon Kardon, and parktronic for 26,000. The car had 45,000 miles and that lowered the price a bit. I would not buy this car without parktronic. It is a big car. Check when the car was delivered. Late 2006 models have some of the 2007 updates. Also, the four year 50,000 mile warranty is worth a bit so look at how much time you have left. Brakes are typically due about this time and that will run you about $800 or so because the disks are typically gone as well. So, you can see how options and needed repairs move the can move the price about $4,000 up or down. The CPO cars require to have a certain level of brake pad left. That is why dealers will not CPO the cars and give you a extended warranty option that doesn't cover the brakes.

[krlawless]

Thanks for the feedback. This particular car does not have parktronic, which I may regret not getting, but we rarely have to parallel park and when we do I'm generally driving and I'm used to a big car. It's almost impossible to find a car with all of the options and lower miles so I had to give up something. The car is a CPO with a warranty through 03/30/11 (the original delivery date was 03/06) and the dealership of course offered a two year/100,000 additional for $2,500, which I might go for (advice on this would be appreciated). It even includes the radio and electronics. The actual production date is 9/20/05. I know all of the recall and warranty work that has been done and it wasn't really in that often. All recall work has been done. The brakes should be in great shape with only 15,000 miles, but it's good to know what they will run when the time comes. The car is really well equipped and originally stickered for $57,000. With the mileage for $29,000 it seems like a good deal, but of course if it's in the shop every other day, even under warranty it won't seem so good later.

I'm planning on going to get the car tomorrow so if anyone has any (and I mean any) last minute advice I'd love to hear it.

Thanks,

Ken

[BobbyHowie]

Also xenons are a must-have and you really need the reverse camera. Without a camera or parktronic would be a nightmare for me. Good luck.

[mitaka]

Yeah the car's rear visibility is pretty bad and rear cam and or parktronic make life easier. As I said spend some more time driving it before making final decision....