Hi,
Id appreciate any and all advice about this prospective car it has ~98k miles 4 owners. I took it for a drive and it seems incredibly pristine. The dealership has the service records from 2021 to the present.

Anything I should be on the lookout for?

I ran the MB.vin site and these are the engine and transmission serial numbers I could find. I was told that lower serial numbers might indicate issues:

Engine: 27297231118216
Transmission: 72267607602004

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.​​

 

lots of previous owners could be warning that there are issues . . .
My Indy Mgr. warned me to skip the 211 series (03-09) & go from my 210 Wagon (2001) to the 212 ('11) Wagon which I bought in 2020 from MB
Santa Rosa.
I've heard that certain 211 years have mechanical
issues, so do your due diligence in pre-purchase
inspections & have an esteemed MB Mechanic
do a full-blown report for you / could be the best $
you've spent!

 

Thank you for the great advice. How does one go about finding a mechanic that can do the required inspection? Or better yet a good MB mechanic in the NYC area? Any one have any recommendations? I'm in Brooklyn, ny

 

This vehicle is a W211, not a W212. The transmission is the 5G-Tronic which I am surprised to see in a 2009 W211. See


The transmission has a good reputation for durability, but poor reputation for oil wicking through the connector up to the ECU -> $$$. So, you need a good MB-specialist pre-inspection.

For the engine, if it is well maintained, it is nearly bullet-proof. The major point to watch out for is the PCV system, and the intake manifold (consequence of neglect of the PCV system) The early generation up to mid-2007 was a nightmare that cost a fortune to MB and its owners to get fixed.

 

You will get better advice in the W211 forum.