2014 Mercedes E550 - Oppo Review

"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
06/11/2018 at 13:55 • Filed to: Oppo review, Mercedes, E550, M278

At the dealer in Michigan

So, after spending about six months driving about a million (est.) different cars, I decided that I wanted a CPO E550. That was actually the easy part, because a) there were none in the Chicago area; and b) my wife actually preferred that I get a new car, and lease it (for cash flow reasons). After running through the numbers with her in detail, she grudgingly agreed to go along with this plan — which also meant that I was going to have to either wait for one to appear locally, or buy a car out of state and drive it back.

Long story short, after having multiple phone conversations with several dealers in Michigan, Wisconsin, and a few other far-flung locations, I settled on this car, outside of Detroit. Flew up there on the Friday before Memorial Day, and drove it home that same day. The whole process was smooth, if slow - largely due to holiday traffic, really. The drive back really gave me a great chance to play around with the car a bit - and I still loved it after a 5+ hour drive home!

Exterior 8.5/10

I really like the look of this car - - perhaps a bit boxy or overchromed for some, but I love it. I think the whole design is coherent and elegant. The Sport Package (standard on the 550, optional on the 350) makes the car look just right to me, and I love the wheels, too. One thing I’ve noticed is that the car sits a bit lower than I expected (and lower than my old GS350). I’m a little paranoid right now about scraping the front lip spoiler as a result - my GS would go over parking curbs, and this car won’t.

Another thing that I like (and many would disagree) is that the ONLY exterior difference (to my knowledge) between this car and an E350 Sport is the “5" on the rear decklid. It’s a bit of a sleeper in that regard.

Interior 8.5/10

Very comfortable seats - critical for for that initial long drive home. Across the board (switchgear, leather etc), materials are higher quality than my GS350 had - which they should be, this car was originally some $15-20k more than the Lexus when new. Leather is high quality, and supple. As a bonus, this car has the optional massaging/contour seat - something I was specifically looking for. The massage feature came in handy on that drive back from Detroit.

Kinja has decided to rotate this picture, dammit...

Also important for me is the rear seat room - if you turn your head, you can see that there’s plenty of room for that big rear-facing infant seat, and the front passenger seat is in about the same place as the driver’s seat. This is a notable improvement from the GS, which was pretty tight in back.

I’ve never been a fan of black interiors (bad memories of burning my legs on black vinyl in my first car), but this one is growing on me - and my wife is the opposite, she loves black interiors.

Engine 9.5/10

This is literally what sold me on the car. I only deducted a half point because it’s not hand built, and doesn’t have the signature of the person who built it on it, I guess?

There are a bunch of numbers I could throw out, but 1,600 is the one that matters most to me. As in, peak torque (443 lb ft) occurs at that RPM. Turbo lag is non-existent, and the engine just pulls from anywhere, with little downshifting, despite VERY tall gearing. This morning, I was in traffic on the Tri-State, at about 35 mph in 6th gear when traffic started to open up a bit. I gave the throttle a gentle nudge, and the car accelerated, uphill, from 1,000 RPM, without downshifting, or any lugging. I’ve been making a game out of it, trying to keep the trans from downshifting, for no reason other than the fact that it’s fun.

On the other hand, if I put it in Sport mode and floor it, 0-60 is just 4.5 seconds away.

It even sounds good - cold starts are surprisingly growly, considering this car isn’t an AMG. The noise is a very low, baritone rumble, which you can hear any time you’re accelerating. It’s a pleasant noise, which disappears once you’re at steady speed.

I’m old enough to have started out driving big displacement ‘Murican V8's when I was a teenager, with their endless low end torque, and this engine reminds me of those in many ways (albeit much better and more powerful, of course).

Oh, and if I do get bored with 402 HP and 443 lb-ft tq? 500+ HP and 550++ tq are but a tune away from Renntech, Weistec Engineering and others....

Transmission 7/10

It’s a 7 speed torque converter automatic - not particularly quick shifting. It actually shifts slower than the GS350 did. However, it has one more gear, at least if you use Sport mode, and is smarter than the GS was about what gear it should be in. Besides, the engine is so damn flexible, gear choices don’t matter much anyways.

It has two modes, and in true Mercedes-Benz fashion, the car pulls away in 2nd gear in Eco mode, which is the default. I’m curious, does anyone else make transmissions (for cars) that default to ignoring first gear? But I digress. Sport mode starts in 1st gear, which isn’t really necessary most of the time.

