CannonBoomBoom

Hello MBWorld,

I am thinking about purchasing my first MercedesBenz. The vehicle is a 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E 350 Sport with 55,000miles. The price is a little under $20,000 from a private seller. The vehicle has the following options: Sport Package, Leather Seats, Sunroof/Moonroof, Power Package, Navigation System, Appearance Package, Premium 1 Package, Bluetooth, Premium Wheels, Backup Camera, Heat Package, and Lighting Package.

I have been browsing this forum looking for reliability and other information about these vehicles and have some questions regarding.

1. I am in Texas, heat is a big deal. In the past few days, users have been saying that Speakers have been melting in the vehicles.
   1. How rare is this?
   2. How expensive is this to repair without warranty?
   3. Is there going to be a recall due to the increased fire hazard of electrical components?
2. I also saw a thread about Auxiliary Battery Malfunctions.
   1. Most of the issues came from vehicles with about 30,000miles, does this mean that the battery needs to be replaced every 30,000miles or were these early production issues?
3. Maintenence
   1. What is the average cost of A and B service for these vehicles?
   2. What should I expect at 60,000miles, 75,000miles, and 100,000miles?
4. Is the price too good to be true?

I know I am asking a lot of questions, I just want to know that I am not purchasing a money pit.

Thanks!
Cannon

DFWdude

I'm in the Dallas area. If you are in TX, you should take a look at this place that specializes in off-lease return Mercedes-Benz... https://www.texascarsdirect.com/ You will find several 2013-2016 E-350s with far less mileage, (i,e,, some 2015-2016s with Warranty left) for not much more money.

You don't want to get too paranoid with posts about problems on these forums. The vast majority of MB owners never post here, because they don't know this forum, or don't have any problems.

CannonBoomBoom

I am actually in Plano for the summer. I visited TexasCarsDirect about two months ago (I have been looking for a while) and they had a great selection. I found an E350 there with every feature I wanted with super low mileage and in my budget. It sat there for months, so I figured I would go see it the next day. That car sold before I got there - my luck. I have been looking at their selection, but last time I checked there was nothing in my budget.

Thank you DFWdude!

VegasE

I live in Vegas and no melted speakers but I garage my car.
Price seems right for the mileage. In SoCal where I buy all my cars, you can get a 2-3 year old E350 with under 20k miles in the low $30s.
No battery issues at 52K miles.
Dealer Service is very expensive. Indy shop will save you at least 20%
Only problem I've had is a key stopped working under warranty. Took 3 days to get a replacement key from MB.

DFWdude

I had two 2016s picked out from their inventory in March. Both had sat there since January, so I also decided to wait a week after inspecting them in person. But one was sold the next day, so I figured I had better move on the other, and did. Among the eight 2016 E-350s they had that week, all were sold within that week. They've turned cars from this MY twice since then.

People fly in from around the country to buy their cars. No nonsense, no haggle pricing supposedly just $1K above the auction price paid (see video) and a good $6-7K less than an identical car CPO'd from a MB dealer.

Not endorsing this place, except to say that my buying experience was the most trouble-free in years. And I have 18 more months to find any issues before the 4-year warranty runs out.

CannonBoomBoom

I think we may have been looking at the same vehicle! Was it a 2016 White E350?

Anyway, just checked TXCarsDirect and they don't have as good of a selection (In my price-point) as they had last time I visited their site. Hopefully the cars that traded-in on Memorial Day will start showing up on the market.

KEY08

kajtek1

Get yourself familiar with Internet wisdom, "there is not much that can get expensive faster than cheap Mercedes Benz"
Those cars can be rewarding for owners who can fix them while buying parts cheaper on the net, or can be nightmare if you have no warranty and get milked by stealers.
So first advise for your first MB >> don't buy it without extended warranty.
I am in Vegas, like other member where 120F is not that rare. Melting speakers are not problem, but last week we went for 3 hr hiking in Red Rock Canyon. White car and I left my discount pass (CC shape) on the dashboard.
Week later the card still looks like propeller.

cetialpha5

Also try Cargurus.com. They list the number of days it's been listed. The classic bait and switch of it just sold is pretty common. It's possible it wasn't really there for months. Last time I bought a car at a dealer, the car was still listed for a week after I bought it. If you want something with some options, get there within the first week, every time I see something with a decent set of options, it's usually gone within a week or two. Basic cars with just the P1 package will sit around for a week or two. As for leather seats, they either came with MB-Tex or real leather. Lots of times people will say it's leather when it's really MB-tex which is a vinyl like leather. All those other items are somewhat standard, it either comes with a regular moon roof or the panorama sunroof. So the regular moon roof is a base model. The only thing on there that isn't a base option is the lighting package. Make sure it really has it though, should be option code 640 and you should have the auto high beams. Run the VIN through the decoder below to see what options it has. Remember, if you later want any options like keyless go, power trunk closer, dynamic seats, parktronic, driver's assistance package (distronics/adaptive cruise control), it will cost a lot more to retrofit it than to just buy the car with that option. Usually several thousands.

https://www.datamb.com/

If you're worried about warranty, you can get an extended warranty if it still has any of the MB warranty left on it. Factory was 4 years/50k so you'd have to check the in service date of the vehicle and it should be under 50k. Then you can buy an extended warranty from the vendors mentioned in the extended warranty sub-forum. You can go up to 7 years/100k in coverage. Of course a car with 55k wouldn't be eligible.

