When it comes to kit—AWD, seven seats, an efficient diesel engine—today’s Nice Price or No Dice R350 has got it going on. Let’s find out if its price tag ensures those goods will soon be going to a good home.
Do you remember the good old days when a kid could wander alone safely in the woods and have the mysteries of their Tootsie Pop unraveled by a scholarly owl? Ah, yes, those were the days. Keeping kids safe is a tough job, and many of you agreed that last Friday’s 2003 Chevy Impala—with its dumb decals—would make for a safe first car for any teen. At $4,750, a concerned parent or guardian wouldn’t have to sacrifice value for that peace of mind, either. That proved evident in the Impala’s impressive 76 percent Nice Price win.
What happens, however, if the kids aren’t old enough to drive themselves to school? What’s to be done with those younger slackers? Well, that’s where a three-row minivan/crossover/SUV/thingamajig, like today’s 2010 Mercedes-Benz R350, comes in.
Mercedes’ classified the R-Class as an MPV or Multi-Purpose Vehicle. That, however, is arguably one of the most ambiguous designations ever. Pretty much any car could be multi-purpose, considering its capability to carry passengers, a few bags of groceries, or just the driver and some stale farts.
Regardless of what you want to call it, the R-Class is one of the weirdest, or at least most unexpected, vehicles Mercedes-Benz has ever produced. Sharing much of its platform with the off-road-capable M-Class, the on-road-only five-door R could be had with a choice of rear or automatic AWD, along with a number of engine options.
This one has the 3.0-liter OM642 V6, a one-time dirty diesel. Per the ad, all the emissions scandal shenanigans have been addressed, and the car comes with four more years and 47K left on that work’s warranty.
From the factory, the BlueTec-equipped and turbocharged engine was rated at 221 horsepower and a hefty 398 lb-ft of torque, so it should move the R’s two and half tons fairly smartly. A standard seven-speed automatic and Mercedes’ 4Matic AWD round out the mechanicals.
Despite its position as a family hauler, this wagon is equipped like a Benz, which means it’s pretty swank inside. That means three rows of leather and decent vinyl seating surfaces, a smattering of wood trim, and not one but two panoramic sunroofs. The seller claims the cabin to be in ‘perfect shape’ and demonstrates it to be capable of handling a child safety seat in the back-most row.
On the outside, things appear fairly tidy as well. The appliance-white outer coat isn’t the most dramatic, but it at least looks to be in un-marred condition. It’s the same story with the factory alloys, which seem to have never been introduced to a curb. There does look to be a sizable dent in the rear hatch, which apparently isn’t impacting the opening and could likely be addressed by a roving band of PDR experts. The ad notes 133,000 miles on the clock and a clean title. The asking price for this utilitarian but still Mercedes-posh wagon is $7,500.
What’s your take on this now-clean-living R350 BlueTec and that $7,500 price? Is that a fair asking? Or is that just asking for trouble?
You decide!
Santa Clarita, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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