jonUF02

My 2012 has Bluetooth ever since I owned it. I doubt it's modified in any way. If you have an AUX jack on your radio you can buy a bluetooth receiver to plug in there for less than $20. The W211 have more stereo replacement options due to less integrations with the overall systems of the car, but not built as well as the W212. I see a ton of very cheap W211 E350, and even a 2008 E63 with 144K miles that claims to have lots of new parts, including air suspension for only $10K.

In caring for my 2001 CLK430, I found that normal service parts from OE manufacturers (not in MB box) are quite cheap online. I could see if there was something very specific like a wiring harness that needed replacement it could get costly. I would never spend more than the value of a car for a single or combination of repairs, you're better off buying the same car in working condition if that's the case, or moving on to something newer.

pb39374

yep, I have an early 2010 E350 which I bought 3 months ago. It didn’t have BLuetooth audio. So I went into the engineering menu and added it. It did work at first, showed all of my songs from my iPhone. Problem was that I had to manually do the reconnect processs everytime I got into the car, which became very annoying. Then it started to not show the titles and names on my radio anymore. I gave up and bought one of those Bovee Bluetooth plugs that you just stick in the Media interface in the glove compartment. It works pretty well, has some quirks but does the job most of the time. I did ask my local MB dealer to give me the latest software upgrade to see if this fixes the BT audio problem. He said they will do it. It can’t guarantee it will work and can’t guarantee that it won’t screw anything up. So I didn’t want to take a chance on messing anything up.

cetialpha5

There's nothing to mess up as you're not using it now anyway! They just say that to cover themselves. Last time I did it, I used one of those $125 off $250+ service coupons. Should be another one coming up in another month or two. I'd wait til one of those show up and you should just have the dealer do it then. They only charged me an hour to do the update.

pb39374

i bought a 2010 4matic 3 months ago with 41,000 miles. It runs great. I did have to change all brakes and rotors. But overall it’s immaculate. If you can find a very low mileage one that was taken care of for under $15K then I would do it.

cons - you will def need to purchase a 3rd party extended warranty, which will add to your overall investment and might not make it worth it (depending on how much $ you actually pay for the car and how many miles are on it).

pb39374

I get that I am not using the BT anyway. The dealers point was that the software update can screw up something else in the command system. I know it’s a CYA type statement, but I didn’t want to take the chance. Did you have an update done?

cetialpha5

I feel it's a BS type statement because the only way it'd really get screwed up is if the tech screws up the update, like the battery dies in the middle of the update or it gets disconnected in the middle of the update. That'd be the only reason it'd brick the system. And if those things happen, it should be on them not you. Of course there's always the possibility that comand can fail at any time and they don't want to get blamed for it. I don't think anyone has actually mentioned in this forum that the techs did an update and it bricked their comand. And yes I had them do the update and when I told them to do it, there was no bs excuse that it might brick comand. And it was fine and better afterwards. Check in April for a Mercedes discount coupon and have it done then.

pb39374

Gotcha - thanks.

pb39374

I ended up getting the software update and it fixed my BT issues without negatively impacting anything else.

Jefry

The m272 intake issue can apparently be headed off by replacing ceetain oil breather compinents. Mercedes should have put this on about the same schedule as spark plugs. Not expensive or particularly difficult for intermediate DIYers, but could run a few hundred $ at a decent indy shop. There are free online videos showing the procedure, which appears to be a 1-2 hour job and evem less if done same time as plug change. Mine has 60k miles and i am considering doing the oil breather within 10k miles or so. That seems to be the only endemic issue with the post 2008 m272 engines.

Other significant mechanical issues with W212 are also preventable or easy to sort:-transmssion service at 50-75k mile intervals and diligent corrosion monitoring/prevention on the rear suspension components (especially in salty or humid environments). Lastly the interior issues--faded wood (avoid or solve with black ash trim), tears in MB-tex seat seams, snapped shaft in the comand interface knob (fixable for $50 but tricky job) and potential leaks if the sunroof drains get clogged. Those really arent bad issues for a car of this safety, durability and class.

cetialpha5

I wouldn't wait on the breather/separator. My breather cover was already leaking and it had less than 50k at the time. Might look fine on the outside, but it's really a question of how much oil is actually flowing through those hoses and getting baked onto the flaps. If you're going to look, you mind as well just replace both items. Oil separator is reverse threaded so turn it the opposite to loosen/tighten. I believe the parts were updated at some point so it's best to get the newer parts and put it in anyway.

Jack McCarty

Just an update to previous comments on the E350 sunroof:
there are 2 very different roof options:
- the traditional sun/moon roof
over front seats which MB has offered for decades in all the model iterations, & which I’ve enjoyed on E Class models from the W124, to W210 to present day W212 with NEVER a problem.

- the “Panoramic” sliding sun roof
with various issues including major leaking & creaking! This option removes 200 lbs. of roof
metal, & substitutes a flimsy mesh shade cover.
The driving dynamics of the pano roof equipped
E is quite altered as the center of gravity is now
less stable.

• From my experience, any Sunroof issues all emanate from the so-called Pano option!

cetialpha5

Got the pano roof on both cars. You get the creaking noise on the W212, my W211 was fine enough though people also mentioned it made noise. It's much nicer with the pano roof. I usually just leave the shade open. There's a fix for the loose bolts in the W212, there's a video on it. Tightened those bolts years ago and it's still quiet now. The car weighs almost 4000 pounds, I think the weight difference is minimal and if anything, having less weight on the roof actually lowers the center of gravity and a lower cg actually makes a car more stable. That's why tall SUVs/Trucks tend to flip due to higher CG. But it doesn't matter that much anyway, there's always stability control which is included. Regular sunroof had a recall, the pano roofs haven't had a recall.