JonG89

We are considering a 2013 E350 Cabriolet with just under 32,000 miles as a daily-driver for my wife. She does approximately 8,000 miles per year. I plan to DIY the maintenance and repairs as much as possible. The car received its 10,000-mile service and 20,000-mile service at M-B of Palm Springs CA and its 30,000-mile service at M-B of Raleigh NC, so its history reflects a solid baseline of being properly cared for.

I believe this car has an M276 engine specified to run 5W40 full synthetic oil in most moderate climates - can anyone confirm? And how many quarts are needed for an oil & filter change?

Any particular issues or design flaws to be aware of in these vehicles for long-term ownership? We tend to keep our vehicles for 8 to 10 years.

Thanks to those of you who can offer guidance and recommendations.

JonG89

No one has any recommendations or issues to be aware of at all for this model?

dudley07726

JonG89

Thanks for your feedback. Anyone else have any advice to share before we make a decision on whether or not to acquire this car?

thtguy

If you know any SA's at a dealer you can get them the VIN and get them to give you the VMI... that will show you all service work the car has had, not just the service info from Carfax. From my understanding the M276, is a pretty good motor, and the 722.9 7G-tronic trans has been in use since 2003 and has only been improved since then. I hear the direct injection motor can be a little rattly at lower RPM. we are looking at a 2013 E350, I would prefer a e550, but my wife doesn't care either way and it will be her car. I just wish it was easier to find the 350s with more of the options like most 550s have. primarily ventilated seats. although if anything like my 04 E55, they aren't worth the extra money.

JonG89

Thanks for your feedback. I have traced the service history of the car by speaking with the three M-B dealership service departments that have worked on it since it was sold in California in late 2012. Problems with the window memory functions, left front door module, passenger seat motor, and AirScarf system, as well as the long-unresolved Takata passenger airbag recall. Like you, I have concerns about direct injection. I also wonder about the long-term durability of the somewhat-complicated convertible top mechanism. My wife is leaning towards buying this car, but I still have reservations. We will see what happens.

Jujigatame

I have one and absolutely love it. I did get an extended (third party) warranty. I had a problem with the timing chain tensioner that the warranty covered.

Other than that, it's been bulletproof.

JonG89

Thanks for your feedback. Glad to hear you are enjoying your Cabriolet. In more than 47 years of driving I have never purchased an extended warranty, preferring to keep a rolling $2,000 to $3,000 maintenance fund to be used when needed and DIYing as much of the work as possible. If we purchase this car, I may consider an extended warranty. I know that some of them turn out to be essentially worthless, and I also know that better pricing can be obtained by taking the time to negotiate. What companies can you recommend?

Jujigatame

Yeah, I usually feel the same way about the warranties, but with a car as advanced and expensive to repair as a MB, I figured it was worth it.

I bought a GWC warranty, it was slightly under $3000 for 5 years up to 100K miles bumper to bumper.

This was literally the first used car I ever bought off of a lot. I had my MB dealer look it over before I bought it. The lot sold me the warranty, and I was totally skeptical, but they gave me a good deal, and my MB dealer sells the same warranty (for substantially more) on their used car lot for non CPO cars.

Like I said, I was very skeptical about it, but I had a timing chain tensioner issue and it paid for it with no issue... about a $2800 repair!

So it's basically paid for itself and any more issues I have in the next 3 years are basically free (there's a $100 deductible).

It worked out for me, YMMV.

dudley07726

Jujigatame

BTW, Like I said, I absolutely LOVE this car. I've had it for 2 years now and it's been great. There were 3 things that bugged me about it and I was able to fix each of them easily.

1. My car was spec'd with halogen headlights. They were almost useless. I'd been used to HID's or LED's and it felt like high beam was like low beam and low beam was like parking lights. I put in an aftermarket HID kit (LED's are tough for this car because of how MB mounts the bulbs) and it's fantastic now. Literally, the best I've ever had.

2. Not having ventilated seats in the summer was rough. My car has leather, and it's not perforated. Driving with the top down in the summer would make my back and thighs so sweaty I'd get out of the car literally soaked. I put on a set of cheap power ventilated seat covers and now it's no problem. They don't look great, but boy do they work, and I can get to a meeting not looking like I sat in a puddle.

3. I wanted it to be just a little more powerful. These engines are almost impossible to tune or upgrade without major work or cost. They're about as tuned as they can be. I wanted just a little more. I put on a Pedal Commander throttle controller. It doesn't make the car any more powerful, but it makes it a lot more responsive and fun to drive. I'd still like a little more power, but this is really just fine.

Other than that, my only complaint is that there's no sunglass case... but I guess we all have to make sacrifices

JonG89

After much research and consideration, we have decided not to make an offer on this vehicle. The still-unresolved January 2016 Takata passenger seat airbag recall is by far the primary factor. I spoke with M-B USA yesterday. They have no idea when a solution will be available. From what I have been able to deduce, a workable solution remains years away. My wife is simply not willing to roll the dice and put any passenger in this car at greater risk, therefore making this car worthless to us.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed your experiences in this thread. It is much appreciated.

sailorben

JonG89

Yes, I realize that fact. Fortunately for us, our current three vehicles (a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup, a 2006 Jaguar XK8 convertible, and a 2013 Subaru Outback SUV) have not been recalled for defective Takata airbag parts. If any of them eventually become part of the recall, we will deal with it at that time. But we will certainly not purchase a vehicle that is under the recall with no plans for an eventual fix. That rules out a purchase of this particular car.

Jujigatame

FWIW, I was told that they'll be recalling and replacing the airbags in my car around October of this year.

JonG89

I hope that indeed happens for you. M-B USA was unwilling to commit to any airbag repair date for the car we were considering. That was the "nail in the coffin" as far as my wife was concerned since it would have been her daily driver.