Mercedes Benz E350 experience?

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We'll be in the market for a new car to replace our 2010 Mazda 6 within the next year or so. A new Mazda 6 is at the top of the list, but we are also considering a 2013 or 2014 Mercedes Benz E350. In great shape with lowish miles, they can be bought for $30,000 + or - depending on options and mileage. Yes, I am fully aware that it will cost more to maintain and repair than almost any Japanese or American vehicle, but the E Class of those model years is showing to be a very dependable and relatively trouble free vehicle (according to Consumer Reports and others), especially among its German peers. They don't show up for sale very often, but I would consider the diesel model as well.

It would primarily be my wife's car, we would buy it with less than 50K miles on it, and it would be driven about 8K-10K miles per year. We generally like to keep our cars about 10 years. Anyone with experience with these vehicles? Is there anything in particular I should watch out for or be aware of? I'm still very early in the process, so I plan to check out some MB forums too. Thank you for your input.
 
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Don't fall for the German car maintenance meme. Those cars aren't really any harder to maintain than a Japanese, Korean, or American one. Sure, sometimes the parts are expensive or overly complicated, but the basics are the same as everything else.
 
Only experience ive had with MB is a 04 s600 amg. They will ofcourse cost a lot more to maintain....but my goodness are they beautiful pieces of engineering. I would also like to hear about 10 year longevity of the typical MB. If I have a bit more money I would seriously consider a lightly used one as well...coming from someone that will only buy toyota for the crazy reliability I have had with them (look at sig).
 
go for it, I purchased my ML320 with just 100, 000 km on it. Parts are NOT expensive or difficult to maintain unless you are looking for a Mercedes OEM item like a computer. Brakes, alternators etc can be sourced from anywhere (rockauto for example)

the 4 matic models are awesome in the snow and are reliable, it really is a simple system. the car runs two open differntials and a transfer case, when a wheel spins due to low traction the abs sensor detects the spin and applies the brakes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4Matic
 
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while i cant address an e class in particular, i have some experience entering and leaving the benz world. like you i have been tempted by previous generation cpo e class, and test drove several. however after two nice-driving cpo c class and then cpo glk i really got tired of the high benz operating costs. nothing broke but alternating annual $400 a and $600 b services plus $1200 at 40k miles, all at dealerships, were enough.

if i were to get any used benz i would: 1. go with fully reconditioned cpo. 2. have access to a well regarded independent benz maintenance guy.

i traded the glk for a cpo passat, and get 80% of the german driving experience at under half the cost. still, an e class is nice for sure and sometimes we need to treat ourselves...
 
Originally Posted By: 2004tdigls
the 4 matic models are awesome in the snow and are reliable,

Some of the 4matics in late 2000s / early 2010s had issues with prematurely failing transfer case. And because the transfer case is integrated with the transmission, the whole transmission has to be replaced. I'm not sure if MB has addressed this issue by now, and which particular models are affected.

The transfer case on our 2008 C300 4matic failed at 60K miles. The repair bill would have been about $8K had we not had an extended warranty. Reading through various MB forums, this was not an isolated incident.

The OP is in Texas, so he does not need 4matic anyway.
 
It's true, German cars are no more difficult to maintain or repair than anything else. For parts go to autohausaz. Com . Wouldn't hurt to plugin some normal wear items to checkout their site and prices before buying the car. I couldn't have run my 330ci for 10 years without them.
 
Originally Posted By: knerml
Per Edmunds - a 2014 MB E350 costs $.775/mi and a Mazda 6 $.335/mi. This is after 5 years and 15K mi/year.

https://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-benz/e-class/2014/cost-to-own/
https://www.edmunds.com/mazda/6/2014/cost-to-own/

$.775 is very high. For example, an 2014 Audi A4 costs $.561/mi. and a BMW 3 Series $.584/mi.


i dont think the majority of benz owners are driving 15k miles a year(although i've met a few exceptions with project managers that didnt mind the commute to work for a nicer house), that what the other car is for. My folks are interested in e350 as well for a weekend car. Looking at the 2015-2016cpos with newish command info system and led headlights
 
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I'd only get the 2013 if you still wanted Bixenons and the headlamp washers, that's basically the P2 package. Otherwise the 2014 has a lot more newer options, collision prevention assist, LED headlights (lighting package with curve illumination is extra). If you get a CPO, you can usually buy an extra 2 years of CPO coverage for around 2-3k. Or if you buy one with less than 50k you may be able to buy the extended warranty which would be good for 7/75 or 7/100k. Parts a bit more expensive but it seems that the more recent models seem to be more reliable in terms of hardware, but the cosmetics suffered like the wood trim and ripped seats but I think by 2014, most of those issues went away. From past reports of diesel models, I'd never get one just because of the low volume and the only ones who would know how to fix them would be the dealer. You don't find many diesel posts in the forums and when you do, not too many can help because they were so rare. Most everything else, basic maintenance and things like motor mounts, tensioners/pulleys, thermostats, brakes and things of that nature, you can have an indy do it so the costs are only high when you go the dealer. I've heard a rep there quote someone 1k for front rotors and pads on a regular MB, but parts from rockauto and Akebono pads can be in the $300 range and then either DIY or pay an indy $50-$100 to pop them in. The one I use doesn't care if it's an MB or a Ford, it's the same price and about the same amount of work.
 
