5port5al00n

Hey drivers,

I'm currently looking into purchasing a 2014 E550 4matic. I test drove one last night and it felt pretty good, however there were multiple questions I had about the car that the dealer couldn't answer so I figured this would be the best place to ask for more info. I ultimately passed on purchasing the car last night due what I consider high mileage (100K+ miles) bad paint (swirl marks everywhere). But I wanted to get a baseline feel for the car and I feel like I drove a fair/decent version of the E550 and I really liked it. Here are my questions:

1. How well do the vented seats work in these cars? We had the front seats on level 3 and it didn't seem to do anything...
2. Throttle response seemed slightly delayed but once it got going it was fast. Is this normal?
3. How often are you all going through tires on these AWD setups?
4. Are the dynamic bolsters worth it? The model I drove did not have them.
5. Are the panoramic roofs reliable?
6. Are there any MUST HAVE options you suggest?
7. Besides staying away from the air suspension cars, are there any big red flags to look for on these specific cars?

Thanks in advance!

cvx5832

I'll try to answer as much as I can.

How well do the vented seats work in these cars? We had the front seats on level 3 and it didn't seem to do anything...
- I never get the sensation of a fan blowing at my back but it does work well in getting that heat layer between your back and seat cooled down.

Throttle response seemed slightly delayed but once it got going it was fast. Is this normal?
- That might be an MB thing, which I've chalked up to a smoothening curve on pedal input vs throttle body response. Even the E63 doesn't have a responsive pedal if I'm being honest. But it's part of the car and I've learned to adapt. There's always drive modes that changes it up some.

How often are you all going through tires on these AWD setups?
- No comment, RWD here.

Are the dynamic bolsters worth it? The model I drove did not have them.
- They work well but is a novelty. I'm not that kind of driver. Turned it off after 2 days and I've never turned them back on even when doing more spirited driving.

Are the panoramic roofs reliable?
- They seem to be. But there's such a thing as "pano creak" where it snaps and sounds like it's breaking when the car body is twisted in hot weather. I've personally only ever experienced it once but I understand others are not as lucky. Look it up, dealer seems to know how to fix it.

Are there any MUST HAVE options you suggest?
- I really love that collapsible carrier box in the back for groceries. But it's nowhere close to a must-have.

Besides staying away from the air suspension cars, are there any big red flags to look for on these specific cars?
- I wouldn't say "stay away from", but I have swapped the bags due to a leak. Ultimately I figured out it was the lines leaking at the connector to the bags, but the system is super easy to follow and trace. That said I only have them in the rear. Fronts are conventional springs and shocks on the E63.

No red flags I've noticed on mine. Just like the '08 C300 we have with 160k miles on it, the electrics and construction is miles away from BMW. But I still love both brands.

kajtek1

1st the thing I admire the most on MB is paint quality.
My 7 years old sedan with 130k miles still has "new" looking paint on it and I keep it in cooled garage to keep it looking like that for at least another 7 years.
So buying a car who looks beaten would not work for me.
The vented seats not only are minimal, but it did not take much in my W211 to have the fan wires getting fatigued and simply dropping loose on the floor. I drive in 120-130F weather quite often and good AC is all it takes.
My older sedan did not have remote start option, but latest purchase - GLE does, although with required subscription. I am still on the fence on paying the subscription as all it takes is 2 minutes of AC blow to make interior comfortable.
4-matic for me actually extends tire life, as they are adjusted for higher clearance, what cancels negative camber and premature tire wear.
Still beside tire quality, it is your right foot that will determinate tire wear.
Other things are gadgets. Some people like them, some don't. I actually liked air suspension, as I buy MB for comfort. Spending some money every 10 years on new parts, while DIY would make it worth for me, but I did not have the option on W212.
Oh, the only real "must have" thing for me is diesel engine.

S. Madman

I am at 106k 2012, airbag got swapped 3 years ago due to a puncture (jax FL roads) the car was under extended warranty so they did all 4. Would I pay for replacements? Yeah getting on Airmatic against a shock one... I have been spoiled. Standard feel like a race car, but that is matter of perspective most people are fine with them.
I do like being able to lift the car for places where I might scratch the underside. I can also drop the car to the ground with my electronic controller (not driving while low though).

