B250 Owner's reliability experiences

[oilerlord]

I purchased it used, less than $23K, and was the best money I ever placed on a car.
Fingers crossed, if it holds, I will turn 100k miles on it in no time. That is over 4k gallons of gas I will not burn, and $12k in my pocket.

How long have you owned your car, and how many miles on it?

I'm still waiting to have my 2014 B shipped to Montana...can't wait to start driving electric, and charging it up with my solar. This will be the first car I've owned that has the potential of paying for itself over the long term. You may save more than $12K; gasoline prices are unusually low these days, which may have also factored into why we were able to buy our B's for peanuts.

[jetkit]

Got it in january. 500+ miles per week.
We may trade in the leaf on another B.
Will see.

[AndyWest]

Picked up a 3 year old, off lease 2016 b250e - wife has taken it over. So far so good, except faint whining noise I can hear with window down and close to a wall. With windows up the car is pretty silent. Everything works as it should. I also visited a local dealer (W.I. Simonson MB in Santa Monica) and got quoted some absurd prices for "maintenance". Their "Value" package would check the tire pressure, correct under-hood fluid levels , check the brakes and brake fluid, change cabin air filter, check traction battery and replace silicone desiccant cartridge plus "complimentary" car wash - all for $917.85. Oh, and replacement for wiper blades are included. I've just wanted the traction battery inspected (which should be free as per MB USA) and they outright refused! Don't feel they have been honest with me at all.

[JeffRay]

AndyWest,

Perhaps another CA owner can direct you to an honest MB dealer for the desiccant cartridge work plus annual battery check to maintain the battery warranty plus traction warranty. You can check tire pressure, brake fluid. There are no other fluids to check other than washer fluid (other than battery coolant)

Find another LA deale but do your annual battery check.

The faint whining noise as described is likely the pedestrian warning. If you hear a high whining noise when driving, which is rare, that is a precursor to a motor problem. Not talking about the pleasant hum when picking up speed, that is normal.

Welcome, trust wife enjoys the ride.

[AndyWest]

AndyWest,

Perhaps another CA owner can direct you to an honest MB dealer for the desiccant cartridge work plus annual battery check to maintain the battery warranty plus traction warranty. You can check tire pressure, brake fluid. There are no other fluids to check other than washer fluid (other than battery coolant)

Find another LA deale but do your annual battery check.

The faint whining noise as described is likely the pedestrian warning. If you hear a high whining noise when driving, which is rare, that is a precursor to a motor problem. Not talking about the pleasant hum when picking up speed, that is normal.

Welcome, trust wife enjoys the ride.

JeffRay,

So I got a chance to ride in a friends 250e, and it did not have the electric whine! I took my 250e to the dealer immediately, and they agreed to change out the drivetrain. Took them couple days to do it, and after a weekend with a loaner (GLA 250) I couldn't wait to get my 250e back. GLA felt like "basic car", I couldn't believe how much nicer 250e is. 250e drives like a luxury car, heavy and solid, while GLA 250 had a bone shaking ride with a whiny, underpowered engine. It did have power hatch, but that's about it. So there it is - I guess the engine whine is a common thing as my friend had the engine replaced under warranty as well. Also got my battery inspected as well.

[Cardonman]

Good for you! I just had the battery in for recertification. A car wash and 30 point inspection at $0 cost. The new service rep couldn’t believe it. (!)

[oilerlord]

45,800 mile update:

No issues with the car whatsoever, however I've noticed the battery doesn't have the "cold cranking power" in winter that it had when I picked it up with 6K miles on it. In particular, and as others have reported, once the outside temperature goes under 50F - range plummets but I'm noticing I lose a few more miles each winter, especially the colder it gets. In the summer, I'm still at 90-100 miles on the available 28 kWh capacity.

I thought about trading it in for something else, but you can't beat zero car payments and I can't find any logical reason for doing so. For those with a second car available for longer trips, you'd be hard pressed to find another EV that beats this Benz on overall value given it's level of luxury and practicality.

[JeffRay]

Hey oilerlord,

Great to hear from you. Assume you saw the winterizing post which I am going to try. Yeah, it is my second car which I use only to get about NYC in all but the winter months. Having just experienced sub freezing overnight temperatures, I have decided to avoid driving it first thing in the morning if I left it on the street overnight. Will drive if parked inside a commercial garage or if my wife's wagon is not available. Will even drive my roadster which does not have a working heater as I am getting tired of constantly seeking a free charge either at the dealer or overnight at work place.

[oilerlord]

Yeah, it's been a while since I posted here. Too bad the 250e community is so small. I think MB would have had a bigger hit on their hands if they were somehow able to cram a 60 kWh battery in the thing, but then again, they never intended to sell a lot of these cars. It's pretty obvious 250e's were made to be leased, not owned. I'm nowhere near an (authorized) MB EV service center, but I have done my own desiccant cartridge replacements. I'd be curious to know the state of my battery's health to see if it's within the warranty's normal degradation - or if they'd even honor a warranty claim if the time came to do that. I'm guessing I'd be out of luck on that one.

[dooferorg]

Reading this thread since I'm looking at the idea of buying a 2014 through 2016 B250e. It's good to know about some of the issues that people have faced.