Not transmission related, but I like the approach MB took here to fuel economy for such a powerful engine- - this car has (at least) 100 hp more than the Lexus did, and I believe a couple hundred pounds more weight. Yet, fuel economy is within 2 mpg of the Lexus from what I can tell thus far. How did they do it? Super tall gearing. This car lopes along at 80 mph at just 1,900 RPM. I think the Lexus was around 3k, give or take, and my E46 BMW is at a whopping 4,000 RPM. So yeah, the top gear final drive ratio of the Mercedes is 1/2 numerically what the BMW is. It works because the engine has so much torque down low.

Braking 8/10

The brakes are great, and feel is good - front rotors are ventilated, and the car will stop quickly. Pedal effort is a bit higher than the Lexus, and feel isn’t quite as good, but close- and the Lexus set a high bar for braking to begin with.

Ride 9/10

The ride is on the soft side - this is a luxury car, not a sports car. The only ding on it is that over certain sharp bumps, it’s a bit jarring. Might just be a Michigan thing, some of the roads there really are awful, and I haven’t experienced it since I got past Battle Creek. I chalked it up to the fact that the W212 chassis dates back to 2010. Other than that, it’s better all around than the Lexus was.

Handling 6/10

Again, it’s a luxury car, not a sports car, and it doesn’t really pretend otherwise (sport package be damned). This was the one thing that made me hesitate in getting a Mercedes (and what kept me from getting an E350 when I got the GS350 back in 2015, too).

Body roll is more than I would like, as is understeer, and this car isn’t meant to be driven all that hard. That said, the car is a little easier to steer with the throttle, thanks to a more cooperative transmission. It also seems to have a bit less understeer than the GS, but that may be due to the fact that I have avoided turning while braking hard to this point.

Steering is overly boosted at low speeds, but as I have spent more time in the car, I have come to realize that at higher speeds, it’s weighted quite nicely. And, at speed, there actually is a *tiny* bit of feedback, even! Shocking, I know!

Audio 8.5/10

The stereo is great - this car has the Harmon Kardon system that most E classes have. It’s not *quite* as good as the Lexus, but it’s fairly close. Still crystal clear listening to broadcast radio at full volume, it’s just that ‘full volume’ is a little lower than the Lexus was. Probably a good thing for my ears, really...

Toys 8.5/10

Did I mention the massaging seat? It also will hug you around curves, which I haven’t used since I bought it, though I plan to play it more soon. It also has the panoramic sunroof, which I really like (shocking since I also own a convertible, I know...), GPS, Parktronic, heated/ventilated seats, headlights that see around curves (don’t ask, IDK), and a rear sunshade which is pretty useful in the summer.

I do wish it had the blind spot monitor- the side mirrors are smallish, and I got used to having it in the GS. I haven’t even bothered with the GPS yet - from what I’ve read, entering destinations into it is a PITA, but there may be an app that I can use, who knows?

Value 8/10

Totally subjective of course, but I just bought a very fast luxury sedan with a 3 year (+ 1 month) unlimited mileage factory warranty and low mileage for a big discount off of what it cost new.

Total 81.5/100

So far, I love it! The engine is pretty addictive, sure - - but the comfort, space, and luxury will keep me happy over the long term.

Also, as an added note, my wife originally wasn’t thrilled with the idea of buying used, or buying a Mercedes, or traveling out of state to get the car. But she went along after reviewing the numbers, albeit grudgingly. The day after I came home, she borrowed the car to go shopping. When she came back, she raved about the car, and how I did a great job picking it - and even playfully threatened to swap her RX350 with me for it. She said it’s the nicest car she has ever driven. Pretty high praise, and it’s always important to keep the wife happy! !

Now, I just need to bring it to Germany to drive it on this section of the Autobahn:

I may (or may not) have gotten it up over 100mph on the way back from Michigan, and the car really wanted to keep going faster. It seems as though the faster this car is going, the better it is.

Wish me luck that the next 60,000 miles are as enjoyable as the first 600!

DISCUSSION (48)

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:12

Nice! Looks like a fantastic comfortable family sedan despite the sleeper credentials.

How’s the reliability on these vs a BMW 550i or even compared to the regular E350?

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:26

I test drove an E350 convertible last year. I think it was a 2013. The interior was pretty much the same, as I remember. I liked it fine. The interior was okay, but I think I really mentally downgrade all back interiors. It’s funny to see they kept that phone key pad console in 2015. I suspect the real difference is the engine. All that horsepower and pull is so nice to have. It makes you not even care that it’s not a sports car.

