What do I need to know - E350 Estate

[Crazyfool]

I currently have a petrol 2.0T A4 Avant S-Line which I want to replace with the latest face lift E320 estate with the AMG kit. I have a few questions:

- I've discovered from a quick trip up the A4042 with a C250 coupe struggling a bit to keep up, that the 3.0TDI is the choice for me. Will I notice much of a difference in performance?
- what size wheels can I go up to?
- does the engine have a timing belt or chain?
- what size SD card can the stereo system take?
- does the satnav have full postcode search?
- what's the advance cruise control system that uses the front sensors to regulate the vehicle when there's another in front of it called?
- is there anything else I need to know or look out for? Known faults, etc

Sorry for all the random questions.

 

[blue gnome123]

I've discovered from a quick trip up the A4042 with a C250 coupe struggling a bit to keep up, that the 3.0TDI is the choice for me. Will I notice much of a difference in performance? - you should notice a good deal of difference in driving. The e350 has a big spread of torque.
- what size wheels can I go up to? 19inch on mine I think are the biggest standard Merc ones
- does the engine have a timing belt or chain? chain
- what size SD card can the stereo system take? standard size SD card. I have a 32gb.
- does the satnav have full postcode search? Yes for full command not APS50
- what's the advance cruise control system that uses the front sensors to regulate the vehicle when there's another in front of it called? Distronic
- is there anything else I need to know or look out for? Known faults, etc. Not really as yet. They seem pretty reliable.

 

[Crazyfool]

- what size wheels can I go up to? 19inch on mine I think are the biggest standard Merc ones - what size SD card can the stereo system take? standard size SD card. I have a 32gb. - is there anything else I need to know or look out for? Known faults, etc. Not really as yet. They seem pretty reliable.

Thanks.

How old is your car and how many miles have you covered so far?

I don't understand why 18" wheels are standards on such a big car, particularly when I have the standard 18's on my car. What style wheel do you have? There's some nice Merc wheels out there.

It's good to hear the system will take a 32g SD because I already have one in my system now. There's been a problem with the older Audis that only take up to 4gb.

Does the boot have a cargo net?

I noticed there are two auto boxes, is one the dual clutch (or similar) system?

Sorry, more questions!

 

[blue gnome123]

My car is 18months old and has covered 19k. No problems so far.

I have 7 (twin) spoke AMGs, which are pretty good but with 30 section rears and being diamond cut they are expensive to repair and easy to curb. I also have some 18inch winter wheels which ride very nicely.

The boot has retracting cover and a pull up net on the back seats.

Only the e63 has the dual clutch. Everything else has 7 speeder autos or the latest cars can be soon spec'd (some disagreement on here though) with 9 speed autos.

 

[Crazyfool]

I have 7 (twin) spoke AMGs, which are pretty good but with 30 section rears and being diamond cut they are expensive to repair and easy to curb. I also have some 18inch winter wheels which ride very nicely.

Nice.

Only the e63 has the dual clutch. Everything else has 7 speeder autos or the latest cars can be soon spec'd (some disagreement on here though) with 9 speed autos.

So is there much delay between gear change?

 

[Teflonso]

If you're used to an Audi Multitronic then you'll be mildly disappointed with the Merc 7G. Saying that, although you can feel the changes at low speed it's an order of magnitude better than the slush box autos of old and I'm dead happy with mine.

Forget SD card size. Put your own POIs like speed cams and McDonalds on a small SD card and put your music on a whopping great SSD drive plugged into the USB port in the arm rest. I've got the six disc changer as well, but seldom need to play anything but the USB.

The estate has a pull up luggage net behind the rear seats plus the usual tonneau cover (auto opening), also luggage net tie down points in the back. No net supplied, but so long as you don't buy the official accessory they're not expensive. You can stump up for a fancy rail storage system if you are buying new. Don't count of using the spare wheel space - there isn't any in the E350. What you see is what you get.

The 3.0 engine is a peach. Easily a match in terms of smoothness for the 3.0 in the A6.

Distronic is free if you buy a VW Golf but costs a kidney on the E-Class. You already get something to beep at you if you drive too close, so unless you are a serial tail bandit you might not think it good value.

I'm pretty sure it's a chain, but in any case I checked the service schedule and it needs changing sometime never. None of that 3 year nonsense you get with Audi.

.

 

[Crazyfool]

Thanks both. What's servicing costs like and what's the general plan(variable / fixed)?

 

[DredsMB]

I'm paying £29 a month for a 3 year servicing plan on a E350 estate (June 2013 vintage)

 

[Crazyfool]

So does that cover 3 services?

 

[Crazyfool]

Now that I am looking for Mercs, I'm amazed how many rust buckets are out on the road. It seems most of the cars around are X and Y plates. I'm looking for something new to nearly new, but should I be concerned about bodywork issues at a later date?

 

[Dieselman]

In the main, no, but extra duration longevity still has to be proven.

 

[After Shock]

Post some ads you like which will get a response on particular cars.

 

[Teflonso]

Now that I am looking for Mercs, I'm amazed how many rust buckets are out on the road. It seems most of the cars around are X and Y plates. I'm looking for something new to nearly new, but should I be concerned about bodywork issues at a later date?

I sincerely hope not. I'll be keeping my for at least 6 years and did a lot of research beforehand. Couldn't find any comments about recent rust, but as Dieselman says, only time will tell.

I also researched the injector problems from a few years ago (very similar to the Audi/VW PD engine problems, but it didn't involve cars stopping suddenly in the outside lane).

It was all supposed to be solved on the 4 pot engines and didn't affect the V6 at all. Surprisingly, at my first A service last week it was also down for an injector and wiring loom check, plus re-route the loom. Parts were ordered in advance, just in case. With VAG, I'd have expected to have to take the car back after parts had arrived, so top marks to MB service folks so far.

.

 

[Crazyfool]

I'm probably going to wait until early next year now. What with Christmas coming and I need to spend at least £1k pulling out dents and dealing with scratches (none my fault by the way) it seems ludicrous to deal with it now.

I have however started looking at the E-Class a bit closer and I'm a little confused. What's the difference between the E350 AMG and the AMG sport