Hi All! In 2019 I bought a brand new Camaro 1LT 2.0L Turbo and its had issues since I got it with 4 miles and after 5 years I'm kind of over the limited space and rough rides from all of the bumps and potholes in the road. I live in the Chicago-land area so there are bumps literally everywhere I drive which makes the drive uncomfortable. Im close to paying off the car now and I've been looking at options for a used sports sedan and found my way over to the E-350's. I've been looking at a few listings and found a couple that I liked and wanted some opinions and advice when looking into buying one.


The first one I found was a 2010 E-350 with 184k miles for $6900. The main reason I'm considering this car is because when I went and test drove it I checked the car fax and it has had only 1 owner who bought it brand new from the dealer and had all the service done at the dealer and has had engine and transmission mounts replaced recently by the dealer. The car was eventually traded back into the same dealer 13 years later. Its really clean and drives well and has the infamous rip in the seat. There is a slight clunk noise that comes from the right side, mainly the rear so not entirely sure what that could be. The seller is a buyer/seller and has had the car for a month and I was the first person to test drive and has lowered the price from 7,500 to 6,900 so I feel like I could get it down a few more hundred.


The Second car is from the same seller and also a 2010 E-350 but with 138k miles asking 7,500 and I did not test drive this one.


I would appreciate any feedback in general or on either of the cars. Thank you for reading this far if you did

 

I would highly recommend a pre purchase inspection done at a reputable MB indy once you decide which one you're interested in. Since you mentioned a "clunk" from the right rear, MB recently extended the warranty on the rear subframe to 20 years from in service date due to their rusting out completely and separating from the suspension...this might be the culprit or suspension related. Being as this is a Chicago car and thus subjected to salting of the roads during the winter I would get it inspected on a lift to verify the structural integrity of the subframe at a minimum.
I had this warranty work completed recently on my 2011 E wagon on MB's dime after the local dealer verified that my rear subframe was detached from my suspension due to rust perforation.

 

I'm no expert but we did buy a 2011 e350 wagon back in December so here is my advice based on my short ownership. First inspect or have the rear subframe for rust. Same with the rear brake lines. The cover that runs down the driver's side should be removed so you can look for corrosion. Both of my rear brake lines were leaking so I spent two days after Christmas removing and replacing them. In the engine bay look at the pcv breather cap on the back of the head on the passenger side. My was leaking so it was replaced the day after we bought it. I'm not sure what transmission it has but the 4matic 722.9 transmission has the transfer case built in and can go bad. I don't know much about this so maybe someone else can add more details. Those are the biggest issues that come to my mind that aren't cosmetic like the seats and walnut trim fade. Good luck. Sorry about your experience with the Camaro. Those are built in my city☹️

 

Heed @Raj1471 and get a thorough pre-purchase inspection. If the seller refuses to let you do that, walk...no RUN...from the deal.

I don't know what your needs are, but you may also want to look at a C350 Sport of the same timeframe. I have found mine to be quite nimble for a sedan, yet comfortable for riders. BUT, before getting either car with the M276 engine, check the ENGINE serial number against the attached bulletin. You can find the engine number, plus total configuration of the car, by entering the VIN at www.lastvin.com.

The M276 in a E350 or C350 you might find would be a 2769 engine.

 

op, I am new in this room but not to German cars of recent vintage.
you must have the right parts and maintenance to experience what you are paying for. no short cuts. you are correct that ownership history is very important.
whatever your budget expect to add two or three grand. good tires, brakes and suspension upkeep are critical to the experience.
I think the early W212 are a great option as Mercedes concentrated on quality over complicated tech.
keep a list of these fine posts from the forum guys here, find a good shop and have them go over all of it in a PPI.
keep us posted and best of luck!

 

Great advice. If it's a 4Matic, that noise could be the front driveshaft which might require another trans for $6000 (rebuilt unit).

1. Carfax is a marketers wet dream. They are responsible for nothing but sell you what they want you to believe. I know for a fact that their reports miss things and sometimes report things that weren't done on the car I have.

2. No matter how well the car was maintained, there are things that ANY car with over 100k miles is going to need like suspension parts, battery, plugs, filters, tires, brakes, etc. These things are expensive if you use OEM parts, and especially if you don't do the work yourself. From my experience (for what it's worth), any used Benz in the years you're looking at is gonna cost you a few thousand to bring up to date. I bought a mint 2008 E350 for $7500 and put $3000 in it (which includes $400 for a new blower motor). I'll be changing spark plugs in my 2013 E350 which are $43 each but I refuse to use anything but Benz parts - my car has 130k miles and I don't mind spending Benz money to get another 130k miles out of these parts. Excuse me - I did put in a Diehard Platinum battery

That $6900 2010 with 184k miles could easily cost you another $6900 (depending on what you expect), even if the Carfax is 100% true (which would be extremely rare) but it might not be a bad thing, as long as you know those costs are coming. You might have a really nice dependable car with new parts that will last another 14 years. I think I'd be looking at the other one with less miles.

If you do homework on Mercedes, I think you'll find that the E350 series are hard to beat considering all the MB models. I found the 2008 and 2009 to be reported as highly dependable as well as the 2010 - 2012 E350.

Good luck.

 

He posted looking at 2010's. They have the M272 not the M276. That said there are serial numbers of the 2010 M272 which have cylinder scoring issues which will cause an idle knocking sound with a warm engine. There is a thread on this.