Jen22

please I need an advice, I'm planning to purchase E350 2008 model, I'm using E350 2006 model currently. Please I need to know if the new one I'm about to purchase is good and I want to know if it is not too cost in the area of maintenance .

thank you

Maroc_Specops

read first the 400 posts. then ask questions sir. Ur question is impossible to answer.

greetings

Rainers

Do a search on the balancer to see if The 2008 is affected. You can submit the VIN and have it verified on this site

BenzVince

Maintenance on either years you have gonna be essentially the same. Kind of a stupid question to be asking for same kind of car with exact motor with exact amount of oil capacity and same 7g-tronic. Not like you're going from E320 to facelift with E350, then you're talking about different technology on the car.

Andre91

Mechanically, the biggest difference between the 2006 and 2008 is that the 2008 doesn't have the SBC brakes. This avoids the eventual $1500-2000 pump replacement. The 2008 shouldn't be affected by the balance shaft issue, but before buying definitely verify that the engine is outside the affected range. As mentioned above, if you have the VIN you can verify this. If the 2008 is a 4Matic, it will still have the old 5-speed transmission, only the RWD cars got the 7G-Tronic.

Something like 2000 parts were changed between the 03-06 and 07-09 cars. All things being equal, the 07-09 cars are generally more reliable than the earlier years as a lot of the known problems were corrected.

A good number of the gas cars were also equipped with the sport package, which was a no cost option and included 18" wheels, larger brakes with drilled rotors, firmer suspension, dual exhaust, LED taillights, and bird's eye maple wood trim inside. Certain options were no longer available on the E350 beginning in 2007, though, such as the thermatronic 4-zone climate control and airmatic suspension (which you probably don't want to deal with anyways).

As to whether or not the particular car you're looking at will be better than the one you have, it'll come down to the history. Does the 2008 have complete service records available? You do not want to deal with a car that's been neglected. You should also call an MB dealer with the VIN and ask them to run a VMI (vehicle master inquiry), which will give you a history of all services performed at a dealer, as well as any warranty claims. I would be hesitant about a car that's had multiple warranty claims for the same issue, it could indicate a problem car, or an incompetent shop performing the service. They will also verify at the same time if any recalls are outstanding. They probably won't give you a printout of the VMI since you're not the owner, but they should read it to you. Aside from that, the standard used car buying advice applies. I would also recommend a pre purchase inspection.

arto_wa

Pretty good advice Andre91

Unfortunately OP might be afraid to say or ask anything more after having earlier being called stupid.

cetialpha5

Actually the interior/exterior of the 2006 is different from the 2007-2009 models. Different taillights and the steering wheel, climate control, shifter, all changed. 2008 should be out of the balance shaft range, but you should double check the engine number just to be sure as some claim that bad engines were still in later years, but all the ones I've looked at, it seemed the cutoff was sometime in 9/2006 when the new parts were put in. Production for the 2007 year started either in June or July so the first few months of 2007 may have had engines with bad balance shafts. But supposedly it's not a factor for 2008-2009. Maintenance is probably slightly better but the 2009 year is considered the best.

EuroDriverSD

I have a 2008 E350 Sport and love it. No balance shaft issues. The major issues have been fuel tank odor (covered under extended warranty, I believe until 150,000 miles) and the famous intake manifold butterfly lever.


Another thing to be aware of is that if transmission oil change service is not done every 40,000 miles religiously, the transmission will be prone to failure.

cetialpha5

The gas tank coverage is 15 years unlimited miles. Unless you have a Pzev in which case it's 15 years/150k.

EuroDriverSD

You are correct. I'm in a PZEV State (CA) so I was told until 150K miles. Fortunately I was able to get it covered. Non-PZEV States is as you stated, 15 years, regardless of mileage.

cetialpha5

Actually if the car is a Pzev, then you're covered for 15 years/150k in a Pzev state. If you're not in a pzev state, it's worse depending on the state and it isn't covered by MB's extended warranty. If your car is not a Pzev, then you're covered for 15 years, unlimited miles regardless of whether it's a pzev state or not.