Mercedes E250 Bluetec

[Steve Addy]

I guess that's one way to justify what you did. Seems odd that since the NHSTA just invented a new measure for crash safety you feel all cars that don't meet it should be thrown out. What if they come up with another one next year that your Mercedes won't meet? Will you throw that away?

I think choosing a car that provides some current measure of safety is prudent. But I also think any VW built after 1992 provides a reasonable level of passive safety. Perfect? No. But you could also take a trip in an obsolete airplane. Or stay in a hotel with no anti-skid in the bathtub. Or a faulty sprinkler system.

I was in a small offset crash in my '99.5 Golf. I was nearly stopped, other driver was going over 40 MPH. Her Corolla was destroyed and she had back injuries. I got a mild concussion. That (now 15 year old) VW protected me fine. I'd bet on it again.

Couldn't agree more OH.

I'm rather slack-jawed regarding the logic used by the two PP's regarding 1) disposal of his older Jetta and 2) the safety non-issue.

Steve

 

[ssamalin]

If "2015 IIHS BMW 5 rating for small offset was M for marginal" doesn't tell you something I'm not going to repeat the already extensive discussions on this thread. If you you look back on it further the discussion was on similar IIHS ratings issues on the Jetta 2007, my previous car. Traffic safety is down in the age of idiots staring at their smartphones. I want to drive a car with seat belts and modern crash score tested construction.

 

[PeteZ06]

I don't know... that E Class seems like a death trap with that structurally flawed A-Pillar.

I guess you should be ok if you never get into a head on collision.

 

[ssamalin]

The E class had 4 stars for front collision which is a good rating. That's not a death trap. Unlike the "minimal" rating that the BMW 5 and my old Jetta had. Or are you just trolling?

 

[Tin Man]

FEW CARS PERFORM WELL IN NEW INSURANCE GROUP CRASH TEST
AUGUST 13, 2012
Mercedes has always been the leader in car safety (uh, not Volvo) as it allows other car companies to use its safety patents without charge, although there are some detractors against some of the Nanny features.

Safety is relative to driving habits, experience, and car volume/weight although recently fatalities were less related to size.

TM

 

[ssamalin]

Exactly. In 2012 IIHS identified this major, deadly flaw in car crash safety design, small offset crash protection, when the drive hits a pole on the corner of the driver's side. As it describes in the link you have, it was a devastating flaw. In 2014, the MB E250 BT corrected it.

 

[PeteZ06]

The E class had 4 stars for front collision which is a good rating. That's not a death trap. Unlike the "minimal" rating that the BMW 5 and my old Jetta had. Or are you just trolling?

No.. I just like *****ing with you because you take it so personally.... LOL... its only a car... just enjoy it.

 

[ssamalin]

No.. I just like *****ing with you because you take it so personally.... LOL... its only a car... just enjoy it.

Trolling then. Which you need to stop doing.

 

[PeteZ06]

Trolling then. Which you need to stop doing.

YESSIR!!*





































*not

 

[Tin Man]

No.. I just like *****ing with you because you take it so personally.... LOL... its only a car... just enjoy it.

Well, this thread is heavily populated with ssamalin posts, so yes.

TM

 

[ssamalin]

50k service

1700 doubloons. 500 for the 50k, 400 for battery, 300 rear brakes, 500 fuel filter. Anyone have any anal coolant? Turns out using cruise on the hills to work and back burned out my rear brakes. From now on, I'm downshifting on the down hills, no cruise. Cruise is just for flat roads. And I guess 50k isn't that bad for a battery. I'm feeling the need to spread them for this dealer, not sure who else to go to at this point. Warranty is to 100k, so that is sort of a trap too. I have the best car in North America, even with a 2015. Yea, best not cheapest. I'll just pay the man, and look for a Trusted Mechanic at 100k.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I wonder how hard it is to replace the fuel filter. Here's the OEM one we sell: https://www.idparts.com/fuel-filter-oem-om651-p-4625.html The MANN we also stock (probably the same filter, as it's most likely a MANN filter in the OE box) is $79.95.

And $400 for a battery? I recently priced an OE replacement battery for my BMW 335d. Retail was about $180. I would expect the M-B to be similar in cost. I think 50K miles in a mild climate is pretty poor service life for a battery. My cars live in New England and batteries usually last about 8 years.

Did they replace pads and rotors on the rear? If so, $300 may not be bad. If not...

 

[Tin Man]

Dealer prices!

Its not the cruise control. The rear brakes come on first and are predominant if you have a light touch to save fuel.

Best car in NA - nah. Its like porridge: the "sport" suspension is too stiff, the "luxury" suspension is too complex. The "best" car of this type was the 2005-2006 W211 standard E320 CDI which was equipped with a non-hydraulic luxury suspension - yet mine handled excellently....

TM

 

[ssamalin]

I wonder how hard it is to replace the fuel filter. Here's the OEM one we sell: https://www.idparts.com/fuel-filter-oem-om651-p-4625.html The MANN we also stock (probably the same filter, as it's most likely a MANN filter in the OE box) is $79.95.

And $400 for a battery? I recently priced an OE replacement battery for my BMW 335d. Retail was about $180. I would expect the M-B to be similar in cost. I think 50K miles in a mild climate is pretty poor service life for a battery. My cars live in New England and batteries usually last about 8 years.

Did they replace pads and rotors on the rear? If so, $300 may not be bad. If not...

Thanks IndigoBlueWagon. I really think I should have declined the battery job since it was never any problem. I thought maybe they were replacing some other parts of the wiring with the battery. Could "eco" mode (shut off during idle) wear out a battery? Fuel filter seems nuts, but not something I can not act on. The brakes were just the pads as far as I can tell. Can't face them down too well yet. There's a shop right down the block. Maybe next time I'll take it to them after the dealer tries to ram it it. Thanks for your advice.

