rotesau

Hi all. I'm in the market for a W211-212 wagon, and have seen a few of them. This would be my first Mercedes, but not the first Mercedes I've driven.

One of the nicer ones I have seen locally (the paint/interiors combo) had a few things that struck me as particularly odd:
1. Small crack on plastic cover right behind the front grille, in the engine bay. Nothing loose, but there was a crack. CARFAX does not show any accidents.
2. All 5 nuts on all 4 wheels had surface rust, the kind that develops on brake rotors on the parts that don't see friction. What gives, is this normal?
3. The silver MB star on the engine cover had its silvery finish partially peeled off. Everything else (plastic, metal, belts, hoses, etc) looked clean and in good shape, given that the car is 100K miles.
4. Drove the car and it felt solid. Interiors were impeccable, and everything worked. But... one of the plastic buttons on the steering wheel was partially worn out. Is this common?

Does anyone see any reason to worry? Thanks, your input is appreciated.

ygmn

None of those things would leave you stranded...

Cosmetic issues.

KEY08

Non issues. The lug bolts are a common complaint. Germany has very high environmental regulations and MB cannot chrome. Get used to it or buy aftermarket

kajtek1

Pictures would be good attachment.
As mentioned- all listed stuff is cosmetic, but when you have wheel bolts badly corroded, you start wondering how the rest of undercarriage looks like.
The same with buttons. Since I usually buy high-mileage cars, I did have couple where radio "SEEK" button was wear out white, but take some habit to wear wheel button.
That's the indication of lot of city driving, so double check odometer.

rotesau

Thanks for the replies. I know all of these are cosmetic, and none of them, in and of themselves, will leave anyone stranded. But the devil's in the details, and insignificant, harmless-looking things could be clues to the kind of life a car lived up until now, and could evidence neglect or potential for larger problems. That was what I was trying to figure out, if any of those issues struck anyone as a bad sign. Especially if you get a vibe from the salesperson that they are in a bit of a hurry to unload that specific car.

ghlkal

#2 and #3 on your list are common issues; not an indicator of any larger, hidden problem
[I have these on my 2012]

Good luck with the hunt.

prktkljokr

The things you listed are not things I would be worried about if I were looking at a car, and seem to be standard wear and tear issues of a car that has done 100,000 miles.
I would be checking service records and looking at the wear on suspensions tyre wear etc, the items you listed are a easy weekend fix and some small change in cost to rectify, work to an engine, transmission or suspension is what is going to be a problem after purchase.