AMG_Freak

Hi forum.. Sadly sold my C32 AMG awhile ago to get something larger. Had a '13 Lexus GS350 F sport for a few months before getting rear ended. Loved the Lexus' technology but missed the HP and torque immediately from the baby AMG. Been eyeing the E550's for a while trying to find one with the options I wanted. Narrowed down between two with a price difference of around 9-10k!! Looking to find info and figure out which is the better buy! Hoping the E Class community shows as much love as the W203 folks.

Both have few things that don't work quite right or needs repaired. Looking for advice before making to the purchase to see if there's any major/minor concerns to be aware of with this model. Also, any potential after purchase costs to consider and maintenance.

Both are fully loaded 2010 P2 E550's with Driver Assist Package, Dynamic Driver Seat. (only missing the pano sunroof). https://mbworld.org/forums/images/smilies/nixweiss.gif

Car 1, one owner, maintenance maintained at MB dealer, last record 60k performed. 73k miles, $23,600 (fees and title included, I'll have to pay for taxes in TN since it's the next state over), I cover repairs. Concerns below:

1.) Car shook horribly when braking from off ramp. Looked like pads and rotors need to be replaced. Probably could use an alignment too. Are there good after markets (if so what brand) or is it better to go with OEM? Is this car known to burn thru brakes and rotors? What's the estimated costs for a good set? google found me a full set for around $480 on higher side.

2.) Parking sensors didn't work initially, parking sensor off button didn't seem to do anything. Restored to factory setting from menu, got 2 of 4 fronts to alert, none in the back. Is this a common problem? Every E550 I've been in had problems. Is there something that needs to be reprogrammed or is it a costly repair? Not really a deal breaker but would be nice if they all worked.

3.) It's a shame the Distronic sensor on the grill is a little cracked but seemed to work fine. I know the OEM part number, also found OEM used on Ebay for $200. Gonna call MB parts tomorrow for pricing. Anyone know if it's plug and play or is programming required from the stealership?

4.) Lady bug sized crack in front windshield. found replacement online quickly for around $200. What's a good price for replacement and labor?

The original price of vehicle was $25,300. Thinking I shorted myself when they asked how much I'd be comfortable if I took care of the repairs when they quickly accepted $23,600. They seem like a nice private dealership w kind people. Might try to renegotiate to cover more labor costs. Could really assess repair costs from my smart phone. What should I ask for to keep costs around or below 25,000?



Car 2, 1 owner, 19k miles, no service records, $34,599 out the door price with fees T&T, repairs covered by dealer or I cover for $1k off. Concerns below:

1.) Lane keeping assist wasn't working during test drive. Menu had error stating system inoperative. They were saying it probably needs to be reprogrammed by MB. Is this a pricey repair if I cover myself?

2.) Dynamic seat bolsters didn't active in sharp turning even when enabled. Driver seat right bolster didn't respond to controls either. They said possibly it's a hose that's clamped that controls the bolsters. Is this a pricey inspection/repair?

3.) There was a telephone wire hanging near the sun visor. They weren't sure what it was for. I noticed the cover above the rear view mirror was loose and figured it was for TeleAid or something. The salesman didn't know.. I told him it was for a fax! haha.. Any ideas what it may be?

Not sure the $9k difference in price is worth the additional 50k miles. My 02 C32 AMG had just over 100k miles when I sold it and didn't really have any mechanical problems and I didn't do the recommended maintenance with the dealer. Pretty much just changed the oil and filters and it ran like a top! I know 19k miles is always going to be better but I don't know it's really $10k better unless you guys know of problems starting to occur around 70k miles.


Does anyone know if the 2014 tail lights are compatible with this model? Thought I read that is was with P2 packaged models but wiring may be required. Where do I find this wiring diagram?

Is there any way to stream music from phones via bluetooth? Aux cable is a little tacky in this car, just imo.

Why doesn't the backup camera have guidance lines? Even my buddy's maxima does that.

Sorry for the lengthy thread. i know it's super long.. Hope to get everyone's insight to fill in the blanks above. Thanks in advance..

Leaning towards purchasing Car 1 this coming Monday! https://mbworld.org/forums/images/sm...es/naughty.gif

homeofstone

I would keep looking and walk away from both cars. My 2005 e500 has over 135,000 miles and everything still works on it, so IMO the cars you listed have not been kept up well.

homeofstone

What about this one. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...03411120&Log=0

bob2011

Run from both as fast as you can.

aquinob

Couple of questions. Are either of the dealerships MB dealers? If not, do they know how to fix these cars? I'd be a bit dicey with some small place or some non-MB dealer trying to do the work, they don't have access to the diagnostics or the repair information or expertise. And both of these cars sound like they have some significant electrical issues going on.

