clarus

Hello, All.

So, considering a used 08 E350 Sport with 100k miles. Based on a VIN lookup, I shouldn't have to worry about the balance shaft issue.

The car is owned by my neighbor. I know him well and trust he has maintained the car well - but I will verify service records. I have driven the car and it is nice. The only issues I have are an occasional, very subtle stutter during accelerations at mid rpm's - hard to explain. Cant tell if is tranny or motor. The other issue is the tires are LOUD.

I have been browsing this forum and the web doing research on this for a few days now. It appears there were some issues with Mercedes (depending on your viewpoint I guess) in the 90's and early 2000's. It seems like things are better now based on my reading and I think 2008 (if you avoided the faulty balance shaft prone motor) is considered a good year for the E350.

My last car was a 2001 Toyota Tundra that I gave to my son. I haven't needed to drive too much for work the last 8 years and the Tundra runs just about the way it did when I bought it - wasnt compelled to buy a new one. Pushing 200k miles now and as strong as ever and still doesn't leak a drop of fluid of any kind.

I understand this is a completely different machine and I should expect more expensive maintenance, etc. I will be using it to drive to my office daily, about 3 miles away with sporadic 100 mile round trips on occasion.

A few questions for the knowledgeable owners and aficionados out there.

1. Is 12k is reasonable for this car (assuming it is in good working and aesthetic condition).

2. Any major things to look for or items prone to failure if they were not addressed by the previous owner?

3. How many miles might I expect to get out of this thing? I know that is a loaded question

Thanks for your time and insight!

dothetime

My last Mercedes was a 2007 E350, best car I ever owned.
Sold it with 113,000 miles.
Most expensive car to service I ever owned.
Used german cars will take your breath away when you need to service them, and I did a lot of my own work, oil changes, brakes etc.
If you go in knowing this, these cars will do 200,000 miles.
As far as the price goes it's in the ball park, but you can easily find lower mileage cars for about the same money.
Dave

cetialpha5

Actually punching it into nadaguide says it's a decent price, just a little above average trade in. I paid a little over clean trade in when I got mine last year.

I think most modern cars you can expect 200k or more, it's just whether you're willing to do all the maintenance.

At that mileage, probably standard stuff like ball joints and struts may be due for replacement. Plus tires can get expensive, around 1k for a good set of Michelin or Conti. I have the A/S 3's on mine.

What options does the car have? I wanted bi-xenons and keyless go so it took me a while to find one with the combination I wanted and I wasn't in a rush. The good part is that even when they have lots of options like real leather, parktronic, pano sunroof, trunk closer, the prices aren't that much higher.

The Thomas J

In just over two years of ownership I am into my car for about $3000 in maintenance items. The most expensive being the shocks and struts that I installed at 97,000 miles. Worth every penny. That and new tires. Just hit 100,000 miles last month. Car runs great.

OnlyGerman

12k is a decent price if it checks out...After 100k, you just never know what will fail. Engine/ Trans mount and Suspension will need replacing if not already.

Verify all major service records and decide from there.