purchase help - MB E Class Coupe - which model?
Discussion
Hello all,
Looking to purchase 2nd hand MB E class Coupe 2009 onwards. Having not owned MB before looking for some advice in which model is best with high miles 70/80k +. I will be using it for short journeys mainly, and YES I do know i should be buying petrol but looking to stick with Diesel engines. Is it worth buying 2.1 over E350?
Any advice much appreciated.
Thank you
Looking to purchase 2nd hand MB E class Coupe 2009 onwards. Having not owned MB before looking for some advice in which model is best with high miles 70/80k +. I will be using it for short journeys mainly, and YES I do know i should be buying petrol but looking to stick with Diesel engines. Is it worth buying 2.1 over E350?
Any advice much appreciated.
Thank you
Performance wise the 220 is fine about 8.2 ish to 60 but in the real world it's fast enough. With these cars it's more about the torquey engines, and even the 220 has quite a bit of mid range grunt.
I have done 293k in my current one and over that time averaged 48/49 mpg, with lots of motorway cruising, and total reliability.
I have driven the 350 on a couple of occasions, definitely smoother, far more refined, although the 220 is ok at cruising speed, and more mid range grunt. Having said that it didn't feel that much faster than the 220 but probably because it's more refined.
You can probably expect low to mid 30's around town and mid 40's at least on motorways from the 350. If you can live with that go for the 350.
I have done 293k in my current one and over that time averaged 48/49 mpg, with lots of motorway cruising, and total reliability.
I have driven the 350 on a couple of occasions, definitely smoother, far more refined, although the 220 is ok at cruising speed, and more mid range grunt. Having said that it didn't feel that much faster than the 220 but probably because it's more refined.
You can probably expect low to mid 30's around town and mid 40's at least on motorways from the 350. If you can live with that go for the 350.
Make sure the transmission fluids have been changed. This should be done at 37.5k miles then according to Mercedes never again. You will benefit by having the torque convertor/gearbox flushed and new fluids/filter every 50k miles or so. A good independent will charge between £160 and maybe £200 for this, Mercedes nearer £260 or so.
The 7G box on the 350 can be a bit lumpy on down changes also but there is a software update for this which can help.
Other than that, the early injector issue will have been sorted by Mercedes, so as long as it has a verifiable correct service history with either Mercedes or a recognised Indy you should be ok.
Overall they are very reliable cars. I am on my 3rd now each have done high mileages, ie 300k plus, with little or no issues.
The 7G box on the 350 can be a bit lumpy on down changes also but there is a software update for this which can help.
Other than that, the early injector issue will have been sorted by Mercedes, so as long as it has a verifiable correct service history with either Mercedes or a recognised Indy you should be ok.
Overall they are very reliable cars. I am on my 3rd now each have done high mileages, ie 300k plus, with little or no issues.
I have only done about 8k in mine this year after retirement and most of my drives are now local. I make sure I do a longer run every 2 weeks or so to get the car fully up to temp to do a regen and so far have had no issues.
This was recommended by the service guy at my local Mercedes dealer, who says they very rarely see anybody with a DPF issues.
Make sure you use a low ash oil as recommended by Mercedes and you should be ok.
This was recommended by the service guy at my local Mercedes dealer, who says they very rarely see anybody with a DPF issues.
Make sure you use a low ash oil as recommended by Mercedes and you should be ok.
Monkeylegend said:
Make sure the transmission fluids have been changed. This should be done at 37.5k miles then according to Mercedes never again. You will benefit by having the torque convertor/gearbox flushed and new fluids/filter every 50k miles or so. A good independent will charge between £160 and maybe £200 for this, Mercedes nearer £260 or so.
This is correct for the original ones, but changed for the later 7g+ gearboxes (introduced approx same time as stop/start, if not concurrently), where where auto box fluid is now changed every 5 years / 75000 miles (might be 77,500).E350cdi were 'uprated' to 265bhp approx late 2011. Numerous engine internal changes, ie pistons, fuel rail pressure, changes to dpf regeneration process etc etc. Possibly coincided with introduction of straight drls rather than original hockey sticks. 265 engine identified by LS in engine numbering.
If looking at 4-cylinder diesel, check whether car has had any work done /replacements injectors. There were well-known problems approx 2009/2010 with this on all models fitted with this engine. MB went through various 'updates'before issue was resolved. I suspect most cars, if not all, would have been done by now. I haven't heard anything about it for several years, but there was a long running thread on mbclub.co.uk
Most models in uk are sport models, have 18" wheels. SE models have 17" wheels as std and leather (sport have Artico leather as std which is MB's name for their 'man made' leather - nothing wrong with it, though).
Some early 350cgi petrols could suffer from balancer shaft problems, affected many MB V6 350s, in any model up to about 2009/10 (can't recall exact details now, but searches should show affected engine number range)
All V6 coupés, whether sport or SE, have sports suspension and steering.
I think they're great cars, no real issues.
Options are personal choice, popular ones include multi-adjustable seats, intelligent headlight system (both std on sport), panoramic roof, comand.
Sat navs are updated f.o.c. by dealer, but only if requested, for first 3 years; worth checking whether it's been done.
Big service is 4 years, filters, brake fluid(every 2 years), etc. Auto fluid could be 3 or 5 years.
It might be worth trying both 4 and 6 cylinders.
