2005-2006 E320 CDI Buyers Guide, Common Problems, & Roll Call - Page 12 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

spark3542 · #**166** 07-20-2016, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

Car is NEVER an investment. It is an depreciating asset. CDI will not be a collectable.

No pictures, never happened.

This is a really ironic post...

"CDI will not be a collectable"... nor will mid-80's Mercedes diesels, yet you own six of them.

"No pictures, never happened"...yet you have no pictures in your sig.

ah-kay · #**167** 07-20-2016, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spark3542

This is a really ironic post...

"CDI will not be a collectable"... nor will mid-80's Mercedes diesels, yet you own six of them.

"No pictures, never happened"...yet you have no pictures in your sig.

You are jealous that I have 6?? You got it all WRONG. I do not own them as an appreciating asset. I treat them as disposal cars. They are dirt cheap to buy, dirt cheap to run and absolutely disposable.

If someone brags that he/she got a good car. A picture would be appreciated or else it never happened. I never brags about my cars.

DancesOnH2O · #**168** 07-21-2016, 03:29 AM

Well you can tell that I am brand new to these forums, and thanks for those who welcomed warmly.

I guess sharing my stoke could be seen as bragging. To those who would say "I never brags about my cars" I say "I never rushes to put pics on a site the same day I create a profile"..lol. I have taken exactly three pics and will put them on Inna bit.

Looking forward to learning with you guys.

DancesOnH2O · #**169** 07-21-2016, 04:09 AM

Alright... 5 pics are on my profile now, including one coming through the Rocky Mountains on the maiden voyage and another of the speedo showing 40.4 mpg door to door on an LA to San Diego drive the next week.
I have owned equal numbers of Benz diesels and VW TDI's and only rarely had this kind of economy in the best of 'em. Yes, stoked, and sharing the stoke (or bragging, you decide).

shertex · #**170** 07-21-2016, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DancesOnH2O

Alright... 5 pics are on my profile now, including one coming through the Rocky Mountains on the maiden voyage and another of the speedo showing 40.4 mpg door to door on an LA to San Diego drive the next week.
I have owned equal numbers of Benz diesels and VW TDI's and only rarely had this kind of economy in the best of 'em. Yes, stoked, and sharing the stoke (or bragging, you decide).

David, don't be put off by random posts here and there. This forum is a lot of fun and extremely informative. And most of us relish the simple pleasure of sharing the news of our new acquisitions...I certainly do. I was pretty stoked by my perfect 06 CDI with 146k miles for $8,000....but you did even better!

GregMN · #**171** 07-21-2016, 09:51 AM

It is hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It's summer. Some days it's hot outside. People get stuck sitting inside their house with nothing better to do then to take euphemism literally.

ah-kay · #**172** 07-21-2016, 11:07 AM

Hi David, i do not mean to offend, my bad. Please accept my apology. Welcome to the forum.

DancesOnH2O · #**173** 07-21-2016, 12:51 PM

Hey, it's all in fun. I poked you right back. Have a great day guys!

RNCTX · #**174** 08-14-2016, 07:22 PM

Stumbled across this on google.

On the fence between giving a teenage daughter my car (2006 E320 CDI) and keeping it. I think I'll keep it.

I'm the original owner, bought new in 2006. Just rolled over 105k.

Big ticket items in that time off the top of my head...

1) GPS antenna died, 700 dollars worth of labor because they said they had to take the trunk apart to get at it.

2) Key computer died around 80k, 2000 dollar replacement.

3) Transmission case seal on the back of the engine started leaking shortly after 100k, another 2000 dollars because you gotta drop the transmission to change the gasket.

4) Of all of the interior things that could go wrong (in the 10 years I've lived in HOT climates, NOLA, Dallas, etc), the only one that's a design flaw is the headlight switch. Whatever sealer they used on the plastic started to melt about a year ago. The rest of the interior is in fantastic shape other than the wall next to the front doors on the vertical structure inside the car. If you're like me, you have the driver seat set way back because you're taller than 5 foot nothin'. If you do, you rub against that interior cover over the vertical support in the frame every time you get in, eventually wearing a hole in it because it's cloth. Not a big deal, take it to your local upholstery shop and replace it with leather and it's fixed. Other than these two minor issues all of my electronics, buttons, and switches work just as well 10 years later as they did when I bought the car new.

