I just check out and drove the car today.

I started the paperwork but could not pick it up today because it is still undergoing minor work.

I was looking for Gold or that soft blue, but everything I find that fits my criteria is across the country, so this color grew on me the past few days.

It is a Certified Used car.

Palladium Silver Metallic in color.
55k miles @ $27K

any input as far as anything I should be paying particular attention to?

 

Oil cooler seal leaks. it's a large job and alot of them need it. mine did so did a customer of my dad's & my mechanics seen a few come back to the dealer after being fixed.

mine been fine since the repair. just noticed pool of oil in garage

 

BlueTEC is a great car, with stellar miles per gallon and torque to pull a house. I've got the sport model which makes for a great handling car too.

It does have a couple areas to be wary of - the worst being the oil cooler seals, and also the tumble valves and motor for the intake.

The oil cooler seals were changed from orange to purple Viton material. It was discovered as a small oil leak near the rear of the engine. It looks like a rear main seal, but it is not. I did mine DIY, which takes about $250 in seals, oil, coolant and bolts. Took 16 hours from start to finish, and I'd rate it a 6 on a scale of 10 for difficultly. Dealer or shop will want $2000-2500 to replace the $5 seal. DIY for this if you want to see what is required: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...oler-leak.html


So at pre-purchase, pull the lower covers off and look for any oil on the covers, and around the rear of the engine. If any found, have them resolve it before buying.

The tumble valves get gunked up from diesel exhaust recirculation, and the oil from the blow by, combining to make a mess in the intake manifold. It can actually restrict the flow after 50K miles. MB will want to replace the complete intake, but you can disable the valve for practically nothing by doing the 'resistor mod for OM642'. Search for it. Most have said they notice no difference. I have not had an issue with this, and I cleaned up the intake gunk, and added an oil catch can, when I did the oil cooler seals. Hopefully this will make a difference in solving the issue.

That is the bad news. I can go on and on about the good news, and it is my wife's favorite car EVER. And we have owned many nice cars (Jag XK8, SL55, Etc.).

Last - Make sure the NAV DVD is updated to the latest version. Updates are $250, so having the latest is money saved.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

I think in the end you will like the colour. I have the same and I find it looks clean even when its not and it shows off the contours well. Enjoy. I had a 320CDI that I still miss.

 

I just bought mine about 6 weeks ago. 2011 with 70k miles. I specifically went out looking for a e350 bluetec. I was not aware of the oil cooler issue and after a few days of having it, I noticed puddles of oil in my garage. So now I am currently dealing with that issue. Luckily my friend is a MB mechanic and he is doing the Seal job for me. Other than that and replacing the battery. I love it! Even installed lowering springes and some wheels for a nice look!

 

I have that silver color too, and I think all German cars should have it.

BTW - Silver was the official F1 color for German cars, which is why you see so many in that color. Can you guess what color Italy was? How about Britain? (hint: BRG). It all fits in the big picture, and keeps tradition intact.

 

Good to know about the intake parts. thank you

the oil cooler seal repair when done by the dealer is closer to 4k, and mine was done under warranty
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they replaced close to 10 seals plus other gaskets and parts.