After months of lurking, dithering, shopping, and auction hunting, I finally have a new toy. I won an auction on Bring a Trailer yesterday on a 2012 E550 4Matic (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...nz-e550-sedan/). 35k miles, pretty well loaded (Premium 2 package, sport package, driver assistance package, and what looks like a special order Airmatic suspension) for $21,250 (plus another 1k or so in fees).

It could use a little paint correction and the seats are screaming out for some conditioner, but it looks in decent shape. There is a local indy shop that my buddy took his MB to, so I'll probably have them give it a once over. Any particular items or issues I should be particularly aware of (I've read there is some issue with oil seeping into the engine harness, and opinions are varied about the Airmatic suspension)? Thanks in advance. Super excited to pick it up on Friday!

Congrats on your new toy, , and welcome to the forum.

On the concerns, since it has low mileage but 10 years, it must be coming for a spark plug tune up. If possible, it will be a great opportunity to put a camera through some of the cylinders (all would be great) and check for scoring of the cylinder walls.

Regarding the harness issue, please check your camshaft sensor and solenoid connectors as soon as possible. This issue is not correlated with mileage, so better earlier than later. Regardless if they are leaking or not, you may have to include this check on your oil maintenance schedule as another tick box. Many forum members have changed/recommended to switch from 0W-40 to 5/10W-40 as long as you use an MB-approved oil brand (https://operatingfluids.mercedes-benz.com/ ) , and reduce the oil service interval from 10K miles to @5K miles. A few extra $$ can save you $$$$.

Since we can see all the photos and the video on the link, perhaps a recording of the engine itself would entertain those here.

Also, with the Engine Serial number you should check the attached documents and see where your engine falls.

Congrats on your car , great choice
I believe yours is M276 non Bi Turbo engine but some prefer it over the Bi Turbo M278 engines . Well, Airmatic might need maintenance and yours is no exception either , Given age of your car airmatic system parts need to be replaced . It may sound costly but believe in me , it's not like regular replacement units that should be done every periodic maintenance schedule .Mileage is low for your car but airmatic ,as I recall, every 10 years maximum needs service
Happy Driving

The 2012 is a bi-turbo M278.
Nice choice and I hope she treats you well for many more years.

Welcome to the club. I noticed that your car spent its time in the Northeast and was more than likely operated on heavily salted roads during the wintertime ....when you have the indy give the car an inspection have them check the rear subframe for rust perforation. This is a known defect that has been acknowledged by MB in 2023 with an extension of the original warranty for the subframe for 20 years from first in service date. My 2011 S212 had the subframe replaced this year by my local dealer under the warranty when it rusted through and detached from the control arm.

Picked the car up yesterday. What a blast to drive it home! Not before there were some issues, because god forbid something ever go easily. When I got there I noticed the wood trim pieces were faded. Nothing horrific and maybe I wouldn’t have paid attention if I had not become aware of the issue after perusing the forums, but it was enough to annoy me a bit.

The big issue was the A/C was not blowing cold air. The dealer took it to a shop he utilizes and, after they vacuumed and refilled the system, and changed the valves and o-rings, it held pressure and worked.

Other than the wood trim, the interior is in great shape. These seats are amazing. The car has that old school MB smell. I was surprised a car that cost 75k in 2012 didn’t have remote start. There are a few paint nicks, as you’d expect in a nearly 12 year old car, and the bumper may need a respray if my OCD gets the best of me, but I love the color and depth of the paint. Excited to tinker with my new toy.

Nice car , I must say wheels of the color look very cool too . They looked like smoked and match neatly with the color of the car as well

Looking at the window sticker again, I noticed it said the Chestnut Brown interior was a special order. Was it a rare color for these? I’ve seen mostly black, some beige, but can’t say I recall seeing this color interior before.

Black and beige can be preferred by many and you can even see those interiors at the dealer's lot but brown or red interior colors are not for many people so dealers don't order cars with those colors . As for the question yes I think brown and two tone interiors are rarer than all black .

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