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All good reliability wise. (2) 17 inch wheel got slight bends in them from pot holes which i got heated and pounded out, even w/the bends they were still within spec.
engine light at 99k when a piece of carbon through the timing off and shut down a cylinder, turned it off and engine light was off, no issues since.
Excelent fuel economy 26 average, i once hypermiled a 34.1 112 mile trip
What do you guys think of this one? Looks to have fold down seats, the bi-xenon headlamps (which are a must for me), and has the lane keep, driver awakeness, and blind spot monitor stuff (What is the difference between active and the non-active?), and it actually has the genuine leather. Black is my favorite, but this gray looks good too - I prefer the dark colors on the E-class. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...6607/overview/
Also, is there any upgraded stereo system or is the Harman Kardon it? More curious than anything. Lexus for ex. has their normal system and the upgrade is Mark Levinson. I have yet to see any E-class that did not have the Harman Kardon system, so perhaps it's more that everyone picked that package option.
Last edited by Vistance; Apr 13, 2018 at 02:05 PM.
I'm very partial to that color .... In my case I've changed wheel and trim finish but I think its a good color.
That price is reasonable and you may be able to knock a few bucks off of it. As in any case its always worth looking into the maintenance history. I don't know about an upgraded stereo version, for me the HK system has been fine.
What do you guys think of this one? Looks to have fold down seats, the bi-xenon headlamps (which are a must for me), and has the lane keep, driver awakeness, and blind spot monitor stuff (What is the difference between active and the non-active?), and it actually has the genuine leather. Black is my favorite, but this gray looks good too - I prefer the dark colors on the E-class. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...6607/overview/
Also, is there any upgraded stereo system or is the Harman Kardon it? More curious than anything. Lexus for ex. has their normal system and the upgrade is Mark Levinson. I have yet to see any E-class that did not have the Harman Kardon system, so perhaps it's more that everyone picked that package option.
No parktronic, no pano roof, but yes, blind spot and lane tracking which isn't the same as driver assistance because no distronic. I think attention assist was standard. Real leather is nice too. Keyless go is also there. No dymanic seats either, but at least you have the folding box. Wood looks ok, doesn't really look like it's faded, if it is, it's not much. Harma Kardon is standard. I think the upgraded one is Bang and Olufsen, but it's so expensive, you basically never see them.
How perceivable is the real leather vs. MB Tex? Also I have heard of the wood fading, does anyone have pictures of what a bad example looks like so I know what to look out for? I didn't see anything about Bang & Olufsen in the brochure for 2012 or 2013, so that was why I kind of wondered if there was anything more. Is there such a thing as an E-class without the P1 package? I've yet to find one (not that I would want that).
Ok, now you guys have me thinking about an E550. I found this one which seems like it has all the nice goodies. My huge question though, is the E550 reliability comparable to the E350? I imagine the higher up the trim levels you go the worse it gets due to complexity but this would be the first German car I own. I love V8s but don't want to regret it due to repair costs if they're going to be far higher and more likely on the V8 than the V6. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...2592/overview/
Last edited by Vistance; Apr 13, 2018 at 06:39 PM.
For the fading wood, you just open the door and look at the trim that's hidden by the door. If it's much darker, the wood is faded. I've only seen a couple cars without P1, looks very strange because it doesn't have buttons for the seat heaters. They were usually out west or in the south where you don't need seat heaters and I guess the dealer got them just so they could have a really cheap model on the lot.
The only big issue with the E550 would be the airmatic, somewhat expensive and if you get a used one, it's more likely to go the more miles it has on it. Plus the gas mileage. Also not that much room to work on it as the engine bay is tighter. Other than that, same options. That one is a nice one, missing the pano roof, but some don't like it due to both the noise and the additional complexity. Even has night vision, dynamic seats, heated steering wheel and the driver assistance package.
For the fading wood, you just open the door and look at the trim that's hidden by the door. If it's much darker, the wood is faded. I've only seen a couple cars without P1, looks very strange because it doesn't have buttons for the seat heaters. They were usually out west or in the south where you don't need seat heaters and I guess the dealer got them just so they could have a really cheap model on the lot.
