mercedes benz e class 320 elegance review

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Average Ratings

Performance	8.8/10
Practicality	8.8/10
Reliability	7/10
Value for Money	5/10
Reviewer Rating	5/10
Overall Rating	6/10

50% Recommended2 out of 4 Reviews

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By pheasant on 30th Jan 2005

pheasant's Ratings

Year Manufactured	2000
Length of ownership	4 Years
Performance	8/10
Practicality	8/10
Reliability	9/10
Value for money	1/10
Overall value	1/10
pheasant's recommendation

Good Points

The E320 petrol is a smooth, comfortable long distance load-carrier, with remarkable fuel economy for its performance, size and weight. Mechanical build quality is excellent.

Bad Points

Rust. Rust. Rust. More rust. Then some rust, followed by a little more rust.

Appalling, arrogant, rude, unresponsive customer 'service'.

And a dealer network which is ideally matched to MB itself - garbage.

General Comments

From what I hear, my experience with a 2000 model Mercedes Benz E Class 320 Elegance estate executive car is pretty typical.

My car has major surface rust on its bonnet, rear wings + wheelarches, all four doors, and the rear tailgate. In addition, the roof and bonnet are peppered with small blisters under the paint, all of which are heading towards eruptions of one kind or another. MB assure me these are 'stone chips' - utter nonsense of course, but that's MB for you.

Recent model Mercedes cars (particularly Cs, Es, CLs and CLKs) corrode like a 1972 Fiat.

A switch to water-based paint around 2000 and an insane attempt to improve falling profit margins by reducing paint specs to just 100 microns (250 would be appropriate for a decent car) has caused enormous problems for MB - or more accurately, for owners of its poorly built cars.

Initially, the firm quietly undertook to replace entire panels, but during 2004, there was a switch of policy to a quick shot-blast and 'blow-over' with paint. Dealers are allowed just a couple of hours labour + materials for each panel, so MB's spend per rusty panel is probably around £50.00. Nice savings for MB, and a guarantee of further rot in future for the hapless owner.

Of course, many of us have 30 year perforation warranties on our cars. Sadly, this is of little help. For starters, most MB rust is due to the appalling paint quality - rust rarely starts from the inside, so there is often no 'perforation' at all, just a spreading eyesore of flaking, disintegrating paint. This allows MB to duck its responsibilities at any time it chooses. Most rust repairs being conducted by MB at present are 'goodwill' repairs.

In any event, miss just one dealer service and your 30 year warranty is void.

The result, of course, is that residuals on MB cars are now very poor. I was offered just £8,500 by an MB dealer for my July 2000 E-class estate - original list around £48k. This is the worst depreciation figure I have ever seen for any car, regardless of make or model.

How sad it is to see a 'quality' carmaker lose its way so quickly.

Smart car anyone?

Total Respect: +1