Just joined today, had some questions on potentially purchasing a 2007 E350 4Matic Wagon from a family friend. I've never really considered owning anything this luxurious before- truth be told, the only option I really care about is air conditioning (that includes power brakes and power steering), but this offer popped up. One owner, 50,000 miles for the low-ball price that the dealer was going to give on the trade. I'm not at all concerned if it's a good DEAL, I'm wondering if it's a good CAR.

I have done some google searches and most have led me here. I've seen some threads where you guys say that the 2007 models were good in that MB had fixed a bunch of issues that were present from the earlier W211s. I also read a specific "reliability" thread where most of the people with 4 matics chimed in saying the same thing, that by 2007 the problems had been addressed, and the 4 matic had the 5 speed transmission which was supposed to be better than the 7 speed of the RWD model. That thread was from 2009, though. I'm wondering about 10 years later. What "gremlins" have popped up? What should I be concerned about.

I've been asking everyone I know who are into these cars and have gotten mixed reviews. The consensus seems to be that it's such a great deal, and we won't drive it that much, so just buy it and if we don't like it we'd get our money back when we sell it. The only "nay-sayer" was a guy who owns just about every other brand of German car and said he would not buy any used MB that did not have a warranty. His cautionary tale included some issue his father had (MB of unknown vintage) where the stereo broke and the car could not be shifted out of park because of some computer lockout related to the stereo/navigation system- those are the types of issues I am most concerned about. I really don't want to be stranded and have to call for a tow because the cigarette lighter malfunctions, etc.

Anyway, just wondering some long-term thoughts on this particular car.

Thanks in advance.

 

What's the price on the car? You didn't post a link so there's no reason not to say.

Just looks through the threads here and that will give you an idea on what issues they have. If the price is right, go for it. Even more so if you can DIY repairs and don't have to depend on going to a dealer or indy.

As always, get a pre-purchase inspection done so you'll know if there are any big issues up front.

 

The price is $7,000.

I did browse through this sub-forum and it seems like there was a few people complaining about the transfer case being on the delicate side. That is a bummer. That is the kind of thing I'm trying to find out, though. Not sure how much of a nightmare that is to replace on the DIY side, but it will give me a whole other set of engineers to curse! I'm sure the owner has all of the maintenance records, from what I hear he was meticulous about maintenance. Not sure if it was all dealer maintained. I'm thinking it isn't because the dealership may have given him a better offer...unless it's because they know something I don't!

Kelley Blue Book has it at just shy of $11,000 for private party sale in Very Good condition, and from what I hear it may be closer to "Excellent."

 

Go for it!!!!!

With these miles and this price, HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG?
Assuming of course the car is clean and has been taken care off!

 

Find out the VIN number and run it through the vin decoder like this one:

https://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/Mercedes-Benz

Early 2007 had bad balance shafts that were fixed later. Check the balance shaft thread for the engine numbers where they fixed it. Current mileage is no indication of whether you're safe or not, it can happen at any time, I think someone with 220k just mentioned that they're getting codes which usually indicates it's the balance shaft. Generally, if the production date was after 9/2006, it might be ok, before that, it's probably bad. Only way to tell is to find the actual engine serial number. Other than that, the 2007 were decent. That's why most just say get the 2008-2009, those avoided all those problems. It still has other common problems like thermostat, tensioner, motor mounts, broken trunk wiring, steering angle sensor, bad keyless go door handles and other issues chasing down front end noises, but none of those are big money items.

You can also get Comand errors too, they use a fiber optic loop so if one device in the loop goes out, the whole system goes out, but you can track it down using a bypass loop and if it's something like the CD player, bluetooth or something else you don't use, you can just bypass it. Or at this stage, you can pick up a used one on eBay. Worse case is probably if the audio gateway goes out, that's expensive at the dealer, but there are companies you can send it out to that will rebuild it for a few hundred. It's not that common though, mine has been fine with no issues at all.

 

You need to determine whether the car is affected by the balance shaft issue before purchasing it. If Impacted and not previously repaired, you do not want to purchase it. The engine number can be determined from the online VIN decoder referenced in a previous post or from the original set of manuals delivered with the car - a data sheet with that information is at the back of the warranty or service booklet.

The balance shaft repair cost cost is approximately $4k-$5k range. The engine must be removed from the car, repaired on a stand, and reinstalled.

 

Point well taken.
However, if the car is clean, has been meticulously maintained, it has very low miles (5K/year) and comes from a family friend, even if you put 5K in the car in case the issue does come up, the car is still a steal IMHO.

 

We probably won't see it for another week or so, I'll try to snap a photo of the VIN number. Thanks for all of the info, so far. Will the VIN number tell me anything about the transfer case recall (if it was a recall), or does that need to be taken directly off the transfer case Serial Number.

The electrical problems that cetialpha5 mentions are the kind of things that scare me.

 

Well with the wagon I don't think you'd have the broken trunk wiring. That was very common and an easy DIY, did it myself, found the broken wire and spliced it back together. I don't think the transfer case was a recall, more like an extended warranty and only applied to a small number of cars. Hasn't been an issue so far with mine. Keyless go is not that common an option, but the door handles can go bad. They're around $200-$250 for the door handle mail order, but you could always just use the key fob instead of using the switches on the handle. There's an infrared sensor on the driver's side door that will allow all the windows and sunroof to open if you hold the door open button while you're facing the sensor, mine has stopped working and there's a diy on how to fix it, but I haven't bothered. Rear sunshade can also get stuck, but you don't have that on a wagon. Steering angle sensor was about $160 when I got mine last year and about $60 to put it in, It's now up to about $230 for the sensor But there's a youtube video on how to do it, wasn't too bad, could have done it myself but the center nut for the steering wheel was on really tight and I probably won't have gotten it off without an impact gun so I was glad I took it to an indy to get it fixed, took a little over an hour.

 

Well, did you decide to buy?

 

Just an update...nothing to update. The owner had surgery and has been in some type of recovery facility since I started the thread. We will probably see it next weekend, I would think.

Thanks for all of your aid thus far. I'll post back when I have more info.

 

Good Luck!

 

Well?????

 

Well...we found out yesterday that the owner decided to trade it in after all. I guess he had another vehicle to add to the trade in and upped his ante, so to speak. I'm not terribly upset because I was thinking this may not have been the best fit for us for now. Seemed like a lot of car to have parked in the driveway as a spare car, where my two little ones would invariably scratch and ding it up....then mice would have probably destroyed something electronic and important...the list goes on.

Anyway, thanks to all for the advice.