What to look for when buying a used E350 Bluetec
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Joined: Dec 2014
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Ford F-350
What to look for when buying a used E350 Bluetec
I am planning to buy my first Mercedes this weekend. The vehicle in question is out of state so I'm flying down there to pick it up. It was traded in with a reputable (but not Mercedes) dealer.
My question is - when inspecting the car, are there any specific things I should look for? It's a 2011 with about 50K miles on it. I tried searching on this forum and I found one person that mentioned the rear springs but no much else. Are there any other known trouble spots with this car?
Also - during my search, I found that there were a lot of cars that were advertised incorrectly regarding the factory options. I resorted to looking up the VIN on the EPC (which I found thanks to another thread on this forum) to check the build sheet. This car has P2, Pano, and Distronic Plus. The dealership listed none of those options. I can verify that it has P2 and the Pano roof from the pictures, but I've honestly never seen Distronic Plus. Looking at the exterior or interior, how can you tell it's installed?
Thanks,
Shane
My question is - when inspecting the car, are there any specific things I should look for? It's a 2011 with about 50K miles on it. I tried searching on this forum and I found one person that mentioned the rear springs but no much else. Are there any other known trouble spots with this car?
Also - during my search, I found that there were a lot of cars that were advertised incorrectly regarding the factory options. I resorted to looking up the VIN on the EPC (which I found thanks to another thread on this forum) to check the build sheet. This car has P2, Pano, and Distronic Plus. The dealership listed none of those options. I can verify that it has P2 and the Pano roof from the pictures, but I've honestly never seen Distronic Plus. Looking at the exterior or interior, how can you tell it's installed?
Thanks,
Shane
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 10
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Ford F-350
One more thing I forgot to mention... it disturbs me a little bit that the CarFax is clean... too clean. There are reports of the vehicle being titled and emissions checks being performed. But the only service record comes after the Nissan dealer that has it now received it on trade.
Of course, it could be very well maintained, but I have no way to know how it was treated in the past. I am putting my faith in the fact that this is a fairly large and well established dealer. When they took it on trade, I'm assuming that they would have sent it somewhere else to be sold if they found anything wrong with it.
Of course, it could be very well maintained, but I have no way to know how it was treated in the past. I am putting my faith in the fact that this is a fairly large and well established dealer. When they took it on trade, I'm assuming that they would have sent it somewhere else to be sold if they found anything wrong with it.
Member
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 102
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From: Toronto, ON
2010 E550 4Matic, P1, P2
For distronic if there is a shot of the front grill area you should be able to see black plastic (for lack of a better word in the middle of the grill on each side of the centre pillar of the grill. This is what the radar uses
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 268
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From: California
w212 E350 Bluetec & Mk7 GTI Sport
My question is - when inspecting the car, are there any specific things I should look for? It's a 2011 with about 50K miles on it. I tried searching on this forum and I found one person that mentioned the rear springs but no much else. Are there any other known trouble spots with this car?
Also - during my search, I found that there were a lot of cars that were advertised incorrectly regarding the factory options. I resorted to looking up the VIN on the EPC (which I found thanks to another thread on this forum) to check the build sheet. This car has P2, Pano, and Distronic Plus. The dealership listed none of those options. I can verify that it has P2 and the Pano roof from the pictures, but I've honestly never seen Distronic Plus. Looking at the exterior or interior, how can you tell it's installed?
One more thing I forgot to mention... it disturbs me a little bit that the CarFax is clean... too clean. There are reports of the vehicle being titled and emissions checks being performed. But the only service record comes after the Nissan dealer that has it now received it on trade.
Of course, it could be very well maintained, but I have no way to know how it was treated in the past. I am putting my faith in the fact that this is a fairly large and well established dealer. When they took it on trade, I'm assuming that they would have sent it somewhere else to be sold if they found anything wrong with it.
Thanks,
Shane
Thanks,
Shane
If the car your looking for is over 30k, it may not be CPO. In that case, your taking a risk for anything. They break things and scratch rims, and do repairs on the sly... Sure... Specially the used salesman/lot boys drive the cars... Sometimes. ESpecially non cpos from a non mbz dealer.
best bet, dont go NON cpo. definitely.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 409
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From: Vienna, VA
I may have a deal for you!
I just got a Tesla so I am in going to be selling my 2011 E350 Bluetec with 63k miles. It is black on black. Has P2, Night view assist, park assist pkg, 115v plug, keyless go, sport package, Drivers assist package with distronic plus. 64k msrp. It is a mb CPO unlimited miles warranty car that will transfer and I also got prepaid Maintenance for the 60k, 70k, and 80k (which is the big one with tranny flush). I had no plans to sell it but when Tesla came out with the Autopilot features like distronic plus I decided to switch.
The MB unlimited CPO warranty ends oct 30 2015 and I have an optional extension till 2017 for $2300
I will need about 10 days to get the title from mb finance and get it all detailed etc.
Car is located in northern VA near DC.
I was going to list it here soon but since your looking at a similar car I thought I would let you know.
all mb records, I service at MB Alexandria and will be doing the 60k service in a week.
Pm me if interested.
I just got a Tesla so I am in going to be selling my 2011 E350 Bluetec with 63k miles. It is black on black. Has P2, Night view assist, park assist pkg, 115v plug, keyless go, sport package, Drivers assist package with distronic plus. 64k msrp. It is a mb CPO unlimited miles warranty car that will transfer and I also got prepaid Maintenance for the 60k, 70k, and 80k (which is the big one with tranny flush). I had no plans to sell it but when Tesla came out with the Autopilot features like distronic plus I decided to switch.
The MB unlimited CPO warranty ends oct 30 2015 and I have an optional extension till 2017 for $2300
I will need about 10 days to get the title from mb finance and get it all detailed etc.
Car is located in northern VA near DC.
I was going to list it here soon but since your looking at a similar car I thought I would let you know.
all mb records, I service at MB Alexandria and will be doing the 60k service in a week.
Pm me if interested.
Last edited by drsaab; Dec 10, 2014 at 09:42 PM.
Super Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 620
Likes: 65
From: Florida
2018 E300 Luxury - P3 and more
One other thing to be aware of: Does the dealership selling the car have a company-owned MB dealership in the area? I know of more than a couple of cities where the same automotive group has both MB & other dealerships in the same area. In general, they keep the better stock at the MB dealership, the "B" stock gets sold at their non-MB dealerships where they're not directly comparable with nicer stock on the MB lot.
