Greetings all,

I'm a proud owner of a '99 GS300 with 126K miles. I really enjoyed my experience with Lexus but am now looking for something new and perhaps more exciting. I have a friend who owns an '03 C320 Sport and I'm very impressed with it performance. He does however have to have it repaired more often than I would be happy with. He's had to have his catalytic coverter replaced twice and after 35K miles he's replaced all four of his roters. Is this normal?With my Lexus I've taken it in for repair less than a dozen times in the nearly 7 years I've owned it.

Now that I'm in my mid 30's with 2 kids, 5 and 3, I need a little more room to haul things around. I'm interested in a slightly used E or S class sedan (I already own an Expedition). I'm not really interested in a V6 (unless someone can educate me otherwise) so the E500 or the E55 AMG (long shot) would be my best bet. So I would appreciate any feedback on the latest Benz experience and specifically on the E-Class or S-Class models.

Thanks,

Michael
Houston, TX

 

stay with lexus. i probbably shouldnt say that being a benz employee but they are breakin down more often now and all the SBC ( sensotronic brake control ) the brake by wire system, kinks have not been worked out. if your looking at the c class, the new 3 series bmw is a better buy. the lexus gs430 and infiniti m45 would be my choice over the e-class. mabey 5 series bmw. the 07 s class benz came out with is very nice if u can afford it i would recommend it.

 

Man thanks for your quick and candid response. My buddy said the same thing today when I told him that I was posting on this site. I just love the fit and finish of a NEW Benz. They LOOK fantastic. Perhaps I should just get the GS430 or wait for the LS460. Hmmm...

Anyone else? I'm still on the fence.

 

Hi Lexus Owner
I am a Benz's Owner and I want to say something fair here. I agree with rmf0102. You should stay with Lexus since you has it for so long with less trouble. I has Benz and I accept the risk because I love performance and because I love car. Lexus and Benz has two different type of products for different type of users. If you are a family man and want some stable product to help you maintain your budget since you has kids then Lexus is a good choice though its performance is not as great as Benz but everything has its own price to pay for. The final is your choice. I am an Asian so I understand why Asian cars has been built that way. We want to have stable life without any risk and enjoy a little bit of everything. Therefore, all products such as electronics and cars has been built that way. Solid and last long. But european style is based on performance and extreme like to enjoy must enjoy to the top. I am Asian but i has that habit too since I was grown up in Europe. However, Benz is the most safety products among european cars specially E- Classes. You said that you are not interesting on V6 but E-class V6 is the most reliable class. The v8, S-class very expensive and also not reliable. If you are rich guy then forget about what I just mentioned but you are in budget control, don't ever look at S-class, C-class and E-Class V8. E-class V6 is the best choice for Family Man like I am and you. I owned a 2000 E320 basic V6 sedan and so far for 5 years, I has only two major repair and both covered with warranty. One is Harmonic Balancer need to be fix due to safety recall and another throttle Gas/Air Mixed sensor( I hope I called the right name since too many parts I can remember) and some lighting and braking sensor replaced. So I am lucky like you owned a Lexus. If I have to buy the next car, I will stay in the same E-Class V6 because it is the most reliable class in Benz products. AND REMEMBER ONE THING. BUY BENZ JUST NEED TO CHOOSE THE MOST BASIC MODEL MEAN NO EXTRA FANCY ELECTRIC SUNSHADE, GPS, XENON HEADLIGHTS, AMG STUFF BECAUSE MORE EXTRA ELECTRONICS TO BE ADDED ON , THE MORE ELCTRICAL FAILURE YOU MAY HAVE IN THE LONG RUN AND IT WILL EMPTY YOUR POCKET FASTER THAN YOU THINK. THOSE EXTRA STUFF FOR SHOWING OFF ONLY AND WE ARE FAMILY MAN, NO LONGER NEED IT TO WHOW WHEN WE PICKING ANY BEAUTIFUL SEXY LADY UP SO WHY BOTHER TO ADD THOSE STUFF ON TO BRING YOU MORE HEADACHE. YOU CAN ADD AN EXTERNAL GPS, MANUAL SUNSHIDE.. LATER IF YOU WANT IT FOR YOUR KIDS COMFORT. That is my experience about Benz. Also if you look for a used car, first get a report for that car's history from www.carfax.com to be sure the car has clean record in order to avoid to get a lemon. Mercedes Benz cars can be also a lemon easily so be aware for anyhitng called "too good to be true" Nothing too cheap on Benz. I hope I gave you out all of my experience with Benz's cars which I has for 13 years of owning two E-classes. Good Luck and if you have any question about which Benz model year is the most reliable, please drop me a message either in here or to my email at joe_dao2003@yahoo.com. About techincal issue, please refer to some expert in this forum. they will be the best guy for you to search for help. I am just help you in buying and choose the right thing. Take care.
Regards,
joedao2005

