R Class suprise

[Deleted member 11979]

Test drove an R class today, a 320cdi SE SWB. What a cracking car, really comfortable and refined, and a bargain price compared to new. We have a 1 year old baby, one more due in August, a collie and live in Devon, so it semes like the ideal choice for those coutnry lanes and tracks withought the full 4x4 experience.

Maybe someone who knows can tell me what to look for on these, it still has manufacturers warranty, but would be nice to know.

Do the back lights "fit" tightly into the body, this one seemd to have small gaps on the top of both lights, same on either side of the car. There was no sign of accident repair and it is HPI clear, but I thought they might have been tighter.

Is it likely to carry on depreciating like a stone?

How on earth do you park one without Parktronic, this had one, but was very difficult to see out of when reversing.

Thanks for your help.

 

[timwood2000]

At last - someone (apart from me) who likes them.

No doubt hawk20 will be along in a minute moaning about the leg room or something.

The R class is an excellent car - providing you want a large car. During my search I compared it against a Q7/ XC90 / Discovery / E class and several others and this came out on top most of the time.

It is supremly comfortable and the 3.0 diesel is used across the range and is well tested and reliable.

Problem that people to encounter include the power tailgate failing, the rear side windows coming away from the mechanism and apart form that, not a lot else - and they are well known by the dealers and are of course warranty fixes.

Not sure about your light question - I have never noticed on mine.

The only thing I would say is you might regret not going for a LWB version for the extra middle row space and boot space - it would at least be worth trying both before you buy.

They have depreciated badly, but if you put them up against an ML, there isn't much in it to be honest (although watch now for the rush of ML owners who will argue differently!)

All in all, great car, not for everyone, but excellent value second hand and plenty to chose from.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

 

[stumpy1]

How rural is it where you live? The R is quite a big old bus and the thought of dragging its paint along a hedge would put me off using it.

 

[Mactech]

No real surprise that you found the car comfortable and refined. The ML is on the same platform and gets close to my S Class in cruise mode. At one year old the car has done its big chunk of depreciating and all used car prices now seem to be firming after the beating they have taken over the last few months. There is no guarantee that there will not be any more heavy losses, but I suspect that the values have now found their own level. If the R class fits your requirements then it represents great value.

 

[Meldrew2]

No real surprise that you found the car comfortable and refined. The ML is on the same platform and gets close to my S Class .........

Seriously?

My ML is nowhere close to my C 200 for refinement & ride comfort... let alone an S class. I am currently considering fitting additional wheels to the wing mirrors to reduce cornering roll......

I have come to the following conclusion.... your S class needs some springs!

 

[Mactech]

Seriously?

My ML is nowhere close to my C 200 for refinement & ride comfort... let alone an S class. I am currently considering fitting additional wheels to the wing mirrors to reduce cornering roll......

I have come to the following conclusion.... your S class needs some springs!

I don't have any springs on the ML or the S class so maybe I do need some! Both are on Airmatic and the ride and refinement at speed are comparable.
The ML has more engine noise at low speed and during acceleration. I did try a W164 on springs and found it had inferior ride, roll control and much more road noise. At the risk of causing offense, the W163 is still in the traditional 4x4 refinement league

 

[BTB 500]

The R Class is not really that big compared to (say) Viano / Caravelle / etc. which have been around on UK roads for many years.

 

[A210AMG]

I like the R class. Not many people do so thats good and bad for re sale I guess.

Think the LWB maybe the one to go for though? is the one saw fitted with individual seats? ie no bench at the back?

Bargain hard as some good buys and don't be shy put a low offer in...

 

[Deleted member 11979]

How rural is it where you live? The R is quite a big old bus and the thought of dragging its paint along a hedge would put me off using it.

There is grass down the middle of the roads rural, TBH it's a lot better to have something big because you can see over the hedges to a greater extent and see other vehicles appraoching. The only prolbem with it vs traditional Discoveries and so on is that when the inevitable happens and you lose a bit of body trim or have a tap, it could get expensiveto repair.

Caravelles and have been thought of, but on the motorway they are not really that refined, but other than that they are a perfect family wagon, especially when going to the tip and so on. Vito people carrirs are lovely too, but quite expensive I thought.

I will try and search out a lwb model, I didn't think it was unwieldly really so a bit more won't hurt. We rarely park or even go anywhere congested.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[r280]

I've been running my R-Class SWB for a year now (leased) and I am very pleased with it.

For 2 kids and a dog, I think the SWB would be fine. There is sufficient leg room in the back for adults, let alone kids - despite what some people might say.

In five seat mode the boot is pretty damn big -wide, tall and deep.

Only caution is the width of this car, especially on narrow-ish roads, but you quickly become used to it and it's not a big deal.

Only problem I've had with mine was a slight oil leak -fixed under warranty.

 

[timwood2000]

That'll teach me!