Mud

I agree with this. My 2011 was my first MB and I bought it used but still under original factory warranty and after I had checked VIN w MB for past service or issues. No prior experience with these particular cars. Buying it under original warranty allowed me to buy extended 7/100 MB warranty. I also verified with MB that I could get the extended warranty, before buying the car. The ELW expires Nov 2018. I've made use of both original and extended warranties but I've got enough warm and fuzzies about the car to keep it after the last warranty expires. As mentioned it helps (on any car really) if you can do most maintenance and repairs yourself.
In hindsight it was worth it to me to have those initial warranties in place.

thenew3

A service at dealer is typically $250-$300, B service roughly $500 to $600. 60k or 6 year is spark plugs, 70k or 7 year is transmission flush. Nothing special at 100k, regular B service. Might have to replace belt if its in bad shape.
Brakes will be expensive at dealer and probably needed at 50k depending on your driving condition/style. Price vary a great deal from dealer to dealer on breaks, some as low as $700 some as high as $1500 for one axle (pads and rotors).

Many people recommend finding a good indy shop to do the work. I don't know where they find them, but all the indy shops near me that do good work also charge similar rates to what the MB dealer charges.

DFWdude

The dealer I mentined above offers free CarFAX for all their cars. You can see the original in-service date, and the city in the country where the car has lived, AND the date the car was transferred to the reseller, any service performed, and the date it was offered for sale.

I may be wrong on this, but my 17 year-old C320 never had beyond the factory warranty, and hasn't needed more than $600 in (non-maintenance) repairs since 2005. That said, you can buy an extended warranty on the chance that you will ever use it, OR you can establish a car maintenance saving account and put $100-200 in it every month for a year or two. That should cover any major problem if that arises. The key word is "IF" it arises. If not, the money is still yours, not the warranty company's.

cetialpha5

Autocheck and carfax are pretty cheap on eBay. About $8 for both, $4 for just autocheck, $6 for just carfax. I'd do both. My carfax was clean, but an accident showed up on Autocheck. I knew mine had been in an accident before as the front bumper was a little off.

As for the brakes, well the key is to go to an indy that charges regular rates. I actually did the rears on my own, took about 1.5 hours with hand tools. Akebono pads for the front and rear are about $100 for both. The rotors I re-used as they were still in good condition. Nothing special about them, pretty much any competent mechanic can do them.

If you're the dealer type, I think the warranty is good peace of mind and there are stories of people getting their money's worth, but of course others don't. For me, both cars were out of warranty, but sometimes I think it'd be nicer to just be able to drop the car off and get a loaner while everything is getting fixed. I find cheap indys but they don't do loaners so either I have to make arrangements to drop it off, or I wait a few hours while it's getting repaired. Not as easy, but much cheaper than the dealer, my indys tend to be be 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the dealer as I usually get the parts myself and the indys charge regular rates, not MB rates.

CannonBoomBoom

Wow, this post really became a lot bigger than I thought it would. What an amazing community! I think all of the posts that have been made this past week will not only help me, but hopefully it will help other people who want to buy a W212 E350.

Unfortunately, the car I was looking at sold this morning. This is the definition of my luck! I do really look forward to using all of the tips and tricks that you all have provided. I cannot wait to get my car and help contribute to this amazing community.

Thanks everyone,
Cannon

El Cid

I hope you have good luck on finding the car you want. But it is a Mercedes-Benz, no matter where you get it worked on. The labor and parts are higher no matter who does it. Insurance and property taxes are also higher just because it is a Benz. I purchased my car new and when it got near end of warranty, I bought the 3 year extended and glad I did. Got my money back, so to speak, if not more.
I still like my car after 8 years and just put four new tires on it. But in reality I have more confidence in my wife's 4 year old Nissan Rogue for reliability.
Personally, I prefer using dealerships - too many bad experiences with independents. Call it insurance or peace of mind. Same with extended warranties.

Sarang

1. I live in GA and my speakers have not melted so rest assured this is very rare if someone is reporting it.
2. my 2012 is 61k miles and i have yet to change the battery once. My dads 2010 E350 has changed it once at 50k miles
3. Maintenance - Not sure how much A/B cost specifically since different dealers charge different prices and I've done a few things on my own. Here's a small bit of what i've done recently : your spark plug change will run 400-600 at 60k miles. transmission fluid is either 40k or 70k miles and thats 500-600. Filters are easy to DIY (90$ parts) and brake fluid is around 120-250. i'm going to be changing 2 rotors and 4 brake pads at a local indie shop for close to $1000 soon.
4. Price looks okay considering ~8500/year depreciation

As El Cid said, many people, including my dad, saw such a low priced luxury car (2 years used E350) and didn't understand the cost of maintenance for such a car. My car is maintained on schedule and i've spent a lot. I have never had a single major issue with my car and i've had it now for 5 years. My dad has not maintained his 2010 E350 at all and it drives like trash. It has never had any issues either but the lack of maintenance makes it drive much worse than my car :loud engine idle, no braking power, engine louder than normal, lower mpg than past. That being said, I know you will enjoy the E350 once you find a new one.