 

Thanks for the informative post. You're absolutely correct about Japanese luxury cars, they're safe and reliable but lack the FLASH of the european type. That's exactly why Benz is such a turn-on for me. Granted since I am a Lexus owner I do expect a certain level of quality and realiability. Shouldn't everyone that spends over $50,000 for a car? Am I wrong for expecting a car to hold together? This isn't a Ford or Yugo; it's a Mercedes-Benz. The "Best" luxury car on the market. I remember when Jaguar was a fantastic car back in the '80's and '90's but had tons of mechanical problems. Now, Ford owns them and the quality control issues are a thing of the past. I'm very familiar with the BMW type level of quality, very nice, sporty car but expect to have it in the shop just as much as you drive it. Is that the accepted norm?

So far I've had 2 post and both of them suggest I stick with my Japanese car. Interesting... Anyone else?

 

Hi BiggusDiccus
I have owned both Acura Legend and Mercedes Benz and I can give you one fair thought and you can decide it yourself and please remember that, If you can affort an S-Class and will be able to deal with all unexpected situation in the future of the car then I don't see why not. If you are a car's lover like I am while we are still young, have a good health, good body, good eyes and fast reaction then the top performance car within our range of budget, we must take advantage of it because when we turn old, we don't have that chance anymore. We just need to study very very carefully every single model and its history of reliability and repair and maintenance cost before decide to push so much money out of our pocket. We have money so buying car is not a big problem but we must pay the right thing without regret. I have read a lot of comments from new car's owner about their mistake of buying the wrong car and turn out to hate that car forever. I have to say so much because I know how a new buyer of a car's model they don't have prior experience feeling. I really don't want to lead you to a wrong choice. If you really want to try out, I REALLY WANT TO ADVISE YOU TO DO THESE THINGS BEFORE PULL YOUR CASH OUT OF YOUR POCKET:

1) FIRST SELECT THE CAR YOU REALLY WANT TO BUY AND GET THE CAR'S INFORMATION AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
2) GO TO THAT MODEL FORUM. THE EASY TO DO IS ON THE "SEARCH THE WEB" SCREEN ON THE FRONT PAGE OF YAHOO OR GOOGLE, TYPE IN THE CAR'S MODEL YOU WANT TO BUY FOR EXAMPLE: "2005 MERCEDES BENZ S55 AMG OWNER'S REVIEW AND ISSUES" AND HIT RETURN, YOU WILL HAVE A BUNCH OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CAR'S MODEL. READ EVERYTHING TO COLLECT AS MUCH AS INFO YOU CAN AND JUDGE IT YOURSELF WHETHER YOU ARE OK AND CAN LIVE WITH ITS ISSUES.
3) NEXT DECISION IS START VISITING YOUR LOCAL BENZ DEALERS AND TRY SOME TEST DRIVE FIRST AND FEEL YOURSELF. JUST DON'T TAKE EVERY WORDS FROM SALEMEN BECAUSE YOU MUST KNOW THEY TRY EVERYTHING TO SELL THE CAR TO YOU SO TRUST THEM ONLY 50/50 BUT JUDGE IT YOURSELF. TRY MORE AND MORE SIMILAR CAR AND GET A FINAL CONCLUSION.
4) REPEAT WITH OTHER BENZ MODELS AND USE ALL INFORMATION YOU HAVE TO COMPARE AND CHOOSE THE BEST MODEL WHICH WILL FIT ALL OF YOUR NEED
5) AT THIS STEP YOU WILL START DECIDE TO PURCHASE IT AND DISCUSS PRICING, WARRANTY COVERAGE ( THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT PART YOU CANNOT AVOID IF YOU PLAN TO PURCHASE AN USED CAR. I SAVED A LOT MONEY THRU 3 TIMES OF MAJOR REPAIRS I AM JUST WONDER IF I DON'T BUY IT AT THE FIRST TIME TO GET THE CAR, I MAY ENDED UP TO PAY TOO MUCH FOR MY CAR), AND REQUEST CAR'S HISTORY REPORT THRU WWW.CARFAX.COM (THIS IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE ONE DAY YOU FIND OUT YOUR CAR IS A LEMON OR TOTAL LOST RECOVER THEN THAT IS TOO LATE), HAVE AN EXPERT TO INSPECT THE CAR BEFORE SIGN YOUR CHECK.

THAT IS MOST OF THE THING YOU NEED TO WORRY WHEN YOU DECIDE TO JUMP TO ANOTHER CAR'S WORLD YOU NEVER BEEN OWNED BEFORE. I hope this information can help you to get some idea about your new class or cars. GOOD LUCK AND DON'T FEEL HESITATE TO ASK, MANY EXPERT PEOPLE IN THIS FORUM WILL HELP YOU WITH THEIR BEST.

Regards,
joedao2005