Hey Guys,

Previous w211 owner, went to a Lexus LS460 for 2 weeks now back on the hunt for another car. I want a W212 E550 2010-2012! Found 2 deals and will lay them out. Hoping to get some good input as to what you would do as well as what to look for when buying (EX: if airmatic has been replaced etc). I found 2 within 500 miles of me and here they are laid out.

1. 2010 E550 White with Sport AMG Kit and Saddle brown interior, 57000 miles, CPO Warranty will be transferred to me and good until 04/17 or 135k miles. It has: Nav, HK audio, Black powder coated stock 18'' AMG wheels, Painted yellow calipers, Dynamic seats, parking camera and sensors, also has some chips in front from being bumped in parking lot. Only other problem is it took more than 2 seconds to start which indicates a bad battery maybe? And tires in back are ready to be replaced, as well as head rests in front are separated from the plastic casing and hanging on seat back they need to be fixed, it also has the triangle shaped burn in on the HID lenses. He is asking 24500 but I believe i can get down to 23500 or 23 lowest. Love the look and colors on this one as well as the dynamic and massage seats it feels more sporty with the bolsters holding you snug.

2. 2010 E550 Silver with Sport AMG Kit and Black interior, 54000 miles, CPO warranty transferred and good until 12/2018, thats a huge deal right there to me. It has everything the above has besides the Dynamic seats but it does have the pano roof((( No black rims or painted calipers either it is dead stock. He is asking 24500 and i can comfortable get it down to 23 or 22500. This one is so appealing because of the warranty but the no dynamic seats and undesirable color really throw me off. Any pictures of silver with black rims W212's would be awesome especially the stock AMG spoke rims.

Here is the thing though, IMO the silver one does not look as clean as the white as far as interior goes however I haven't seen it in person, the white i drove today and is immaculate. Not sure which direction to go, but both are former 2 owner CPO's with warranty and have only been serviced at the dealer. Its kind of a no brainer to go silver but having the dynamic seats and colorways of the white are way more appealing. What are your thoughts!?

 

Listen to your heart and you will eventually come up with an answer.

 

You want the white one, so get that. Buy an extended warranty if you think that is necessary. I am not one that gets hung up on warranties as the fine print can ruin many a claim. In any event, these 550 cars are very reliable and most of the known issues can be quantified, like the Airmatic. My car is a clone of your first choice with P2 and Pano roof, dynamic seat, Parktronic, etc. 57K miles. I place the value around $21K in a private sale.

 

For the money on either, I would expect no issues such as worn out tires. If you don't like the burned lenses, those will be expensive to fix. But 550's are much harder to find so you go with what you can find. I happen to like the silver, but thats all personal preferences. Good luck with whichever you end up with.

 

Find a 2012+ model in your price range.

More power (4.6 biturbo engine)
no Airmatic issues (rare option, not standard on E550 as in 2010-2011)
4matic on all E550
better looking front fogs
More power!!!


The dyanmic seats, and maybe keyless and auto trunk are the only options I wish I had. I don't do a lot of highway driving, but lots of people say they can't live without the distronic once they have it. Pano roof has opinions both ways.




**edit**
The TT engine also has huge potential for MORE power from ECU tuning to crank up the boost, if that's your thing, although tunes for MB are pretty expensive and you have to send off the ECU.

 

The only problem with the pano roof is the noise it makes when you're going over a ramp at an angle. Makes a popping/creaking noise that's quite loud. I have the pano on my W211 also and that also makes noise, but nowhere near as much, just some squeaks once in a while. There's a thread about taking the headliner off and tightening the bolts to get rid of the noise. Other than that, the pano roof is great, love having them. You also didn't mention if it had the driver assistance package, lane assist, blind spot etc. Parktronic is also interesting, it has parking guidance as part of the parking sensor. Other thing to look out for is the well know problem of the faded wood trim. Open the door and there's a piece of wood hidden by the door, see if all the wood matches or not, a very common problem that they didn't really fix til 2013+.

 

Just read about the black coated wheels and yellow calipers - yuck! Just think about the cost of changing that back to something reasonable.


Sounds like not that clean / well cared for. I found an impeccable 2012 for the same price. They are solid cars, don't be afraid of 50-60K miles or warranty. Wait for the right one.

 

Where did you see that at!? I live in LA and am looking for something no more than 600 miles from me. If anyone on the forums has something they are looking to unload id be very interested. Checked the classifieds not much coming up.

I mean for you guys is it a deal breaker to get a 2010 or 2011 because of problems the first few years of an overhaul?

 

I flew 1000mi from FL to TX to get it almost 1 year ago. TX seems to have cheap cars, worth a few hundred in travel and a weekend to save 5-10K over local prices. One just popped up near me in Orlando, 2012 E550 Black/Black/Black with 85K miles and EVERY option asking $24.5K




http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...34592542&Log=0

 

The 2010-11 E550 cars are very solid cars. There is no deal breaker there at all. They are very powerful, fast, solid and fun. There is no overhaul issue as you say with that new model. Turbo came in 2012. The 10-11 cars are normally aspirated engines, which some prefer. Like me.
They sound better at WOT

 

I'd really like to have some type of warranty or stay under 65k miles. Hard to justify the price having mileage that high you know? Unless you guys are that against the 2010-2011's that you'd rather get a higher mileage newer one than a low mileage used....?

