My dad is looking for a nice highway cruiser. He wants a 2011 or 2012 with about 30,000Miles, MB certified pre-owned. The car will be driven on week-ends mostly, and used for roadtrips between his home and Miami (a 1500miles drive).

He isn't sure yet about which engine he is going with.

What are the common issue with these models ? Is reliability better on an engine than the other ?

On the equipment side, most if not all available cars are fully equipped.

We will likely do the maintenance together (for fun), does it require special service tools ? (He was owned multiple germans before (currently an A4, a C-class before), so he has all the metric tooling anyway)

We will likely go do a test drive this week

for the maintenancetogether you better get a bimmer
they fail more often so y spend more time with your dad
LOL

I have driven both 350 and 550 and I highly recommend the 550 from either 2012 or 2013 which have the newer more powerful and fuel efficient Biturbo 4.7L V8. The 550 is SOOOOOO much more fun and easier to drive. Its well worth the few extra thousand over 350.

I forgot to mention, but he is looking at the cabriolet.

I'm a car guy, but I wasnt aware that the 2012 had the Biturbo v8. Damm MB and their weird naming convention xD

Get the 550 cab.

+1

A 2012+ E550 Cab is a luxury 4-seat convertable and muscle car all in one! Just an awesome car.

2011 550 cab works just fine... Mines tuned and it's faster than a stock 2012+ model. Also if you can get the new facelift 550 cab you have a winner..

Whatever the year just make sure it's the e550. You will love the V8 and it's power.

Faster than 450hp 2012? Let's see your proof.

Where did you get the 450hp rating from? I believe the Mercedes official website and everywhere else says 402 HP. Regardless if it is under rated, it isn't under rated by 48 hp.

Also, the 550 cab looks better than the 350 convertible since it has AMG sport body styling.

My E350 Cabriolet has the code 772 AMG sport body styling...

We visited the local MB, they didnt had a 550 on hands, but we had the chance to play with the buttons and to get the general feeling of the car (a 2012 350). We will likely visit an other dealer that has a 550 tomorrow.

My dad wasn't very concerned about the v8 differences between the 2011 and 2012. The color of the interior (he wants white or tan) and the price(based on mileage) will be a much more important factor in his choice.

The only downside is that they're not offered with a manual transmission, but that's the case with most cars nowadays (although the convertible S5 is manual)

This applies to cars in the USA. The E350 coupe/convertible has the AMG package in very rare cases. And the E550 coupe/convertible has that option standard.

The 2014 E350 Cab I just ordered has AMG Sport Package and so did about 1/3 of the cabs I had to choose from. Not so very rare.

And The 450hp (more like 430-450hp) is from several dyno charts showing stock BT V8s (550s, CLS550s, etc) putting down 370-390hp at the wheels and the C&D 550 sedan testing at 0-60mph in 4.3sec. Yes, it is under rated by that much. And I would still like to see your proof of your claim that your "tuned" 2011 is faster than stock 2012. Dyno charts? Drag sheets for cars at same track? Whatcha got?

Ok I was talking about the US pre facelift models since most people on this forum buy pre owned. Perhaps the new facelift model has more E350s with the AMG package now but that is not the case with the 2011 to 2013 models. Also your basically making up horsepower numbers. The website and everywhere else says 402hp.

Ha! Keep living with your head under a rock if you think the BTV8 only makes 402hp. That's what I thought, you have nothing. I am calling you out because you made a ridiculous and unsubstantiated claim that your NA 5.5L with an ECU tune is now faster than BT 4.7L.

That's funny. I'm 20 years old and could care less if a e550 bt is faster or just as fast as my car. Also I was just saying it was faster due to the fact that it has more horsepower on paper. I'm guessing your the typical 50 year old fat and bald e cab owner? You mad bro?

Can we remain on course here ? (FYI = more hp doesn't always equal faster)

We test drove a tenorite grey E550 last night. It had white massaging seats, with ventillation, . The 5.5L has a very sweet sound which make up for the slushbox. Apparently those seats will inflate to keep you in the seats while taking a hard turn ?

Are there any other nice hidden features in those cars ?

I could guess by your responses that you are 20. So now you don't care which car is faster? But your 2011 has more hp on paper? What paper? You have some graphs to show us? This is only your fifth response with still no evidence. I'm not mad at all, just bugs me when punks like you talk out of your @ss. I hope you enjoy your car, its more car than you deserve and its not faster than a V8BT. Happy motoring.

Here's a link of the tune I have on my car.

https://oetuning.com/index.php/defau...-benz-e550500/

.. and a graph. Although this was a S550 tuned but it shows the horsepower gains.

http://oetuning.com/blog/wp-content/...esults-600.jpg

Julien, the best option is the E550 cabriolet with the BI-Turbo engine. It has great gas mileage for a V8.

Here are some videos that give you more info.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqxZtkgPp6Uhttps:

And honestly these cars look best in White or Black. But that is also a personal opinon.

Here are the stock numbers from a 2012 CLS550 that Renntech did a tune on showing stock numbers of 392hp and 447lb-ft at the rear wheels. Its the numbers next to the blue dot in the upper left-hand corner. Those are a bit more than 291hp and 309lb-ft on the 2009 S550 graph you provided.

Also, you can multiply the 2012 CLS550 figures by 1.15 (which is universally understood mechanical loss) to get figures at the motor of 450hp and 515lb-ft of torque. Compare those to your OE 2011 550 tune specs of 414hp and 418lb-ft at motor.

So a stock 2012 550 = 450/515
Your OE tune 2011 550 = 414/418

Same weight car, same tires, blah blah, which car has more power and way torque and is probably faster?

Does the active seats also give a massage, or is a sedan only thing ?

So, we took delivery of the car.

2011 E550, tenorite gray, white interior.

It has been detailed and it will likely remain in the garage until the snow melt and the weather gets nicer