tepcin

Hi:

Considering my first MB. Local dealer has a single owner 2011 E550 loaded. It is not CPO, and I'm concerned after reading posts of the aromatic suspension failing.

Any advise? I love the car, but don't want to buy it and 6 months down the road have a 4-5k repair bill.

Note, I only drive 3-4k miles per year.

Does anyone know the failure rate of the aromatic suspensions?

Thanks!

btw the car is here: http://www.mercedesbenzrochester.com...hf9ab5ba441955

megasaurus

The airmatic suspension could fail on the E550 however it could either be the pump due to a leak, or the compressor fails. Do you have records of the vehicle...and carfax to a least give you an idea of its history. Also, I know of 2010-2012 E550 that were driven 5-6k miles per year by one owner or were a corporate car look for vehicles like them.

KEY08

Airmatic failure is overrated. Failure in the W211 was more prevalent than the W212 and I have owned both. One rear strut($1,100) in my W211 and no failure in my W212. The 2010-11 are very reliable cars. 76,000 is a lot of miles and if all of the services have not been performed in time I would not buy it. Plus, that is not a $25,000 car. $20K tops

megasaurus

2010 E550 i own is still perfect and a tank. Nothing has failed or gone. Yet it only has 35k miles on it.

tepcin

Thanks for the replies. There is a car-fax. All standard maint. has been done. 25k is inline with what kbb, edmunds, and nada guides have for retail.

Again, I love the car... but still wondering if there is a % of failures that is known... (i.e. if failure rate is 80% for cars approaching 100k, I'll pass, if 20%, I may risk it.).

I know I can buy an extended warranty, but that would probably cost 2-3k, and i may be better off just putting that money away in case needed.

Tough call. They have tons of e350 4 matic but those are soooooo common... everyone has one. Nobody has the e550. And the power... omg.. stepped on it on the highway and 60 to 100 in no time. This is clearly an emotion vs. logic based decision.

I'll add, this is sort of my mid-life crisis car. Just turned 50. Decisions decisions.

megasaurus

Sir, I'm not even closely remote to your age but I agree with the notion that E550's are rarity on the road. That being said I wouldn't approach your purchase by percentages. But more of of a common sense. It's a vehicle that has been used you don't know what is been thru yet you want it to Last you till when...also hiw.much money do you have to spend given you really seem to appreciate the V8. If it were me, at 50 years of age I would get a low mile e550 not necessarily CPO but from a single owner who drove it may 5 6 thousand miles a year. They are out there and I still believe they will be highly coveted years to come.

tepcin

Thanks for your reply. It is a single owner car, owned by a local surgeon. He originally paid about 65k in 2011 for this car new. All standard service was done, nothing out of the ordinary (maybe brakes, pads, rotors, etc) which is a known issue. 75k isn't that high mileage... I can spend up to 28k.... it's just comparing getting a 'wow' car like the e550 with high mileage vs. a 'ho-hum' car with low mileage but a warranty. Same argument could be made for any purchase. 28k can get you a new honda civic or accord, or a a nice used Mercedes. I'm in the frame of mind " I'm 50, I deserve a nice car " ... lol. Again, the test drive of the e550 was incredible. The test drive of a similar 2011 E350 was ho-hum.

megasaurus

Pass you can get a beautiful E550 for a close figure to that with way low miles. However if you want to only spend 28k. I had a buddy bought a 2010 E550 sedan with 25k miles on it for 32,000 out the door. One owner a senior citizen. No accidents. Well taken Care of, pristine.

El Cid

Why do you want an E550 vs an E350? While many people (on this site anyway) have not had problems, airmatic suspensions are very expensive to repair - and known to fail. Don't forget, there are four wheels affected by the system. At 78,000+ miles, could you really just replace one wheel's suspension if it failed?
Could ask the dealer to throw in an extended 3 year warranty.
How long do you plan to keep the car?

pdisher

Yuk
Faded wood
You'd think that would have been replaced, common known issue.
Could speak to the maintenance or lack thereof...

tepcin

I wouid probably keep the car for 4-5 years..... Hadn't thought of asking for an extended warranty. I guess after 4-5 years and nearing 100k, the trade in value would be crap.

megasaurus

With that many miles after those 4 5 years yes the miles would be to high that would deter any potential buyers

Rocman8

i second this. seriously how did people let their warranty run out before complaining about the wood? sad thing is its only going to fade worse and worse.

