Anyone in Los Angeles have a 05-06 E320 CDI for me to test drive?
 

I am driving a 2010 BMW 335d for my job, and suffice to say, I absolutely love the power. The only cars I feel that can beat it, in my experience, is E63 AMG and CL55 AMG (the one with supercharger). Even the regular BMW 335i felt lacking compared to the 335d.

I didn't like the sport suspension, the road noise and the seats, but then again, the 335d is supposed to be a sports car, and it reflects that.

I've had my 1998 E300TD for about 2 years, and I absolutely love the ride comfort, gas mileage, road noise, etc....

....but it does feel anemic compared to 335d. Even a stage 1 tune didn't help much.

I'm starting to get the itch to get a newer car, so I'd like to see if anyone in the LA region is willing to let me test drive their E320 CDI. If the E320 CDI even comes close to the sensation of performance of the 335d, I'm sold.

I just want to test drive it -- otherwise I'll just endlessly vacillicate on the "buy or not buy" for years. :D

Did you try a dealer? Few would hand the keys over to a stranger who wants to test the performance of their car, especially in LA where, "Dude, I smashed your car, shouldn't have loaned it to me" is a movie stereotype.

The 335D is an amazing car with 425 lb-ft of torque. The CDI would not be able to match, less HP and only 369 lb-ft of torque. Why you need to buy a newer car if you are driving it daily for your work? Anyway, you can always try to be a 'buyer' and test drive one at the dealership or private sale.

Sounds like a great idea. What could possibly go wrong?

Dkr.

I'm painfully aware of that. I'm just hoping that my winning personality would help me get a test drive. Beside, I do have to drive lots of different cars as part of my job (I wrench and program cars for a living), including all sort of high end cars. I have yet to crash those, so I think I'll be okay. :P

Thing is, the closest dealer that actually has a E320 CDI in stock is about 50 miles away from me, waaay past hollywood. For anyone who knows LA, the 405/110/101 that goes through downtown LA is hell on earth. I really would rather not have to slug through hours of traffic just to be grilled with credit offers and uninterested salesmen.

Craiglist is no go either -- three CDI's for sale are so far out of reach that its not funny.

Yeah, but a ECU tune can fix that. I'm not worried about the power -- all I want to see if it comes close to the 335d. If it does, then I have no problem doing a ECU tune and other mods whatsnot to bring it up to my preferences. I want the same comfort as my W210, but with more power. Enter W211 CDI, hence my question.

I refuse to get a BMW 335d....I see more E60, E65 and E90 coming to my shop for various oil leaks, VANOS and electrical issues than MB cars....so that soured BMW vehicles to me.

What do you mean about buying a newer car if I'm daily driving it? I don't get it. I have two cars at the moment, and I have no problem getting rid of one to make space for the CDI. I just want to see if the CDI is worth the hassle of private party sale and months of hunting. I went through that with my E300TD, and I rather not go through that process if the car turned out to be a disappointment in the end.

I know, many of members here and elsewhere have nothing but high praise for the CDI, and it's true. But I have difficulty in translating that praise into real world experience, hence the request for test drive.

I recently purchased a 2006 CDI, best Benz I've ever owned..... I found it on this link as they show only Mercedes CDIs that are for sale across the nation.

2006 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E320 CDI Sedan For Sale - CarGurus

I went from stock to a Stage 2 tune and the difference in power was pretty noticeable. I wonder if your tuner, for a nominal fee, would be willing to bump you up to next level.

Go online to Craigslist or AutoTrader and find several near you to drive. Dealers will be anxious to get you behind the wheel. I quit letting anyone drive my cars a long time ago. :laughing:

What does it matter since you're only interested in an initial test drive? The more CDIs you drive, the more comparative values you will have to base your knowledge for when and if you do buy one. Drive the V6 '07 - '09 versions too. More torque - 400 ft. lbs. No SBC to have to deal with as the '05 - '06es every so often.

You wrote

"I am driving a 2010 BMW 335d for my job, and suffice to say, I absolutely love the power."

How do you add the '05 CDIs too? Great link, BTW!

I'll have to check. I thought stage 2 required mods -- bigger IP elements, turbo, etc?

It's not a daily driver. As soon as I fix the DEF issue on this car, it's going back to the owner. I think I'll have it for maybe 3 days or so? Then back to my trusty old E300TD.

Because I've already driven many, many W211s -- all from E320 to E550 to E55 to E63. I know how they ride, perform, comfort level, etc.

I only want to see the diesel performance.

And negative on the V6 bluetec diesels -- I prefer the older style diesels with the clacking noise. Plus the 07+ has the troublesome 722.9 transmission that is expensive as hell to fix. SBC, by comparison, is easy as pie. I've done so many SBC replacement that I can do it in my sleep. 722.9 conductor plate/valve body, while just as easy to replace/program, is not cheap. Rebuilt SBC = $300 vs $1k for conductor plate and valve body combo, not counting the fluid, filter, gasket, programming cost, labor....

Anyway, there are multiple reasons why I am looking for these two specific years.

Guess I'm back to square one -- I'll keep an eye on dealer lots and craiglist, see if one pops up near me.

May depend on the tuner and what the Stage 2 consists of. I had mine done at Rocketchip. I was told that only when I got to Stage 3 would I need hardware mods.

How have your MPG changed with the tune? And, more importantly, does it pass emissions?

In my case, MPG stayed the same (I was hoping for an improvement). Passed RI emissions with no problems....here we simply have an opacity test.