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/11/2018 at 14:29

Thanks! And yes, it’s a sleeper from an acceleration perspective, just not a canyon carver.

The W212 E-Class has a very good reputation on reliability overall. I didn’t do a direct comparison to the E350, but it’s the same car with more gadgets and a different engine. The additional gadgets add complexity, of course.

I did do a fair amount of research on the M278 engine, and AMGTech was very gracious in sharing his experience with these engines in the shop. The engine is very stout, understressed, and reliable - the one issue that occasionally pops up is oil seepage into the cam sensor/solenoid which can get into the wiring harness if ignored. This car is OK on that right now, and I have a warranty for the next 3 years if it does pop up.

They’re easily tunable, as well- -you can do a simple ECU upgrade and add 100 HP, and even Renntech believes the engine makes 430 HP (not 402 as MB says) in the E550. This gives me comfort that the engine can last a long time without the tune - and I haven’t done any research on how well the 7Gtronic and 4Matic systems could handle more power, since I don’t plan to do any upgrades while the warranty is in force, anyways.

It’s the same engine used in any *550 Mercedes from 2012-2017, including the CLS, S class, SL, GL etc.

I own a BMW and love them, but from what I know, the N63 engine in the 550i has its issues - quite a bit more than the Mercedes engine. I feel like (hopefully) I can own this car even beyond the warranty- - I would not even consider that with the BMW.

fintail > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:35

Congrats. I’m also a W212 driver, mine being at the other end of the power spectrum. Imagine half the hp, but not much less torque.

The platform entered production in early 2009, so it is nearly a decade old now. I think it has aged well. I am surprised your car doesn’t have blind spot monitoring - I see it in tons of these cars. I suspect you’ll get several years of easy driving in this, the platform appears to be quite solid.

Looks like other than blind spot and wacky Designo stuff, your car might only be lacking Distronic.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/11/2018 at 14:36

They did an update to the exterior of the W212 in 2014, but as far as I know, nothing in the interior changed - I drove at least one 2013 model, plus numerous 2014s, and the front grille seems to be the main difference between them.

I’m not sure about the convertible, but on the sedan, the E350 comes with MB-Tex standard, and it’s *very* rare to see leather in a 350 sedan. The 550 comes with standard leather, though. I’m ok with MB-Tex, but the leather is a lot nicer, and my wife absolutely hates MB-Tex.

Yeah, the phone key pad is an anachronism, but I really like the rest of the interior.

Black is mostly a love/hate thing - it’s growing on me, but I would have preferred the brown leather, which I find stunning. With only a handful of cars nationwide to choose from, I couldn’t pick and choose my color.

And, considering that the last used car I bought was in 1990, and I paid $1600 for a car that was not equipped with any seatbelts or outside mirrors, I *had* to have a CPO warranty- my wife and I agreed on that. Otherwise, I could have bought a 550 locally for less money.

Dark chocolate > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:42

I owned an all options 2007 E550 and that car was fantastic just as you mentioned. Great cruiser. I used to do LA - SFO - LA in one weekend (800 miles) without breaking a sweat arriving fresh at my destination.

Now that I drive 120 miles a day, I am looking for a CPO E-250 bluetec. “Similar” car when optioned properly as far as cruising 120 miles a day goes.

WilliamsSW > fintail
06/11/2018 at 14:43

Right - it doesn’t have Distronic, the Lane Keeping Assist Package, or either the heated or wood wheel. It doesn’t have Airmatic, either, which is even more rare than Distronic in the CPO E550's out there right now. I literally have a spreadsheet with the colors, mileage, price and packages on *every* CPO E550 sedan that was available between February and May, lol.

I would have liked the BSM and heated wheel, and was indifferent to the others, except I’m glad it doesn’t have Airmatic.

Agree on the platform - it’s solid, and has a good reputation, and I hope to keep this even well beyond that 3 year warranty.

BTW, love the color combo on yours!

fintail > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:43

2016 has different buttons on the phone key pad, otherwise no big changes that I know of inside.

Another difference, surround view is common with parktronic on 2014 models, but in my anecdotal observations, is much less common for 15 and 16, I think there were supplier issues.

Regarding grilles, the “sport” (no cost option even on E350) became a coupe style grille for 2014, prior years had a traditional grille with hood star (which I prefer). I think all coupes/cabrios in the US market had standard leather.

