Looking to pick up a newer vehicle so I can get some more modern luxury and give an opportunity to work on the 300TE in the garage. I am looking at the 2007-2009 with 30-60k miles.

I looked at the E60 5 series BMW, but the fact barely are making it to 150k without serious problems is far from my expectations.

Are the W211's built good enough to do high mileage without serious debilitating issues? I understand money has to be spent, but when I read on the 5 series bmw's that the dealers wont even sell models past 100k because they are about to blow is incredibly upsetting...

Opinions?

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

Depends on the model, and the luck you have with it. Miles and age are never an accurate indicator of future "debilitating issues."

Hit and miss.

They did away with SBC in 07, which is a big plus for reliability, but some still have airmatic (which can be a headache) and some have the 7 speed auto (which a few of the early ones had issues). If you can find an 09 E350 with no airmatic, it should be a rock solid car.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I think all have the 07+ have the 7 speed (722.9) which has it's own issues. The previous 722.6 5 speed is solid. I just bought a 05 CDI and love it. The SBC remanned unit is about a grand if/when you need it. I average close to 30 mpg in mostly citi driving and the power is great.

Isn't that a W220 then?

The W220 tends to get bad reviews; whereas the W221 is well thought of =>

Mercedes-Benz S-Class W221 2006 - Car Review | Honest John

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I am not so certain the SBC is that bid of a deal. Sure, if it fails it will need to be replaced but to re-set the time out you can purchase one of these off ebay:

sbc reset

I swore I'd never own a car with SBC but now that I'm doing it there is not much to it. To service the brakes (pads, rotors, fluid) all you have to do is disconnect the connector at the SBC unit. Use caution during initial drive off to let unit set.

You won't go wrong with an 09. Make sure it has been properly serviced.

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Jim

05 S-class would be a W220, but we are talking E-classes here. 03-09 E-class is W211.

Not many E350s have air suspension as far as I know. 04-08 350s have the balance shaft issue, though I thought the balance shaft issue more affected the 04-06 motors and the 07-08s and the 09s didn't have it/it was much less common. And if you're buying a car with over 100k its probably already had them replaced, so I guess that becomes a non issue.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

Ahhhh numerical dyslexia strikes again!

Sorry about that folks

(still I like the look of the poorly thought of W220 mainly because they are so cheap - but that's another topic)

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

My choice would be an '08 E350 4-Matic. You'll get the 722.6 transmission, probably no balance shaft issue (easy to check), no SBC, and a more reliable tele-matics/sound system than the '09's.

Is the 4matic practically hands off? I don't really need 4wd so if it just adds another problem area I'm fine with rear only.

So got it down to 2008 for the search so far. Great stuff so far guys thanks!

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

I'd think in AZ there would not be many 4matics around anyway.

Is the 722.7 inherently problematic? Or just additional complication for not much gain over the proven .6?

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

If you don't need 4matic don't get it. Just more stuff to maintain.

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Jim

I guess whats the lesser of two evils? 4matic, but the 722.6, or the 722.7?

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

Exactly which W211 model(s) are you interested in? There's several.



















...

Just buy the nicest E350 you can find, forget about the year and go by mileage, condition, and service records.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200