Which one to buy? E90 BMW vs 2015-16 Mercedes E350

[MCompact]

My E36 3er and my wife’s E84 X1 are the only cars in my garage with steering that lets you know exactly what is going on at the front wheels. That said, the somewhat I brash nature of the W205 C43 caused me to choose it over a M240i or M340i. The suspension is tighter, the exhaust is an absolute hoot, and the controls and displays are designed for an enthusiast. Every time I switch it into Sport+ and attack a winding road it reminds me of what BMWs used to feel like.

 

[CBR.worm]

FWIW, we had a '10 E60 w/ the N52, the car was fairly solid to 100K. The usual oil leaks, broken 'head' bolts - bolts in the head, inside the valve cover, but not actual head bolts. The valve cover had to be done at 40K and 85K. At ~100K the wiring harness was disintegrating, the insulation would flake off the engine or headlight harness if you flexed a wire. We replaced it with a 2016 E400 lease. It was fine, during the lease, both batteries had to be replaced a couple times. There was some sort of communications unit that failed, and random A/C issues - everything was covered under warranty, we turned it in with 35K miles. After owning both back to back, we preferred the BMW, and considered it to be reliable, despite the repeated oil leaks, etc. We replaced the E400 with a 2019 BMW G30 540i which has been far better than either of the previous cars. It is now at 85K and has had batteries once and a valve cover (PCV issue, under warranty). The car still looks and feels new interior-wise. The engine is still dry. I preferred driving the E60, but mechanically, this car seems to be significantly better so far.

 

[Clatterstan]

I also like that you can buy a base model 2006 325i and it will still have all the same charm the other models sharing the chassis have. A friend has a 2006 325xi that is closing in on 260k miles. It has needed some maintenance over the years obviously, but still just as tight and crisp to drive as my car.

The steering is also one of my favorite attributes. I jump in a new car with EPS and feel like with a twitch of the steering wheel I could flip it over into the median.

My wife and I still love our 2008 E91 (N52) wagon, but as the miles continue to accumulate (crossed 350,000 miles last night), I’m beginning to look for something new. As a child, our family car was an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, so wagons have been a big part of my life and like their versatility. Initially tried the BMWUSA build your own configurator, but found it annoying! It shows a selection of options and packages, but when you select one, its rejected because it isn’t available with the body color selected. Beginning to look at Audi and Volvo.