Originally Posted by Kjmack
Thanks for your insight Edy. Yes you are correct with the MB forums not alot of info there or knowledge , I'm sure there is some helpful guys there but not very active .
I have always been on top of maintenance so Dad's car would be in good hands in that aspect . Thanks again Edy.
It varies with the age of the car. When they're new, they're under warranty so not too many DIY people as the dealer would just fix everything. As they get older and they get bought used without warranties, you get more people who DIY things. There are a few people on those forums who are very knowledgeable, but they don't always post and you need to ask specific questions about a repair. A few of them work at MB dealers so they have very detailed and specific info, but as they're working, they don't seem to post as much. The W212 forum is a bit quieter than the W211 just because it's been more reliable than the W211 and some later models are still under warranty.
For the 2013, the other things to look for would be faded wood trim. Not much you can do about that as it's already out of factory warranty and ELW and CPO didn't cover it. Open the door and check the wood trim hidden by the door, if the color is different, you have faded wood. Just something to be aware of. If you have MB-tex instead of real leather, check the seam in the middle of the driver's seat, that sometimes tends to rip. Real leather had vertical stitching and MB-tex had horizontal stitching with one right in the middle. The faded wood and ripped seat affected more 2010-2011 models, but it was still there even til 2014.
Thanks for your insight Edy. Yes you are correct with the MB forums not alot of info there or knowledge , I'm sure there is some helpful guys there but not very active .
I have always been on top of maintenance so Dad's car would be in good hands in that aspect . Thanks again Edy.
It varies with the age of the car. When they're new, they're under warranty so not too many DIY people as the dealer would just fix everything. As they get older and they get bought used without warranties, you get more people who DIY things. There are a few people on those forums who are very knowledgeable, but they don't always post and you need to ask specific questions about a repair. A few of them work at MB dealers so they have very detailed and specific info, but as they're working, they don't seem to post as much. The W212 forum is a bit quieter than the W211 just because it's been more reliable than the W211 and some later models are still under warranty.
For the 2013, the other things to look for would be faded wood trim. Not much you can do about that as it's already out of factory warranty and ELW and CPO didn't cover it. Open the door and check the wood trim hidden by the door, if the color is different, you have faded wood. Just something to be aware of. If you have MB-tex instead of real leather, check the seam in the middle of the driver's seat, that sometimes tends to rip. Real leather had vertical stitching and MB-tex had horizontal stitching with one right in the middle. The faded wood and ripped seat affected more 2010-2011 models, but it was still there even til 2014.