I have the opportunity to buy a 2011 Mercedes Benz E300 (gas engine) for a good price ($5,000 USD approximately). However, having never owned a Mercedes, I'm concerned about potential reliability issues.

I'm a student with a job who realistically shouldn't even be considering looking into buying this car. However, the part of me that loves cars is still assessing the risk.

I'm fully aware that any European vehicle will be considerably more expensive to fix and maintain than a Japanese economy car. However, there's not a lot of info on the E300 - specifically- out there.

My concerns with the physical vehicle I'm looking at, stem from the following:

-The floor on passengers side ends up being soaked after a night of rain. The sunroof doesn't appear to be leaking or open. Some quick online research suggests it might be the sunroof drains.

-The display is throwing warnings for open hood, check engine oil level at next refuel, and CEL.

-While driving it in the past, when coming to stop, the car acted like it wanted to shut down. Since then, they replaced both the standard and auxiliary batteries, as per the recommendation of a local (non-specilized) mechanic.

-The exterior has several dings and scratches, including the wheels. It's been sitting in the sun without being driven for a couple of years now and the paint on the right is peeling. I'm guessing, it might have been in a minor accident, and they didn't do a good job of painting it, which is why the paint isn't holding off very well. Although the battery has been replaced about a year ago, it hasn't been driven, and won't hold a charge. It will therefore need a new battery. Could it be the alternator/generator?

-Several owners on the title, with no service records.

Based on the above info, I'm confidently leaning towards passing on it. However, the car only has a bit over 50,000 kms, the interior is in great shape, and, surprisingly, it drives very well.

My first step - before moving forward - would be to have a Mercedes dealer do a full inspection. I know dealers can be hit and miss, but there are sadly no specialized mechanic shops out there in my city that could assess the vehicle.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on the matter, particularly from any w212 E300 owners. Is it worth taking the risk?

I would hate to pass up on a good opportunity to own an older E Class, that would be a fun weekend car. However, the last thing I would want to do is buy a money pit.

Thank you in advance!

 

there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes.

if you want to drive a classic E class, I'd be looking for a clean well sorted W124, thats an E from circa 1987 to 1995. sedan, couple, cabriolet, or wagons, most with 3.0 or 3.2L inline 6 cyl. They can much more easily be self serviced. All issues are well known, and a sorted one will have the biggies already taken care of (notably, 1993-1995 with the upgraded M104 DOHC 3.2L engine have bad wiring harnesses but most any still on the road will have gotten new harnesses). Like many inline 6's, they are somewhat prone to head gasket leaks, but its a pretty easy head gasket to replace. no computers, no gadgetry, although most all US models will have central locking (but no remote fob), climate control, power seats driver and passenger, power sunroof. Do watch out for and avoid rust, even a little surface rust on a lower rocker panel can indicate big rust damage out of sight.

 

RUN

This should not be a consideration even for the most fanatical Mercedes fanboy.

 

I concur. No records is a death sentence. The $5,000 buy in will end up being the least amount of money you will ever spend on this car.

 

Yeah probably sunroof drains causing the leak, car needs a good cleaning/detailing.
The hood latch sensors are sensitive, you need to slam the hood a bit more to shut off the warning about the open hood. Sounds like it just might be slightly low on oil or it's just time for an oil change so that should get rid of that warning. The CEL I would get check out before proceeding, could be anything. What country and what's the engine in this car? Do you have the VIN? The Aux battery for that year would just be in the dash and just controls the transmission shifter. With such low mileage and a car that has been sitting, probably the new battery would do it although putting it on a charger might bring it back, doubt if it's the alternator at that mileage. Could be a money pit, especially the paint. Typically issues would be faded wood and ripped driver's seat. Check the seams carefully in the middle. Also happens with passenger seat but if it didn't have many passengers, it could be a while. Wanting to stall, who knows, check the CEL lights. Open the doors to check the wood hidden by the door to tell if you have faded wood or not. Very common and just an FYI thing, replacement wood kits are 2k in the US so no one really bothers. If it's the M272 engine which I think it is, eventually you get intake manifold flap problems but that's more like in the 80-100k miles range and you're well below that.

 

I would also say that you should be looking for another Mercedes-Benz W212 .My advice would be to buy a car with a service history even if it's too cheap or low mileage .Parts are not cheap regardless of the model .

 

Thank you so much, everyone! I really appreciate the feedback and valuable information. I will stay clear from this one and will continue looking for a better candidate.