I got a mechanic's report on a CPO 06 E350 that I'm thinking about buying at a local Mercedes dealer. The VIN is WDBUF56J86A768629. This car only has about 34,000 miles on it and was a recent lease return.

His report says that he found a "minor (oil?) leak at the back of cylinder head area, bank? 4-6, driver's side". I've searched the forum, and there are lots of things about transmission leaks, but I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm surprised it wasn't caught during the CPO process! If a mechanic doing a quick inspection notices it, why didn't the dealership?

I do have the service history on this car, and here's what has been done. Does any of it explain this leak? Could this be (another) failure of the SBC Hydraulic system?? VMI shows the following:

Campaign

2005110001 SBU Bracket
2006110002 ECU Software
4/16/2005 Warranty extension on SBC Hydraulic Unit

Damage Code

04/13/2005 021852038 Dealer Pre-Delivery (is this prep, or some defect repair?)

@ 19,658 miles
05/23/2007 054960337 Campaign 200505765110001
05/23/2007 05047047 Solenoid camshaft adjustment L
05/23/2007 014930368 Campaign 200605765110002, Ck

@ 30,847 miles

054575908 Control unit, gasoline engine
020253367 Guide pulley noise
020249367 V-belt tensioner noise

I had a nightmare with my 2001 C240. I'm trying to avoid buying another Mercedes that's going to be a lemon. Considering VMI only shows three times it was in for repairs, I guess that's not so bad. None of these seem in any way related to a fluid leak, except for the SBC issue. Does anyone have any idea what this guy is talking about? I don't want to be overly sensitive, but don't want to buy a car that's going to be problematic. Should I run away from this or just have it fixed under warranty?