The only big issue with the E550 would be the airmatic, somewhat expensive and if you get a used one, it's more likely to go the more miles it has on it. Plus the gas mileage. Also not that much room to work on it as the engine bay is tighter. Other than that, same options. That one is a nice one, missing the pano roof, but some don't like it due to both the noise and the additional complexity. Even has night vision, dynamic seats, heated steering wheel and the driver assistance package.
It does have the airmatic. Can it be replaced with the normal suspension if it goes out or will it throw codes? It has 55k miles so seems very low. I've never been crazy about moonroofs so the lack of the pano doesn't bother me. I was quite impressed with the other features, it now went to the top of my list to check out. Sidenote, it's at a Mercedes dealer. Do the rules about a prepurchase inspection still apply or if it's at a Benz dealer is it really required?
I had a 2010 E550 4Matic and it was a fantastic car. Buy it. And yes, get records and do a PPI. Just deal with the Airmatic if issues arrive. If the rear air bags have been replaced (leaked), then you should be good to go. Test drive it and you will stop looking at 350’s.
Arnott makes reasonably priced replacements if the air shocks start leaking.
Personally, I'd never change out the air suspension to conventional shocks - that's a major part of what gives these cars a nice comfortable ride.
Go for the 550 V8 and a year from now you'll be thanking me every time you drive the car.
I had a 2010 E550 4Matic and it was a fantastic car. Buy it. And yes, get records and do a PPI. Just deal with the Airmatic if issues arrive. If the rear air bags have been replaced (leaked), then you should be good to go. Test drive it and you will stop looking at 350’s.
Ha, I hope so. So if a Mercedes dealer gets a used Mercedes, do they not do the same PPI as they take it for inventory? This E550 would be far cheaper than my truck and I think I would enjoy it infinitely more so honestly slightly higher repair costs really wouldn't bother me that bad as long as I'm not suddenly having to get things fixed all the time and spending thousands a year in repairs. I am use to spending basically nada on repairs and just typical wear items in a year. Still seems kind of dumb to have two V8 cars...but oh well.
What is the repair and the replacement cost on the airmatic shocks? Would help me brace for that future repair bill, I'm not inclined to disagree on it being worth it to fix and keep them.
It’s hard to estimate what may or may not happen to an Airmatic equipped car. I have had 2 and I replaced one rear struct on my E500 for $1.200. That was it. No other issues. My 2014 does not have Airmatic. I personally liked having it.
Hmm, not too terrible. How many miles/years is it typical before they need replacing? The '10 I linked has 55k miles so that seems fairly low, and it's a one owner. Lexington has a lot of farms and other wealthy people, so perhaps it was an occasional use car only.
My car had 86k miles when I bought it a year and a half ago. The previous owner had just replaced the two rears and I've replaced the two fronts since owning it. I'd venture to say air shocks are probably good for anywhere from 65 to 90k miles.
My car had 86k miles when I bought it a year and a half ago. The previous owner had just replaced the two rears and I've replaced the two fronts since owning it. I'd venture to say air shocks are probably good for anywhere from 65 to 90k miles.
Thanks for the insight. As far as testing them, anything special I should do to see if they're still good or starting to fail? I'm guessing failing ones have rips in the rubber or fluid leaking around them?
Rips in the rubber are a sure sign, but in all likelihood, they're probably going to look fine. These things are going to leak eventually, just accept it and be prepared.
Best you can do.
Since I'm considering...how much more do things jump up when you look at E63 AMGs? For now the E350/550 was to be a mate car to the Z06, but an AMG could quite easily become an only car for me thanks to the power (RWD not so optimal though). The few I have seen look to have 5-6 owners, which makes me think each person thought "This will be great!" then they find out it's more than they bargained for and sell it, wash rinse and repeat. Same for a lot of Vettes I looked at before I bought mine, even found one with 8 owners lol. It's an impractical car so it makes sense why there.
