Well I went new diesel car shopping tonight and stopped by the MB dealer again. All the E-class Bluetecs had the wooden unpadded arm rest. It felt OK while holding the shifter (keeping my arm parallel to the arm rest), but resting my arm on it while driving (not parallel with the arm rest) was not very comfortable. What the hell was MB thinking? The arm rest and cup holders in my W210 are way better. I also confirmed through my own observation and the owner's manual that the recirculation still lasts only 5 minutes without the AC on, and on top of that MB seems to have removed the charcoal filter from these cars. At least there was no switch for it on the dash like there is in my W210 and no mention of it in the owner's manual either. Otherwise I felt these Bluetecs and W211's in general are really nice cars. It's a shame that some really dumb design decisions made their way into these cars and they're probably a deal breaker for me.

I also looked at the Audi A3 which will soon be available in diesel form and again at the new Jetta TDI's, and they don't have any of these issues and are way cheaper, plus they have even cleaner and more efficient diesel engines. I still want to look at the BMW 335d, but I feel it's overpriced so I guess I'll probably end up with either the Jetta or A3.

Pete - I hear you. My new GL450 is amazing in terms of build, comfort, performance, etc.

A question about your W211 - how have the SBC brakes been? Issues? Expensive to service?

I am looking at a W211 E55 AMG to replace my E430 and that is one of the obstacles...

Thx!

IIRC they dropped SBC for the 2007 model year. Look for a 2007-08 W211 to avoid that feature.

Really? That would be welcome news. I'll look into that, thanks J.

Even more welcome would be the fact that its an E63 for 07/08 - 507hp!:eek: The 07/08 E550 has 382hp, still no slouch by any means.

Yeah, the price bracket jumps for that beast engine as well, to be expected. Hmm...decisions, decisions...;)

He's got an '07 no SBC. I haven't replaced my yet at 42k but I bought the pads They weren't that expensive. I think $150 for all the pads and sensors. I'll bet a E55 will be in it's own league though in terms of the expense of a brake repair. If you take it to the dealer it will be killer.

Don't worry Chris, Phil will sell you a front pad set for that 2007 E63 you want for...$285.:D

AMG brakes are not cheap, but it goes to a good cause!:cool:

Good to know that the quality is coming back! I will have to keep that in mind when I am in the market for a W211....in about 15-20 years. :D

Exactly why I looked for an 07 or 08,,,, brakes on this machine are the best I have ever experienced. I did get to drive an E63 when I was visiting my son in Houston,,,, one fine machine.:eek::D:eek:
When I bought my wagon, there were only 4 used ones for sale in the U.S. that I knew of. I found mine in Miami,:eek: but it was well worth the trip.

One other not so small issue,,,, forget about using your 210 wheels on a 211. The wheels bolts are bigger :eek: and they torque at 96 ft lbs versus the forever 80.

Yes, the W211 are 14mm and the W210 are 12mm.

However, Pete - I was able to use W211 rims on my W210 by getting custom lug bolts from RAD USA Direct. The bolts are high quality, made in Germany. They feature a 12mm thread but a 14mm ball seat. This allows them to properly fit in the 14mm seat of the W211 rims but thread into the W210 hub (12mm).

RAD also has the opposite bolts - 14mm threaded shaft with a 12mm ball seat. I would assume one could use these to fit the W210 wheels to the W211 hub. As long as the offset works, the wheels should be fine. I believe there is enough play in the bolt openings in the wheel to accept the wider thread.

See here: http://www.radusadirect.com/product/20-4221-B/204221B__RAD_Lug_Bolt_14mmx15_25mm_Shank_R12_Ball_Seat_Hex_17.html

C.

Oh yeah, another nice thing about the RAD bolts is that they don't seem to rust as easily as the stock Benz bolts. Unforgiveable that the stock bolts start to rust after a couple of years and make ugly rust streaks on the alloys...brutal. My RAD bolts still look perfectly new.

It would be worth getting the new bolts for that reason alone. I have bolt envy.:D