I have a growing family and we are looking at purchasing a new to me vehicle. We recently saw a 2006 R320 at a dealer (186,000), one owner - dealer serviced going for $12900. I have 1993 S320 (bought brand new), with over 700,000 Km running strong, no problems other than the normal wear n tear. I'm not familiar with the newer models and would like your honest opinion.

Thanks,
Johnso

Hmmm..... 186,000km/115,000 miles, right?

The early R-Class MB's are known for a few issues, the balance shaft problem among the most notorious. The early 722.9 transmissions are known to have issues as well.

Lesser known problems include bad cylinder heads/not common (for some reason it always seems to be the #2 valve seats), leaky P/S pumps/steering racks, leaky rear air springs, and power tailgate problems.

Given the high mileage I doubt it's being sold as a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle, but you should be able to buy an after-market warranty. Still, a thorough pre-purchase inspection should be done by someone familiar with the R-Class!

Now for the good news. The R-Class is a really nice driving vehicle. It's very comfortable and offers great visibility. It's an ideal vehicle for a growing family, IMHO.

I'm not sure what options yours has, but if it's a clean car the price seems to be in the ballpark.

My friend has a R320 CDI 2006 with 375000 on the clock, no major problems.

__________________
600SEL '91
300E 4Matic '88
240D '83
280SE '77
350SE '73
The most complex systems can fail in the simplest way.
Contra verbosus noli contendere verbis, sermo datur cunctis, animi sapientia paucis.

i don't believe in the lord! He's never bought me a Mercedes Benz.

They're a pig in a poke. For every good one, there's at least 5 bad ones. I'd steer clear of it.

__________________
I've got a great cigar collection - it's actually not a collection, because that would imply I wasn't going to smoke every last one of 'em. - Ron White

The diesels avoid alot of engine issues, but there is always a chance of transmission issues, electrical stuff, air springs, etc. I have one and love it, but I know what I bought and am prepared to work on it when needed and have parts suppliers. Most buy them blindly and don't realize how complex the vehicle is and the fact that modern cars are only built for the warranty period and no more. The dealers pretty much dump them once the warranty is up, they are just too complex to keep servicing. If you have a good mechanic or your into it yourself you can have a good long life out of one, it was well put together and easily worked on for the most part (air and fuel filters are a pain!). It is not as well put together as the older S class, but still shares the same engineering and will likely provide a long service life if wanted, few bother and give up once more then one thing breaks (we are a throw away bunch now!).
Be sure to check it out very thoroughly by a specialist, have the computers scanned (with a factory reader, not OBD2 crap-there are dozens of computers). Look for salt build up in the carpets, the majority of the computers are under the carpets in a sub floor compartment and salt can ruin the harnesses etc. Try the tailgate many many times, it should always open and close smoothly, not slam shut or reopen on its own. Test drive and feel how the transmission shifts while driving slow, does it hunt or let the rpms spike when shifting? Check out the suspension very well, it can get expensive but so far seems well built aside from the airbags.