E350d should I?

[AlpinaB5]

As a long term BMW owner I am thinking of making the switch to Mercedes. After 15 BMW's I am fed up with constant faults and BMW not honoring their warranty, so I am looking for a change. Currently running a 2019 530d X-Drive.

So you lovely experienced people, is there anything I should be looking at specific to these cars? I want a diesel at least 3 litres due to the amount of mileage I cover. I have my eye on a couple, one 2013 the other 2015 but a friend informs me the 9G box is the better choice? Really don't want to entertain a 4 cylinder car either.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[AlpinaB5]

MustangGT said:

I know a 3.0 is really great, but the newer 2.0 MHEV (electric assist) motor churns out 268bhp and you can achieve 800+ miles on a tank full. Pretty good really.

Thanks for your feedback but as said I don't want a four pot and defo no hybrid

[AlpinaB5]

CacheMonet said:

I can't speak to the E class specifically, but my C350 CDI of roughly the same vintage has been great. The OM642 engine has been used in Sprinters, Jeeps, S Classes, and is generally reliable. On more leggy cars there can be issues with the oil cooler seals and intake seals (the former sitting "in the V" so can be laborious to remedy). Mine has the 7G box which has been great.

I would recommend if you do get one to follow the procedure to reset the gearbox so it "relearns" it's new owner's right foot behaviour. For the 7G box, they can suffer conductor plate issues over time which are not economically repairable and result in steadily jerkier shifts. I am sure an E class owner can fact check me as to whether it applies here though.

You may find the engine slightly more agricultural sounding at low speeds compared to a beemer straight 6, but they do sound better when wound out IMO.

Thanks for the input, I need an E class as I am 6'2". I have heard about the oil cooler seals issue but I should be able to tackle that one myself if it arises.

Good tip with the gearbox though if I get one I will definitely do that

[AlpinaB5]

Summit_Detailing said:

Make sure you take one on an extended test drive.

I've had E,CLS & S and for me the driving position is flawed in that the pedals are offset to the right and the steering wheel is ever so slightly offset to the left resulting in sitting twisted in the seat.

I've never been 'seat sensitive' in the many cars I've owned or suffered any form of lower back paint but the above saw me visit a chiropractor twice to straighten me out once I had that lightbulb moment of 'I wonder if it's the car causing the pain'.

350d is a nice engine, certainly on a par with the equivalent BMW and Jaguar engines, I preferred the ZF auto in the aforementioned however.

As someone who has previously injured my back I will definitely pay attention to this! Thanks for the tip

As for the ZF box in my 530d ( as with my two 540i's ) I find it dimwitted and slow and never in the correct gear. The same gearbox was fitted to my G30 B5 however with ALPINA's own program and it was sublime. So I am interested to see how the Mercedes box compares.

[AlpinaB5]

Thank you for all your feedback. I am looking at a 2015 car now with a 9G box. I have a couple of colleagues who are serial Merc owners and they all agree the 7G box is not the best ( I'm not sure I believe it can be as dimwitted as the BMW programmed ZF boxes! ). I am going to arrange a test drive next week after the BMW dealer has had one final attempt at fixing my 530d. I am at the point now where I hate it so much I just want to set fire to the bd thing! The long haired general thinks I am mad going for a car that is at least four years older with previous generation tech but for me it's less to go wrong.

[AlpinaB5]

KPB1973 said:

Just to echo some of the input above. I bought a 60-plate 350Cdi estate, with 94k miles and 1 owner/FMSH for £7.5k in the winter. Bar a slowly-emerging rumble on the propshaft (probably the coupling) it's been fab. I did have to change the thermostat but it was a 10 minute / £50 job.

Very comfy, great noise suppression and a capacious boot. My only real gripe alongside the 7sp being a bit sleepy has been the economy; it does tend to take quite a while to climb up above 35mpg even on a run, and local trips are usually in the 30mpg region. My BMW 3.0l diesels have been far better in that regards - heck, even my 4.2d Cayenne was!

Cosmetically, the alloys have de-lacquered really badly - and I mean terribly - but that's an easy fix once I have a bit more spare cash.

Crikey! My 530d will do over 50mpg driven steadily. Even my B5 with a 600hp V8 would do around 35mpg on a run!

[AlpinaB5]

MrC986 said:

I'll add my experience.... nearly 3 yrs in to ownership with a 350cdi CLS Shooting Brake. An early oil leak was identified (normal place hidden in the engine), I had a broken wire that stopped the rear air suspension working and I have had to replace the battery. I've done some preventative jobs (replacing the rear suspension pump) & normal servicing but I've done 40k now (the first year I did 25k but it's dropped back now in use).

I had set out to buy a 5 series Touring but time/imagination saw me spot a 250cdi CLS which morphed into a 350 (why wouldn't you!!). Showing about 42mpg generally on my mainly motorway commute & it passed the 100k mile mark a month or so ago. We're so impressed that it could be sharing drive space with an ML350cdi soon as we need a towcar with more capacity than the XC60 we have.

I’ve been made aware of the oil seal problem on the V6 and I understand the water pumps also fail. I’ve still not driven one yet but as long as the seats don’t shake and rattle I might go for it. Apparently this is common on G30/G31 5 series with comfort seats and nappa leather.