Well, I live in the UK at the moment and have driven a W211 E320Cdi Wagon for 18 months. I got one of the first on the road in Europe and am really pleased with it. Goes very well and even better if you feed it high cetane rated fuel or use a cetane improver. Mid range torque is huge and I have cruised long distances at 100mph+ in Germany with absolutely no stress at all.

IMHO the wagon is far better looking than the sedan: it is a very striking car and cannot be mistaken for anything else. (That said, is the sedan really that ordinary?) Not sure if MB plan to sell diesel wagons in the US: if not that is a big mistake.

The three year residual values on the wagons, especially the 270 Cdi & 320Cdi, is way above that of the sedan: big demand for used vehicles, especially the 7 seaters.

Read lots about reliabilty problems but so far all I have suffered in 18 months and 20,000 miles are two very small fuel seepages from a loose hose clip which was fixed in minutes. Otherwise everything is very good indeed.

People who did suffer here were mostly those with COMMAND, DISTRONIC radar cruise control and other under developed electronics from Bosch. That is now sorted out as are the brake issues.

Go for it, but make sure you find a dealer who knows what they are doing for servicing.

Satch, congrats on your CDI. Unfortunately, I believe the States have few good diesel car mechanics, dealer or otherwise. There was one guy on this board who traded his CDI as a lemon because his dealer couldn't sort out the glitches.

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'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate

My First Post Here...

I just got a '05 E320 CDI two weeks ago...it is simply unbelieveably superb. I have put about 1500 miles on it, and it simply is amazing. The mechanical aspect of the car is great. Your parents definitely ought to buy it.
However, I echo the suspicions of many on the board to stay away from the fancy electronics. The COMAND system seems to be relatively easy to learn, but it is far too complicated for its functions. The CD-Changer is incredibley slow.
At the same time, the CDI drives just like my old Merc ('87 300E) in almost every good aspect. The only slight problems are that the steering wheel is not perfectly centered and the left headlight is a bit lower than the right; both of which should be corrected on my first service visit to the dealer.

Regards

Whoa, There are some pretty good diesel mechanics in this country.

The issue is usually getting the manufacturer or supplier (Robert Bosch) to
provide technical support for their product. It is not uncommon for us to recieve things like wiring diagrams and software flash/patches 1-2 years after after the product arrives. Just like the massive SBC recall. It took them 2 years to get the calibrations just right. And now, we are going to scrap the whole system on all platforms that come after the CLS.

I myself would wait for the 2006.5 E320 CDI with the 3 turbo V-6 and 7-spd
Auto trans. That will be a smokin car! More power and torque with less fuel consumption. The European C320 CDI with the V-6 has the same torque as the C55 but gets almost 42mpg! 0-100kph in 6.8 seconds. Thats a fast diesel

I hope we get it, now that a 6cyl diesel fits in the C and ML.

DR.D

This might upset some of you but I think the front-end of a Plymouth (or Dodge) Reliant looks just like an early 126. It has the recessed lights in all. Maybe Chrysler and MB have been secretly merged in the past?

Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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DAY - UM! You're right!

That doesn't offend me. Although after I see that the car that passed by me is a Chrysler POS, I am not pleasantly surprised.

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Yep Wants right, a few POS's I mean mid 80's Chrysler's have fooled me from a distance. Actually a few American cars from the 80's tried to look like MB's. Look at the rear end of a mid 90's Accord, it looks almost identical to a 3 series BMW of the same time period.

Volvo 240's look just like a W123 from the right angle.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I meant the early 126's in particular since they have the recessed lights but even the SEC's have me fooled.

Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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The Mercedes look is a design that's been mimicked over many years by many automakers.
Anyone out there old enough to remember the Ford ads in the mid 70's about the Granada? There was a stupid TV commercial about a Mercedes owner that mistook a Ford Granada for his Mercedes at a valet parking lot. I think you can also find a similar ad in some magazines from the same time.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I have 11000 miles on mine now and am very happy, no issues mileage is not quite upto spec but I live a 6000 feet. I get 25 in the city and 36 on the highway. I do have a heavy foot though so with altitude and my foot it is to be expected. Power is awesome even up here, thanks to the turbo creating its own atmosphere the drop off is not at all noticeable. I would recommend the car whole heartedly. Yeah it is expensive, but now I look forward to my 50 mile daily commute.
m

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Martin Ingram
Colorado Springs
2005 320 CDI
2006.5 VW Jetta TDI
1991 560SEL (179000 Sold)
1972 280SEL 4.5 ('The Lead Sled' 320000 miles when sold.)
1972 220D (225000 when sold)

My folks still haven't bought one. They're still thinking about it and they haven't decided against it. Their Cadillac is running OK now so it sounds like they're procrastinating about it. I told them this is the best time to get rid of the Caddy while its still running.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012