mbz03

Hey guys looking for pros and cons on a 2010 e350 looking into buying one soon, what to look for on them also thanks guys

KEY08

Search the site. These questions are all answered here multiple times. It’s a 10 year old car.

mbz03

thanks brother ill check

cetialpha5

Short answer, faded wood trim, ripped seat, thermostat, tensioner/pulleys, motor mounts, Mileage is also a factor as the intake manifold will need to be replaced somewhere in the 120-200k range.

Ghettoeg6

i have a 2010 model with P2, pano roof and sport package. I bought it with 22k miles on it and I'm at 109k now. i had the driver seat seam tear around 70k..other than that. its been great.

jonUF02

Pros: it's a nice Mercedes
Cons: it's not a 550

My opinion is if you don't want the power of a V8, then you're probably better off buying a newer loaded Camry or Accord in place of an E350. The rest is all just looks to impress your friends and relatives, paired with high maintenance costs if you don't DIY.

thefisch

So brutally honest.

MBNUT1

True on the maintenance costs and if you can't tell the difference between driving a Mercedes E350 and a Camry then by all means one should buy the Camry.

cetialpha5

It's true that most of them are sold that way. I bought it because it was a luxury car and I wanted mine to have luxury features. They're hard to find, took me a while to find one with P2 (keyless go and bixenons) plus pano roof, parktronic, dynamic seats, power trunk closer etc. Probably over 70-80% of them out there just have the P1 package.

It's true that a newer Camry might have some of the tech that the olders Mercedes had such as autonomous cruise control, blind spot, lane change etc which was the driver assistance package, but that's a rare one to find in a 2010, more likely in the newer models.

Anyway use this vin decoder to find out what options the car really has, never trust the description, the most classic mistake is saying the car has a leather interior when it just has MB-tex which is vinyl interior that looks like leather, but it's not real leather.

https://www.datamb.com/

aquinob

First time I've ever heard about about needing an intake manifold replaced on this car and I've been driving it close to 5 years. Where does this come from? Motor mounts would be across the board on any MB, and I've never had an issue on the seat seams and I have the MBTex too. I do have the faded wood issue though and it was replaced by the dealer before I got the car used.

If you think that driving a camry is the same as an E class, then by all means go with a camry. These cars are built like tanks. They drive wonderfully, even with the measly 350 motor, which is a very good motor and pretty quick in its own right and butter smooth. I have about 74K on mine right now and I can hardly hear it or feel it at a stoplight.

A year or so ago, I decided to mount a tow hitch on my car. Easy job right? I've done it on other vehicles no issues. As it turns out, I wore out a HSS bit and a carbide bit trying to drill two 5/8" holes in the bottom of the bumper to mount the thing. The steel was that hard. And that is indicative of how the whole vehicle is built. There's a reason it cost over 50K new vs the 20K for the camry. If you think you are just paying for a name, then go buy a Hyundai.

jonUF02

Intake manifold getting dirty is a pretty common issue with MB, search for threads on intake manifold cleaning. I'm not sure about the specific engine, but here is the pain I went through on my W208 CLK430. MB says it's not a serviceable part, and a complete new intake was over $1000, but I bought a spare from a junk yard and cracked it open.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...gh-idle-2.html


On the E350 vs. Camry, I could probably blind all the badges on each, let my wife drive them, and she would probably like a loaded Camry V6 just as much as an E350 of comparable price. Noting that the Camry would probably be half the age. Of course they would have to be equal in color :P . I do agree build quality of the MB is solid, but Toyotas are tanks that just go forever with very little maintenance.

jonUF02

What hitch is available for W212? I could not find one, unless I got a "gray market" non US legal one from Europe.

aquinob

My wife has a 2016 Avalon limited, which is closer is size to the E then the Camry. It's a very nice riding car and the interior is very well finished, but it still doesnt come close to the benz, especially in handling and ride. This is all subjective, but I've driven both extensively and I dont find they are equals and I prefer the E over the Avalon for drives of any distance.

Curt makes it: https://www.curtmfg.com/part/11001

https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2010_...yle=E350+Sedan

It's not a 40 min install time. One of the notes on the page says:

Tech Tip
For drilling into the bumper beam a rotabroach or carbide drill bit is recommended. Drilling required for installation

I didn't know what a rotabroach was so I searched and found them on Amazon. Not sure if it would cut through that steel any better than the carbide, but its not that much more than a large carbide bit costs.

