The facelift did make a lot more changes than usual. This is what the What Car report said: -
”Mercedes claims the updated E-Class due to go on sale this summer will be free of the reliability bugs that have affected the current model since launch in 2002.
The revised car has been put through the most intensive testing schedule Mercedes has ever undertaken with a single model.
It features 2000 new parts compared with the outgoing car, including five new or revised engines and improved safety aids (see separate stories).
Mercedes has also been working with component suppliers to ensure uniform quality standards at every company which provides parts for the E-Class.
Its target is to reduce warranty claims to a lower level than those at Toyota, a company renowned for outstanding reliability.
Electrical glitches are among the most common problems experienced by the current E-Class. Mercedes claims to have ironed these out by testing every component separately outside the car to ensure durability under all conditions.
The braking system has also been changed. The 2002 E-Class had a part-electronic mechanism that was the subject of a recall campaign, but this has been dropped. Mercedes says it can now get the same braking effectiveness by conventional means.
In all, 1000 pre-production versions of the new E-Class were tested for a total distance of nearly three million miles. This will now become the schedule for every new Mercedes.”
Galvanising began on some E's towards the end of 2002 and all E's from the beginning of 2003. You have to check your build date rather than just registration date.
The problem with changing is that so many of the dealer 'nearly-new' ones are from the last promotion which gave free upgrade to 'Sport'. To me this is quite the wrong concept for the estate. The 18 inch wheels and suspension even harder than Avantgarde, make for a pretty harsh ride on the UK's poorly maintained roads.
If you can find Avantgarde, rather than Sport, with the standard 17 inch wheels (or better still as I managed to do, find one with 16 inch wheels) and you won't notice too much differnce from your air suspension. But on bad roads the air suspension gives a fabulous ride and, of course, you have the choice of comfort or sport settings.
Recent examples have i-pod connectivity and Bluetooth. Quite a few nice improvements. Worth seeing, sitting in and pondering. But if it is the 'Sport' model, drive on some poor surfaces before you get tempted.
