2010 S550 vs. 2012 E350
 

Seeking Guidance.


I currently have a 2012 E350 with approximately 56000 miles, premium package 1; AMG sport package. There is an opportunity to trade this car in for a 2010 S550 with approximately 86000 (fully loaded - original MSRP of $118K), + a cash payment of $7K.

I don’t have any experience with the S550, but the high mileage gives me pause. In terms of service records, that’s being worked on and I hope to have more info soon. At the very least it looks like brakes (pads and rotors) would need to be done. Any other things I should be on the look out for given the car’s age and mileage?


All thoughts and opinions gladly accepted, including personal preferences (I consider all information valuable).


Thanks.

How much are they giving you for your car, and what is their price on the S550? Honestly, I'd stay away from that car. You likely will not be able to purchase any kind of warranty coverage, which is pretty much a necessity with these cars unless you have deep pockets and money is meaningless to you.

You'd be better off spending a little more for a similar age and optioned car with around 40k miles, so you can obtain warranty coverage at a decent price. The lower mileage car, even though it's more money and would have the added expense of a warranty purchase, will likely end up costing you a lot less over say 3 years due to avoiding the big cost of repairs that high mileage car will likely face.

BTW, you won't be disappointed making the move to the S-class. It is so much nicer than your E350, of which I completely loathe your body style, and especially that cheap interior.

S Class or no Class.

😁👍

An s class without a warranty is a recipe for a disaster in the pocket book. I driven the 2016 E350 as a loaner while my 2013 s63 was being serviced (under warranty of course). Couldn't believe how much of a downgrade it is. At least aesthetically.

Interesting

It might be even more interesting if it was a comparison of either of the two cars the OP is evaluating. My take, yes for sure on an S if you can buy the right car and warranty, no on this particular S.

Thanks for all the feed back Guys. Looks like the high mileage (which translates to difficulty (expensive even if possible) to get warranty coverage) would lead me to pass on this car.

Thanks again for the help.

It has a couple more meaningless features due to being newer model than the current S, but it isn't even close to the S in ride, power, size, and comfort. I recently drove the new E300 as a loaner car. While I really liked the new E compared to the fugly outgoing model, it does have some stuff that seems strange to me for a car in that segment....especially the weak motor and the MBTex vinyl interior. I'm sure the E550 and real leather will make it a lot better than the E300, but it still will never be S class good.

Yeah, the E300 can be had with Nappa leather (and pretty much anything else the E550 will get) including AirMatic and an extra noise reduction package, but you're then north of $70k for a T4 midsize sedan. At that point a nice CPO W222 S550 with a TTV8 sounds WAY more appealing to me.