2008 e350 4matic purchase.
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
Late-model W211s are pretty good. Make sure you get a PPI before purchase as it will save you thousands. Does it have pano? Any records from service?
Nothing super major, not like the 2006 models which had a bad balance shaft or the 2003 models which had bad radiators which would toast the transmission. The best years are probably 2008/2009. But as mentioned earlier, get a PPI, they do require maintenance and only major item is the intake manifold which tends to go in the 80-140k range due to the oil separator/breather cover going bad and allowing oil into the intake which gums up the flaps, but it's about $700 for a new intake and should be good for another 80-140k. Had mine for 8 years now and the real major items for me has been the tires and rims, the 18 inch rims get bent/cracked and you end up with flat tires easily. Going to get my 4th set of tires soon. It came with a set, wore those out, 2nd set kinda got killed by flats/bent rims so got another set and those just wore out so now time for a 4th.
Well there's lots of maintenance stuff. There's nothing really wrong with the panorama sunroof, some claims it makes too much noise, but mine is fine, you can hear a slight squeak sometimes but not really an issue. Like anything, it can break or get stuck. I rarely use it so it's still fine. The PPI is a pre purchase inspection. You can take it to a Mercedes dealer or an indy, they can hook it up to star/Xentry to scan for codes, but you could also just get your own cheap basic code scanner like the Autel AP200 and see if there are any MB specific error codes. It's been mentioned in other threads, but over the years there are many maintenance items that may go, the basics that I've done is the thermostat, steering angle sensor, brake light switch, oil cooler gaskets, pulleys/tensioners, springs/struts/shocks, uppper/lower control arms, CV joints (just due to ripped boot), sway bar links, tie rods, ball joints, brakes, broken wire in the trunk, alternator etc., but that's over 8 years.
That's a completely different car than a 2008 E350. The 2003-2006 models had SBC brakes and from 2003-2006, the E500 was a different engine than the E550 so it has different issues but some not as bad, some worse. SBC brakes have a 25 year extended warranty but there was also a 15 year extended warranty on the fuel tank which would be expired by now. They got rid of SBC in 2007+. Engine issues I mentioned earlier like intake would not apply but you end up with 16 spark plugs because of 2 plugs per cylinder instead of just one like on the M272/M273 engine. Other standard stuff like the motor mounts going are common to the entire line and other models too. Some people tend to like them but I'm not a fan, the older models didn't have as many options and of course the older the car, the more likely you are to have problems. Steering angle sensor going bad is still there, different set up there. You also have a battery control module which can go bad in addition to the alternator. You end up with 302hp which is also the same hp in the 2012+ E350 because they went to a new engine again which had direct injection and had better gas mileage. Airmatic was something like 1k per corner at the dealer but you can do Arnott for aftermarket and they are cheaper, probably in the $400-$500 range per corner. The E350/E320 didn't have airmatic although some E320s could have had them as an option. E350 never had airmatic as an option and my springs/struts were a bit cheaper, but you're still spending over $200 a corner on parts for the fronts and a little bit less for the rear springs/shocks. E500/E550 had real leather as standard though, the E320/E350 was an extra cost option, otherwise it came with MB-Tex which was a vinyl like leather.
As always, read the brochure, use a vin decoder to see what the options really are on the car and also check out the options and the costs on MotorTrend. Just change the year in the URL to check out different years.
Auto-Brochures | Mercedes-Benz Car & Truck PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info AMG C-Class CL-Class CLK-Class CLS-Class E-Class G-Class GL-Class GLC-Class GT Maybach M-Class Metris ML-Class R-Class S-Class SL-Class SLK-Class SLS-Class Sprinter X-Class
McLaren car pdf sales brochures, catalogs and electronic media
www.auto-brochures.com
Mercedes VIN Decoder | Decode Your Mercedes-Benz VIN
Want to know the specifications of your Mercedes? No problem! Our free Mercedes VIN decoder retrieves detailed information about your Mercedes-Benz vehicle.
www.lastvin.com
2005 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Prices, Reviews, and Photos - MotorTrend
Interested in the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E-Class? Get the details right here, from the comprehensive MotorTrend buyer's guide.
Well I'm sure someone else on here with one will chime in on how it's much nicer than the face lifted 2007+ models, but that's because I have the face lifted model and the other person has the older model. There is some bias when you ask. I still say the 2008/2009 are the best W211 models but some would say that the W212 is a bit better than the W211, but usually anything newer is better. The interior I think is nicer on the face lifted models. I wouldn't say I wouldn't recommend it, as long as you know about the airmatic issue and SBC which is brake by wire, those are my two main issues with it. Airmatic when it fails means there's a leak in the airbags and you come out and find the suspension sitting on the ground and because of the leak, you can't air up the suspension so you're stuck getting it fixed right there and then. Normal suspension means it just sags or feels worse driving it, but you can it it fixed in a few weeks/months when you get the parts. SBC brakes was brake by wire and you lose 90% of your braking power when the pump fails. However that doesn't happen too frequently but you do need to change your underwear if that happens to you. Most people who had that happen said they avoided an accident but maybe that's just because the ones who don't survive don't come and post how they died. Although I don't think that's too common, there's a reason MB extended the warranty initially from 10 years to 25 years. Some people were just resetting the counter instead of spending 2k replacing the pump which meant the brakes would fail and you wouldn't have any additional early warning, if you just got the pump replaced then it's less likely to happen. Once you get an error message about it hitting the counter limit, MB should just replace the pump at that point under warranty. But with anything mechanical, it can also fail sooner that expected even though MB is supposed to use a conservative estimate. The 2006 model year was the last for SBC though which is why I say 2007+. Some early 2007 models still had balance shaft or timing chain problems, you'd have to check the engine number to see if you're past it or not. Or just get a 2008/2009 model. Although they'd have the intake manifold issue, the engine just runs rough, not the same as the suspension sitting on the ground or brakes that suddenly don't work.
Check with MB for sunroof recalls.
There are 211 optional features to consider like 4matic (standard on wagon from ‘07), Airmatic (standard with V8), bi-xenon headlights, bi-xenon with active curve, panoramic roof, heated seats, ventilated seats, dynamic/massaging seats, Command with nav … Make sure you know what you want.
Sixto
05 E320 wagon 196K miles
There are 211 optional features to consider like 4matic (standard on wagon from ‘07), Airmatic (standard with V8), bi-xenon headlights, bi-xenon with active curve, panoramic roof, heated seats, ventilated seats, dynamic/massaging seats, Command with nav … Make sure you know what you want.
Sixto
05 E320 wagon 196K miles
Well if the car had good records of the airmatic bags being replaced and the SBC brakes were done recently then it wouldn't be an issue. But even if the bags in the airmatic was replaced, you can still have leaks in the lines or the compressor could still burn out.
In general there aren't too many recalls and that new one may be too new to be in the system yet. Still you can just punch in the vin and see if there are any active recalls on the car on MB's site.
Recall Information
Mercedes-Benz wants to keep you informed about any applicable US recall campaign that may include your US vehicle.
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
