Found 3 cars that I am considering...each with each own positives and negatives I believe and don't really know which to go with.

1. 2004 E320 w/ 32,xxx miles and no warranty

2. 2005 E320 w/ 52,xxx miles and Certified warranty (12 months or 100k)

3. 2006 E350 w/ 54,xxx miles and no warranty

I did a Carfax on all three and they are all pretty similar...

#1: Two owner. Console, rear pads and rotors replaced at 20,xxx miles
#2: One owner lease. Gas tank replaced at 44,xxx miles. No other repairs.
#3: One owner. Drive belt tensioner pulley, door panel and latch replaced at 48,xxx miles.


From what I've researched so far, a lot of people seem to say to stay away from the 03-05 models but here are my thoughts...

1. I like the low miles...but from what I've read, the newer the model year, the better...so it seems model year is more important then mileage.

2. I love the Certified warranty. I figure if there are problems, I will see within that year and can make a decision to keep or sell

3. I seem to have read that the E350s are far more reliable? Also again, newer model year is better, right?

Thanks for any input.

 

So here is an update...

1. The 2004 was crossed off the list due to being too old and no warranty.

2. Saw this car and loved it. Pewter exterior with Stone leather interior. Navigation, dynamic seats (which I thought were cool as hell) and Harmon Kardon sound system. Car looked great inside and out, very elegant. The window price was $25,900, the online price was $24,900. They said they would take $22,000 but I have a strong feeling they would take $20,000 which is what we asked for before saying we have one other car to look at.

3. No longer looked at this one because we found a 2006 E350 w/ 38k miles which we saw today. It was pretty bare features wise...no Nav or any bells and whistles and we didn't like the interior color as much (Ash vs Stone). The year and mileage was nice, though it still only has a 1 year CPO warranty as it went into service 05/2005 originally so the factory warranty is over. The sticker was $28,900 and we offered $22,000 and they came back at $26,000...didn't really seem to want to make a deal at all so we left.

If we can get the MY05 w/52k miles for $20,000, I would feel really good about it.
I'm going to try my luck and ask to split the cost on extended the warranty for 2 more years (they charge $1995 for it)...I may be pushing it but you don't know unless you ask.