California resident wants to buy B250, please help

[queuetee]

Hi guys, great forums, btw.
I just want to ask B250 owners before I commit myself to 2017 B250. I just love the look of it, so I want to buy it instead of the Nissan Leaf, Bolt or the I3.
Obviously, this is a very risky decision since the B250 is discontinued. How really reliable is the car? I am pretty scared by reading some issues that B250 has. I live in Bay Area, next to Tesla , so in case dealer needs to replace motor or DU, it's fast to order from Tesla
It all comes down to this. Is it worth it to pull a trigger with the old B250, or I am signing myself to trouble along a line . All I care if it's worth the risk, I don't care the car has short-range and no quick charging.

Thank you so much ahead

 

[JeffRay]

queuetee,

Well, speaking as someone who leased a 2014 (unsuccessfully tried to buy it at a discount off lease purchase price), leased a 2017 (may try again to buy), I would say go for it but do the required checks.

1. Have it checked under warranty before it expires this year. Be sure that the prior owner did the annual required battery check or the battery warranty void.

2. Consider buying an extended warranty.

3. As a discontinued model, OEM replacement parts getting tougher to get.

4. Odds are greatly in your favor of no mishaps, forums highlight the occasional problems.

I would buy mine off lease but with covid, I don't really need the extra car. Am waiting for the EQC when it comes to US.

Hey, if you know someone in the car auction business, there is a cherry coming off lease in September with less than 10K miles, no issues. It would have to be shipped to you from NYC for about $1K. Black on black. Could go for $15K at auction.

 

[PatricioEV]

I've read and been concerned about the motor issues reported here as well, but so far, my '16 with ~40k miles hasn't had a single issue. I'm a MB fan and have owned several, so obviously I like the fact that I can drive a fully electric Mercedes, but I also love how unique they are. I live in Austin and since buying it, have not seen another. Teslas, though great, are at every street light. I like unique cars and this is definitely it since MB didn't even sell the ICE B in America. I did buy an extended warranty though - just in case!

 

[FordAnglia]

Hi guys, great forums, btw.
I just want to ask B250 owners before I commit myself to 2017 B250.

Welcome! "great forum" - indeed, great vehicle! Well appreciated by those of us driving one, in spite of MBUSA's decision to cancel the B250e program.

The biggest "hardware risk" is the failure of the MU (Motor Unit) and this was a serious problem for early MY (Model Years), but not for the MY2017.
There will always be a future risk of coolant leaks, about he same as an ICE vehicle of the same vintage.

The "Warranty risk" is more complex, the vehicle probably does not have the original manufacturer's coverage, and if over 10k miles as a used vehicle purchase an MBUSA extended warranty isn't available, but a third party one should be if you shop around.

The "Annual Battery Check" will cancel the battery warranty coverage if not done, so check with an MB dealer who can access the vehicle's VIN records. I don't know of any B250e high voltage battery failure. The B250e electrification and powertrain are lifted from the Tesla Model S.

BTW, I'm also a Bay Area resident, and enjoyed using my B250e to access the Ca87 HOV lane as a solo driver on my daily commute (before the COVID-19 WFH lockdown that is)

Can you share the color and mileage for your MY2017 B250e purchase?

Peter,

 

[barsaec]

We love our '15 B200. We had the drive unit replaced at 47k miles of the original warranty(rebuilt DU). We got it used with 38k miles from Los Angeles. It took our dealer 10 weeks to perform the repair. There was a lot of back/forth with MB Europe and Tesla. We got a new inverter as well as a DU. It has been 2 years since the replacement, and the car has been great! (Huge Knocking on Wood). We placed an order on a Model Y as insurance in case we run into problems with this car, but have decided not to buy it for cost/build quality issues. I have a hard time spending $63k and not getting near MB build quality. We tend to buy MBs in warranty about 2 years old, and now we own an electric, diesel, and gas powered MB. The B200 is awesome in the heat of south Texas where we use the hvac feature a lot. Nothing like coming back to a cool car when its over 100 degrees out. Ours is black with red leather interior and is loaded. We purchased ours for $20k back in Sep'17. We now have 65k miles on it.

Warranty is the issue. I looked into purchasing an extended warranty when we got the car back from the dealer as they only warrantied their work up to the 50k mile point and wouldn't sell us an extended warranty. We normally don't buy extended warranties, and accept that risk. So far we made out just fine on our '11 E350 Bluetec (sold) and the '16 GLE300d(another knock on wood!). Third Party insurers don't guarantee DU replacements. We need more shops like this https://electrek.co/2020/06/12/when-an-out-of-warranty-ev-fails-who-you-gonna-call/

Our attitude is enjoy it while we can, knowing our next EV will be much more expensive. Maybe an EQA. We do have Rivian reserved, and will get rid of one of the GLs. Good Luck!