Greetings. Just registered to post, though I've been searching and reading this forum for several weeks now.

Background: I've driven mid- to late-1990s Audis for 15+ years...or more. Love them. Have done all my own work on them, including auto transmission rebuilds. I'm frugal to a fault and have kicked the can down the road long enough wrt replacing my 1999 A8 daily driver.

Audi has discontinued many of the basic parts I need to keep my 99 A8 running on a daily basis. It now takes a week to get an aftermarket brake hose or a rear caliper, OEM parts are NLA. Unacceptable. The newer Audis, like most German cars, have gone from a timing belt system in the front to a timing chain system in the rear. But Audi has decided to jam the motor in so close to the firewall that maintenance of the tensioners and upper chain guides problematic without pulling the engine. (Yes, I've made some generalizations about numerous engines.)

With that said, I think I've settled on a 2013 E350 6-cylinder 4MATIC. At least it looks like there's room in the engine bay to service the tensioners and upper guides. A full timing chain replacement would obviously require pulling the engine. But it sounds like the tensioners and guides probably last longer than the Audis from approx 2010 to 2017....the model years I'm looking at.

The car I have dibs on has 80k miles. Delivery date of 12/2/2012. Was a 2 year lease, then purchased as a CPO at the local MB dealer, and has been serviced there ever since. Always garaged so now wood trim fade to puke or typical Colorado hail damage. It has a well-documented service history according to CarFax. The owner is an older professional who seems more focused on work and his golf game than flogging his ride. A friend and I have looked it over carefully and it appears remarkably clean...as it should. I plan to ask the current owner for if he'd get a VMI report from the dealer prior to the purchase.

Questions: At what point will I need to be concerned about timing chain replacement? In a pinch, can the lower chain guides be replaced without pulling the engine? Does that seemingly early build have the potential for the older timing chain version? What other major maintenance items should I plan for over the next 20k miles? Can VMI reports be emailed by the dealer, or would the current owner need to go in person for a hard copy?

Anything else I should be asking or considering?

Thanks in advance.

And here are the options according to a VIN Decoder, VIN redacted for now.