The AMG cars is a whole different world of performance and cost to maintain. Shouldn’t even be in this discussion.
I've been known to expand my budget if I like a car enough, an AMG would not be out of my affordability at least for purchase price but curious what the running costs really come down to. It's a big NA V8 RWD car which don't usually go that crazy. Eats tires, brakes, and rotors would be my first higher cost guess? What else ups the cost?
Head bolts. They were bad til some time in 2011. 2012+ should be good. The 2012+ AMGs are more money. Still you could always get the head bolts replaced prior to the engine blowing up. Then you'll find out it's $25k for a new engine or about 10k for a used one. Brakes are also way more money. Oh and they're also more money on an E550 too, OEM tends to warp, they're fine on the E350 and cheaper. There's always aftermarket though. I think the head bolts are cheap and some just replace one bolt at a time for around 1k whereas some say the proper way to do it is to replace the head gasket. Airmatic going bad is pretty common, from a low of 60k to as high as 120k. Problems are usually either air leaks, compressor or the shock itself. OEM is 1k a corner. When it's gone, you can't drive it, car sits too low. Leaks should be fixed quickly otherwise you burn out the compressor making it more expensive.
Wow, so did a little more digging and the '10-'11 E550 is 4.9 to 60 which is very respectable and I just saw the '12-'13 ups that to 4.3. That's nuts! Maybe I should be looking at a '12 or '13. But I have no idea how the turbos change the equation for reliability which is truly what I should be focusing on. This one looks like a pretty decently equipped '12, not as good as the '10 I found though. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...8866/overview/
I agree on the E63, just nice to think about. Honestly how much faster than the E550 is it really? Seems almost like it would more be about the handling via tires/brakes/suspension than the power, though it of course has a boatload. Makes me happy to know an E550 would have dusted the 5.0 Coyote Mustang I use to own a few years ago
Yes, the TTV8 is a beast from the factory and a simple ECU tune can produce near 600HP. The car is rediculous. It is not an AMG, but you can get pretty close to one. Oh yeah, I like mustangs also. Ha
Yes, the TTV8 is a beast from the factory and a simple ECU tune can produce near 600HP. The car is rediculous. It is not an AMG, but you can get pretty close to one. Oh yeah, I like mustangs also. Ha
I'm not sure I'm confident enough to go for tuning. A VW GTI was on my list previously and I was going to be a little leery of tuning that, and I know they have well known tunes and stuff.
From a driving experience does the older E550 feel more like it needs to wind out compared to the turbo 550? I imagine that would be the biggest immediate difference, the turbo probably has the more immediate response. Not sure it's worth the extra money and the '10 E550 seems to be equipped with a lot of nice options. I don't know that I have to have the active seats or the distronic, though they sound very cool in my head. I looked at a Volvo the other day, it was nice but it lacked that refinement and class feel that the E350's I looked at had in spades. Just something about Mercedes that feels more substantial and better, plus I enjoy the dead smooth operation. Never been in a car where at idle I had to check to make sure the engine was running it was so smooth/quiet. Trying to avoid being impulsive especially since I would be trading away the truck in my signature which is much more pricey than the E550 would be.
2007 mercedes e63, 2006 bmw 530 Xi with Mtech kit , 2005 ford expedition
The e550 is a sweet ride but driving and being in a AMG is just mistacle... I just traded my old faithful 07 e63 with 162k for a 15 e400 sedan .. I love the e400 but part of me is still missing the amg feel .. I say if u can get a 14 e550 I would def get that over a pre facelift e350 ..that's if u're budgets allows you to .. as there a lil over 30k I believe .. I paid 30k for my e400 completely fully loaded .. either way you can't go wrong ..I think the 212 eclass is just a pretty well built machine .. either the 2010 or the 2014 facelift E
Since I owned a 2010 E550 and now a 2014 E550, I will say that my butt dyno has them feeling about the same. What I miss with the 2014 is the roar that came from the NA 2010. The turbos are good at messing up a proper exhaust sound.
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