Lawrence Coppari

I'm going to buy a new sedan this year as a replacement for my 400E that has been just about the best car we have owned. The car is going to be driven primarily by my wife but will be used for family trips. I am willing to spend up to 60K for the car. My wife's other car is a SLK32 AMG. Car needs to be as lively as the 400E is. Here are my leading possibilities. Comments anyone?

Infiniti M45 (2006)
E350 (2006)
LS430
E500

BMW cars are out as they have no aesthetic appeal to us.

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L. A. Coppari
2002 SLK32 AMG (24K)
1993 400E (133K - traded for Acura)
1980 450SL (134K - sold)
2005 Acura TL (28K)
1987 328GTS (24K)
1986 944T (169K)

John Gregg

I don't have suggestions on a replacement for the 400E, but would like to know why the 400E is being replaced. 400E's and 500E's make my short list of desirable cars.
John Gregg
many old diesels, some old gassers and one
Porsche

Dave M.

I'd look for a low-miles, all-record 500E/E500 (W124). Anything newer than mid-90s for Mercedes needs a serious extended warranty, then dump it before the warranty runs out. The E420/E500 (W124) facelift really makes a difference, especially with some aftermarket wheels.... would look to most people like an early 2000's car.

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Dave M.
Boise, ID
1995 E420 - 162kmi (W.I.P.)
1994 E500 - 104kmi (Q-ship)
1992 500E - 162kmi (Mach 5)
1987 300D - 303kmi (Sportline Stage 2)
1987 300D - 247kmi (R.I.P)
Click here for my website photos, documents, and movies.

Lawrence Coppari

I have not had a new car since 2001 when I bought the 2002 SLK. It's nice to have a new car every now and then. I like the 400E very much; it is a good car. It is worth more than what I would get for it as a trade. That bothers me as it was an expensive car and now is worth little.

I too worry about the new cars. All the electronics is nice so long as it works. The SLK is just a more powerful motor in an older car. Not much in the way of electronics.

Can't see replacing it with a 500E. It is the same car with a little more power. Car does not have to be much faster. If I want to go fast, I have the SLK32 and a highly modified 944turbo that walks away from the SLK32.

E500 is a possibility. Dealer is going to call me when a E350 comes in. I want to sample the 7 speed. Tranny would make it just as quick as 400E up to about 80-90 I would think.

Fuel mileage is important also even though I can afford to buy fuel. I may sound a little eccentric thinking about an expensive car, yet wanting good fuel mileage. My 400E gets 27 on the highway in hot weather. The E350 should get more. Don't want to go backwards on fuel economy.

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L. A. Coppari
2002 SLK32 AMG (24K)
1993 400E (133K - traded for Acura)
1980 450SL (134K - sold)
2005 Acura TL (28K)
1987 328GTS (24K)
1986 944T (169K)

mguzziridr

Off the subject of your purchase, I have heard there is a Mercedes specialist up in the tri-city area that is very reliable. He focuses on selling Mercedes that he has inspected and qualified. Are you aware of the name of this company, by chance? I am down the road in Morristown and wanted to visit his store.

Steve
1967 230
1983 240D
1973 Moto Guzzi Eldo
Etc.

Zeitgeist

If fuel mileage and performance are both criteria, why not consider a new E-class CDI? I think the turbodiesel may actually outperform the gas version, and return close to 40mpg.

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'87 300TD

Lawrence Coppari

Dealer let me borrow a CDI for an hour or so (alone) a few weeks ago. It is impressive and drives quite unlike diesels of the past. But it still has the diesel sound at idle. I don't like the rattle even though it is fairly muted in this iteration. Once past idle, you really cannot tell it is a diesel. When the E350 arrives, I'll have my wife drive both. As she is the primary around town driver, it'll be up to her regarding the noise issue.

CDI has plenty of get up and go. It would spin the wheels if you step on the accelerator hard from a stop and does not die after reaching 60. I was rather impressed with the CDI.

