emillswrx

I am deciding between the 2 and would greatly appreciate some advice! I am a sales guy that will be driving about 35k miles per year and I am extremely excited about owning either of these fine machines. I am a gearhead and love speed, but feel like I need to responsible and considerate of gas mileage and operating costs. Here is my choice:

2012 E350 4matic, black on black, 25k miles, final price 39,900 with unlimited mileage warranty out to 4-1-2017. Really nice car, mint, during the drive it felt a little soft but super smooth. Sticker was 59k

2011 E550 4matic, 40k miles, diamond white with dark brown interior, final price 41,000 with unlimited mileage warranty out to 11-1-2017. Really stunning car, lots of options and that amazing v8. Sticker was 70k.

I'm leaning towards the E550 but would love input on the following:

1. With 90% highway driving can I expect roughly 23-24mpg in the E550 and 27-28 mpg with the E350?

2. Will the extended warranty cover the airmatic suspension bits on the E550? I hear they can be problematic with age...

BAsically I'm planning on driving either one for at least 150-200k miles and am curious if one will be more reliable and or cheaper to maintain than the other. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Tjdehya

The E350 is a faux luxury car. The E550 is the real thing. Your choice.
As far as 150-200k reliability is concerned, the only real difference would be the airmatic which historically are not known to be very reliable once you get some mileage on the car. It's also an expensive system to replace.
Personally if I wanted to put that many miles on a car outside of warranty I would not be looking at ANY Benz.
Good luck!

Airmousam

Thats just silly.

OP, im 80% highway on my 2010 E350 4 matic and get about 22mpg. Cant comment on the mpg on the 550, but you cant go wrong either way. Good luck

cohenlaw

I bought a 2010 E550 coupe. My girlfriend has an E350 so of course I had to have the 550, couldnt go with a "girly-girl" model. But since have driven the 350, its fine, does everthing I would need-still mI like the emotional satisfaction of the hotter model. How did you get such an extended warranty, my certified warranty just extended the new car warranty for an added year?

drsaab

I went through a similar decision a few weeks back, but for a 2011 e350 Bt vs 2012 e350 gas 4 matic here is the thread on that.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...t-150k-mi.html

do you need 4 matic? if not you should look at a bluetec. You should def look at a distronic car if you drive so much like me. Its a god send on a daily commute.

the BT will give 33mpg avg. The E550 will give 21 and the 2012 E350W4 will give 26. I averaged 23 mpg in the 2010 E350w4 I have.

in 150k miles, fuel will cost 16300 for BT, 25000 for E550, 20,000 for E350W4.

The BT will have a higher resale at that mileage too. Not much but 1-2k higher than gas.

The BT sux from 0-30 mph but rocks from 30-100 mph. The E550 is awesome at all speeds. The E350 is fine as well. If I drove in the neighborhood a lot vs highway I would not suggest the BT. Its like driving a train.. has to get going but once in motion, it loves to keep going.

The unlimited CPO warranty is great right now.

I love the BT, but I suggest at least drive a distronic car for 10 min on the highway before you settle one one for next 4 years. The other advantage of BT is 650 mile range so fill ups once per week vs every 3-4 days. I am quite happy to see 35-37 mpg in the dash when previously I was used to 19 mpg in V8 cars I have had previously.

Airmatic is covered in CPO, as is bushings.. which is great because BMW CPO does not cover that, and they will surely die in 150k miles.

Arrie

Your MPG numbers are spot on. I had a 2011 E350 and now drive 2010 E550 and those are what I got (get) as MPG. Now mine are not 4Matic though.


To my knowledge the Airmatic is covered under the extended warranty.


Go with the bigger engine. You will love it!

pdjv

I have a non-4Matic 2011 E550, and have gotten 27 MPG highway on a couple occasions, but 25 MPG is typical. YMMV, but if you use cruise control, keep your tire pressures at the recommended values (I keep mine at the fully loaded/100 mph settings) and watch the traffic around you, you should be able to exceed the EPA estimated highway mileage.