You also need the right wiring harness to make this work. You don't want to tap directly into the tail light wiring, but use it as a signal for the module to grab power itself and switch the lights. They also make one that uses an inductive pickup and in hindsight, I should have got that one.

https://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Curt/C59236.html


Towing with the E 350

cetialpha5

The 2010 and 2011 have the M272 engine and there's been just a few people that have reported this problem here in the W212 forum. However the M272 engine came out in 2006 on the W211 and if you search that forum, you will find a lot of problems with it after a while. The flaps get gummed up over time. Pierburg makes the intake and you can buy those for around $600 although from MB I can easily see $1000. There are repair parts for it as the levers or rods also break, but that's a short term fix as the flaps will eventually break off causing engine damage so if you're going to keep it for a while, it's best to just replace the manifold. I think you can buy a rebuilt one on eBay for about $350, but if you spend about $600 for the one from fcpeuro, that one has a lifetime warranty although maybe you wont' drive it for another 100k so that won't matter and maybe getting a rebuilt one makes sense.

jonUF02

Interesting for the hitch, Curt only shows compatibility for 2012 E350 sedan / wagon, or E550 coupe/vert, but nothing for E550 wagon. I'm not sure I want that thing sticking out anyway. I found at one time some European hitch models that fold away out of sight, but do not seem to be sold in USA market.

aquinob

The hitch mount by itself is not very noticeable, with the bar it sticks out a bit. I got the euro version which has a definite phallic look to it. I can take a pic of just the hitch itself if you are really interested.

I saw that it doesnt show as being compatible with the 550. Unless the differential or how it is mounted in the car is all that different, I dont see how it wouldnt fit. The worst part is drilling the bumper and that part of the hitch takes all the vertical forces as well as some of the pulling. It connects back to the differential via the bar with a 4 bolt mount. That locks it into the supports for the differential.

fganter

LOL

fganter

That is something you don't see every day. LOL

fganter

I looked at a 2010, 2011, 2014 and even considered a 2004 (with only 38K believe it or not).

All the ones prior to 2014 did not have bluetooth audio. I suppose I could have gotten it added at a car audio place, but wasn't sure how integrated it would be. Also, I couldn't find older ones with push button start, which for me has become something I really want in a car.

I'm sure you will find an awesome MB.

cetialpha5

Pretty much all the W212 had bluetooth audio. I think for 2010, it might not have been enabled, but either the dealer could do it or there's some old threads on here on how to get into the menus to enable it. My 2011 has it and it's fine. I think at one point I had the dealer update the firmware as it cut in once in a while and people had a hard time hearing me before it was updated.

If you're looking at the description, it's one thing most dealers/individuals are pretty clueless about on Keyless go. You need to use a vin decoder to see if it has the keyless go option or not. The easiest way is to search for one with the P2 package for the 2010-2013 models. Those had the headlamp washers on the front bumper with bixenons and keyless go. Lots of times even when the car has keyless go, either the button was stolen off the car or the dealer took it off for safe keeping, you can always buy another button on eBay for $20-$30 if it's missing. Of course the button will do nothing if the car doesn't have the option so don't think you can just buy the button and have it.

fganter

I stand corrected.

From the research I had done, it appears to be problematic - inconsistent connection and quality of audio. Also, I believe the 2004 outright does not have support for a bluetooth audio player. However, as mentioned, there are aftermarket products specifically to add this.

DFWdude

Not sure I would buy a 10 year-old Benz. They are pretty well depreciated by now, but the cost of parts for mid-level and major repairs are not discounted. So any repair could cost as much as the car itself.

Recently I got a CEL on my 2001 C320 for a fuel system sensor. Original parts for that age of car no longer available, so I had an indie shop replace the entire harness with a newer part. The $1250 paid was 50% more than the car is worth (but less than buying a replacement car).

And the 3-pointed star on a decade-old car doesn't really fool anyone. You'll be the third or fourth owner, LOL. In Europe you'd get a "badge of courage" award... but not here in the states.

aquinob

I would, as long as you find a car that has been maintained and has reasonable mileage. The key is whether you feel comfortable doing some or all the work vs taking it to the dealer. That's where it gets expensive. And that has always been the thing about older German cars, not just MB. They will hit the high miles, but not without routine maintenance.

aquinob

2000 lb tow rating. Trailer is all aluminum, weighs around 650. Bike weighs about 1000. Kinda kills gas mileage, but it works. That rig is used mostly behind a motor home as our "Toad".

cetialpha5

For common repair parts like the thermostat, tensioner/pulleys, brakes, suspension, there are aftermarket parts but certain specialized parts are dealer only so those can still be expensive. The W212 is more reliable than the W211 in the past though.

As for bluetooth even before I got it updated, it wasn't that bad, never considered it a major issue. Most people didn't really know how to use it or it was problematic with a few particular phones which could have been the phone firmware, not the car. Basically delete the pairing on the phone and car and try again tends to fix things. The final fix would be at the dealer for a firmware upgrade. The W211 never had bluetooth audio, just phone only, but they had ipod connections as an option and some add bluetooth via that ipod connection.