When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello guys new member here. I've been looking at purchasing 2010-13 E350. I've been reading about making sure to get service history and documents for car also and purchase a scanner to check ecu codes. The car would be for my 18 yr old son for Graduation present. Me and my wife made a deal with him, if he gets a full ride scholarship we would get him a car. He's an A,B grade kid and works his *** off doing his school work. And he pretty much has the full ride so far. I know not many people would do that, buy there kid a benz for there 1st car but he's a w212 fanatic!!! My wifes uncle has a 13 E550 and he rode in it and fell in love, thats all he talks about since he was like in 6th grade and he's a senior this year. We love surprising our kids and I think this would be the greatest surprise ever. I know how to turn wrenches on cars as far as I've built motors and did head swaps cams super chargers, nos,meth kits, clutches, trans swaps, install Holley efi swapped a car from carb to efi so i know a little about cars.(American cars) But!!! never messed with a Benz at all. Anyway He wants anywhere from 2010-2014 but my pocket is around 2010-12 depending on price. I'm budgeting for 8-10,000. I would like to pay cash if i can. I'm asking what to look out far and is there a certain year in this body style to stay away from or to get any info would help!!
With your budget and budget for repairs... finding a clean, well-maintained W212 will be likely an older, higher-mileage one. Obviously being higher-mileage will mean some work will need to be done regardless.
Spring for the 550, if that's the one he has fallen in love with. The amount of money he is going to save you is well worth it, after sending my two kids through college.....
Spring for the 550, if that's the one he has fallen in love with. The amount of money he is going to save you is well worth it, after sending my two kids through college.....
Your right about money saved!! He actually wants the 350 but i was looking at the 550 myself and seen they come with the airmatic suspension. Do they all come with them standard or do they have some with coil springs and structs?
The early years (2010-) had Airmatic suspension as a standard, and then it became optional in the later years. My 2010 E550 4M had Airmatic. My 2014 is on springs.
The early years (2010-) had Airmatic suspension as a standard, and then it became optional in the later years. My 2010 E550 4M had Airmatic. My 2014 is on springs.
Ok thanks for the info. Hopefully I can find him one 350 or 550 and I will send him to this Forum. It amazes me how much he knows about the Mercedes in general. He actually schools me when i ask him a question about the w212s but I'm trying not to ask too much he'll know something is up lol. And btw Key yours is SWEET And sitting RRight!!!!
Stay away from the '14. As a teenager, a working sound system will be important to him That year tends to fry speakers thanks to amps that have issues.
Stay away from the '14. As a teenager, a working sound system will be important to him That year tends to fry speakers thanks to amps that have issues.
In his price range, the '14 is likely out anyhow unless it has 150k or more. the '14 was also the last 550 I believe so is rare and pricey.
Stay away from the '14. As a teenager, a working sound system will be important to him That year tends to fry speakers thanks to amps that have issues.
On a more practical note, the E550 has both pros and cons for a teenager.
Pro: it'll quickly drink his bubble gum money so he really won't be able to get too far away from home. Can he (you) keep the fuel tank filled?
Con: That's a lot of power under an inexperienced driver's right foot. Is he mature enough to handle it, especially with friends in the car? I have a fond memory of me as an 18 year old driving my boss's Jag XJ at 135 mph around a corner. It wasn't the tires that kept me on the road that day. Pretty sure I felt the Hand of God on the roof helping the car stay on the road.
Last edited by rapidoxidation; 02-26-2021 at 03:14 PM.
On a more practical note, the E550 has both pros and cons for a teenager.
Pro: it'll quickly drink his bubble gum money so he really won't be able to get too far away from home. Can he (you) keep the fuel tank filled?
Con: That's a lot of power under an inexperienced driver's right foot. Is he mature enough to handle it, especially with friends in the car? I have a fond memory of me as an 18 year old driving my boss's Jag XJ at 135 mph around a corner. It wasn't the tires that kept me on the road that day. Pretty sure I felt the Hand of God on the roof helping the car stay on the road.
Glad you brought this up, because it has been on my mind since reading the OP. Of my three -- otherwise level-headed -- kids, all three had car accidents within their first 3-months of teenage driving, two of these accidents were total losses. Consequently, I've come to the view that teen drivers going to college should have reliable cars, but not really valuable cars. Just cars that will get from A to B and return, preferably with as many air-bags as possible, anticipating the inevitable accidents.