El Cid

Would definitely get the wood trim replaced at no cost. It is obviously faded and will get worse over time. Doesn't actually speak to maintenance, just that owner may not have been aware of the fading issue - or cared. Also, it does not happen overnight, so may not even have noticed it.
For future reference, check autotrader, KBB, Carmax for value of 10 year old E550's. Will give a hint of what you might get for it if you keep it five years. 100,000 miles and 10 years is a big psychological barrier for many purchasing luxury cars, especially those where maintenance and parts are expensive.

KEY08

Nothing beats a 550. The V8 is a beast. You are smart to steer clear of the 350. It is a very boring car and you would tire of it quickly. Trade in at 100K miles will be a joke and less than $10K. As long as you are prepared for this go for it, but save your repair money rather than spend it on extended warranties. Good luck!

El Cid

Found this comparison site: http://carsort.com/compare/Mercedes-...s-Benz-E-Class
Basically, the 550 comes with leather and 350 may not and 550 is better performer. If those are important. 350 gets better MPG. Everything else is the same. Another factor is that your insurance will be higher on the 550 than the 350; V8 vs. V6.
Also, consider if it might have been driven harder simply because it was a V8?
Incidentally, 95% of people want know the difference between the two.

Airmousam

Agree, get the wood replaced as part of the purchase...

KEY08

Huge seat-of-the-pants difference between the 350 and 550 which you have already concluded in your test drives. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The 350 feels like it is dragging the weight around. Gas is under $2, so who cares about mileage anymore. Lol Buy what excites you.

CEB

A couple of odd things in the carfax. It was first delivered to a dealership on 5/2011. It was sold a month later from a different dealership.

In 6/2011 it was sold and registered. Two weeks later it racked up 500 miles and was serviced.
In 11/2011 a new registration was issued with less than 830 miles. Accordingly, it was driven 300 miles in 5 months.
In 1/2012 (a half year after it was registered) the 1 yr/10k mile service was performed with 832 miles on the clock
Two months later (in 3/2012) the car had 13300 miles and had a tire replaced
A month and another 2000 miles later (4/2012) it had a strut, tire and wheel replaced
In 07/2012 and with 20000 miles, the car had the 20k service done.

This car was driven very hard. First it wasn't driven, then it racked up 13000 miles in two months. The 10k service was never done (one service at 800 miles, the next at 20k miles.)

The car clearly suffered a major pothole incident resulting in several replacement parts and subsequent frequent tire issues.

Step away from this car. Personally, I'd stay away from any car that was driven on NY streets

Yidney

The wood alone would be a deal killer for me. Walnut naturally fades like that unless the color is stabilized. MB must have started using a different supplier who did not do anything to stabilize it. Antique stores are full of greenish walnut furniture that was exposed to sunlight for years. But I totally get the 550 vs. 350 thing - I made the same choice when I bought my CLK.

cc16177

I bought a 2011 E550 with 47k miles and i'm already at 67k or so in 6 months. So far my rear airmatic already had issues and had to have that fixed under CPO warranty.

I would definitely buy the car but ONLY if it had a CPO warranty on it.

tepcin

Thanks for the advice, I will probably pass on this car.

Airmousam

Here's another one in your area, similar options but on the high $ side

http://rochester.craigslist.org/ctd/5352915243.html

jonUF02

You can do much better.

I ran a quick search on Autotrader, and came up with this beauty near you. only 38K miles, regular service, no accidents, and it has 4matic, but seems like not a lot of the extra premium options. Listed for under $25K at an Audi dealer. I'm sure I could do even better if I spent any time on searching.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2016&zip=14623&doorCo de=4&maxPrice=30000&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=[MB[E550[]][]]&doorCodes=4&modelCode1=E550&sortBy=derivedpriceAS C&showcaseOwnerId=0&makeCode1=MB&startYear=2010&fi rstRecord=0&maxMileage=75000&searchRadius=500&list ingId=403911100&Log=0

jonUF02

Here's a link thats working:

http://www.townaudiofenglewood.com/u...7acdfb6c95.htm