zhmorrow13

My dad is looking for a new car, he likes the 211 body style. I found one in Nashville and I'm gonna look at it in the morning. I drive a 211 e55 and I have had it for a few years so I'm pretty familiar with these Mercedes. I'm just not that familiar with the 3.5l v6. It only has 74k miles. It was in a wreck (rebuilt title), but the work appears to be done correctly and the paint matches (in the pics)

2009 E350 AMG sport
74k
Everything else is clean (again, in the pics)

Here's the link to the ad,
http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5401760624.html

Before I go check it out, I'd like to get your guys' input and what I should look for that could be a potential issue in the future. Do these e350 have airmatic

homeofstone

Way too much money for the car with a rebuilt title.

kajtek1

What was damaged in accident?
Per insurance adjusters, the salvage cars drops the value by 40%.
Seller conveniently includes the values.
$17,000 - 40% =$10,200
That should be your starting point.

zhmorrow13

So, like I was asking, what are some specific things I should be aware of or look for in the e350 mechanically speaking?

Asking price and what you pay are generally two different numbers, but thanks for the input.

zhmorrow13

Yeah, I'm fully aware of what happens to the price when it's salvage.

So I'll ask again,

What are some things that fail or become problem matic with the E350 211?

kajtek1

Common forum knowledge is that 2009 is the best of 350 engine.
You drive W211 so you should be familiar with airmatic, fuel tank recalls and other issues.

zhmorrow13

Yeah, I was gonna check the airmatic. I had to replace mine on my E55, fairly simple job, still not fun when they fail lol.

kajtek1

I also hope you realize that $20,000 cars don't get total over damaged bumper?

zhmorrow13

This was the damage. The paint and the lines between trunk life/body appears to be done correctly, but we will see how it looks in person...

zhmorrow13

True, who knows? Could be a classic case of insurance fraud, **** happens.

homeofstone

The car does not have airmatic. Price from private party should be about 15,000 less 40% for rebuilt title = $9000.00.

cetialpha5

You do realize that the manufacturer doesn't have to honor any warranty once it's a rebuilt vehicle right? The only one that comes to mind is the fuel tank extended warranty which is good for 15 years unlimited miles on non Pzev cars. E350's didn't have airmatic unless it was a wagon. Sort of a basic car, no p2 just p1. The front looks a little off too, the right side inner high beam light looks like it's not flush with the body. There are also random isolated issues you may encounter because it's been in an accident. If it was hit in the rear, I'd worry that maybe the trunk might leak when it rains. Happens occasionally even when there's no accident. You could go with a 2008 too, that doesn't have the balance shaft problem and you can just burn a copy of the navigation DVD that's out there. The 2009 had the updated nav which is good and bad, you need to get the original nav disk in order to update it, but you could sell it afterwards.

a100steaksauce

I'd say wait you can find a clean title one with more options for not that much more money.

kajtek1

"Buy better for more money" is always easy advice, but if that car can be had for 10 grands, it would make sense if not intended for resale in next couple of years.
I did buy salvage vehicles in the past for daily beater and they work fine.
What I would caution about is that all were fixed cosmetically on the outside, while underbody panels were left wrinkled. If that is not load carrying panel it is ok strength-wise, but such panels will corrode very fast. I did not have corrosion problem in California, but when in 4-seasons, that might create issues.

relinuca

I currently have an '09 E350 Sport 4Matic that I bought 5-6 years ago...currently with 83K miles.


This MY and model (W211) is a good choice as (1) it lacks the Airmatic rear shocks, a frequent mtnce issue on V8 models of "a certain age", and (2) it does not have the earlier dreaded balance shaft "problem".


As an owner who was born and raised on powerful V8s, it has taken some getting used to in re. adjusting to the V6.


Plus since mine is the E350 4 Matic, it has the older five speed trans while V8s have the newer 7 speed trans. As such it "feels" a bit sluggish puling away from a dead stop. Again, this is an "adjustment" issue for some of us.


Bottom line? the '09 E350s are terrific cars...should last "forever" if properly maintained.

2MERKS

I wouldn't purchase the car, R title. ...Always something better out there! Your feelings are getting emotional attached

kerunt

Never buy rebuilt/salvage cars. The entire business of rebuilding a car is cutting every corner possible, doing everything as cheap as possible, to maximize profit. No such thing as a "properly" rebuilt car.

I know several people that rebuild cars for a living, and I wouldn't trust a single one of them to do a tire change for me.

kajtek1

Hmmm... my father still owns W124 that was rebuild about 22 years ago....
Runs perfect.