WilliamsSW > Dark chocolate
06/11/2018 at 14:44

Ha - see comments from Fintail in this same thread- -he’s got an E250 himself, with a nice color package. Think he leases, too - ask him when it’s up :)

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:46

I’m a fan of brown leather too, or at least two-tone.

Yes, the upholstery was probably MB Tex, durable but not very luxurious. You’re car is probably like the one I drove in the same way Batman is to a guy who dresses up in a cape an cowl for halloween.

Warranty was crucial to me too. My one year of bumper to bumper just ran out, but I’ve got years of powertrain left. I wouldn’t have bought the car without it.

fintail > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:47

Yeah, airmatic is a gamble. Awesome when it is working perfectly, but it’s a lot of complexity for an aging car. I prefer the flat bottom wheel over the standard round one - steering wheel swaps are relatively easy, if you don’t care for yours, I have seen several on various forums.

I’ll guess original MSRP on your car was in the 75-78K range.

I know what it is like to fuss over colors and options, I am lucky my car was sitting unloved on the back lot of the local dealer.

raspa > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 14:54

Congrats! I cross shopped the E550 before getting the GS350. I love the interior quality and ride feel of Mercedes, but picked the reliability aspect of Lexus last time. My next is likely a GSF (if I could find one)...if not, I really like the prospect of the E550!

Dark chocolate > fintail
06/11/2018 at 14:59

yeah distronic plus and diesel motor is the one thing I am looking forward to in my next E-250 and GL350 for wife. Both gotta be CPO too. And Non black. and glass roof (pano) looks nice..

fintail > Dark chocolate
06/11/2018 at 15:05

My E250 is indigo blue on brown leather with most everything but distronic (pic taken shortly after purchase):

Kinja'd!!!

I’d like to find a true full option E250 in diamond silver with a light interior, but it might not even exist.

Dark chocolate > fintail
06/11/2018 at 15:16

Wow. That color is amazing. My flint grey 07.

Kinja'd!!!

syaieya > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 15:23

Pound for pound these have turned out to be such good cars. If my 350 is any indication, parking curbs are something to be weary of. Ive got in the habit of parking about half a foot back from what i did in my 320.

Ive got a couple issues that need attending to thanks to the mileage and use but most of those came with the car (rear rotors warped, driver door seal tore, mb tex seat has a common seam split, maybe the top lumbar bolster not inflating) but so far 5000 miles in i cant complain compared to any other used car.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/11/2018 at 15:33

The brown leather available in this car is the perfect shade of dark brown I think.

I think if I bought a car out of warranty and something went wrong, my wife would kill me.

Mercedes CPO comes with a one year warranty but makes it pretty cheap to add on two extra years, so I went for the 36 month plan. Peace of mind for a while.

WilliamsSW > fintail
06/11/2018 at 15:39

My sentiments exactly on Airmatic.

I like the flat bottom wheel too, and I think I can live without it being heated since I have a garage, so I probably won’t swap it, but good to know it can be done if I decide I can’t live without it.

That’s probably about right on MSRP, I would guess 75k. I may have the info somewhere, seems like dealers are all too happy to show you that big number so you think you’re getting a bargain. Haha!

WilliamsSW > raspa
06/11/2018 at 15:43

They’re both very nice - I chose a GS350 f sport over a new E350 3 years ago, and liked it Then replaces it with this. The Lexus was perfectly reliable, hopefully yours will be also!

I would have considered a GSF, but they’re still pricey - you can get an E550 for 20k++ less than what GSFs sell for. Plus the MB is AWD, and I live around Chicago. Much more sporting character to the GSF though.

WilliamsSW > syaieya
06/11/2018 at 15:46

I’m very paranoid about parking curbs now, totally agree. Plus my wheels look good and I’d like to keep them free of curb rash.

The things you mention can be annoying but not deal breakers- especially when you knew about them before buying. Enjoy it!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dark chocolate
06/11/2018 at 15:54

The 651 engine in the E250, GLK250, etc. has been extremely reliable. I wouldn’t worry too much if you can’t find a CPO version as long as the car is well cared for.

fintail > Dark chocolate
06/11/2018 at 15:56

Nice, kind of reminds me of designo graphite a bit.