Engine just needed the new timing chain tensioner, guides, and chain (done under warranty) @ 55k. Camshaft position sensors, and tensioners at 101k

Brakes were done under warranty, but stock Zimmermann rotors are crap. Did Brembo rotors with Brembo NAO pads (which the 2014's have), and I have been doing high speed stops 160+ with no problems.

Suspension bushings were done at 95k including the rear driveshaft flex plate(rubber).

The radiator was swapped at 99k due to a rock hitting it. $1000 which is common even for plebeian cars.

I am tuned so all maintenance is accelerated, so not bad at all so far.

I can go around 50k on tires the factory conti's lasted 50k miles, same for the michelins PS4s I had now I am on some off brand free tires I got from Discount auto tire because they screwed up a wheel, and tire combo order (could not deliver).

5port5al00n

I just wanted to thank everyone for the replies to the thread. It's been super helpful!

cetialpha5

For throttle response you can do a transmission reset, usually wakes up a sleepy throttle as it adapts to the driver's style, usually sluggishly.

I have the dynamic seats in my W212, more of a gimmick, I turn it off but I use the massage function once in a while on long drives.

The pano roof is fine, if it creaks, you can drop the rear headliner and just tighten up the bolts and use loctite. Took about an hour. Dealers might want to charge several hours as they want to drop the entire headliner but you only need to do the back half. There's a DIY video of it out there. You go over a ramp at an angle and if the bolts are loose, the body will flex and you'll hear a cracking noise.

I believe for the box, you can just grab that afterwards and retrofit it. Pretty much nothing else retrofits so if you want a particular option, better make sure the car has it, always not economical to do it afterwards. The 2014 was the last year for the E-550 and finding them is rather hard let alone one that's loaded. I've always wanted one with the lighting package, parktronic, pano roof, driver assistance package, massage seats, keyless go, folding seat, dynamic seats etc. About the only thing I don't really care about is the rear entertainment package. Anyway, never found a car with all that, usually missing one or two items if not many more. Use the vin decoder to see what options it has and select the E550 model in the drop down to see the price of the options in 2014.

https://www.auto-brochures.com/mercedes_benz.html

https://www.lastvin.com/

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/merc...z/e-class/2014

KEY08

These 2014’s are very rare. Great car. The ventilated seat is a novelty and poorly designed, but I like the dynamic seats for the bolsters and massage function. Pano is a must. I’m on springs, but my prior Airmatic cars were pretty trouble free. There is a very slight turbo lag. Use the paddles to downshift when passing and there is no lag

bmwpowere36m3

1. Depends on temperature in the cabin, so at first in a hot car it doesn't seem to do much. Once the cabin cools, I find it provides a nice cooling that keeps my back from getting "sticky" as compared to our other W212 without ventilated seats (especially on long drives, trips).

2. Depends on PO driving habits, can be "reset" or readapted with more aggressive driving.

3. No comment.

4. I think the feature is neat, certainly provides support on twisty roads without having a traditional sport seat (narrow, deep bolsters). Basically you get a conventional, comfortable seat when cruising and when you hit the twisties, the seat tightens up. Now the massage function... awesome. OMG I love to rub it in to my Wife on a trip.

5. Compared to? None or sunroof? Either way, only real issue is creaking can develop from loose hardware.

6. This again would be personal preference. The question should be why am I buying a E550, basically a E350 with a larger engine. Do you want the features that typically come with the E550 or simply want a faster car? If I wanted a no frills car, I'd be driving our E350 which is plenty quick for DD. Remember its much easier and cheaper to buy a car with the options, then to retrofit them later. For me, I'd be looking for everything minus rear entertainment, thus: lighting package, driver assistance (park, dist, blind), pano, airmatic and 360* camera.

7. No red flags, just need to be aware of maintenance/repairs that come with owning the car. Nothing wrong with airmatic, but to some its not "worth" the expense if not taken care of.