Re: Airmatic, I had over 70K miles on my 2004 E500 with only one problem - a leaking air spring (replaced under warranty) when the car was about a year old. At about 10K miles and a year and a half, both rear air springs on my 2011 E550 were replaced under warranty due to leaks. I'm a little under 20K miles now and haven't had any more problems with the Airmatic suspension.

dkchips

I have to agree - go with the 550 - you'll love the V8 - and all the standard features of the 550.

I've had 3 E350's - a 2006, my wife's E350 with Distonic and my 2010 White E350 Sport -

Spot on with the Distonic - great to have especially for long distance and daily commuting.

I traded in my 2010 E350 for a CPO 2012 CLS550 in June and I love the V8 - On a recent trip to LA and back to San Diego in the diamond lane and at an average speed of 80 I got almost 29 MPG!!! Not bad for a V8 with tons of torque and power.

Good luck in your choice

DubVBenz

Interesting averages with your BT. I have the same engine in a 211, which is a few hundred pounds lighter. While I have mine chipped and drive with a little bit of a lead foot, I've never averaged over 30 a tank. In fact, my tanks are usually closer to 27-28, but if it's all DC driving, 23. I'm measuring by hand, not using my car's onboard computer.

KEY08

If I was going to be putting that many miles per year on either of these I would only want to do it in the 550. V8 all the way.

bob2011

Went to vegas this week and my 550 returned 22 MPG on the highway, thats with mostly "spirited" driving.... Im sure it will give more then what i got if you don't have a heavy foot lol! Go with the 550 and don't look back, i promise you wont regret it!

drsaab

This was last week.

Hoping summer will be better.

True pump mpg is 5% less on avg.

Running 17 inch runflats at 40 psi right now till I get new wheels.

emillswrx

Thanks so much for all of the replies guys. Well, I went with my motorhead instincts and picked up the E550! Taking delivery Friday and SOOO excited! I'm encouraged by the large number of responses and really looking forward to joining the enthusiast community.

By the way, tell any of your friends that if they want a certified Mercedes this current offer is just insane. I was able to get warranty coverage with UNLIMITED MILEAGE out to 11-2017, they are picking up my first 2 payments, my first 2 maintenance visits (including the spark plugs at 60k) and I got 1.74% financing for 66 months.

I never thought I could afford an E550 Benz but given this offer any my current situation, I simply couldn't afford to not go for it!

Thanks again from a very happy new Mercedes owner!!!

KEY08

Yeah, this new deal from MB is perfect for a guy in your situation. You will love the 550.

Live Oak

550 550 550 550 550 550 550 550 550 550 !

DubVBenz

Ahh, I see that you averaged 66MPH over that period, which indicates basically entirely highway driving. I'm also down at about 35PSI, which I suppose matters a bit. Given your location, I assumed you did essentially 100% city driving like I do (I average about 25-35mph on a tank). If I'm cruising on a flat highway for hundreds of miles, I can almost achieve those numbers.

stale-bread

Congrats and I'm glad you went with the 550. I'm a gearhead myself and there was no way the 350 would satisfy me as a daily driver.

SoCalCLK

550 FTW. No regrets!

Munich77

Yep - the E350 is a great car but the 550 is just so intoxicating. I love the rumble of the engine.

SoCalCLK

The low rumble of the N/A V8 never gets old. Especially with the exhaust. Like a modern day muscle car with class

SLpat

I just went through the same process. I also ended up going with the E550. The E350 is a good car but for essentially the same amount it was a pretty easy decision when you consider everything you get. The gas mileage has been better than expected. I am averaging 21.7 for the first 900 miles with a 60/40 split highway versus city

Nuru

Congrats on the new unit. Carefully watch those Airmatic shocks/struts.

SLpat

I have heard several people point out potential issues with the airmatic shocks. I feel pretty good about it because they are covered under the CPO warranty. I assume they would be a pricey repair if not covered.

Munich77

Congrats the E550 is an awesome car. Dolice and comfortable most of the time yet a rocket ship when you step on it. A true Q-ship.