A couple cars back I had a tectite grey W210 E55, another rare color.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/11/2018 at 16:01

Anecdotally I can tell you the E550 is marginally less reliable than an E350, mostly due to the oil issue Williams mentioned, and a couple turbo coolant lines that I’ve seen leak maybe a handful of times on high mileage cars. But after talking to a few BMW employees, who’ve also worked for Benz, any 212 is light years ahead of their equivalent BMWs in terms of reliability.

fintail > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 16:02

No need for a heated wheel in my area, and my car with open pore wood can’t have a wood wheel. The flat bottom makes it look good, it’s a nice looking wheel.

If you buy right, a nice CPO one is kind of a bargain, lots of car for the money compared to new mainstream cars.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 16:04

Good to know, thanks for the insight. I will be looking into a midsize sports sedan or wagon for my next vehicle in a couple of years. So what is the successor to the E550 now that they stopped making it. Is it the E400 or the E43 AMG sedan?

Thomas Donohue > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 16:19

The 2014 E550 sedan is a bit of a unicorn....first year of the facelift (I am not a fan of the initial split-headlight W212 design), and last year of the bi-turbo V8 sedan.

I had previously lusted after the 2009 E550 (the W211 E63 didn’t have 4matic/AWD) until I discovered the 2014 E550.

Congrats, and thanks for the write up!

Dark chocolate > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/11/2018 at 16:30

thanks for the input..

How about the 350 bluetec the 3.0 Diesel in GL350?

Wife started driving a lot for work.. is looking at one to replace the archaic Navigator L and I have limited options when I restricted myself to CPO.

WilliamsSW > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/11/2018 at 16:32

I have not heard anything good, reliability-wise, on the BMW 550i.

I think CPO prices reflect that- -they’re significantly cheaper than E550's are, although they’re at least easier to find.

Thomas Donohue > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/11/2018 at 16:38

I think the E43 would be the closest match with 396hp, 384 lb-ft tq. (The E400 has 330 hp).

Both are turbo V6's.....if you want the 8 you have to bump up to the E63

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/11/2018 at 16:39

See AMGTech’s comments and my response to him on the BMW, it’ll give you more insight than I did.

For 2015, the E550 was replaced with the E400 - this was still the W212 chassis. The E400 has significantly less horsepower (329 IIRC v. 402), but otherwise, I think it’s fairly similar.

For the W213, it’s a bit of a different story. I *suppose* the E400 is more of a direct replacement, but the E550 actually has power and acceleration that nearly matches the E43 AMG.

In addition, the E550 has standard leather - something that neither the E400 nor E43 AMG has. And from what I’ve seen, E400's on dealer lots all seem to have MB-Tex, and even the majority of E43's do, too.

But, ride-wise, the E43 is a lot harsher than the 550. Closest match to that car would be a *very* loaded E400 - probably a special order car running $75-80k+.

WilliamsSW > Thomas Donohue
06/11/2018 at 16:48

Thanks!

You are exactly correct, and I feel the same way about the pre-facelift W212. It looks more dated than the 2014+ cars, and 2014 was the only MY you could get the E550 with the facelift.

Between wanting the M278 engine, and the facelift, and CPO, it *really* narrowed the field on what would satisfy me. I drove several cars at dealers local to me, but one was at an Aston-Martin dealer, and the other was at the M-B dealer, but it wasn’t certified, mainly because I think the dealer figured they could sell it easily enough without that. Which was probably true, because they did, shortly after I drove it.

2012 is also the year that the 550 got the M278 engine - prior years had a 5.5 liter NA engine, FWIW.

At one point, I drove a 2013 E63 - it was in the same price range, thanks to being a higher mileage, non-certified car. I like the suspension setup on the AMG car better, since it’s a bit firmer, but until you get deep in the throttle, this car is about as quick anyways. Plus, the 2013 E63 was still RWD - not ideal for winters in Chicago.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Thomas Donohue
06/11/2018 at 16:49

Yeah I know they are replacing V8s with comparable Turbo V6s and E63 is out of question personally but with so many trims and they keep changing the names it’s confusing.

WilliamsSW > fintail
06/11/2018 at 16:56

Mine was a bit of a premium, because it was a really nice, low-mileage example. Not a single door ding on the sides, even (which I’m sure I will fix soon enough, sadly...)

Funny story about the open pore wood- when I went to sell my wife on what I wanted, we went to the local BMW dealer to check out the 3/5, and the Mercedes dealer to look at the new C/E, as well as the W212.