9K for a 50k mile differential? That's not that out of line for something relatively late model. They tend to calculate the selling price mileage based on that .25 a mile they tack on for overmileage on leases. You're seeing a bit less than 2K per 10K miles, that's not terrible and I would always favor the low mileage model as long as it was fairly well sorted out.

Yes you can stream Bluetooth, if command has been updated.
No, the camera doesn't have any lines, sucks but that is the way it is. Be glad it has a camera, lots of the C class cars of the same or later years still don't. Makes no sense at this price point.

The thing with the 550's is they are much harder to find than the 350s so you are either going to pay to get a real clean copy or you may have to travel farther to get one. I'm pretty sure they also have the air suspension, and though I haven't heard of any great issues with the w212's, the older S class cars do have some issues when they get long in the tooth.

With either car I would recommend having the seller do all the work and then have the car checked out by a good MB mechanic either at a dealer or indy shop. For sure it would be a good idea to get some type of aftermarket warranty on the one with the low mileage if you go that route. At least get it for a year or two to make sure you sort out any electrical gremlins.

I would also negotiate for them to do a tranny flush or deduct the price of it along with a brake flush. Those are significant enough to tip the price and even though the 19K car doesn't have the miles, it is over 5 years old. The 70k car may have never had it done, and that would worry me.

GuestFromTampa

+1

AMG_Freak

homeofstone... Funny you linked that vehicle. That's one of the one's I've test drove with 19k miles. The problems are listed under car 2. It's a local dealer and they said they'd cover all the repairs with MB dealership. Thought it was odd that with low miles that the dynamic seat didn't work and the Lane Assist wasn't functional. But the car looks like new! Actually both cars looks really good cosmetically but that means squat in terms of mechanically.

sloanbj

As you can already tell, these cars (and basically all MB vehicles) typically display a blizzard of electric gremlins and mechanical problems which will plague you. You need a strong warranty and plenty of patience to deal with repair downtime if you really want a European vehicle.

AMG_Freak

Neither car are at MB dealerships. Thanks for confirming that streaming is possible with the command update. The 73k mile vehicle's carfax states it was serviced at the MB dealership.

Recommended service performed at 10k, 30k includes brake fluid flush/changed, 50k transmission was serviced, 60k recommended service performed. Oil changes were done every 10k miles. The real concern is the brakes and rotors which at 70k miles, it thinks time to replace. All the other functions work with the exception of rear parking alert sensors which isn't really a deal breaker for me.

I don't know what maintenance was performed on the 18k car. And the inoperability of the Lane Assist and dynamic seats concern me more with such low miles even though the dealer said they'd get everything is working order.

Does anyone know how much the Distronic grille costs? And if it requires any programming to function correctly?

AMG_Freak

You'd run from a car because it needs brakes and rotors? Won't most cars need this at some point, no?

OR from a car that a dealer is offering to fix all the problems?

I may look into an aftermarket warranty for piece of mind.

AMG_Freak

Thanks for the video... I know MB vehicle repairs can be very pricey. Fortunately, I didn't experience anything major that I couldn't repair myself with my old C32 with the exception of an AC repair.

I did take the 73k mile car to auto zone to see if they could pull any errors which it didn't return any results. They said their machine wouldn't display anything unless there was a check engine light present. Its probably a good idea that I take the vehicle to the MB dealership to run a diagnostics to be sure. I thought it was odd that the MB dealership in Birmingham where it was serviced would tell me any info of history of the car because I wasn't the owner. Explained that I'm looking to purchase and they said they'd only talk to the dealer, I guess for liability purposes but kind of a lame excuse.

homeofstone

I would pay an indie MB shop to check out the car before purchase. I purchased my E63 amg from Rick Hendrick Chevy in Atlanta. The previous owner traded it for a Corvette. Rick Hendrick also has MB dealerships and all repairs that were needed were performed and came with a warranty. Keep in mind that a small used car dealership may not have the tools or knowledge to properly repair a Mercedes.

bob2011

Miles wise It's a bit high. Shop around I'm sure you will find a better deal elsewhere. But that's just what I would do. Which ever one you do End up getting, I'm sure you will enjoy the hell out of it!

YYZ-E55

Likely to be an expensive repair, not a common issue. Check for damage around the bumper area.