2013 MERCEDES-BENZ E 350 4MATIC (212.088)
General Data

Model Year 2013
Model E 350 4MATIC
Engine 276952 30 300093
Transmission 722960 04 484034
Order Number
Order Location UNITED STATES (USA)
Production Number 8589199
Interior IMITATION LEATHER - BLACK/ANTHRACITE (101A)
Paint 1 TENORITE GRAY METALLIC PAINT (755U)
Release Date 2012-10-02
Delivery Date 2012-10-02
Code Description
100A IMITATION LEATHER
101A IMITATION LEATHER - BLACK/ANTHRACITE
108 CONTROL CODE MARKETING
10A OIL OFFSET AMOUNT +1000 ML OIL
1U2 SNOW GRID
211 EPS STEERING (ELECTRIC STEERING)
212B OP. INSTRUCT. AND MAINT. BOOKLET-ENGL. FOR USA/CAN
218 REAR-VIEW CAMERA
22P TRACK PACKAGE
230 PARKING GUIDANCE
232 GARAGE DOOR OPENER WITH 284 - 390 MHZ FREQUENCY
234 BLIND SPOT ASSISTANT
240 LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS
249 INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR MIRROR,AUTOMATICALLY DIMMING
264 LICENSE PLATE ATTACHMENT AMERICA
265 LINES-NO.PLATE DISCONTINUED
275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER SEAT, STRG. COL., MIRROR)
279 ELECTRONIC GEAR RANGE SELECTION
284B AIRBAG LABEL - ENGLISH FOR USA
287 THROUGH-LOADING FEATURE
289 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL WITH TRIM INSERT
291 PELVIS AIRBAG (PELVISBAG)
294 KNEE AIRBAG
298 SIDEBAGS IN REAR WITH BELT FORCE LIMITER
301 ASHTRAY PACKAGE
309 CUP HOLDER
312B HEAD UNIT LANGUAGE - AMERICAN ENGLISH
342B INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/HU LANGUAGE - AMERICAN
348 EMERGENCY CALL/SUPPORT SYSTEM
34N STEUERCODE WERK SINDELFINGEN/GRAZ
413 PANORAMIC SLIDING SUNROOF/GLASS SUNROOF
427 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 7-SPEED
428 STEER.WHEEL GEARSHIFT BUTTONS/SHIFT PADDLE PAINTED
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
475 TIRE PRESSURE CONTROL
WDDHF8JB8DA713069
Code Description
476 AUTOMATIC LANE RECOGNITION
485 (COMFORT RUNNING GEAR)
494 U.S. VERSION
512 COMAND APS WITH DVD CHANGER
518 UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE (UCI)
536 SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO COMPLETE SYSTEM
540 ROLLER BLIND, ELECTRIC, FOR REAR WINDOW
543 SUN VISOR WITH ADDITIONAL FUNCTION
551 BASIC ANTITHEFT ALARM SYSTEM (ATA)
580 AIR CONDITIONER
58U ROOF INTERIOR TRIM GRAY FABRIC
634 DELETION - FIRST AID KIT
636 DELETION - WARNING TRIANGLE
668 PRODUCT PROT. F FREIGHT PACKAG. W TIE-DOWN HOOKS
690 EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE (MINI SPARE)
705L UNITED STATES (USA)
731 TRIM PIECES - WOOD BURRED WALNUT VENEER
755U TENORITE GRAY METALLIC PAINT
763 RADIO REMOTE CONTROL WITH PANIC SWITCH (315 MHZ)
7XXL NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
803 YOM 12/1
810 PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEM
873 SEAT HEATER FOR LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT SEATS
875 HEATED SCREEN WASH SYSTEM
887 SEPARATE TRUNK LID LOCKING
915 FUEL TANK WITH GREATER CAPACITY - VOLUME 2
919 AIRCON COOLING POWER PACKAGE
929 ENGINE FOR ETHANOL FUEL E85
955 EQUIPMENT PACKAGE ELEGANCE
986 DEVIATING VIN WITH MODEL YEAR
989 IDENTIFICATION LABEL UNDER WINDSHIELD
A21 SHIFT BY WIRE
A63 FE TORQUE CONVERTER HOUSING-0
A64 FE CONVERTER 0 MM
A68 TRANSMISSION HOUSING WITH DEEP OIL LINE CONNECTION
A87 U VALVE BODY ASSEMBLY WITH VGS 3
A89 REDUCED-FRICTION
B12 WHEEL REPLACEMENT TOOL
F212 MODEL SERIES 212
FW LIMOUSINE
G960 TRANSMISSION CODE VERSION 60
GA AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
HA REAR AXLE
J1A NAT2 WITH OPTIMIZED DSM
K15 CONTROL CODE FOR SERVICE INTERVAL 15000 KM
L LEFT-HAND STEERING
M005 VEHICLES WITH 4-MATIC-/ALL WHEEL DRIVE
M276 V6-GASOLINE ENGINE M276
M35 DISPLACEMENT 3.5 LITER
Q06 NAO BRAKE LININGS WITH NO LOSS OF BRAKE FORCE
R02 ALL SEASON TYRES
R21 17" LIGHT ALLOY WHEEL 8-SPOKE DESIGN ALL-ROUND
U10 FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WITH WEIGHT SENSING
U12 FLOOR MATS - VELOUR
WDDHF8JB8DA713069
Code Description
U71 DVD PLAYER WITH REGIONAL CODE 1, USA
V62 SPEED- + LOADINDEX 99H XL
VL FRONT AXLE HALF, LEFT
VR FRONT AXLE HALF, RIGHT

 

Never.

[/QUOTE]In a pinch, can the lower chain guides be replaced without pulling the engine?[/QUOTE]
No

[/QUOTE]Does that seemingly early build have the potential for the older timing chain version?[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't worry about it.

[/QUOTE]What other major maintenance items should I plan for over the next 20k miles?[/QUOTE]
Just keep it maintained, it'll be fine.

[/QUOTE]Can VMI reports be emailed by the dealer, or would the current owner need to go in person for a hard copy?[/QUOTE]
I dont even know what a VMI report is.

 

I received a VMI digitally via pdf, from a dealership employee…however it was a favor from a friend connection, not sure how common. Just saying, digital is possible

 

I would want to specifically know the transmission service history, ie fluid and filter change. I imagine it was done once possibly by dealership, unlikely twice. I would plan to perform that again within 20k miles.

I do not recall whether that model has the aux small battery in the trunk (or elsewhere), but they do need replaced every few years it seems. That said, if car doesn’t have certain accessory packages it may have less draw on that system.