"Quadradeuce" (quadradeuce)
03/10/2018 at 21:49 • Filed to: None
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"Quadradeuce" (quadradeuce)
03/10/2018 at 21:49 • Filed to: None | 1
| 17 |
Tonight, my wife discovered that the W212 wagon exists. She also discovered the rear facing third row, a dream feature of hers. So now it’s been adding to our shipping list for the 9-7x replacement in the spring.
Since we have no Mercedes dealers in our area, and very few MB independent mechanics, reliability is more important than, say, the new Buick TourX. I’ve read that this generation is much more reliable than the previous gen, which helped MB earn their “lease only” rep. But I have no experience with MB and only know one person who owns one around here. So help me out, anyone ever lived with one for an extended period of time? (Not just the wagon, any Eclass from the era) We plan on holding onto this car for 7 years. We’re looking at 2013-2014 models, so it will be 10 years old when we trade it in.
The offending feature that now has me researching Teutonic kid haulers.
WilliamsSW
> Quadradeuce
03/10/2018 at 22:15 |
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I don’t know anyone who has owned one, but I looked at the E350 closely last time I got a new car in 2015. Consumer Reports actually rates the W212 pretty highly. It’s on their recommended list for used cars.
nj959
> Quadradeuce
03/10/2018 at 22:17 |
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My dad has a 2003 W211 E500 and it has been very reliable. If the W212 is supposed to be better, than I’d imagine it’s a very well made car. It will most likely be more costly to maintain than a Buick but I doubt it’d break down much. I know lots of people with 3.5l V6 Benzs and I never hear them complain much. Mercedes tends to get the big stuff right (engine, transmission, etc.) but the little things that break will cost more than on a non-luxury or domestic car.
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Quadradeuce
> nj959
03/10/2018 at 22:23 |
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Sounds like GM. I’ve never had an issue with any GM drive train. The rest of the car will fall apart around you, but they keep motoring on. The Saab is starting to do that, but the 5.3 V8 will live on for a few more hundred thousand miles when someone will invariably yank it out at the scrapyard.
Liam Farrell
> Quadradeuce
03/10/2018 at 22:30 |
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You have a 9-7x? My dad had one and it was genuinely the worst car I ever drove. Does yours have the v8 or I6?
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Quadradeuce
> Liam Farrell
03/10/2018 at 22:31 |
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It’s not a great driving car, but we picked up the V8 version for $10k with 65k miles. In that context, it’s been a great car. We’ve put about 65k more miles on it without any issues but wear items, which are dirt cheap.
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nj959
> Quadradeuce
03/10/2018 at 22:34 |
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Well you know what they say: “A GM car will run like shit for longer than most cars will run at all”.
My dad’s E500 has had a few minor plastic bits in the interior break, and he had to replace an air strut once, but that’s not too bad. Certainly better than replacing the rod bearings on a BMW or the timing chain on an Audi.
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Quadradeuce
> nj959
03/10/2018 at 22:37 |
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I know several people who used to drive BMWs exclusively. Used to.
fintail
> Quadradeuce
03/10/2018 at 23:08 |
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Yes, 212s are good cars. The leading MB forums for these cars aren’t too scary - normal glitches or random issues, but no 2001 W220 style drama. As you know, there is significant cosmetic difference between MY 13 and 14 cars, it’ll come down to personal preference, the engines are the same.
syaieya
> Quadradeuce
03/10/2018 at 23:20 |
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So not a wagon owner, but i did do a little research on these in route to buying my 2010 last week.
Biggest complaints I saw was some failures on the 4matic transfer cases on 7 speed models(full trans swap if it goes out) and some occasional head unit failures.
Early v6 models still had harmonic balancers that needed replacing occasionally, gone by 13. Mb tex seats though durable in other mercedes has a design flaw that will often split in the front bottom. And switch icons can be etched off from use.
Almost all cars have the p1 package and wagons will command a premium.
Theres more but my phone lags on long messages. I would of loved a wagon but the sedan price was too good
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syaieya
> nj959
03/10/2018 at 23:27 |
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The drivetrain in the w211s have proven themselves, but between early electrical gremlins, less than inspiring interior build quality,and having to see peoples faces when you tell them the airmatic broke;
I just skipped that gen and went w210 to w212
Theyre serviceable and staying out of junkyards pretty good, but by now theyre fairly dated inside
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> syaieya
03/11/2018 at 00:03 |
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Harmonic balancers? I think you mean balance shafts, for the M272 engine. I’ve never seen nor heard of a 212 having this issue though.
Transfer case issues often come down to lack of service, since the transfer case shares fluid with the transmission itself.
Head unit issues can be solved with software updates 99% of the time.
Overall fantastic cars though.
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AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> Quadradeuce
03/11/2018 at 00:06 |
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Extremely solid. I can’t even guess at problems a ‘13 or newer one would have. They’ve been stupid reliable. Common issues on prior years were mostly, if not entirely, fixed in production. Just stay on top of maintenance and use quality parts for maintenance and you should be good. Excellent cars. 212 wagons are amazing. Oh, and by maintenance, I mean every item, on time or early, not just oil changes.
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syaieya
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
03/11/2018 at 09:33 |
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Youre correct on all that. The W212 does have that shaft in the early v6 but it wasnt as problematic.
Still though, it could wear on higher miled cars.
But yeah, im lovin mine so far even after finding used car flaws here and there
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AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> syaieya
03/11/2018 at 11:36 |
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Do you know of a 212 that has/had a balance shaft issue?
Again, I’ve never seen nor heard of one. Nor on a 204 for that matter. The newest model year I’ve heard of having that problem was an 08. But even those were well over 150k with extremely questionable service history and a bunch of sludge build up.
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Liam Farrell
> Quadradeuce
03/11/2018 at 15:25 |
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He bought his for 8k with the I6 and like 60k miles, it was fine for about 45k miles than it just started breaking. Eventually the engine just completely went. It was just a terrible vehicle overall.
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syaieya
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
03/11/2018 at 19:45 |
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Personally no, I don’t know many people with W212 actually, so I could be led astray just going off what a short internet dive weeks ago with random people commenting.
Either way, by 13 and 14 like what they’re looking at it should be a non issue
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AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> syaieya
03/11/2018 at 22:43 |
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Oh yeah the internet and to think it’s every single 272 ever produced. Which is just flat out wrong. They were fixed in production in late 06, so there are a few months worth of 07's that are affected, but I’ve heard of an extremely small number of 08's getting it also. But again, those were mostly very poorly maintained.
They switched to the 276 engine in 2012, which does not have that issue. 276's have been extremely reliable.