After driving my 'new to me' beautiful 1995 E300D my wife says she is tired of her 2011 Audi A4 Avant harsh ride. She now wants a bigger more supple wagon and is looking at a 2011 E350 4Matic wagon at the local MB dealer. This MB wagon is very nice w/ ~ 25,000 miles and tons of option. Somethings have not changed since my 1994 wagon which I think is great.

The question is how much should I sell the Audi wagon for? It has 82,000 miles and is very, very clean. Audi dealer maintained and it is the 'Prestige package'. quattro, turbo, bluetooth, XM...the whole package. I even have extra set of rims for the snow tires I put on.

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dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

Looks like the absolute max re-sale for that Audi is about 20-22k to the right buyer...

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Has she driven the 4matic? AWD cars generally ride firmer than 2wd that and the 124 and 212 share absolutely nothing. So extrapolating an experience in a 124 into a 212 is pretty much without basis.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

I've driven a W211 4matic and my W203 is a 4matic.....I think they ride fantastic! It has a very planted feeling like they are on rails.

My C240 wagon has a much smoother suspension than our 2013 TDI VW wagon did....that thing was VERY bouncy and unsophisticated. Reminded me of my wife's old 1993 buick century....and I couldn't stand that thing.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I never said they rode poorly, but I personally can feel the difference.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

I couldn't not drive the 4Matic as it was already sold but they have another coming in. I will certainley test it out. I can feel the difference bewteen rack and pinion and recirculating ball steering too as the '95 E300 has the later and my '99E300DT has the former. I've driven 4Matic loaners like the 2014 C300 4Matic and it handeled like a rear wheel drive car nicely.

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

Your not giving enough weight to the most important element.

Emotion.

The prospective driver has already made the decision that she would prefer the ride of the MB over the Audi.

There are two possible scenarios that have a good outcome.

1. The missus drives a 4 matic and decides it's no better than the Audi. Hopefully she continues to drive the Audi....

2. If she drives a 4 matic and likes it, does it matter how it rides compared to the W124? she's happy. Your happy.

Good luck!

BTW, I have had W124 chassis cars since 1993 and still have 2, but my W211 is the most fantastic car I've ever owned.
They are absolutely sublime WRT vehicle dynamics. I've never driven a more powerful AND economical diesel.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Hi Jim - funny you should mention emotion - the car I drive every other day (and in bad weather) is her old '99 E300DT rust bucket with a huge dent in the RF end. I had to take her Audi in for service on Tuesday and she had to drive her old car to work and 15 minutes out of the drive way she calls me and says ' know what? Your car drives like a dream' .

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

At least with a budget of "$45,000" your latitude for choice is covered.

You could buy several mint older MB's for that, why would you want a new one?

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I wouldn't - apparently somebody else does.