I offered each kid a new car to drive to school... an affordable, new, economy type car. Once they show me a 4-year college diploma, I sign over the title and the car is theirs. With one teen, I gave her a brand new Toyota Corolla, which she totalled within 10-days. I bought her a brand new Dodge Neon replacement, and she was so afraid of wrecking it, she used that one for all four years of college without further carnage, whereupon I gave her the title. One success out of three (with diversions) is not a great track record.
With a 2010-2012 Benz on offer in the OP, I suppose it's a suitable used beater with airbags. However, even a fender bender on a 10 year-old MB could total a vintage Benz, as the parts are very expensive and could easily total more that the car is worth. Regardless, if you give him an MB as his first car, you better have a serious sit-down discussion with him, to make sure it hasn't gone to his head. Along the lines of, "I didn't buy this car for you because it's an MB to horse around in... The actual priority here is just a really heavy-built car with lots of airbags to protect you, that coincidentally turns out to be an MB." If he likes it, so much the better.
I put my kids in 25 year old 4 cyl Volvos for college. both lived to tell the tales. maintenance was a lot cheaper, too, and easier to find in their college town.
On a more practical note, the E550 has both pros and cons for a teenager.
Pro: it'll quickly drink his bubble gum money so he really won't be able to get too far away from home. Can he (you) keep the fuel tank filled?
Con: That's a lot of power under an inexperienced driver's right foot. Is he mature enough to handle it, especially with friends in the car? I have a fond memory of me as an 18 year old driving my boss's Jag XJ at 135 mph around a corner. It wasn't the tires that kept me on the road that day. Pretty sure I felt the Hand of God on the roof helping the car stay on the road.
Good point!! He's currently driving an 01 Chevy Tahoe 5.3 around 290hp. He's a good driver and thank god he's not into going fast like I was. My 1st car was an 79 Camaro Berlinetta with a 4speed manual rare car. My dad gave it to me when I graduated High school. It wasn't the fastest but I tried it a time or two lol. I really would like to get it for him if i can just the look on his face would be priceless!! But if not I'll find him something nice.
I would just suggest the 2012-2013 E350. The E550 is overkill for a college student. The older M272 engine has issues with the intake manifold. The M276 engine is more difficult to change the spark plugs, but there's a few threads on here that offer a way to do it without taking off the intake manifold. You will also find E350's cheaper than E550s. Also early 2010-2011 had faded wood and ripped MB-tex seat. You still get that in later years, but not as bad and maybe not as much.
Also a 350 will more likely HAVE MBtex fake leather, which is far more durable, easier to clean, and doesn't require regular dressing like real leather
now personally, I like the 2016, they have an updated head unit that can easily be updated to support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and they have more bugs sorted out, being the last year of production. Also the full LED headlights are awesome at night.
But these are very expensive cars to maintain, things like engine mounts get really expensive at a dealership and finding a good Mercedes indie isn't easy in many parts of the country
Also a 350 will more likely HAVE MBtex fake leather, which is far more durable, easier to clean, and doesn't require regular dressing like real leather
now personally, I like the 2016, they have an updated head unit that can easily be updated to support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and they have more bugs sorted out, being the last year of production. Also the full LED headlights are awesome at night.
But these are very expensive cars to maintain, things like engine mounts get really expensive at a dealership and finding a good Mercedes indie isn't easy in many parts of the country
I found an ASE mechanic a long time ago, he used to work at a Ford dealership, doesn't know much about Mercedes but most of the work you do on the car is still basic wrenching, there's only a few things that can only be done at the dealer. All the stuff I've had him do, brakes, intake manifold, tensioner/pulleys, CV joints, axle seals, motor mounts, alternators, shocks/struts, etc is just basic wrenching. I do have a copy of the WIS and there's always stuff you can find on youtube. Figured out how to the steering angle sensor on another car just by going by the video on youtube.
Mercedes are a lot more complicated than Fords, and a Ford mechanic likely will not know his way around WIS to know the correct way of doing things. Caveat Emptor.
Glad you brought this up, because it has been on my mind since reading the OP. Of my three -- otherwise level-headed -- kids, all three had car accidents within their first 3-months of teenage driving, two of these accidents were total losses. Consequently, I've come to the view that teen drivers going to college should have reliable cars, but not really valuable cars. Just cars that will get from A to B and return, preferably with as many air-bags as possible, anticipating the inevitable accidents.
I offered each kid a new car to drive to school... an affordable, new, economy type car. Once they show me a 4-year college diploma, I sign over the title and the car is theirs. With one teen, I gave her a brand new Toyota Corolla, which she totalled within 10-days. I bought her a brand new Dodge Neon replacement, and she was so afraid of wrecking it, she used that one for all four years of college without further carnage, whereupon I gave her the title. One success out of three (with diversions) is not a great track record.
