My Search for the "Ultimate" Ride Finally Ends

[Yoder]

After searching for a few years for what I consider to be one of the best "travel" cars on the road, I finally found it, and bought it. I have been looking for a 2000-2002 Mercedes-Benz E430 with low mileage (S class is just a bit too big for me).  While getting an oil change on my C-280 a week ago, the owner of the shop I use was negotiating for a 2002 one owner E430 out of CA. It only had 59k on it, and after he showed me a couple of photos I told him I would take it.

I traded in my C-280 (132k miles), a ML-320 (with 200k miles and tranny is shot) and gave him $6500 cash for the car.

What a ride...4-matic, AWD, fully loaded with all of MB's bells and whistles, and it is in "new" condition. The original windshield only has a couple of small pits, and it has brand new Michelins, brakes, battery, etc. The shop even extended the warranty to 100k, and gave me free oil changes for as long as I own it (a big deal since MB's have an eight qt. oil capacity.)  I picked it up at the detail shop where they gave it a full ($399) detail job. The car rides like a dream, and will be used to take long road trips to SFO, SEA, Grand Canyon, etc. The thing has enough power to pull a trailer, and so I may get me one of those pop-up tent trailers after we break it in with a couple of trips.

For a stock audio system it sounds pretty good. A lot better than my C class anyway.

Yea, off the audio topic, but for a forum where "quality" is king just thought I would share my excitement over having just acquired a quality set of wheels.

[mcandmar]

Thumbs up for appreciating a proper car and not buying something boring and economical just because its new. It sounds very nice, especially being a V8 with AWD, never knew they made those.

[Doc B.]

Awesome Ron! That sounds like a dream ride. I got to borrow a friends diesel 4matic E last year and it was really a nice ride. You sure won't get any complaints from me talking about your Benz. The Es are definitely "more" than the Cs, though they both have their merits. I love to drive my 88 300CE, with the classic leather and zebrano trim and the horsehair padding smell and a sense of smooth elegance. But I have to say that the 02 C230 coupe I just got for Eileen is sort of giving me flashbacks to my Alfa Romeo days. It has a great growl and handles quite well.

Here's half of our family's current Benz herd - the coupe and the 94 C220 which we are loaning to Kate while she finishes at FIDM and starts an internship at Nordstrom. The 300CE is languishing in the carport at the moment awaiting a transmission and some tires for spring, and the fourth Benz is Colin's 93 190e 2.6 which now lives with him in Seattle while he finishes up at UW.

Yup they are all ancient, kinda like me. A friend of mine had at least 13 Mercs over the years. I guess I'm at 6 now (there was a 72 250S that sat in my drive way until I finally sold it and then there was the 75 300D that we got Colin as his first car). They kinda get in your blood.

[Yoder]

Just returned from a week in Minneapolis. During the interim, I have driven up to Denver on three different occasions and finally have a good feel for the E-430. The car is an amazing ride due to the added weight of the V-8, and is like riding on a cloud. It has plenty of power, and gets incredible gas mileage for a V-8 manufactured over ten years ago. While cruising at 75mph, I was getting about 28 mpg, at 65 about 26 mpg, and driving around in the city I get about 20 mpg. It truly is a pleasure to drive.

For a stock sound system, it is pretty damn good. I guess it should be since the MSRP was around $58K, when it was new. Hah, and to think I paid a bit more than 10% of the original MSRP. The shop told me to put it to the "test" (0 to 75mph in how many seconds?) since it has such low mileage. With only 59K, it is still be broken-in in some ways. They flushed the tranny and put in new seals prior to my purchase.

The photos below were taken shortly after I got the car. It came with a $400 detail job, but I like my detail work better. I have since given it a carnauba wax job, have polished the wheels, refreshed all of the rubber door seals, polished other metal parts, etc. Next I will begin detailing the interior and apply dye to the leather where needed and condition all of the leather. Once that is done then it will be time to detail the engine, and though it looks good now, there is a lot of room for improvement in my book. Anal? Maybe, but I just like a nice clean ride.

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[Doc B.]

Interesting about the sound system. The C230 has a Bose system. Sounds just OK, but the radio has a very obnoxious way of muting FM stations rather than letting any noise come through. We're out in fringe country and the radio cuts in and out all the way to work.

So this weekend I hope to get a Pioneer Appradio2 installed. Interesting concept, it lets a smartphone do a lot of the heavy lifting via an app called - you guessed it - Appradio. You hook your phone up and use it for Nav, Pandora, videos, phone, whatever. The appradio has AM and FM internally and a GPS antenna connected to it to give the smartphone a little help. You can also link a bluetooth OBD port reader to the phone and use the appradio screen as a performance monitor. With enough aftermarket adapters you can retain steering wheel controls and interface with the balanced input of the Bose power amp. And it's a lot cheaper than fancy Pioneer AVICs and such.

[mcandmar]

That looks every bit a new car, so clean and understated.  Economy is surprising, but to a certain extent big engines don't have to work as hard so as long as your not sitting stationary in traffic they can actually be fairly economical.  I'm sure a lead foot will drop it down into the single digits though.

Changing the autobox fluid was a wise move, they were supposed to be sealed for life which was the daftest idea i have ever heard.  Properly looked after those box's are fairly bullet proof as they are rated for close to 800ft/lb, also used in the V12's, almost all AMG models, even my fathers 98 Jaguar XJR has the same box in it, and i believe some 6litre Hemi vehicles got it too.

I like to keep my cars clean and protected with a layer of carnauba wax too, even if it is futile trying to keep it that way with our miserable damp weather.  My heart does go out to you, anybody who likes an immaculately clean car should never have bought a black one

[Doc B.]

Are those sisal mats? Man the thought of those really takes me back.

