Best Year for an e320
#5
08-27-2007, 01:03 PM
RE: Best Year for an e320
Any 99-01 they worked out the bugs from the early 98,check that all recalls were done,harmonic balancer etc.,inspect for rust issues i.e. spring perches door sills etc.lots of low miles nice condition cars out there,look ,inspect and buy private.Personal preference,the 99 with all work done,year to stay away from,the 02 it looks nice but by that point the model suffered from the penny pinching in the merger with chrysler.After the merger in 98 by the time they got going full bore on planning and production budgets it was 01 and things went quickly down hill from there.Lots of nice doodads and bells and whistles,but judging from complaints a lot of those things are prone to costly failure.
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"
And this from an industry white paper:
Indeed, trouble was brewing in both divisions. Toyota's luxury Lexus division passed Mercedes as the best-selling U.S. luxury brand in 2000. In response, Mercedes decided to pack more features and technology into its cars without raising prices, leading it to skimp on quality. In quality studies conducted by auto-ratings agency J.D. Power and others, Mercedes used to consistently rank No. 1. In 2002, its scores began to fall. In at least one case, it fell below the industry average.
Ken Pollock saw that firsthand. In 2000, the 57-year-old insurance agent from Coral Gables, Fla., bought his first Mercedes, a $49,000 E340 sedan. Within a few months, his wife noticed a bulge in the dashboard caused by an airbag. To fix it, the dealer replaced the entire instrument panel.
Several months later a rear window slipped down inside the door. After it was fixed, the other rear window broke, followed by a passenger window and, for a second time, one of the rear windows. The headlights turned yellow and the color wore off the leather seats. The cost of the repairs came out of Mercedes's profits since they were covered by a warranty.
"Individually, they aren't big, but put them together and you say, this is a piece of junk.
ohlord
"GOT CODES?"
And this from an industry white paper:
Indeed, trouble was brewing in both divisions. Toyota's luxury Lexus division passed Mercedes as the best-selling U.S. luxury brand in 2000. In response, Mercedes decided to pack more features and technology into its cars without raising prices, leading it to skimp on quality. In quality studies conducted by auto-ratings agency J.D. Power and others, Mercedes used to consistently rank No. 1. In 2002, its scores began to fall. In at least one case, it fell below the industry average.
Ken Pollock saw that firsthand. In 2000, the 57-year-old insurance agent from Coral Gables, Fla., bought his first Mercedes, a $49,000 E340 sedan. Within a few months, his wife noticed a bulge in the dashboard caused by an airbag. To fix it, the dealer replaced the entire instrument panel.
Several months later a rear window slipped down inside the door. After it was fixed, the other rear window broke, followed by a passenger window and, for a second time, one of the rear windows. The headlights turned yellow and the color wore off the leather seats. The cost of the repairs came out of Mercedes's profits since they were covered by a warranty.
"Individually, they aren't big, but put them together and you say, this is a piece of junk.
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