Reason being,the 3 and C were in the price range I was hoping to be in, and I felt like she wouldn’t be happy unless we got a car with the room of a 5/E. I accomplished exactly what I intended, but the W213 E300 we sat in was a white car, P2, with brown MB Tex, open pore wood. Close to how I would want it, except for the white exterior. My wife HATED the open pore wood and brown MB-Tex, because she felt it looked and felt cheap. In fact, I couldn’t even convince here that the wood was actually wood - she insisted it was plastic (sorry, I do not agree with any of this!). Of the 5 cars we sat in, that was the one she hated, go figure... The E350 was next, with a similar interior to what I bought, except MB-Tex. She liked that, liked the roominess, and that was that!

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 16:57

https://www.carscoops.com/2018/06/lexus-gs-chopping-block/

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dark chocolate
06/11/2018 at 16:57

What years are you thinking?

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/11/2018 at 17:05

Yeah, that writing has been on the wall for a while, sadly.

Funny story - I went to a Lexus drive event in Chicago yesterday (with another Oppo), where they promised autox and street drives in a few cars, including the RC-F, LC, LS, etc- and the GS-F. The whole thing was a bit of a bust, because they did it at Soldier Field, in a very wet parking lot that had just been sealcoated- and as an added bonus, there was some other event going on nearby that backed up traffic, so they stopped the street drives while we were there temporarily. After taking turns sliding the RC-F, LC, and even the LS around the parking lot, I asked about the street drive, because there were a couple of GS-Fs lined up for that. They told us that the GS-F’s were lead cars only, for staff.

So, they happily let us slide all over the place in the LC500, and the LS500, including hybrids of both, and I think the LS I drove was an F-sport/Executive package, but wouldn’t let us drive the GS-F???

Yeah, I figured that was because they were killing it, so it was pointless to show that off...

WilliamsSW > Thomas Donohue
06/11/2018 at 17:06

The E43 rides a hell of a lot harsher than the 550, though - it’s funny, I don’t think there really is a direct descendant of the 550 in the lineup now.

Thomas Donohue > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 17:10

Agreed....haven’t driven any of the E4** series, but unless there’s a comfort option on the AMG dial, I doubt it would be comparable to the E550.

WilliamsSW > Thomas Donohue
06/11/2018 at 17:12

I did recently drive a new E300, and absolutely loved it, except that I wanted more power.

But between that, the fact that my wife hates MB-Tex, and this was a lot cheaper, I didn’t consider it that seriously.

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 17:50

Kia service guy said he would sell me an extra warranty for $3K/yr, I think. I passed because I’m cheap, and that doesn’t sound like a cost effective option. I’m banking on all the gremlins being worked out by now. I still have 5 years of powertrain.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/11/2018 at 17:52

It was only $2500 to add 2 more years to the Mercedes warranty.

For $3k/year, I would say no, too, but that was too cheap to pass up.

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 17:53

Damn, that is a good deal.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/11/2018 at 17:56

Yeah - I thought it was odd, but I spoke to two different dealers, about different cars, and they both quoted the same number ($2,495 for the pedants out there), so I’m guessing that’s Mercedes’ ‘MSRP’ for that.

syaieya > WilliamsSW
06/11/2018 at 19:40

Kinja'd!!!

With the slightly more recessed lip of the facelift car, you may do better. I already have replacement rims with summer rubber ready, my current pre curbed set to be winters.

Being said, I adore the chiseled look of the pre facelift. Its my favorite looking car of the last decade and I honestly think I would be happy running my ragamuffin example for a decade, put another 150k on it, and then retrofitting a well equipped 2015 or 2016 with the early face to replace it.

Kinja'd!!!

No Prius Needed > Thomas Donohue
06/11/2018 at 20:00

I found the E43 to be as comfortable and accelerate as hard as the W221 S63 when I drove it. It is really harsh in sport and sport+ though.

WilliamsSW > syaieya
06/12/2018 at 00:02

Looks good! I think you could run it for a decade, as long as you keep up with maintenance.

I’m hoping to keep mine at least 5 years if not more - maayyybe put a tune on it once the warranty is up, if I’m feeling frisky. Not that it lacks for power now.

Dark chocolate > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/12/2018 at 10:44

2015 / 2016

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dark chocolate
06/12/2018 at 15:49

Haven’t seen many issues on ones that new. But 13 and maybe up to 14 we see timing chain and oil cooler seal issues. I think all parts for those were updated in production prior to 15/16 though. Otherwise there isn’t anything common or big coming to mind.