[Paul Birkeland]

Changing the autobox fluid was a wise move, they were supposed to be sealed for life which was the daftest idea i have ever heard. 

I'm not sure if you have the same issue in your part of the world, but over here, the quick lube oil change shops will do their best to sell you a transmission flush.  Instead of putting in the correct fluid for a given vehicle, they just shoot in the ATF-du-jour and leave the manufacturer with the warranty claim.

Consequently, we are seeing a lot of sealed transmissions over here, though I pay to have mine drained and filled at the dealership regardless. 

[Yoder]

Interesting about the sound system. The C230 has a Bose system. Sounds just OK, but the radio has a very obnoxious way of muting FM stations rather than letting any noise come through.

Prior to getting the E-430, I drove a 1998 C-280 and the wife had a 1999 M-320. I sold the 280 for a fair price, and the ML we basically gave away since it had 200k and the tranny showed signs of death during extremely cold weather. Both had so-so audio systems. From what I have read on the E-430, it is a "premium" version of the E-320. It comes with "premium" Bose speakers, an Alpine CD player stamped with MB, and the amp/radio is made by Becker of Germany. "The head unit is fully integrated with the rest of the car, special amplifiers, the CD changer and the phone. There are eight independent channels of amplification, each with special equalization designed expressly for the interior of the E430 and the special speaker drivers." All of that being said, it sounds light years better than the system in my older C-class and M-class.

Economy is surprising, but to a certain extent big engines don't have to work as hard so as long as your not sitting stationary in traffic they can actually be fairly economical.  I'm sure a lead foot will drop it down into the single digits though.

I think the fact that it has two spark plugs per cylinder really makes it efficient, and very responsive. The worst mileage I have gotten is 15 mpg, and that was when I had a jack-rabbit foot. It is a very quiet engine while behind the wheel, but when you get out and stand by the exhaust you can tell by the sound that there is something unique under the hood...it has a very deep throaty V8 sound. One might wonder where I get all of these mpg ratings? The car computes its gas mileage and it can be reset. The calculations are very accurate, and I am seeing what kind of mileage I get under all kinds of driving conditions.

I'm not sure if you have the same issue in your part of the world, but over here, the quick lube oil change shops will do their best to sell you a transmission flush. Instead of putting in the correct fluid for a given vehicle, they just shoot in the ATF-du-jour and leave the manufacturer with the warranty claim.

I don't think the typical Jiffy Lube employee would know the proper amount of oil needed in a Benz. They take just over 8 quarts of oil per oil change, which is probably why their engines last as long as they do. I was surprised the first time I saw them change the oil on a Benz. Every certified MB mechanic/dealership sucks the oil out with some special machine. They never touch the oil plug. One thing about MB's, is that having owned six of them dating back to a 1988 D300 I have never had one that left pools of oil on the garage floor. The two times I had any leakage was due to bad transmission seal.

those sisal mats? Man the thought of those really takes me back.

I'm not sure. I know I paid some good money for them, and pulled them from my 280. They say one is a car geek when non-stock floor mats are placed on top of the factory mats to protect them. I also have a couple of very pricey custom wool seat covers that I bought for the 280. I'd like to use them during the summer months, but to take the head rest off you have to pull the seat to unlock it (safety feature?), not sure I want to do that just to keep my bum from sweating during the summer.

[Doc B.]

to take the head rest off you have to pull the seat to unlock it (safety feature?), not sure I want to do that just to keep my bum from sweating during the summer.

Wow, you can't just take the back panel off to get at it? Regardless of their looks I really love sheepskin seat covers. They do a great job of evening out the temperature extremes.

A previous owner had put an Alpine radio and Infinity speakers in our C220. That sounds pretty decent. Somebody put the same radio and, IIRC, MB Quart speakers in my 300CE. That sounds better. The best setup is in Colin's 190E where we installed some mid level Focals (don't recall the radio, maybe a Jensen?). They sound really nice. All sound better to me than the Bose setup. We will see if the new radio helps.

[Yoder]

Wow, you can't just take the back panel off to get at it? Regardless of their looks I really love sheepskin seat covers. They do a great job of evening out the temperature extremes.

I'll be damned! I just went out and checked and pulled the back panel off the seat with no problem. They are going to replace one of the headrests for me since it is jacked up, and the Polish mechanic told me what had to be done and in the translation it sounded like the seat had to be pulled. Thanks for the tip.

[Doc B.]

Yankin' apart Benzes? I'm your man. Aside from the fact that the cars are about 40% plastic that goes brittle with age they are usually fairly easy to get into. You just have to learn to go very gently on all the little clips and connectors.

[mcandmar]

I'm not sure if you have the same issue in your part of the world, but over here, the quick lube oil change shops will do their best to sell you a transmission flush.  Instead of putting in the correct fluid for a given vehicle, they just shoot in the ATF-du-jour and leave the manufacturer with the warranty claim.

That makes sense now you say it.  The whole quickie lube thing doesn't really exist over here, its either main dealer or an independent mechanic but nobody would ever think to do a fluid change unless it was part of the manufacturers service schedule.  To be honest automatics are so rare over here, i would estimate ~1% of cars on the road are autos, though that number is growing with manuals slowly going into extinction due to this flappy paddle nonsense that is taking over. I dont care if its 200ms faster i want to drive!

[Paul Birkeland]

To be honest automatics are so rare over here, i would estimate ~1% of cars on the road are autos

Yeah, manual transmissions are far more forgiving as far as fluid goes!  Us lazy Americans sure love our automatics...

[xcortes]

Since Doc mentioned Focals I'll jump in. I drive about 100kms each day so last year I got me a nice mini gp and installed totl focals with BE tweeter and a focal amp that I use with my cassette walkman. The speakers ain't bad (not cheap either!). The ride is amazing.