Lexus.
2016 MB E350 - Sell or Keep?
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
The only reason they're more reliable is that they have fewer options. Less complexity translates to better reliability. Although the ones I have are pretty loaded which is why I bought them and the options have been pretty reliable. Common problems on this platform basically involves the entire platform. Keyless go, bixenons headlamps, parktronic, active curve illumination, massage seats, power trunk closer, etc are all working fine. Panorama roof had creaking noise issues, but you can drop the back headliner and tighten up the 6 bolts and secure with loctite in under an hour.
But the items mentioned by OP that resulted in almost $10,000.00 in repairs on a less than 5-year-old Mercedes aren’t exceedingly complex assemblies or parts.
My 14-year-old Tacoma is on its original engine mounts (rubber, of course, but the powertrain is very smooth; it doesn’t need fancy liquid-filled engine mounts), all original engine gaskets and seals (granted, timing cover seeps a bit, but a drop of oil has never hit the ground).
And, a design in which oil can wick into the wiring harness is bad design. Period.
It’s not just that the German cars are more complex. There are many egregious design deficits that lead to early failures.
I’ve noticed that you’re a tireless promoter and defender of Mercedes here. That’s fine if you know what you’re getting into and are willing to pay the higher maintenance costs.
Personally I really like how BMWs and Porsches look, and their design philosophy of performance and fit/finish first, etc. But if I ever bought one I’d have to go into it knowing it would cost a lot to keep one going.
Anyway, the advice you get here and in other places on the web is to avoid owning German cars out of warranty. Or lease. That’s because they tend to fail, and fail spectacularly, resulting in thousands of dollars in repairs.
Essentially, they’re for rich people, which ain’t me!
I like to buy a vehicle (not lease), and keep it for years and years, and extract every penny of its worth.
If I were to ever buy a lux vehicle, it would be Lexus. Because I know and trust Toyota’s engineering and QC. They really do focus on making a more reliable, longer-lasting vehicle, because of their very Japanese philosophy of saving face (as, I believe @02SE mentioned a while back).
To build something unreliable or that needed big repairs after 5 years would result in their reputation being sullied, and people’s trust in the brand being eroded (as has happened somewhat with Honda & Nissan over the last several years).
Mercedes, BMW, and, also, Volkswagen, have a different philosophy. Their customers are primarily more wealthy, affluent people who tend to trade cars frequently. Or lease.
He should get a Toyota Avalon and just be done with all of these repairs. The critic will keep the Avalon running just fine.
I bought our 2014 Lexus in 2021 with 71k miles on it. It was a Carmax car and in an unusual fashion I sprung for a little bit of warranty coverage on it. Within the first 6 weeks:
- new drivers seat belt retractor
- new sunroof motor
- drivers side lock motor
- passenger side lock motor
- fuel pump recall
- I replaced pulsing front rotors after a couple of months.
and it had the dreaded Lexus/toyota sunroof rattle, which I fixed with shin-etsu grease (thank you bitog). While I don’t think the previous owner took any care of the car at all, it was rather untoyota-like in the number of brokes it had when I got it. The warranty paid for itself, and since then its been a delight. despite the nuisance repairs, it’s basically a RWD Camry and stands a chance at racking up a lot of miles.
ours is a GS, and it’s a little high strung on the highway. An ES or LS is probably best suited as a highway cruiser.
- new drivers seat belt retractor
- new sunroof motor
- drivers side lock motor
- passenger side lock motor
- fuel pump recall
- I replaced pulsing front rotors after a couple of months.
and it had the dreaded Lexus/toyota sunroof rattle, which I fixed with shin-etsu grease (thank you bitog). While I don’t think the previous owner took any care of the car at all, it was rather untoyota-like in the number of brokes it had when I got it. The warranty paid for itself, and since then its been a delight. despite the nuisance repairs, it’s basically a RWD Camry and stands a chance at racking up a lot of miles.
ours is a GS, and it’s a little high strung on the highway. An ES or LS is probably best suited as a highway cruiser.
You should get a Mercedes E350 and just be done with all of these repairs.
Can you please shed some light on this fix? MIne drives me crazy, but I haven't really looked into it. Thanks in advance.
Or get two of them like me.
Most of the time, the Lexus forums find that replacing the rubber gasket surrounding the panel fixes it. There are a small number of cases where metal separation up in the roof mounts is involved. What I did was to buy Honda shin-etsu grease on Amazon and vigorously rub it into the gasket all the way around. The gasket then swelled up just a smidge and the change was complete and total. It’s silent now. I’m sure I’ll have to repeat periodically.
Thank you very much.
Try to sell it privately while still under warranty if it’s transferable. Many people will have a sense of comfort buying even if there is only a few months left on the warranty. Make sure to put warranty in the ad multiple times including the title. As a mechanic, you know that car will nickel and dime your friend once it’s out of warranty coverage.
He can put it up for sale and see if there are any bites while continuing to drive it. He’ll lose $5 posting a Craigslist ad if there are no hits and just his time creating the ad on Facebook marketplace.
He can put it up for sale and see if there are any bites while continuing to drive it. He’ll lose $5 posting a Craigslist ad if there are no hits and just his time creating the ad on Facebook marketplace.
I would want to buy a 2 or 3 year old lexus small suv or toyota rav4 or a used avalon. Those will be good to drive and reliable.
If his mileage daily is not a ton a new ford electric mustang base should be reliable and save a ton of expensive fuel. That would be my plan
If his mileage daily is not a ton a new ford electric mustang base should be reliable and save a ton of expensive fuel. That would be my plan
Move on between now and when warranty expires. Leave on a high note not in desperate situation.
So, the car has made it to 182K.
It was at the dealer two weeks ago since the lane keep assist no longer worked. The dealer replaced the front multifunction camera, which was a $1500+ job. Other than that, no issues. I think the car is in pretty decent shape. The dealer didn’t upsell a single item, so I assume they agree.
The CPO warranty expires in 2 weeks.
It was at the dealer two weeks ago since the lane keep assist no longer worked. The dealer replaced the front multifunction camera, which was a $1500+ job. Other than that, no issues. I think the car is in pretty decent shape. The dealer didn’t upsell a single item, so I assume they agree.
The CPO warranty expires in 2 weeks.
I've been keeping an eye on Fletcher Jones Mercedes which is one of the biggest dealers in the country. Inventory on E classes is still low. Around here, dealers that typically used to stock 20-30 cars are down to 1-3. They keep saying the shortage is starting to ease but still not seeing any inventory buildup yet. At one point a few weeks ago Fletcher Jones has around 80 E class cars listed which was a mix of cars already sold, on order and on the lot. Now that mix is down to around 40. I guess he should probably hold onto the car until inventory builds up again.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Makes me want another luxury car with an extended warranty
. Maybe when the car market cools down.
