Hey everyone. My wife and I are looking to buy a nice used SUV that has three rows of seats to accomodate our three girls that are all in booster seats.

We've basically narrowed it down to the XC90 and the R350. Have any of you looked at the R350 and why did you chose to go with the XC90 instead? I've driven two XC90 (V8s) and one R350 (both at CarMax) and the R350 drove REALLY well compared to the XC90. As a matter of fact, one XC90 drove really loose. I actually think it might have some sort of issue with the suspension/steering and I recall seeing that there have been issues with the ball joints or something like that. Maybe the CarMax inspectors didn't catch it.

Anyway...I am very curious to hear your opinions. One thing I do like about the XC90 is that it has the built-in Booster, which we could use. That would mean we could have the three girls in the second row and still have storage in the rear. In the R350 we would only be able to use 1/2 of the storage area if we had all the girls in the car at the same time.

Thanks!!!

 

I dont know much about the XC90, but it is a Volvo. They are very reliable and very safe. I dont know much about theMercedes R350, but it is aMercedes. If there is one thing I know about mostGerman automakers, is that they are very exspensivein the long run. I am not hating on them, but My dad owns a BMW and it is nothing morethan a black hole inhis pocket.You can also look at a Volvo wagon like the V70 or XC70. They can also seat up toseven people, andI think they might be a little safer. This is just my opinion. If the Mercedesis a better car foryou then by all means gofor it.

 

I was in same position 2 days ago and was thinking of 2006 R500 or R350. After many test drives and reading few revies i just picked up 2005 Xc90 T6 with 49K on it for 17,900. I think it's a good deal. 10K cheaper then R350 and my wife likes it so far.

 

Go with the mercedes.

 

I have a 2004 XC90, 1997 960 wagon, 2003 Audi RS6, and 2004 Audi Allroad and have a lot of experience with Mercedes Benz as well. We have had 'zero' issues with the XC90 for over 70k miles. The 960 (other than very minor trim issues) has been absolutely reliable for 140k miles as well. I have been extremely impressed with Volvo. I have had a variety of Mercedes Benz cars (include an 1988 300TE and 1992 500SEL) that went well over 200k and were sold because we got bored with the driving same car after 10+ years. These too were very reliable. One major difference is that nothing ever breaks in the Volvos. The Mercedes Benzs were very reliable but if anything broke, no matter how minor, it cost $1000. Didn't matter what it was. Seems to be standard MB pricing.

Regarding current Mercedes Benz cars, I personally wouldn't buy anything made after 1998 (except for possibly a 2008+ C or S Class). Part of the reason we didn't buy new MBs when it came time is that a lot of our friends have had nothing but problems with their Diamler Chrysler products made since 1998. Chrysler seems to have been able to take MBs focus off of perfection. Not good.

These are my personal experiences. Take them as nothing more.

Patrick

 

I also have a 2004 xc90 and the list of things that haven't cratered on this car is much much shorter than the list of things that have. this is a 4 yr old car that has had a new transmission put in, new ball joints, new rear wheel bearings, engine mounts just to name a few. For a car that is sold under the slogan "volvo for life" it has been disappointing to say the least. It has been taken care of meticulously and still everything that could possibly go wrong on it has. It is now making a really crappy screeching noise upon starting and I am sure that will be another 700-1000 to fix. As for Volvo being cheaper to fix that Mercedes?? I don't think so. Nothing I have had to have fixed on this car has been under 1000.00
I honestly dread driving this car now.

 

I just read that it is a T6 you are looking at..... run and don't look back.

 

Ours is a 2004 T6 AWD and we absolutely love it. I understand your pain, however. I owned a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 3/4 ton, 4WD Suburban for 2 years. Cost $65k with every signle option available, as we expected to own it until the world ran out of fossil fuels. At the time we bought it JD Power said that it was the #1 quality rated full size SUV. Unfortunately, for the 2 years we ownded this piece of junk it spent over 8 months at the dealership (they were fantastic in dealing with this piece of junk. Serpentini Chev rocks!). Fuel , non start , suspension and 4WD problems made the vehicle so unreliable that it was a menace. We sold it a huge loss just to get it out of driveway.

Funny - all of our friends that have Suburbans love them. We are the only ones we have met with any problems. Bad cars are out there - even brand new.

 

Lemon Law.

Every car maker will have a fluck every once in a while.