My 2013 E350 which I had for two years was nice, but nothing great. The hype for Mercedes (and BMW) is all in the consumers head, not in the product. In 2013 (or was it 2012) they changed the E350 to Direct Injection. Much noisier
than the earlier port injection. I had a TSB done on mine that had something to do with the timing chain not getting lubricated on start up. (Or chain tensioner not taking up slack on starting). Also windows would often reopen about an inch. Learned that windows had to relearn how to close. (Hold windows switch up for five seconds to relearn).

Not a problem, but be aware that the 7 speed transmission does not start off in 1st gear when in normal mode. Starts off in 2nd. Only starts off in 1st when in Sport mode. Just do you know. Don't be alarmed.

Buying CPO great but if and when you decide to change your own oil, buy the Mercedes 5W-40 oil. I bought their 229.5 oil right at the dealer for $45. a case, six quarts, That's less than buying M1 at WallyWorld. I have it in my Sonata 2.0Turbo right now. (I like it in Turbo engines) My Lincoln is NOT Turbo and NOT Direct injected, (very quiet engine) plus Lincoln gave me a Free Maintenance Package (because of some issues I've had) so I'll let Lincoln do all the maintenance using Lincolns oil.

Good luck with the E350.
 
Originally Posted By: jstert
nothing broke but alternating annual $400 a and $600 b services plus $1200 at 40k miles, all at dealerships, were enough.



$400/$600 annual service really isn't all that bad in the grand scheme of things for a German luxury vehicle.

My father owned a 2009 GL450 up to 100k miles. It is an SUV, so a bit different, but running costs will be similar maintenance wise. I drove it to Florida a few times with him and the car was definitely a blast to drive on the highway. Smooth cruising, plenty of power, and you could feel how solid it was. The mechanical maintenance really wasn't all that bad (absolutely no problems besides a headlight bulb up to 100k), the main reason he got rid of it was the tires. It needed the special run flat tires (20" wheel option) that were very pricey. The tires only lasted 20k miles, and by 20k miles they were very bald. They were run flat, but you could only drive on a flat for about 1 mile at low speeds, and the tires just seemed very poorly made. He shredded 3 tires total over the course of owning it, had plenty of nails, etc. He tried two different Goodyears as well as Bridgestones, which were slightly better. In the end, he did way too much driving to spend that much in tires, which ended up being over $10,000 over the ownership period of the vehicle.
 
My father in law is a Merc junky and has had many. He always says his E350 was his favorite. Now, he always had it serviced at the dealer and could afford to do so. But he won't buy any other brand.

We had a 2002 E320 4MATIC and loved it. Nicest car we ever owned. It was higher mileage (145k when we got it). We had it for 2 years and 30k miles and in that time spent several thousand dollars on repairs and maintenance. I did my own oil changes (but they still cost something like $80). We traded ours in on a new VW Passat.

I think it boils down to this. They are fabulous cars. If you can afford to maintain it, then you will love it too. I hope to get another used one after the Passat gets to 200k.
 
Originally Posted By: ctrcbob
The hype for Mercedes (and BMW) is all in the consumers head, not in the product.


Just like a Lincoln, right?
 
Originally Posted By: drtyler
Originally Posted By: ctrcbob
The hype for Mercedes (and BMW) is all in the consumers head, not in the product.


Just like a Lincoln, right?



More so, for Lincoln
 
Originally Posted By: Ddubya
We'll be in the market for a new car to replace our 2010 Mazda 6 within the next year or so. A new Mazda 6 is at the top of the list, but we are also considering a 2013 or 2014 Mercedes Benz E350. In great shape with lowish miles, they can be bought for $30,000 + or - depending on options and mileage. Yes, I am fully aware that it will cost more to maintain and repair than almost any Japanese or American vehicle, but the E Class of those model years is showing to be a very dependable and relatively trouble free vehicle (according to Consumer Reports and others), especially among its German peers. They don't show up for sale very often, but I would consider the diesel model as well.

It would primarily be my wife's car, we would buy it with less than 50K miles on it, and it would be driven about 8K-10K miles per year. We generally like to keep our cars about 10 years. Anyone with experience with these vehicles? Is there anything in particular I should watch out for or be aware of? I'm still very early in the process, so I plan to check out some MB forums too. Thank you for your input.



Always had a benz or two and have two sprinters now.

Its a great ride.
Pay to have it checked out.
Buy the extended warranty if you can get it.

Problems with a Benz out of warranty are like a hole in your savings account if you go to the dealership for everything
Get to know a good third party Benz guy and the labor is about that of japanese cars.

All my benzes get expensive around year 7-10.
When I need electronic parts and they pop things like ABS modules and engine computers they are always over 1K
Ive never had those failures on my japanese or American vehicles.

Worth it? Depends on what you like, mine tend to stay tighter and quieter at 100K and up than my Japanese cars do.


UD
 
Had a 2012, nice car but nothing special. The LaCrosse/XTS/Impala platform is every bit as nice. That generation E is pretty solid, insurance is a small fortune.
 
My cousin seems to love her 2015 E350, I think she got the 9G-Tronic and all the options but leather. It's leased, newer Mercedes seem to be screwed together and built better than the Chrysler days. I'd still get an extended warranty for the electronics, even though Mercedes does call for different fluids(you can get M1 Euro formula at Wal-Mart and GC is readily available) they're actually not bad to work on under the hood.
 
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