[SmartMoney]

I am a researcher at Smart Money magazine. We would like to talk to any R Class owners out there who cart their family around in their Mercedes.

Please call Daren Fonda on 212-830-9298 or email him at [email protected], and tell us about how you like your car.

Many thanks.
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[Bad_Debt]

Car is FUGLY!

 

[mr.xpowerseller]

Anyone who owns an R class is clearly not 'smart' with their 'money'. There is nothing smart about the car, and just about any other vehicle in the segment beats it.

 

[MB-SV]

The rate of depreciation on the R's is horrible, poor use of money.

 

[Kajtek1]

The rate of depreciation on the R's is horrible, poor use of money.

I see it other way around. With lack of diesel wagons, R could be a substitute. Fact that you can buy them very cheap is just icing on the cake.
Anybody see R 320cdi for less than 10 grands, let me know

 

[Geezer1]

My R class experience has been limited to riding as a passenger. I wouldn't buy one, but they have their uses. My dealer uses them to drop off and pick up those customers who don't need a loaner. I think one would be a great replacement for a big SUV, or mini? van (Town &Country, Voyager) . They're very easy to ingress and egress, with the power-folding middle seats, and you don't need a stepladder to get in. The automotive world is a big tent, there's room for all. Wouldn't it be boring if we all drove the same car?

 

[Mike Wevrick]

They're very easy to ingress and egress ...

The huge non-sliding rear doors would be a deal-killer for me. Getting my kids in and out of my S in tight parking spaces is a huge pain.

I see it other way around. With lack of diesel wagons, R could be a substitute. Fact that you can buy them very cheap is just icing on the cake.

Agreed; as a used car they are a decent value.

 

[TeamWenz]

Smart Money there is a forum specific to R Class on the main forum page 3/4 of the way down. You will get some R Class owners to provide feedback. It's a better place for model specific information.

 

[nanoera]

So who's so smart? And who's fugly?

Anyone who owns an R class is clearly not 'smart' with their 'money'. There is nothing smart about the car, and just about any other vehicle in the segment beats it.

I don't understand why any "smart" CLK or S owners could jump so fast to their short conclusion about R without giving any longer description about their R experience. :surrender:

So what car do you think as contender against R?
I say Pacifica, Freestyle, and Flex are fair comparisons than other minivans.

 

[AsianBlackR350]

Car is FUGLY!

Beauty is in the eye of beholder.

I own one and it has style in my opinion.
I got a good deal on it too. Much better ride and handling than most mini vans and SUVs.

 

[butler]

Great Vehicle

When you compair the R Class to other cross-overs, mini-vans, etc in the market its true value and style is MB best kept secret. As a new owner of a 2007 R350 (escaped the 2 year major depreciation) and having just driven a vacation trip to Florida for 20 hours with two kids and a fully loaded R350, we could not ask for a better touring vehicle. The ride was comfortable, quiet (minus kids) and achieved 24mpg. It proved itself worthy by handling a very heary rain storm without any stability issues (this thing is a tank). As this is our first R-Class we were concerned about the storage area for travel (wife does not pack lite) and we were very surprised by the amount of room remained after packing everything, I was adding kids toys and scooters just for the fun of it and had room to spare. I don't know what other vehicle we could have purchased with the comfort, security, and achieve 24mpg. The style is in the eye of the beholder but at least it doesn't look like a mini-van, we enjoy the styling as its different than most. For us it is a great purchase. We also own a C-Class.

 

[LLCD]

When you compair the R Class to other cross-overs, mini-vans, etc in the market its true value and style is MB best kept secret. As a new owner of a 2007 R350 (escaped the 2 year major depreciation) and having just driven a vacation trip to Florida for 20 hours with two kids and a fully loaded R350, we could not ask for a better touring vehicle. The ride was comfortable, quiet (minus kids) and achieved 24mpg. It proved itself worthy by handling a very heary rain storm without any stability issues (this thing is a tank). As this is our first R-Class we were concerned about the storage area for travel (wife does not pack lite) and we were very surprised by the amount of room remained after packing everything, I was adding kids toys and scooters just for the fun of it and had room to spare. I don't know what other vehicle we could have purchased with the comfort, security, and achieve 24mpg. The style is in the eye of the beholder but at least it doesn't look like a mini-van, we enjoy the styling as its different than most. For us it is a great purchase. We also own a C-Class.