 

[ssamalin]

Dealer prices!

Its not the cruise control. The rear brakes come on first and are predominant if you have a light touch to save fuel.

Best car in NA - nah. Its like porridge: the "sport" suspension is too stiff, the "luxury" suspension is too complex. The "best" car of this type was the 2005-2006 W211 standard E320 CDI which was equipped with a non-hydraulic luxury suspension - yet mine handled excellently....

TM

I'm going to put a beautiful 2008 E320 CDI listing on the for sale thread.

 

[PeteZ06]

Fuel filters are sooooo easy to replace.. at least they have been on my VW TDI, Audi TDI, e320 CDI and now the 535D looks just as easy..... Is it really that much work on the E250 that they're charging you $400 in labor.... that sounds asinine.

 

[ssamalin]

Yea. And the battery was the worst. I should have just told them I'd wait. I need to find a shop that I can get second opinions at. Next time I'll be ready. Up until now I've had pre-paid maintenance. My extended warranty makes me take their gouging, but I can use an outside shop and still claim coverage.

 

[PeteZ06]

There are a ton of videos and write ups on almost any vehicle out there on common maintenance procedures.. I bet with a few basic tools you should be able to do this yourself... and the cool thing is that you're going to feel so good that you got it done yourself along with the amount of money you'll save.

Haynes Repair manuals are great and a good investment, especially if you plan on keeping your car for a few more years.

 

[ssamalin]

new seat fix: the silver bubble wrap sun shield. Chopped off about 6", fanned in half, laid on sideways. Forms a slick, hip suspending bubble.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ssamalin]

55k

Great car. The only big, four cylinder, bi-turbo diesel car in NA. It's fun, fast and excellent handling. I barely can recall what went wrong in the hundreds of posts I made here, it wasn't much. If I lose this car, I'd replace it with another of the same. My mpg since highway commuting for about a year is 35.

 

[ssamalin]

Paddle Shifting

I down shift by taping fast bursts. Off the freeway about three separate levels of rapid sets of paddle taps.

 

[ssamalin]

New 3 series

There is a new gen of the Beamers out soon I think. The 3 series is getting lower and wider maybe. If there's a new gen of the 328d I may test drive it. For financial reasons would like to trade in my E250BT, but I need to find a better or at least comparable car first.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Rumor is BMW will stop importing diesels after 2018. Hope it's not true, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[ssamalin]

visors

The 4 visor box approach isn't that good. Lately I slide out the driver visor and swing it at a 45 degree. That way I drive with my left eye sometimes when the sun hits or move my head to the center.

 

[ssamalin]

2018 328d

I looked at that car. To my surprise, IIHS is splitting their small offset crash test into more categories such as leg protection. Score was acceptable not good on leg protection so the 3 series still has basic structural/safety flaws. I test drove and the rear end seemed to bottom out on a small bump. 0n the plus side the adaptive leds seemed awesome. The new 3 series is out this fall so if there's a diesel I will try again. The dealer seemed willing to deal on the 2018 price, but so far not that interested.

 

[PeteZ06]

I looked at that car. To my surprise, IIHS is splitting their small offset crash test into more categories such as leg protection. Score was acceptable not good on leg protection so the 3 series still has basic structural/safety flaws. I test drove and the rear end seemed to bottom out on a small bump. 0n the plus side the adaptive leds seemed awesome. The new 3 series is out this fall so if there's a diesel I will try again. The dealer seemed willing to deal on the 2018 price, but so far not that interested.

The rear end seemed to bottom out? Unless the car was missing suspension pieces or you weight 1000 lbs... thats very unlikely.

I'm not a fan of the 3 class, even though theres one in the household. Its an entry level BMW and sure feels like it.

 

[ssamalin]

60K service

I am trying another dealer since my last anal open pit mine job of a $1700 oil change. I'm just picking a dealer that seems to have a large service dept based on internet crap. If I am again ass-aulted I will try a specialty shop, but that may invalidate my extended warranty. I think if there's a next time I'll skip warranty beyond my pre-paid service which was overcharge free as long as it lasted. The car however is running flawlessly.

 

[ssamalin]

Sprinter

I was marveling at how huge those vans are, like 4 VW mini-vans of old glued into a big rectangle. All powered (very well I hear) by almost the same 4cyl I have in my E250BT, the difference being the Sprinter is single turbo and the e250 is bi-turbo. This is a fabulous engine.

 

[ssamalin]

60k Service, be afraid

Estimate so far for 60k is $550 service, plus $650 to change trans fluid. Estimate for 50k was $200 which popped up to $1600.

There's an E250BT for sale with low miles nearby. Maybe I should trade in instead. Hard to think of trading in a flawless running car. Not only would I have to put down a chunk, I'd have to put full size tires on. Then there's the small chance that somehow the car was rebuilt after a crash and isn't on Carfax, or is a lemon or wasn't maintained. Or just move to Berlin and get the 2019 next gen E class diesel which if it was here I wouldn't be writing this I'd be driving it. Warranty is 100k, 40k to go. Maybe I can find a shop that is certified to do maintenance now that preserves the warranty. Scary. Trick or Treat.

 

[oilhammer]

Why would you trade the car because it needs a scheduled PM service???? Why own a car like that if service costs make your wallet pucker?

Or perhaps find a non-dealer that can accomplish those things for perhaps less money. The parts are generally not super expensive in the aftermarket. I just did a brake job on the rear axle of a 2014 M-class CDI yesterday, it wasn't anything spectacularly expensive.