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L. A. Coppari
2002 SLK32 AMG (24K)
1993 400E (133K - traded for Acura)
1980 450SL (134K - sold)
2005 Acura TL (28K)
1987 328GTS (24K)
1986 944T (169K)

Lawrence Coppari

After investigating a bunch of vehicles the list is down so several. They are
the E320CDI, the E350, the Infiniti M45, and the Acura TL.

I have not yet driven or even seen an M45 yet. Tires are extremely expensive for it. The Acura TL is by far the best buy. An E with the same equipment would cost in the upper 50's. The loaded Acura cost #33K. But Acura has no wood and a plain front. Not crazy about rear end of E.

Didn't like Lexus styling and ride. Drove some old volvos. They tend to deteriorate fast. Value drops like a stone.

To be continued.......

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L. A. Coppari
2002 SLK32 AMG (24K)
1993 400E (133K - traded for Acura)
1980 450SL (134K - sold)
2005 Acura TL (28K)
1987 328GTS (24K)
1986 944T (169K)

Lawrence Coppari

Wife and I revisited dealer yesterday. He made an offer which included a trade for our 400E on a new TL. The difference is 26.1K. The window sticker on the TL is 32.2K so we are getting an allowance of 8.1K for our car. This seems like a reasonable deal to me. Two years ago the MB dealer would only give up 7.5K for our 400E on a new MB.

Seems to me the TL is the most car for the money. If I buy it, it'll be interesting to see how it holds up.

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L. A. Coppari
2002 SLK32 AMG (24K)
1993 400E (133K - traded for Acura)
1980 450SL (134K - sold)
2005 Acura TL (28K)
1987 328GTS (24K)
1986 944T (169K)

Max

L.A.

Be wary of what a dealer offers on a trade. I bought my 300TD for $1100 at an auction from the dealer, and a couple weeks later I met the PO, who'd traded it in on a new SUV. He said that the dealer had given him $5k credit for the 300TD. I'm sure that the dealer made money on this deal, and probably at both ends.

HTH, FYI, YMMV, etc. etc.

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M. Dillon

'87 300TD 309k miles
'96 Infiniti I30 174k miles (Wife's 5 spd)
'73 Balboa 20 'Sanctification'
Charleston SC

tom

I suspect that dealers would rather offer high trade-in values than haggle over the selling price of the new car. My girlfriend recently bought an '01 Jetta TDI, and traded in her dead '88 Taurus. The Taurus had 222k miles, body damage from a deer encounter, the transmission crapped out a week before, plus general brokenness and mediocrity you'd expect from an ancient Ford. She had placed an ad for it in the paper asking $150 obo.

Upon telling this to the salescretin, he offered $1000 for it. He later got desperate for the sale and ended up giving $1430 towards the Jetta. I'd be surprised if the Taurus fetched more than $50-$100 at auction.

I'm not sure why they would want to do this, but he was pretty adamant about not just deducting the $1430 from the sale price of the Jetta and forgetting about the trade-in.

Tom

Max

L.A.,

Car and Driver just did a comparo of the Acura and the Infiniti (and a few others) and the Infiniti won. Take a look, may give you some ammo to help with the decision.

Max

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M. Dillon

'87 300TD 309k miles
'96 Infiniti I30 174k miles (Wife's 5 spd)
'73 Balboa 20 'Sanctification'
Charleston SC

Lawrence Coppari

I ended up purchasing the Acura TL. It seems to be a very nice car. A comparable MB would have cost me about 25K more (for same equipment), I figure.

The closest Infiniti dealer is over 100 miles away. Can't see having a car with dealer that far away.

So far the trip computer is showing 29 mpg. Everything works as it should. Really, the only thing I don't like about it is FWD. But it is one of my wife's cars and our trip car. It has a break in period so I have not flogged it yet but did flog a demonstrator vehicle. It has sufficient speed.

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L. A. Coppari
2002 SLK32 AMG (24K)
1993 400E (133K - traded for Acura)
1980 450SL (134K - sold)
2005 Acura TL (28K)
1987 328GTS (24K)
1986 944T (169K)