matman167

Hi all,
my name is Phil and i am from NY ( just north of NYC) and am a car enthusiast. I am going to be buying my first MB and due to my other vehicles, finances, kids, i am between a 2008 E350 wagon with 73k and a 2011 E350 wagon with 65k. the 2011 comes pretty loaded up with AMG package, P1 package, leather etc, ( not the imitation leather ive been reading about). the 2008 is priced at $16,500 and the 2011 was negotiated at $22,000. please help with any advise!

homeofstone

Go with the newer, lower mileage car unless it has been in an accident. Check carfax on both cars.

matman167

i put a deposit on the 2011. I am just not up to date on all the research of if the last model was better of if the newer is. im assuming through common sense that as years go on they will evolve tech wise and mechanical wise.

cetialpha5

I have both but they're both sedans with P2 and the pano. The 2011 seems to have more cosmetic issues, faded wood trim (open the passenger door and see if the wood hidden by the door is the same color as the door trim), ripped seat (real leather may be better than MB-Tex, it's MB-Tex that rips), driver seat heater not working, broken console cover. Mechanically it seems better though, more solid. I don't like the ipod cables in the 2011, can't get spotify to work with it on my ipod, not sure if it's just a bad cable or some other bad setup, I just use the bluetooth on my phone, but it's not as nice as having an ipod in the glove box like I do on my 2008. Pano was worse on the 2011 than 2008, the 2008 made a little noise, 2011 a lot more. Make sure they did the 60k maintenance. You can buy a pre paid maintenance package that covers the next 3 services, but I think your next 3 would be the 70 80 and 90, I think the 80 is major, the 70 and 90 might just be A so maybe just a 2 service package. I think you can only buy it if the car has less than 80k. See if you can ask them to upgrade the firmware for Comand and get the latest maps installed.

beejAMG

08-09 imo are the best yrs for the W211.
'11 W212 has more gizmos, electronics, safety features, completely different shape compared to the more rounded W211. guess it all comes down to what you really fancy. id go for the W212 but. goodluck and post pics.

davidjohnbamber

Are you purchasing the car from a M-B dealer? If not, I would suggest a PPI. I would also see what extended warranty options are available. Your local credit union might offer a good warranty plan. Good Luck with your new ride. I would also see about a data card for the vehicle by doing a search for threads with data card, and you will have all the info on the car when it was built. Finally (thank God) I would check for any open recalls on the car.

cetialpha5

The only major recall is the airbag. You'll have to go on MB site and punch in the VIN to see if it's on the recall list. Some were and some weren't not sure how it broke down. My 2011 wasn't on the list. But the 2010-2011 E-350 could have had the airbag under recall.

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/recall

matman167

Hi David, thanks a bunch for the feedback. I am not buying it from a M-B dealer, they are a high end exotic dealership in northern Virginia called Rosner Motorsports. Car fax is clean and shows only one owner. Clean record snd has been serviced through M-B records show. and what do you mean by PPI? and I'm checking now Cetialpha5 for any recalls. only the dash board is faded which i have been reading is a HUGE issue with certain years. I will have to fight to have M-B replace it.

cetialpha5

You can take it to an MB dealer and ask them to do a pre-purchase inspection, they'll probably charge around an hour do it. Have them check the car out and hook it up to their Star diagnostic machine. It will find error codes in other subsystems that won't show up with a regular scanner that just does CEL lights. You won't get anywhere on the faded wood trim. Unless it's under factory warranty, it won't be covered unless they didn't sell it til 2013. It's not covered under extended or CPO warranty as it's considered cosmetic and the dealer you're buying it from probably won't agree to do it. I think the kit alone is around 3k to replace all the wood. I got a used set on eBay that wasn't as faded for around $250, but it's still a little bit faded. If you were getting it from an MB dealer, you could probably ask them to do it as part of the CPO process but other than that, don't bank on them getting it fixed.

thefisch

My local dealer charged $148 for the PPI and they were very thorough - spent about 3 hours going over the car. It was worth it for the piece of mind.

If you have a link to photos of the car, we can see if we notice anything that stands out.

cetialpha5

Well you could just google it.

http://www.rosnermotorsports.com/veh...va-id-16454664

Not under recall, but it does have the pano roof. Go over some entrance ramps at an angle and see if you hear any popping noise from the pano roof. The bolts get loose. It's somewhat loud too, sounds like the glass is going to crack. The wood is pretty badly faded, at least the console wood isn't that bad, it was probably tucked away. At least it has keyless go, make sure you get the button, otherwise you can get them on Ebay. Oh and the car has MB-Tex and it's the imitation leather you've been reading about. Check the center seam in the driver's seat and passenger seat, that's where it normally starts to rip.

http://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/check-...HH8HB1BA256909

matman167

Thanks a bunch guys. it looks like a solid car, things checked out but ill see if they will do a PPI at MB.. they took it off their website since i put a deposit and agreed to sensitively pick it up saturday it was on eBay you can still see it let me know what you think ! i appreciate the feedback emmensly
http://www.ebay.com/itm/192058536248?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

matman167

Thanks Cetialpha5! so what do you think? looks solid right? they stated they did a vehicle check but obviously ill inspect it more when i am there. The manager facetimed me and showed me everything in the vehicle. he did point out the faded wood trim some rim brushing. Its a 2011 so i know its not going to be perfect and it will have some imperfections. What do you think of the imitation leather? i hear they are durable but i understand its not leather. The seats appeared to be in excellent condition from what i saw on the video but ill see it better in person. we negotiated on $22,000. i didnt think it was a terrible price.

thefisch

Much easier to let someone else do that.

cetialpha5

Yes, you actually have the P2 package which is somewhat rare, it's even hard to find a wagon so it's not too bad, if you hold out for a car with more options, it will probably be a while before another pops up that has more than this one. The seats have a defect where the threads get loose and you end up with a crack in the middle of the seam. The newer covers they make now fix that problem.

Good point.

IgorE350

2011 for sure

aquinob

That's a pretty car. I think the rims on it are 17's not 18, if that matters. I prefer them, slightly cushier ride and tires are cheaper and rims less prone to damage. Fading wood trim and mbtex seats, but looks very clean from the few pics posted in the ad. Check the seat heaters and make sure they work, the drivers seat tends to break a wire and you have the back working and the seat bottom not. Also listen to it start from cold and make sure you dont have any lifter noise for the first few seconds. Good luck.

matman167

Aquinob thank you !I'll check all that out . And what is a lifter noise ??

KEY08

^ rattle noise

matman167

can anyone tell me if i have a airmatic suspension? or what kind of suspension i have ?? appreciate it !

thefisch

From the photo, you don't see the airmatic control which would be on the passenger side of the comand knob. So you don't have it.

Given it's a luxury trim, I would assume you don't have the sports suspension. IIRC that means it sits about half an inch higher than sport. Of course the data card should show how it was ordered exactly.

matman167

It made me wonder what I had Bc when I turned off the car I heard some air being released and it lowered a little. So I read it's a lever system

thefisch

Forgot that you have a wagon. Those have rear air suspension to auto level depending on the load in the back.

Here is your brochure if you want it. https://ragtop.org/mbbrochures/2011/...edan_Wagon.pdf

If you don't have a manual, you can download them here: https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/servi...wners_manuals#

matman167

Thank you for that info