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[2008R320]

When you compair the R Class to other cross-overs, mini-vans, etc in the market its true value and style is MB best kept secret. As a new owner of a 2007 R350 (escaped the 2 year major depreciation) and having just driven a vacation trip to Florida for 20 hours with two kids and a fully loaded R350, we could not ask for a better touring vehicle. The ride was comfortable, quiet (minus kids) and achieved 24mpg. It proved itself worthy by handling a very heary rain storm without any stability issues (this thing is a tank). As this is our first R-Class we were concerned about the storage area for travel (wife does not pack lite) and we were very surprised by the amount of room remained after packing everything, I was adding kids toys and scooters just for the fun of it and had room to spare. I don't know what other vehicle we could have purchased with the comfort, security, and achieve 24mpg. The style is in the eye of the beholder but at least it doesn't look like a mini-van, we enjoy the styling as its different than most. For us it is a great purchase. We also own a C-Class.

:thumbsup: Could not agree more, have the R320 and the millage so far has exceeded 27MPG:thumbsup:

 

[yasminzeyad]

I couldn't agree with you more.

I 2nd that. Our gain, their loss, Great Car!!!!

 

[Batting_R350]

I agree with lot of the feedback from R owners. I bought mine 2 months ago, its an '06 w/29k miles on it and paid just under 20k for it. It has a ton of options/equipment (except airmatic & heated seats) & I still have factory warranty thru May 2010. Depreciation is huge given that comparable '08/'09 would cost 50k. so from the money perspective I think it was a great deal all around.
I have heard of issues with '06 models on this forum so keeping an eye on things and plan to get everything rectified while under warranty. But so far it has been a pleasant experience. I really feel that MB made a big mistake by axing free maintenance a few years ago. BMW is stealing their sales .... heck even VW now offers free maintenance!!
It would have made this R class a much sweeter deal!

We are looking forward to road trip this summer with kids!

 

[mitaka]

I think some of the guys above with the dinosaur mercedes models are jealous of our "R"

 

[J Brown]

If you have a large family (5 to 7 people) and don't want to spend money on an SUV and want decent gas mileage the R is the way to go but only Certified pre-owned or used. We purchased a 2006 Certified Pre-Owned R350 P1 package for less than half price of new with less than 16,000 miles. MB Certifed Pre-Owned cars have extended warranties by 1 year plus very inexpensive extensions for 1 to 4 years. We are extreamly happy with the vehicle. We enjoy it more than our Chevrolet Suburban.

Jack

 

[Spam]

We get lots of compliments on the looks of our R and the drive is excellent. As stated above...purchasing this car used with low miles is the way to go. We are very happy with it and like the fact that you do not see many of them on the road. It makes ours stand out that much more. What is ugly to one person is beautiful to the next person.

 

[R. Reyes]

It's funny that a bunch of people w/out R-Class' are commenting on them. What's even more hilarious is when I see a 50 year old guy toting his 2 & 4 year old's around in a convertible (CLK), and everything is PACKED into it.

Could I get more room out of a Suburban? Sure, but I would be killing myself in gas costs. Could I get in/out more easily in a mini-van? Probably...but then I would have to sacrifice on other things, and for about the same price wouldn't have a M-B!

 

[m5pena]

Beauty is in the eye of beholder.

I owe one and it has style in my opinion.
I got a good deal on it too. Much better ride and handling than most mini vans and SUVs.

Totally agree! It's all relative. I have always been a BMW fan and always told my wife that I wouldn't buy MB - until we saw the R class. To me it's the best option if you don't like the truck like handling and ladder-requiring height of the SUVs and also hate the bland styling on the minivans.