Ten year old Merc E350 - Diesel or Petrol
Discussion
A mate wants to buy a Merc E-class coupe from about 2010-2012 and is trying to decide whether to go petrol or diesel.
I said I would probably go for petrol because diesels have issues with DPF's, DMF's, injectors etc. though obviously economy won't be as good.
SO I guess it's the 3 litre V6 turbo diesel or the 3.5 litre V6 petrol.
I don't know much about these cars, so thought it worth throwing this open to the forum.
What's best out of these fuel choices?
Are there lots of other problems we should be aware of, and if so, what are they? The cars are 2-3 owners and have about 50k miles on them.
Is there major expenditure coming up?
Cheers - HM
I said I would probably go for petrol because diesels have issues with DPF's, DMF's, injectors etc. though obviously economy won't be as good.
SO I guess it's the 3 litre V6 turbo diesel or the 3.5 litre V6 petrol.
I don't know much about these cars, so thought it worth throwing this open to the forum.
What's best out of these fuel choices?
Are there lots of other problems we should be aware of, and if so, what are they? The cars are 2-3 owners and have about 50k miles on them.
Is there major expenditure coming up?
Cheers - HM
I have a 2011 350 CDI estate and 350 CDI cab 2013 model.. The diesel is a good engine, loads of torque, suits the estate well, I'll go petrol though next time on cab or coupe that I replace the Cab with at some stage.
As per previous comment, depends on mileage and usage I would say. You'll also find it harder to find a petrol model I imagine as so many were diesels at that point.
My estate is on 103k, overall been reliable but watch out for the oil coiler and turbo seals a weaker point on the diesel, mine were done, cost around £700, most of which is labour to get access to change them in the V of the engine. I dont know about any issues on the petrol. I've had no DPF issues.
As per previous comment, depends on mileage and usage I would say. You'll also find it harder to find a petrol model I imagine as so many were diesels at that point.
My estate is on 103k, overall been reliable but watch out for the oil coiler and turbo seals a weaker point on the diesel, mine were done, cost around £700, most of which is labour to get access to change them in the V of the engine. I dont know about any issues on the petrol. I've had no DPF issues.
I would echo the above. I traded in my 350 cdi coupe on 174k, did 20k in 2 years with no problems other than 2 rear calipers which were sticky - just wear and tear.
It did have the oil cooler seals done before I bought it, ~ a days labour I believe so expensive even at an independent.
Didn’t have any dpf problems and it was fantastic on the motorway, would cruise at license losing speeds and 40+mpg was easily achievable.
It did have the oil cooler seals done before I bought it, ~ a days labour I believe so expensive even at an independent.
Didn’t have any dpf problems and it was fantastic on the motorway, would cruise at license losing speeds and 40+mpg was easily achievable.
Good luck finding a petrol, they are like hens teeth.
Check for timing chain noise on start up with the M276 petrol engine, caused by an oil feed issue resulting in prematurely worn chains.
Mercedes uprated the chain tensioners and installed new check valves to solve the issue.
Both lovely cars though. The diesel will be cheaper to buy almost certainly, the petrol hold their values well because of scarcity.
Check for timing chain noise on start up with the M276 petrol engine, caused by an oil feed issue resulting in prematurely worn chains.
Mercedes uprated the chain tensioners and installed new check valves to solve the issue.
Both lovely cars though. The diesel will be cheaper to buy almost certainly, the petrol hold their values well because of scarcity.
ZX10R NIN said:
The 350 issues were sorted from 58 plates onward's so the E Coupe is clear of this issue.
There were still problems with the later 3.5 and 3.0 V6 petrol engines up to 2013 or so. This affected the early E400's and Mercedes faced issues in the USA from unhappy owners.This is a different problem from the balance shaft issues of the earlier 350's you are probably referring to .
Edited for to many "issues"
Edited by Monkeylegend on Wednesday 2nd December 21:49
ZX10R NIN said:
Not seen any issues with cars I've supplied to owners & know of a CLS400 we supplied that's now at 105k with no issues, my 500 has been bulletproof.
It affected cars up to 2013/14 with the M276 engine and was more prevalent in the States as they have a preference for petrol over diesel.A quick google re M276 reliability issues will tell you all you need to know. I did a lot of research when I was thinking of getting an E400 of that era and was grateful I did
I was looking at an E Coupe a while back but went for an Audi A5 instead, both really good cars just preferred the looks and interior of the Audi a bit more, in terms of performance and economy there’s nothing in it.
If I were going to get a cab instead of a coupe though I’d go with the E Class, just looks better, the A5 doesn’t look right as a cab or a 4 door imo.
If I were going to get a cab instead of a coupe though I’d go with the E Class, just looks better, the A5 doesn’t look right as a cab or a 4 door imo.
Had a 350 CDI Convertible.
Fantastic engine, quick and refined - had a problem with the £18 turbo intake seal which ended up costing me over £1,000.
Might have been picked up had I serviced it at a specialist instead of DIY.
Get COMAND-APS NTG2.5 instead of NTG4 and try to get leather instead of Artico.
The only car which I couldn't pull away from looked exactly the the same, I was thoroughly confused until I saw the twin exhausts and when I caught up realised it was the V8, 5.5 l, 383 bhp E500.
Fantastic engine, quick and refined - had a problem with the £18 turbo intake seal which ended up costing me over £1,000.
Might have been picked up had I serviced it at a specialist instead of DIY.
Get COMAND-APS NTG2.5 instead of NTG4 and try to get leather instead of Artico.
The only car which I couldn't pull away from looked exactly the the same, I was thoroughly confused until I saw the twin exhausts and when I caught up realised it was the V8, 5.5 l, 383 bhp E500.
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