Color is a big piece of the pie when it comes to buying a car. Sometimes it is the only piece. Today is one of those one-piece pies. This 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 up for sale in Arizona is finished in Pearl Beige Metallic, and what a color it is. To me, pearl + beige + metallic = gold. This is the first time I’ve seen a modern Mercedes-Benz in Pearl Beige Metallic and by the looks of it, I’m probably not the only one.
Your dollar doesn’t go very far if you want a Mercedes-Benz station wagon. I’ve expanded on the value of the wagons in the past, and that seems to be holding true in almost every example. However, if you really want a long body with a three-pointed star, you can find a good buy if you search hard enough or adjust your standards low enough. This 2006 E350 Wagon up for sale Tennessee is a little bit of both.
Death, taxes, and Mercedes-Benz wagons holding their value. Few things in life are guarantees, but those seems to be a couple of them. Why people gravitate towards the W123 and W124 Estates is pretty self explanatory, but what really surprises me every generation after than seems to be following this as well. The general rule I’ve always gone by is that all things being equal, the cost of the sedan + $10,000 = cost of a wagon. Seems crazy for some extra cargo space, but the results don’t lie. I thought maybe this wouldn’t hold true for newer examples as Mercedes-Benz now offers eight (!) different SUVs in its current line up and just one wagon, but nope, still a premium. Worth it? Maybe.
My never-ending quest for a replacement for my dying Land Rover for a winter vehicle (it is still ongoing) saw me look at a W210 Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate 4Matic and then went back a generation to look at a W124 Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate. It seems like most preferred the W124 and I can’t say I disagree, but I thought it might be interesting to head the other direction and look at a W211 E350 4Matic Estate. Mercedes made the W211 a little softer, a little sleeker and the biggest change was going from the M112 V6 to a M272 V6. The M272 was based on the M112 but with a bunch of little upgrades like continuous variable valve timing, the elimination of a mechanical thermostat and a dual variable-length intake manifold. Everything that sounds great on paper, but these early M272s had one major flaw that basically turns vehicles radioactive and unfortunately this wagon suffers from that. Of course I am talking about the dreaded balance shaft gears.
Outside of the E55 or E63 AMG, I don’t really check out many Mercedes-Benz W211s. There is nothing wrong with these cars, but rather the fact there isn’t much to say about them. It’s a mass-produced, run-of-the-mill mid-size sedan that does everything just fine. Nothing special or unique about them. Most were bought or leased for three to five years, dumped off to the second owner who rack up the miles doing the bare minimum in maintenance to the car until the cycle repeats enough times to where you can pick one up for $5,000 at the corner lot or everyone’s favorite, Craigslist. Today’s car, a 2008 E350, seems to be an exception to the W211 typical life cycle. This car painted in the amazing Flint Gray, shows only 53,000 miles and is actually for sale by an official Mercedes-Benz dealer. What gives?
Last week I checked out a W212 E63 S AMG Estate in the wild Dolomite Brown Metallic. Today we have another W212, but unlike the E63, this one doesn’t do 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds while hauling a load of drywall. This is just the regular 3.5 V6 that makes a respectable 302 horsepower. So what is so special about it? Well, if you haven’t noticed, it once again is the color. This 2015 E350 for sale in Charlotte, NC is painted in Indigo Blue Metallic and is one of my favorite modern Mercedes colors. It is a little bit of blue and a little bit of purple and a whole lot of awesome in my eyes.
We don’t feature a lot of new cars on this site, but the Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic Estate is due some attention for a few reasons. First, the Mercedes-Benz estate car has been overshadowed by a proliferation of SUVs in the company’s current lineup. Second, the car we see here in this post is about to be replaced for 2017. Third, this is a car that has been a mainstay in the Mercedes-Benz catalog in the US since the late 1970s. That kind of longevity deserves a celebration. This 2016 E350 4Matic Estate for sale in Northern Virginia is finished in Cardinal Red, the most vibrant of hues currently offered on this E-Class Estate.
I am officially dubbing this week “Mercedes Week” for myself. The majority of my recent posts have been BMW’s as that is mostly what I am in the market for but since the universe sadly does not revolve around me, I figured I best mix it up. What spurred this line of thought was a friend who suddenly found himself in the market for a new vehicle and asked for my help finding one. He wanted a wagon, preferably one with AWD as he lives up a particularly nasty dirt road in Vermont and his budget was about $10k. As with most folks in my native state, his first choice was a Subaru Outback and he found a couple solid examples right away. However given that he wasn’t completely married to the idea of having a Subie, he asked me what else he could get in the same price range with similar functionality. A4 wagon prices have stayed strong, particularly on the manual ones but the E-Class wagons, well those have depreciated significantly despite being a rather reliable rig. I found a few of these in his price range and a few that were decidedly not, clearly this one is the later.
At first glance I didn’t much care for this particular example, I’m not a big fan of tan interiors or light woodgrain accents. I much prefer a nice alcantara or perforated leather wheel, subtle dark wood trim if wood at all. However the more I scrolled through the pictures the more I began to appreciate the vibe this car is putting out. It conjures up images of trucking kids to private school and neighbors in a freshly minted subdivision waving to each other in acknowledgement of their mutual success. While that might not sound all that great I think it perfectly captures why this car is a solid option for the enthusiast with a family, ultra sleeper status. Nobody expects they grey wagon with a beige interior to be a fun drive anymore than they expect the Inquisition. A set of sticky tires, upgraded sway bars, bushings, and CAI would make for an entertaining and very incognito daily driver indeed.