With a 2010-2012 Benz on offer in the OP, I suppose it's a suitable used beater with airbags. However, even a fender bender on a 10 year-old MB could total a vintage Benz, as the parts are very expensive and could easily total more that the car is worth. Regardless, if you give him an MB as his first car, you better have a serious sit-down discussion with him, to make sure it hasn't gone to his head. Along the lines of, "I didn't buy this car for you because it's an MB to horse around in... The actual priority here is just a really heavy-built car with lots of airbags to protect you, that coincidentally turns out to be an MB." If he likes it, so much the better.
Yes he will get a sit down talking to anyway regardless what car he gets. But he loves the Benz so much I know he'll take care of it. The Tahoe he drives is my wife's old car and he keeps it spotless and dirt free surprisingly. That one gonna get passed down to my younger son. I've taught him and his younger brother about detailing cars and taking car of them. So I know he'll treat it right.
I would just suggest the 2012-2013 E350. The E550 is overkill for a college student. The older M272 engine has issues with the intake manifold. The M276 engine is more difficult to change the spark plugs, but there's a few threads on here that offer a way to do it without taking off the intake manifold. You will also find E350's cheaper than E550s. Also early 2010-2011 had faded wood and ripped MB-tex seat. You still get that in later years, but not as bad and maybe not as much.
Ok yes that's the info i was wanting to know about as far as the years to get. Yes I'm really not looking to get him a 550 maybe for me later on lol. He's going to a local university so he would be staying at home as the drive is only 20 min away.
Mercedes are a lot more complicated than Fords, and a Ford mechanic likely will not know his way around WIS to know the correct way of doing things. Caveat Emptor.
Thats another thing i have to check into. We have a local Benz dealership "Mercedes Benz of Augusta" but I'll have to ask around who does Benz work out of a local shop around here. Several members of my church have Mercedes incl our Pastor. He has the big one as he calls it an S550 and had it for several years. But the dealership does all his work. I know he's bought parts off line and had them put them on, they didn't like it but they did.
Mercedes are a lot more complicated than Fords, and a Ford mechanic likely will not know his way around WIS to know the correct way of doing things. Caveat Emptor.
People like to think that, but most of the repairs I've had to do is just basic wrenching. The one thing the dealer did that the indy can't do is update the firmware which I had done for the bluetooth/comand. He actually replaced the intake manifold and he didn't care much for the WIS and managed to get it all done without breaking anything. I'm an electrical engineer so I know how to use the WIS and print out stuff from it all the time so at least I know the procedure but I don't actually do the work. Don't have a place in the city to do the work and don't have all the tools. This forum and youtube is actually pretty handy for a lot of the repairs I've done over the years plus I have a copy of the EPC/WIS.
As for the OP and for local indys, the key is not to find one that specializes in Mercedes, I used a few of those initially but they weren't much cheaper than the MB dealer, like they were $500 for a job instead of $650 at the dealer. A local garage that has an ASE mechanic can probably do most of what you need. If you run into anything really complicated, the dealer can do the diagnostic and the indy can do the work. I would also get a scanner that can do MB specific codes, that can get rid of the need to go to the dealer.
People like to think that, but most of the repairs I've had to do is just basic wrenching. The one thing the dealer did that the indy can't do is update the firmware which I had done for the bluetooth/comand. He actually replaced the intake manifold and he didn't care much for the WIS and managed to get it all done without breaking anything. I'm an electrical engineer so I know how to use the WIS and print out stuff from it all the time so at least I know the procedure but I don't actually do the work. Don't have a place in the city to do the work and don't have all the tools. This forum and youtube is actually pretty handy for a lot of the repairs I've done over the years plus I have a copy of the EPC/WIS.
As for the OP and for local indys, the key is not to find one that specializes in Mercedes, I used a few of those initially but they weren't much cheaper than the MB dealer, like they were $500 for a job instead of $650 at the dealer. A local garage that has an ASE mechanic can probably do most of what you need. If you run into anything really complicated, the dealer can do the diagnostic and the indy can do the work. I would also get a scanner that can do MB specific codes, that can get rid of the need to go to the dealer.
Thats the thing I can do alot of the work myself and also have a ASE certified mechanic friend from ford. He is a Diesel school instructor now and does work at his house also (big 5 bay shop). Would the icarsoft MBII be a good decent scanner to get?
02-26-2021, 10:05 AM
