Hi guys,

First of all let me thank you for this great forum.

I am contemplating buying my first Mercedes (used). Here are the two that I have my eyes on:

E550 2011 with 20,000 Miles
Or
S550 AMG Sport package 2009 with 75,000 Miles

They are both the same price, but the S550 have 4 times the usage of the E550, and is an older car. It is more luxurious though and IMHO, looks more distinguished.

I am mainly looking for reliability, features, performance and luxury in this order.

Which one would be a better choice? I am stupid to even thinking about purchasing a used S550 with 75K on mileometer?

Thanks for any reply and assistance.

If you are concerned about reliability, I would get the car with any remaining warranty. Otherwise, drive both and see which one you like better. You might find one or the other suits you better for reasons besides "luxury" (e.g. size, handling, performance, comfort, etc).

I would take the E550. The S-class is gorgeous but it is a big car that will need a lot more maintenance. Plus size wise try them on - depending on where you live you may find that the S-class is too big for parking etc.

I would buy the 550, but drive both like someone mentioned to see what you like

Thanks for your replies.

Is there anything that can be done to make the E550 2011 look more "agressive"?

I find it a bit too bland for my taste. (sorry for all E550 owners in advance)

I've seen a fair number of really good looking w212's: tint, wheels, drop, blacked out trim, grill, side markers........only up to the imagination
just few things I did, minus the drop

All good advice...I'd also checkout the CLS too...

If the E is also outside the warranty between these two cars I would look more closely to the S. It has more miles on it but if these are highway miles and the E has city miles the actual miles on the engine are close the same. Tranny sees all of the miles regardless of type of driving albeit on highway you go on the highest gear all the time.

The S is also an AMG, or with the sports package do you just mean the AMG trim and not the engine?

S-class is a whole different class of a car and it handles better in tight places than you would think by the size of it.

E is way down from it in everything.

Each used car has a different history and condition. There is really not any way that someone could recommend which one without seeing either the E or S. Some cars are in good condition at 75,000 others are thrashed at 20,000.

Drive both & see...best advice you'll be able to get. Take a serious look at the condition of the cars more than anything else.

IGNORING condition/usage/age, it comes down to if you want a larger car or a smaller car. The ride will be much different between the two. The E will be more nimble, the S is more lumbering.

I've been driving my new 15 E350 and an 11 S550 this week. For me, the E is the right car. The 15 E interior compares pretty well with the 11 S550, but certainly doesn't come close to the 15 S550. The 11 S550 does NOT have Bluetooth audio and never can. For me this was a pretty major thing as I'm almost always streaming audio. I also noticed that the seats were much wider on the S and the Active Multi-Contour seat wasn't anywhere near as good as the ones on the 15 E. Granted, there are 4+ years between the two cars, so it's difficult to say if these are differences because of car class or years.