Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
A few weeks ago I checked out a 2004 Mercedes-Benz C240 4Matic in wagon form and explained that you probably weren’t getting much Mercedes wagon for under $10,000. Today, I might have an exception to that loosely based rule. As long as you are okay with a few miles on the odometer.
Yes, this 2011 E350 4MATIC Estate up for sale in Florida comes in with nearly 208,000 on the odometer and doesn’t look like it is ready to slow down.
Color is a big piece of the pie when it comes to buying a car. Sometimes it is the only piece. Today is one of those one-piece pies. This 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 up for sale in Arizona is finished in Pearl Beige Metallic, and what a color it is. To me, pearl + beige + metallic = gold. This is the first time I’ve seen a modern Mercedes-Benz in Pearl Beige Metallic and by the looks of it, I’m probably not the only one.
Your dollar doesn’t go very far if you want a Mercedes-Benz station wagon. I’ve expanded on the value of the wagons in the past, and that seems to be holding true in almost every example. However, if you really want a long body with a three-pointed star, you can find a good buy if you search hard enough or adjust your standards low enough. This 2006 E350 Wagon up for sale Tennessee is a little bit of both.
Death, taxes, and Mercedes-Benz wagons holding their value. Few things in life are guarantees, but those seems to be a couple of them. Why people gravitate towards the W123 and W124 Estates is pretty self explanatory, but what really surprises me every generation after than seems to be following this as well. The general rule I’ve always gone by is that all things being equal, the cost of the sedan + $10,000 = cost of a wagon. Seems crazy for some extra cargo space, but the results don’t lie. I thought maybe this wouldn’t hold true for newer examples as Mercedes-Benz now offers eight (!) different SUVs in its current line up and just one wagon, but nope, still a premium. Worth it? Maybe.
My never-ending quest for a replacement for my dying Land Rover for a winter vehicle (it is still ongoing) saw me look at a W210 Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate 4Matic and then went back a generation to look at a W124 Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate. It seems like most preferred the W124 and I can’t say I disagree, but I thought it might be interesting to head the other direction and look at a W211 E350 4Matic Estate. Mercedes made the W211 a little softer, a little sleeker and the biggest change was going from the M112 V6 to a M272 V6. The M272 was based on the M112 but with a bunch of little upgrades like continuous variable valve timing, the elimination of a mechanical thermostat and a dual variable-length intake manifold. Everything that sounds great on paper, but these early M272s had one major flaw that basically turns vehicles radioactive and unfortunately this wagon suffers from that. Of course I am talking about the dreaded balance shaft gears.
