S211 E350 - How risky?
Discussion
Long story short, I need a car and am very tempted by a cheap S211 E350.
And then I heard about the balance shaft problems and noped out pretty quickly, but just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Buutttt the car already has 120k miles which seems way beyond what most cars with problematic balance shafts get to.
The seller says he doesn’t know whether balance shaft has been done or not, and to make it worse the car is 2006 which I hear is right in the middle of the bad ones.
So, is it worth risking? How likely is it to fail, how likely is it to have been fixed and how much will it sting me if the worst happens?
And then I heard about the balance shaft problems and noped out pretty quickly, but just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Buutttt the car already has 120k miles which seems way beyond what most cars with problematic balance shafts get to.
The seller says he doesn’t know whether balance shaft has been done or not, and to make it worse the car is 2006 which I hear is right in the middle of the bad ones.
So, is it worth risking? How likely is it to fail, how likely is it to have been fixed and how much will it sting me if the worst happens?
Have you checked the engine number? See 2nd post in the link below.
https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/the-complete-m...
It seems to me that it is only the first one that is a major issue and the others aren't actually anything to do with the balancer shaft - they're to do with the variable valve timing.
When was it first registered in 2006 - before late March the VED will be £430ish - after probably £700ish?
I'm guessing this is a facelift W211 and therefore won't have SBC electronic brakes?
https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/the-complete-m...
It seems to me that it is only the first one that is a major issue and the others aren't actually anything to do with the balancer shaft - they're to do with the variable valve timing.
When was it first registered in 2006 - before late March the VED will be £430ish - after probably £700ish?
I'm guessing this is a facelift W211 and therefore won't have SBC electronic brakes?
At 120k miles, if it was going to fail it probably would have by now. You're likely safe, but it's still a gamble.
Check the engine number against the recall list. If it's a bad one, the repair is £3-4k.
For a cheap estate, I'd worry more about rust and the brake pump than the balance shaft at this point.
Check the engine number against the recall list. If it's a bad one, the repair is £3-4k.
For a cheap estate, I'd worry more about rust and the brake pump than the balance shaft at this point.
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