realrideracing

I'm looking for everybody's honest opinion here because my Head Says No! But my Gut Says Yes.
I'm in the market for a relatively inexpensive daily commuter. I drive about 60 miles round trip each day for work, and another 30 miles on weekends for errands. I originally had a 2008 Mazda 3 that was dedicated for the commutes but after 6 months of flogging it around, I realized that I'm truly an old fart during the week who just enjoys arriving in the office with a smile on my face and not feeling beat up on the drive in ... basically, I need to go back to an E-Class again!
So yesterday, I walked into a used car lot (1st red flag) and saw a beautiful 2010 E350 with AMG package. Has 111,000 miles on it, overall good shape. The salesman/owner of the lot is your typical slimey used car salesman, fast talking and has a story for everything (2nd red flag). He CLAIMS that the car belongs to a friend also in the "car business" but getting out and going into real estate. The story is that he bought 2 cars from this guy and the owner wants $15K for the E-class but he's offering it for $12K because that's what he thinks it's worth. The other car is where he's "really making money at" because it's a lower end car and that's his bread and butter (I did verify that all the other cars on his lot are around $7K and below).
I climbed under the car and there's no fresh fluid underneath, no visible signs of chassis damage. Salesman pointed out to me that the grille was cracked due to minor front end collision, front bumper cover was also recently repainted from that same accident. He will replace the grille. Took the car for a 10 minute drive, mostly over speed humps, U-turn in driveway, checked alignment under braking, drove with windows up and down, did a 60mph run... car felt really good with no rattles, and clunks... EXCEPT right rear corner had a slight ticking sound over speed humps (I suspect maybe a trailing arm bushing, or maybe a bad shock). Returned to dealership and popped the hood. Oil is clean and clear. Couldn't check water as it was at operating temp (but noticed water temp gauge was normal). Couldn't smell any burning oil or fluids. Looked at the bumper shock mounts for ripples and saw nothing. No visible signs of paint stress or mismatched body panel paint. Salesman disclosed 2 fender bender accidents with no airbag deployment in either, and an airbag recall still unresolved by MBZ. Today, I pulled the Carfax on my own and confirmed the 2 accidents with no airbag deployment. All else checks out clean on the car the salesman appears to have declared everything on the Carfax.
I plan on returning to perform a more thorough check due to the 2 accidents. I will pull the carpeting in the trunk and look for signs of damage and/or aftermarket sound deadening spray. I'm going to look under the hood for new body hardware, and look closely at the pinch welds. If all checks out, I'm thinking of buying it (he's not willing to negotiate at this point). So to recap: 2010 E350 with AMG Package, 111K mi, comes with 2 month Engine/Transmission/Brake warranty by dealer. $12K final price.
What's everybody's opinion here? Would you buy or pass?

jahquan3

The price is pretty much what I would expect especially in my area if not maybe a little better then I'd expect. I assume it's a 4-Matic and take a close look at the rotors for warpage, and MBTex rips on the inside, also faded wood trim. If all else checks out and you can foot the additional cost for maintenance or DIY, I wouldn't be against it. Just my 2 cents, and good luck.

realrideracing

Thanks for your thoughts. It's actually a RWD.

jahquan3

So that maybe even better atleast from a transfer case issue perspective but I guess that brings the price more in line.

FYI I have a RWD and I love it until it's snowing out lol.

Mud

I've worked on cars and restorations for over 40 years so my pride sez I "know a lot" lol. Yet on both the E350 and the 73 bug I just finished, I found that I had a lot to learn about specifics on these cars. I say that not to criticize you - you seem to know to look for the basics, but as a suggestion that if you are serious about the car, have it checked by a 3rd party that is familiar with these cars. Otherwise you are getting internet guesses about price vs. miles/age, not actual operational issues. One example that comes to mind is engine/trans mounts. My car initially had a vibration that was minor yet evident. I looked at the usual stuff, tires, suspension, engine, etc. yet I never thought to look at the mounts. My car was under warranty, the dealer took a drive and immediately said "mounts". All replaced.
If the seller is indeed honest about the car, they should not have an issue to have it checked by someone else, at your expense.
My car is under ELW and shows frequent visits, due to my taking it in for car wash regularly. In your case I don't think that the dealer visits are a bad thing, could be the PO was picky.
Good luck with your decision.

realrideracing

My insurance company is also offering an Extended Warranty that's pretty comprehensive for $111/month. It covers just about everything under the moon, EXCEPT typical wear and service items like tires, fluid changes, filters, etc. Thinking of getting it.

Oda112

In addition to what others have said here, I would also recommend taking a look at the PCV system, mainly the oil separator/breather valve cover, it's on the back of bank 1, you can lift the hood into service mode and check for oil leaks there, as it is an item which fails quite often (it should have been replaced once already - it's not very expensive). There's a hose going from that cover to the MAF body, it's easy to disconnect and look inside of it ( if there's oil dripping - not good, that means you're looking into a possible intake manifold replacement, since excessive oil contamination will weaken the vacuum actuator flaps of the variable geometry intake runners - that's a tad expensive, the dealer will usually charge over 1500$, part itself is 750$ ).
The second part of the PVC is on bank 2, a plastic cover between cylinders 3/4, look at it's base for oil leaks. To do all of this you'll have to remove the engine covers, it's easy, they pop off. There's a metal clip on the back of the MAF housing, push that back, pull the back plastic cover off and you'll be able to look at the top part of the motor and get an idea of how clean it is.
Like Mud suggested, make sure your motor and tranny mounts are not shot, the motor ones are expensive to replace at the dealer ( a 250$ job if you do it yourself). Check the gearbox's operation, make sure there are no rough up or downshifts and ask for the oil maintenance receipt (it should have been performed every 40k miles).
There are a lot of other things you could check, but this post would turn into a novel. If these big items are ok, you should be fine. As for electrical gremlins, those are almost sure to happen with the W212, usually a restart will cure them ( just like with Windows). Good luck! Let us know how it went.

realrideracing

Thank you all for the great responses. I have decided to pass on that particular car simply because the salesman will not allow a PPI by my mechanic. This is a deal breaker for me.
So, back to my search.

thefisch

Good call. No PPI, no deal.

KEY08

cetialpha5

Plus you didn't mention what options it had. Basic car with just P1 are pretty common. Not a real deal with that kind of mileage. Mine at least had P2 and a few other things that I got for around 15k last year with 96k.