5) The center speaker dies every few years because it's in the dash right in the path of incoming sunlight. 100 dollars to get the factory replacement, there's a harness so you just plug the new one in. Be careful not to crack the plastic around the A/C thermostat taking the grill off that covers it.

Whatever the vinyl is that Mercedes uses, it's the best stuff I've seen. My seats are vinyl with the leather inserts in the center. The vinyl around the outsides of the seats looks like it's still brand new, and I do not clean and seal this stuff at all, just wash it every few months.

Mine has always been dealer serviced. Oil changes are a couple/three hundred bucks because it's a diesel, of course, takes about 12 quarts of full synthetic so they're gonna be high no matter what. On the upside, you only do it once a year or once every 10k.

I have had no engine/transmission issues other than replacing that one rear seal between the engine/transmission. I still get 36 mpg or so on the highway, and the turbo still spins like a champ.

This was the last model year of the inline 6 without a filtered exhaust. The filtered exhaust requires a fluid replacement every couple of years for 400 dollars or so at the dealer. This one spews black smoke on the car behind you, like a Mercedes diesel should, causing the driver of that car behind you to decelerate in fear.

People reporting auto transmission issues: read your manual! You can manually shift this car but it's poorly documented. With the shifter in the normal forward 'drive' position you can manually shift the transmission by bumping the shifter left or right. If you put it in manual mode, it stays in manual mode until you turn the car off. It's easy to do this inadvertently if you bump the shifter. It's not a flaw, it's a (rather silly) feature.

Traction control on mine still works well in the rain. It's saved me a few times. On snow/ice, it's not a very good car but that would be the case for any high torque diesel RWD vehicle. Be careful on the ice in the winter. I stopped buying the dealer's overpriced tires as of my last tire change about 20k ago in favor of Pirelli. The dealer tires are an oddball Michelin, if I remember correctly. The dealer's tires do ride a bit softer/quieter, but they're not worth twice the price of the Pirellis.

I think I've replaced the main battery twice and the aux battery once in 10 years.

All in all, the best car I've owned.

compress ignite · #**175** 09-28-2016, 01:20 PM

Re-Find

chronometers · #**176** 10-16-2016, 11:05 AM

Just replaced the rear springs and shocks on mine. Raised rear and improved ride.

Remember to check the rear springs. They seem to break in the last turn at bottom where they sit in the lower cup. You really have to put car on jack, remove wheels to inspect. Break point was at small area that the springs hung from in factory where the coating was applied but didn't make it tho the hanger point. There was also rust and coating deterioration right at bottom where spring comes in contact with retaining pan or cup.

magnoliav12 · #**177** 12-30-2016, 03:59 PM

I recently purchased an '05 E320 CDI and did some rather extensive work on it. Fixed the black death problem and replaced glow plugs. Also have YouTube videos and a blog post on the subject here, for those who are interested.

chronometers · #**178** 12-31-2016, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magnoliav12

I recently purchased an '05 E320 CDI and did some rather extensive work on it. Fixed the black death problem and replaced glow plugs. Also have YouTube videos and a blog post on the subject here, for those who are interested.

Nice....didn't know the lack of changing air filter could contribute to injectors leaking.

shertex · #**179** 12-31-2016, 12:59 PM

So what would be the connection between not replacing the air filter and the injectors leaking?

Quote:

Originally Posted by chronometers

Nice....didn't know the lack of changing air filter could contribute to injectors leaking.

lincolnmatthews · #**180** 12-31-2016, 05:48 PM

After reading this entire thread I can see you guys Love Your CDI! I noticed one on a CL search in the Bay area (as I recall). It had just under 100k for an asking 15k (over priced) from a MB dealer. I was the beautiful light blue W/what I call the Palimino? ivory interior.
The initial purchase (as we all know) is the cheap part, I can see these are very expensive to maintain (as any MB) I'll pass & keep my 83 CD! I'm finding now that MB is dropping parts available for my car, how long will it be till you can't get parts (such as the brake system) for a low production car that's already 10yrs old? I keep my cars for a long time & don't rack up the miles. I have a new Rubicon for a DD don't want to drive my CD in the rain, anyway just my thoughts.