Got home tonight and oil dripping all over the driveway (and presumably all the way home too). Rang Mobilo at 8.15pm this evening and they are coming to take it away by 9.30pm this evening and deliver a hire car tonight also

If it goes according to plan, then that's what I call a good service - all for free too.

 

[timwood2000]

Almost went to plan - everyone late, but very nice and helpful. 58 plate C class sport currently on the driveway as of about 11pm. R Class off to MB Chelsea in the morning.

 

[Brett]

Almost went to plan - everyone late, but very nice and helpful. 58 plate C class sport currently on the driveway as of about 11pm. R Class off to MB Chelsea in the morning.

You should ask them for one of their E500's as a loan car (see cheap E500 thread)

 

[hawk20]

Is it likely to carry on depreciating like a stone?

How on earth do you park one without Parktronic, this had one, but was very difficult to see out of when reversing.

Thanks for your help.

Depreciation is stunning in the first year but levels off after that. Glass's Guide give these part ex values for a 320cdi SE SWB: -
2008 08 12k miles, £19,600 in average condition and £22,000 in excellent condition.
2007 on 07 at 24k miles £17,100 to £19,200
2006 on 06 plate at 36k miles £14,750 to 16,600.

Parktronic is very useful IMO.

 

[hawk20]

No doubt hawk20 will be along in a minute moaning about the leg room or something.

The R class is an excellent car .

No; not moaning. Merely reporting the fact that to get three rows of forward-facing seats in a car not much longer than an E class involved reducing the legroom in the front to less than you will find on an A class (or B,C or E or S etc). And pretty limited in the middle row too on the SWB version.

But fortunately not everyone has long legs. For anyone with inside leg length of 31/32 inches or less it will be fine in the front.

The boot is small on the 6 seater but is excellent on the 5 seater.

The engines, transmission etc are the same as for the E class and S class and so the driving experience is excellent. Nice high driving position like an ML, which many like and very comfortable.

A lot of things are extra many of which would be standard on an Avantgarde E class so check excactly what you want. Last time I looked, Bi-Xenons were extra and other things that surprised me. Spec one up and the list price is pretty awesome.

Unless you need four wheel drive, or lots of forward-facing seats, it is not easy to see what it offers above an E class estate.

It is very wide for English country lanes.

 

[James Rothwell]

I really like the R-Class, I think it's a really nice vehicle. But I like big tanks anyway.

Also like to point out something in reference to hawk20 post. Worth remembering that Glass' isn't gospel and I imagine that the R class is miles behind book, the clue is in the name Glass Guide, I imagine these are £2-3k behind book if I was taking one in. Which isn't bad compared to an Audi Q7, if it books at £36k I wouldn't want to pay a penny more than £25k unless I wanted to sit on it forever!

 

[r280]

No; not moaning. Merely reporting the fact that to get three rows of forward-facing seats in a car not much longer than an E class involved reducing the legroom in the front to less than you will find on an A class (or B,C or E or S etc). And pretty limited in the middle row too on the SWB version.

But fortunately not everyone has long legs. For anyone with inside leg length of 31/32 inches or less it will be fine in the front.

As predicted.......

Your assumption about people with legs longer than 31/32 inches is completely flawed - in real life very tall people are happy with the front leg room in the R-Class. A colleague of mine is 6' 11" - and presumably has long legs - he is happy in a R-Class...

Go figure!

 

[Mactech]

That'll teach me!

Got home tonight and oil dripping all over the driveway (and presumably all the way home too). Rang Mobilo at 8.15pm this evening and they are coming to take it away by 9.30pm this evening and deliver a hire car tonight also

If it goes according to plan, then that's what I call a good service - all for free too.

My S320 has only has one blot in it's copybook (and the driveway!) and that is when the oil filler cap failed and oil dripped everywhere. There is a gear right under the filler opening which pumps oil everwhere when the the cap is not tight. Only guessing, but I hope your problem has a simple solution like this.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I was suprised on the spec front, no auto dimming rear view mirror for example, but it has got full eather, front and rear parking sensors and the small wheels, which I prefer myself.

It's done 56k so from what you are saying it's asking price of £17.5 k is optomistic?

 

[timwood2000]

Yes, it does seem to be a low spec version. Auto dimming rear view mirror was an option. It looks as though memory seats is about the only additional option on this one. Leather (then) was standard for the SE model whereas the Sport had half leather/suede seats.

At that price there is a decent choice - notably this one looks like there is no Comand (Sat Nav etc) which is generally considered to be important on MB's for resale. There are several at the price you mention, although Sport models outnumber SE models by about 20:1.

Another thing to consider is the black leather - it can make the car very dark inside, but this is obviously personal choice. As mentioned before, there should be deals to be done as it is quite a niche market for R classes, so if your budget stretches into £20k, then the field opens up quite a bit.

In short, nothing wrong with the one you are looking at, but there are several others around with better spec for similar or not much more money.