 

I would not pay good money for any car with 85-90K miles. period

 

I definitely prefer the NA V8's as well. Something fun about having no spool time although most people say you can't notice it I guarantee you I will lol.

On that topic what would be a fair price to offer him on the white one? He is very solid on 23500-24000 because of the "warranty" that expires in 6 months.

Does anyone have one to sell or have a new listing going up anytime soon?

 

The only other issue with the 2010-2011 is the Tanaka airbag recall. Not all of them are affected so you have to punch the VIN in and see if it's affected.

 

The N/A engine is still very stout, and has a proven record (end of life years). But for the reasons I stated in first comment, I just would not settle for one over a 2012+ model unless it's a difference of at least $5K, or you just cant find one within your budget.


My runner-up was a 2011 e550 4matic with more options and a little less mileage for about the same price. I gave up options and my preferred color for performance and no worries about airmatic.




As far as mileage, I don't drive much, 8 mile commute round-trip on city streets. Maybe 5-8K miles per year, so the mileage of other similar year cars will catch up before I get rid of it. Car had a very solid dealer service history when I bought at 67K miles, and no issues now at 72K miles. All I have done is change the oil once.


Paying $24K for a car that has good history and 85K miles when it originally cost over $75K is not bad to me, as long as you don't intend to rack up more miles quickly. If you drive 20K+ miles a year, then maybe not a good idea.

 

Try the turbo engine in S mode - it will kick you in the pants, no spool time since the turbos are staggered. Boost starts at 1500 rpm I think. I've driven vehicles with horrible turbo lag, and it does not exist in this one.

 

Not sure why but on autotrader and a few craigslists I've searched I see no 2012 plus E550's with under 70k miles for anywhere near 23-24. The price difference of 3k makes a huge difference to me especially with the bank. The higher mileage a Mercedes is makes it a financing risk regardless of the year. Higher interest rate is no Bueno right now.

 

Stick to your decision then and keep looking for a NA. The stock NA at WOT sounds like a V8, the TT uh not so much. I would sell you mine for cheap, but I'm in Chi. Keep looking. They show up.

 

I've been getting nationwide alerts on Autotrader for a year, they're scarce under $30K, but do come up now and then. Interest rates are crazy low right now. Mine is 1.75% with excellent credit and 50% paid in cash.

 

If yours is in good condition and good mileage is love to buy it! Chicago is a nice drive and I can either get it shipped or just fly to pick it up. What are the details on yours?

 

at first I wanted to modify the exhaust but now I've gotten used to killin em softly.

 

I wouldn't sell long distance like that. Too many things can go wrong with money and shippers. Keep looking and be patient, but don't overpay. These NA E550's are really great cars. This is my second E class with the dynamic seat and it is a must for my back on longer trips. P2 is usually standard and leather. I do not like MB-tex. I love my Pano roof and some don't for whatever reason (noise I guess). I have Parktronic, but wish I had Distronic as well. Keep up with the maintenance and they will treat you right. If you let the maintenance go, you will pay. I change my oil every 5K.

 

I finalized the deal and am buying tomorrow morning, is this a good deal guys? IMO it is +- 500 and I believe it is great. I got him down to 21,300 as is.

Needs new tires and what I mentioned before. It also just had an accident added to carfax because he got rear ended and hit someone else in front of him and went on a police report since it was a pile up. Car is not fixed as of yet and honestly i could only tell because of the slight scuff on back bumper and paint scrape in front. He has offered to respray the front and back bumper with his insurance free. Would you guys do a respray or just do touch up on the OEM paint? Not sure how I feel about getting it painted with a shop and it not being OEM original paint. It really isnt that bad, here is a picture of the front for reference and pic of the car. Note the black marks under the grill.




1. 2010 E550 White with Sport AMG Kit and Saddle brown interior, 57000 miles, CPO Warranty will be transferred to me and good until 04/17 or 135k miles. It has: Nav, HK audio, Black powder coated stock 18'' AMG wheels, Painted yellow calipers, Dynamic seats, parking camera and sensors, also has some chips in front from being bumped in parking lot. Only other problem is it took more than 2 seconds to start which indicates a bad battery maybe? And tires in back are ready to be replaced, as well as head rests in front are separated from the plastic casing and hanging on seat back they need to be fixed, it also has the triangle shaped burn in on the HID lenses. Love the look and colors on this one as well as the dynamic and massage seats it feels more sporty with the bolsters holding you snug.

 

Take it to a quality paint shop, like the one insurance uses. They will usually give a lifetime warranty on the paint work. While it's there, have them fix the ugly wheels and calipers, and remove whatever that badge is on the side.

 

That was out of the blue that an accident was just added to the carfax. I'd ask to even get a lil more off but it looks like you got him down quite a bit from the initial price. Also noticed he has V8 badges on the side. Did he add Bi turbo badges to a none bi turbo? Just being nosey on my part since it's not really a issue.
The etch lights aren't a huge deal but def. get the head rest issue resolved it would be an irritant to me eventually.
You will love the NA V8 and if you have the airmatic and it's taken care for it'll provide a dynamic ride that non-airmatics cannot provide. My opinion is always get more for less. Good luck and welcome to the club.