Autos will start in 2nd gear unless 'sport' is selected or throttle fully depressed.
Thank you very much for all your replies. Just trying to gather as much info as I can before purchasing. I am definitely looking at Automatic gearbox and a diesel engine. I will make a note of the transmission fluid change in the service history. Good idea to try both and see how they drive.
Would you recommend in having pre purchase inspection ordered, never had them done, any good?
Would you recommend in having pre purchase inspection ordered, never had them done, any good?
toshis said:
Would you recommend in having pre purchase inspection ordered, never had them done, any good?
Difficult one, depends on your confidence to check it yourself and on who is selling it. Main dealer approved will have to have full MB history, so you will at least know it's been serviced. However, probably won't be many going back to 2009/10 appearing at franchised dealers. The main dealer service reqt would rule out them being able to retail an otherwise excellent car that had been pxd, for example. However, some ex-lease cars appear with full history, but cheap tyres, obviously replaced at end of lease by previous user, and still retailed by dealer, so no automatic gaurantees that they're necessarily a better proposition. What else did the user skimp on?
Having said that, E coupés are less likely to have been used as reps lease cars.
A good MB indy, if you have one nearby, might well be happy to check one over for you if everything else checked out. For me, documented evidence of proper servicing, decent tyres, unkerbed wheels etc etc are a good starting point.
MBs don't have service books anymore, it's just a computer record, but dealers should be able to provide service history, assuming it's franchised or done by one of the indies who can update MB's system. MB dealers normally provide a print out on each service, but don't know if they all do. Otherwise, you'll need to see invoices to support what's actually been done.
I have just phoned up one of the car dealerships that have my desired car (link below) and he did confirm that it is Full MB service history. What he did not see on the history was the gearbox fluid change, and he said he can phone them up and ask if it was done. I did it myself and they are unable to provide any info until i purhcase the car. From what i understand this car requires transmission fluid change at around 37k, why didnt MB do that if it was only serviced by them? Any thoughts?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
I think on some cars Mercedes said the gearbox was sealed for life so no change required. They told me this on my car but I had it changed anyway.
Have you had a look at Mercland's website, they are a Mercedes specialist based in Nuneaton I think. They advertise on the MBClub UK forum so worth a look. They are very well respected and have a 2010 E350 Coupe for sale at the moment in black. I have been quite tempted myself.
Jay, the guy who owns Mercland posts on the forum and has a very good reputation. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them.
Have you had a look at Mercland's website, they are a Mercedes specialist based in Nuneaton I think. They advertise on the MBClub UK forum so worth a look. They are very well respected and have a 2010 E350 Coupe for sale at the moment in black. I have been quite tempted myself.
Jay, the guy who owns Mercland posts on the forum and has a very good reputation. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them.
I believe that car should have had gearbox fluid change, as a one-off, at 3 years.
The way MB set their servicing, assuming it was actually carried out by a franchised dealer, is that certain things are included in the quoted price, normally loads of 'check this, check that' and an oil and filter change (and possibly pollen filter when reqd). Every other item, including air filters, fuel filter, transmission fluid, brake fluid etc, whilst specified, is always at extra cost.
Therefore, in theory, a customer could ask for a service, but decline the extra-cost items. A Mercedes 'service history', but not a 'full' history. Bearing in mind that the transmission fluid was due at 3 years, by which time the car was coming out of warranty, and as the change is expensive, it might be that they didn't agree to it being done.
The way MB set their servicing, assuming it was actually carried out by a franchised dealer, is that certain things are included in the quoted price, normally loads of 'check this, check that' and an oil and filter change (and possibly pollen filter when reqd). Every other item, including air filters, fuel filter, transmission fluid, brake fluid etc, whilst specified, is always at extra cost.
Therefore, in theory, a customer could ask for a service, but decline the extra-cost items. A Mercedes 'service history', but not a 'full' history. Bearing in mind that the transmission fluid was due at 3 years, by which time the car was coming out of warranty, and as the change is expensive, it might be that they didn't agree to it being done.
Very good point.
How am I able to check that history, I know it's all sort of electronic now, but the customer service in MB advised i cant check until i have the car. But what sort of logbook would the deal have in hand for me to show the history, would it include all of the points you mentioned in your post
?
How am I able to check that history, I know it's all sort of electronic now, but the customer service in MB advised i cant check until i have the car. But what sort of logbook would the deal have in hand for me to show the history, would it include all of the points you mentioned in your post
?
There should be an A4 size digital print out of the service history with the car. Mercedes and good indys will give you this at each service and it will list all previous services. It doesn't detail all that has been carried out at each service but it shows when each was carried out.
This is used also to verify the service history for their Mobilo life cover in the event of a breakdown.
You should ask to see this when viewing the car before you decide to purchase. If this isn't present I would walk, because there is no reason for it not to be other than an attempt to hide an iffy history.
This is used also to verify the service history for their Mobilo life cover in the event of a breakdown.
You should ask to see this when viewing the car before you decide to purchase. If this isn't present I would walk, because there is no reason for it not to be other than an attempt to hide an iffy history.
Thank you for your reply, the question I really have is like you mentioned it doesn't list all the things that were done, so how can I see if the transmission oil for example has been changed, since the dealership doesn't know.. Sorry to be a pain about this just want to make sure i know all in's and out's.
Thanks
Thanks
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