payce

Been looking for a W212, and spotted an E550 Lux with 160k miles for $8k. Is this a good buy? Owned by a father who gave it so his son, the son now wants an Audi. From the photos the car is in perfect condition, he agreed to let me have an inspection beforehand, but he doesn't have a vehicle history report. I'm waiting to buy until I know if the car will be reliable.

If anyone could help me with this I would be greatly appreciative.

My main two questions are: how many miles can I expect to get out of her? & What issues should I expect in the near future (if any) if the purchase goes through?

Vin: WDDHF7CB8AA156764

Photos (imgur):

Front Exterior

Front Interior & Rear Interior

Trunk

Rear Exterior

ColonelKlink

You have 3 potential unbiased sources of info for the car: The Vin will allow you to acquire a 1) Carfax and a 2) Data card (look around the forum for what that is...). Can you have an MB dealer do a 3) PPI? There is a lot of basic info and cautionary insight you can locate in the forum for the E550 and the engine you have. As you may know, higher mileage vehicles have a greater probability of near term problems, the price should reflect that risk. The Car's service history, location and mileage distribution will help you interpret the past usage and care of the vehicle. My car's original owner drove about 50k miles in the first 20 months, dealer maintained. after that, mileage distribution was more normal. these cars were built for high mileage as long as they were maintained. YMMV.

CaliBenzDriver

160kMi $8k: it could be a fair deal.

How long the car will last simply depends on how much you'll spend in repair bills.

Look at tires + TPMS $1300
Look at brakes $2000
Look at fluid colors $1500
Look at main battery date $800
Look at suspensions $$$$
test drive the transmission for poor shifts $$$$
Listen to engine RATTLE Start into idle
(scan the car OBDII for faults)

Keep $5k on hand for the unforseen limp-mode repairs.