Swirls shouldn't be a deal breaker, 99% of cars on the road are swirled... lol. They can be fixed and car look better than factory with a proper paint correction (compound/polish/protect) by a detailer for $1-2k. I'd say good luck finding a DD car that 6+ yrs old and not have some swirls or chips. Heavy swirling can be an indication the PO took the car to the automated wash often, which in a way means they cared about it. On the other, it leads to swirls... again, can be fixed.

SlyAsA

I don't own an E550, I own an E350, so my opinions are based off of the car that I currently own and drive.

1.) My vented seats are underwhelming, they blow air wherever my body isn't directly contacting the seat, which is to say they blow air wherever I don't want them to. I have a friend with a 2012 GMC Acadia and his ventilated seats work much better.
2.) If you hit the kick-down switch at the end of the pedal it should respond immediately regardless. In general driving it'll be slow to kick down from my experience. Probably for economy.
3.) My E350 4MATIC went through the original tires at 53k, and have been on the current set of AS3+ Michelin's for the last 30k which are about half worn with mostly highway miles.
4.) I drove a 2018 E43 with those and they seemed more annoying and intrusive (gimmicky) in daily driving than anything else, I personally wouldn't care if I had them or not.
5.) I can't speak for the panos, but my regular sunroof has even developed a couple leaks over the years that required adjusting the sunroof and replacing the gasket. I've heard from the SA of the dealer that I go to that they can cause issues.
6.) Definitely depends on what you plan on using the car for. Highway use could mean Distronic Plus should be a consideration, city use might necessitate Parktronic.
7.) I'm unfamiliar with the E550 as a whole, but my E350 has been quite reliable for the last 85k sans timing cover gaskets, differential seals, and transmission mount. Most of which were covered under warranty.

John H

1. The vented seats take 5-10 minutes before you feel the effect. I start at 3 with the a/c on and after 30 minutes it's too cool and I drop to 2. Have never used 1.
2. Sport mode might help. Sport mode after chipped is awesome.
6. A chip is a must. Better drivability and 50-75 hp. Very little throttle change needed to move around slower traffic.

Arrie

1. Ventilated seats is a joke compared to other much lower cost cars. The best way to help it I found is to use a seat cover made of wooden “*****” that allow air flow thru the perforation on the seat back.

2. Throttle delay is a known problem with these cars. You can eliminate it by doing a transmission reset but the problem is back in two weeks. You can almost completely eliminate this problem with installation of the Sprint Booster. This $300 investment is the best money I spent for the car for improving it.

4. I have the drive dynamic seat and I like the dynamic side bolsters. They help on winding and city roads and the benefit really is with less back pain.

5. Mine has been totally trouble free.

6. For me the must have was the Distronic adaptive cruise control. That came with the Driver Assist package that my 2010 model E550 is. That package included Blind Spot and Lane Departure warning and I think the collision warning also from sides.

7. You seem to be worried about the Airmatic. I would be more worried about the 4-Matic. E-class 4-Matic has proven very unreliable. Has the well documented planetary gear bearing issue that can fail anywhere from about 30 000 miles to 150 000 miles. There is lots of writing about these issues in this forum.

I have Airmatic and at about 10 years old the air springs had to be replaced. No problem for me as I can do the work myself. Transmission I cannot work on and for that reason I stay away from Mercedes 4-Matic. Luckily I live down south and RWD is fine for me. If I need an AWD equipped vehicle it will not be a Mercedes unless they give me unlimited mileage life time warranty for it, which they will not.

KEY08

All 2014 E550 sedans are 4M. You need to buy a coupe if you want RWD

Boothman_E550

First off, great taste! The 2014 is the unicorn of the W212's and if you can find a low-mileage one, you have a somewhat collectible car on your hands that should hold its value. Having said that, finding a low-mileage one is not easy and all used car prices have skyrocketed since the pandemic hit. I think there were 9 in the entire country with less than 50k miles last summer when I was looking. I ended up finding one outside of Dallas with 39k miles for $25k plus another $2k for a 4-year warranty. I've since done a few cosmetic mods and also had an ECU tune and custom exhaust fitted (res and muffler deletes w/ x-pipe). I couldn't love this car more and it puts a smile on my face every time I start it up. Seems like everyone above pretty much answered your questions, but just in case, I'll throw in my two cents:

1. How well do the vented seats work in these cars? We had the front seats on level 3 and it didn't seem to do anything...
   Yeah, not great. I don't notice a "blowing fan" feeling but they do lower the surface temps pretty well on a super hot day. I can also feel them cooling if I'm wearing a mesh tank or shorts or whatever.
2. Throttle response seemed slightly delayed but once it got going it was fast. Is this normal?
   This was the first thing I noticed too. I practically had to stand on it to wake it up but then it was a beast. This was all fixed with an ECU tune. Huge power increase and now throttle response is immediate.
3. How often are you all going through tires on these AWD setups?
   I haven't noticed any abnormally quick wear/tear on the OEM a/s Contis.
4. Are the dynamic bolsters worth it? The model I drove did not have them.
   The dynamic function was kind of fun at first but I much prefer to turn it off and manually adjust the bolsters to hug more like a sport seat at all times. I personally love this feature.
5. Are the panoramic roofs reliable?
   So far so good, see above for known issues and remedies. I've also heard about the drains getting clogged so make sure they are cleaned out regularly...but not too aggressively as that can damage them as well.
6. Are there any MUST HAVE options you suggest?
   I too like the trunk basket (and side hooks) but it does lower your load-in height a couple inches even when fully retracted. Still useful. The lighting package and distronic adaptive cruise control are great and were must-haves for me when I was looking. Pass-through rear seats are also a must and it still baffles me why they're not a standard feature on an $80k car.
7. Besides staying away from the air suspension cars, are there any big red flags to look for on these specific cars?
   Again *knocks on wood*, so far, so good. I drive it pretty hard (with a tune) but make sure to keep up with all maintenance and it's been trouble-free for the year I've owned it. Airmatic is really the only big issue but you already knew that. Hope this helps!

bmwpowere36m3

All I saw.... pics? j/k

cleanerPA

1. I didn't think they work great, I've been in some GM big SUVs where the seat ventilation worked really well. They definitely help on a hot day but they're just ventilation, no active cooling.
2. Yes, the throttle response is normal- especially in Eco mode. The throttle seems a bit lethargic at first, but if you keep increasing the throttle opening, eventually the big torque hit happens and the car lunges forward.
3. I just got the car, so I don't know about tire wear yet, but it is a 4400 lb. car with a lot of power, so I don't expect tire life to be great. IME, the Benz 4Matic cars seem to be heavily rear-biased, so you'll definitely wear out the rears before the fronts.
4. I don't care for the dynamic bolsters (and don't have them on my car), but the extra seat adjustments would be nice to have.
5. I don't trust pano roofs- they can leak, they can be problematic, don't like the power sunshade, so I avoided it with my own car.
6. I really like the dynamic LED lighting, works really well, need to get it coded for ILS to make them even better. I also think the 486 sport suspension is a must if you want a sporty car- the stock 677 avantgarde suspension is awfully soft. I've driven the sport suspension on loaner cars that drove great.
7. Make sure the car you get had been properly maintained- transmission service often gets overlooked, and I doubt anyone asks for the torque converter drain (cost me an extra $500 at the dealer because you have to remove the start-stop stuff to get to the bellhousing). Check for oil leaks on the cam sensors and adjuster solenoids and replace them if needed. Make sure you do a thorough underbody inspection- my car had a lot more corrosion on things like brake hard lines and the rear subframe than I expected.

Boothman_E550

@bmwpowere36m3 hahahaha, yeah I regretted typing that almost immediately

5port5al00n

Hey everyone! I ended up pulling the trigger on a perfectly optioned (for me) Designo Graphite Metallic E550.
Full pano
Full led
Parktronic
Distronic
Full pass through rear seats
Dynamic bolsters
Massage
360 cam

I had a PPI done at a reputable dealer in the area and everything was in great condition. There are some maintenance issues to go through, and nothing concerning. Hell 2 different techs wanted the car LMAOOOOO.

Anyway thanks for all the input and suggestions.

KEY08

Congrats, that is a well optioned example.
mileage? Price?

5port5al00n

60k on the clock
$28k

BenzV12

Congrats, that sounds very loaded car
Happy Driving

ghlkal

Congrats.

You need to post some pics