No programming required to change grille, check the sensor behind it to ensure it is ok (separate part).[/QUOTE]

Lane keeping assist reads the road with the two cameras in the upper part of the windshield. Was the windshield replaced at some point (original glass?)? Could also be an issue with the shaker in the steering wheel.

Valentine One radar detector hook-up. Maybe they botched the install and that's why the lane keeping assist is dead?

The shape is slightly different where they meet the bumper, so no, unless you replace the rear bumper as well.

cc16177

For what it's worth I bought a 2011 fully loaded E550 with 47k miles or so for $30,500 and it was CPO. This was 2 months ago in FL...

Personally I would keep looking.

KingDaddy

Bought an e550 p1/p2 package w/38k miles at 32,900 and none of the problems you mentioned exist then or currently two months later.. Based on your breakdown they both seem like bad builds

ajaynsx

would not go for either of the cars.

AMG_Freak

I'm gonna take the car to the local MB dealer for a diagnostics to see what the real deal is. Might just be bad break pads. I'll ask about the sensors too.

Going to call the other dealer as well to see if they can work down the price. Pretty sure they were taking it to MB to see what's going on. Last day of the month, who knows maybe they'll lean.

Thanks for all the input. Sounds like you've guys found some great deals! Might keep looking, we'll see.

ajaynsx

You are from Tenn from your first post.

I would just drive down to atlanta and check out this car at the dealership and see what you can work out. At least with this car you will can sleep well at night.


http://www.rbmofalpharetta.com/inven...hf9bb7ca605383


Pre-Owned 2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E550 Sport AWD



14-Way Power Adjustable Front Seats,Leather Upholstery,Radio: COMAND AM/FM/WB/In-Dash 6-Disc DVD/CD Chger,4-Wheel Disc Brakes,Air Conditioning,Electronic Stability Control,Front Bucket Seats,Front Center Armrest,Leather Shift Knob,Tachometer,ABS brakes,AM/FM radio,Alloy wheels,Anti-whiplash front head restraints,Auto tilt-away steering wheel,Auto-dimming door mirrors,Automatic temperature control,Bodyside moldings,Brake assist,Bumpers: body-color,CD player,DVD-Audio,Delay-off headlights,Driver door bin,Driver vanity mirror,Dual front impact airbags,Dual front side impact airbags,Emergency communication system,Four wheel independent suspension,Front anti-roll bar,Front dual zone A/C,Front fog lights,Front reading lights,Fully automatic headlights,Garage door transmitter: Homelink,Genuine wood console insert,Genuine wood dashboard insert,Genuine wood door panel insert,Head restraints memory,Heated door mirrors,Illuminated entry,Knee airbag,Leather steering wheel,Low tire pressure warning,MP3 decoder,Memory seat,Occupant sensing airbag,Outside temperature display,Overhead airbag,Overhead console,Panic alarm,Passenger door bin,Passenger vanity mirror,Power adjustable front head restraints,Power adjustable rear head restraints,Power door mirrors,Power driver seat,Power moonroof,Power passenger seat,Power steering,Power windows,Radio data system,Rain sensing wipers,Rear air conditioning,Rear anti-roll bar,Rear fog lights,Rear reading lights,Rear seat center armrest,Rear window defroster,Remote keyless entry,Security system,Speed control,Speed-sensing steering,Steering wheel memory,Steering wheel mounted audio controls,Telescoping steering wheel,Tilt steering wheel,Traction control,Trip computer,Turn signal indicator mirrors,Variably intermittent wipers,Weather band radio,Front beverage holders,Auto-dimming Rear-View mirror,8 Speakers,Premium audio system: COMAND

kash2014

car #2 is really over priced. Not sure how much TTL is but anything more than high 20s retail is a highway robbery based on the auction numbers

aquinob

I've seen some of his videos and while he makes some valid points, he really doesnt like Mercedes, period. Look what he drives himself, a cheesy old toyota. But he can fix everything on it and it has a dipstick....

AKnight55

I would be looking at the 2012+ 550s.

jahquan3

The pricing on car #1 isn't bad based on what I've seen around, but without any of those problems. I purchased my E550(P1) with a bunch of other options w/ 80k and no CPO but I paid about what they priced that #1 at. However, I only needed to replace the tires knock on wood so far. I honestly thought I needed just a wheel alignment when I purchased but I didn't inspect the tires like I should've. Everything else has been perfect within the 3 months I've had it now.

BrianE

+1

Airmousam

Got a p2 CPO 2010 4matic 550 in Jan with distronic, 40k miles for under $29k. The went thru it, all new brakes and rotors, active seat repair (@ $485), new tires and mats. Not a scratch or ding.. As others have said keep looking. Good luck