Buying a used Mercedes E-class W212 - 2009-2016, Buying advice with Common Issues

Welcome everybody to a used car review. Today it will be a car which was and still is widely used as a taxi. I mean especially Germany has those typical light yellow taxi vehicles which are mainly Mercedes E-class models. And it doesn't matter if it's a W210, W211 or the W212. You can find all these models as taxi cars in basically all German cities. In fact today you can with no problem try even the new W213 E-class in this country. Because guess what? This car is also used as a taxi. So the Mercedes E-class taxi tradition continues. I will show you some real taxi cars which are for sale later. But now let's check out this E-class W212 more closely. So this Mercedes was made from 2009 to 2016. The interior build quality is most of the time great. So it's a better Mercedes interior. However some of the owners complained about rattling or squeaking noises. Also if the car is equipped with the panoramic sunroof then that can also make some weird noises on bad roads. The quality of the paint job is great and the rust protection is also on a very high level. So it's a lot better than in the predecessor. This is overall a very reliable car. However mainly the before facelift models can have problems with the various electronic equipment. So don't forget to check it all before buying. There can be also more often problems with the automatic gearbox gear selector, ignition switch or the fuel pump. This Mercedes had some recalls for mainly fuel and oil leaks. So make sure that these things were fixed during the regular maintenance. There are three types of suspension. The standard suspension is mainly comfortable so it's good enough for regular driving. Then there is the factory sport suspension which is great mainly on good quality roads and it's also quite stiff. The last suspension is the airmatic adaptive air suspension. With this feature you can adjust the handling from comfort to dynamic mode and you can even raise the car a little bit. The estate version is standard equipped with the self-leveling air suspension on the rear axle. The air suspension can have problems with the compressor, leaks and heat sensors. So check it properly before buying. The standard equipment included for example front and rear parking sensors, rain sensor, automatic climate control or even the heated front seats. However the optional equipment is a never-ending story. It contained for example the incredibly comfortable electronically adjustable heated and ventilated front seats, panoramic sunroof, keyless entry, limitless leather color combinations, heated and electrically adjustable steering wheel, various safety assistant systems with adaptive cruise control, night vision, navigation system, Harman Kardon sound system and so on. The facelifted version of this E-class was made from 2013 and as you can see the front of the car was completely updated so even today it still looks like a brand new Mercedes. The price for this E-class starts at 4,700 euro for a 2010 estate version which was used as a taxi of course. And the price goes until 68,897 euro for an E500 T-model which is still not an AMG E-class. The AMG cars are a little bit more expensive than this but let's go back to the normal E-class. So a car which is widely used as a taxi should withstand a lot and let's check out this E-class estate for example. It's a 2010 model which was used as a taxi and it has 400,000 kilometers. I have to say that it looks fantastic on the photos. It basically looks like a brand new car. The interior is not worn at all, well pretty impressive. What I want to say is that before buying this kind of a car check properly the actual mileage because in some cases the previous owner could have adjusted the mileage in the wrong direction. But 400,000 kilometers well that's nothing. Let's check out this one. It looks good right? Well it looks simply awesome. Mainly the exterior but also the interior is quite good. And what's the mileage of this particular car? It's 629,000 kilometers. So as I said if you are buying this E-class and if you are buying it mainly from Europe then check if the actual mileage is real. The petrol engines are reliable so you can expect only regular issues. Only the 4-cylinder petrol engines can have more often worn timing chain than the 6 or 8 cylinders. The diesel engines are also usually alright. However the 4-cylinder diesel engines can have more often problems with the injectors which can sometimes fail even after 50,000 kilometers. Then these engines can also have more often worn timing chain than the 6 cylinders. I would personally not recommend buying mainly the early hybrid versions of this car because they can have some electronic problems in the hybrid unit. In this case the conventional engine will not work either which is not the best situation to be in. It's very important to change the oil in the engine after maximum 15,000 kilometers but the very best is to change it after 10,000 kilometers. All the engines have timing chain which can be more worn mainly in high mileage cars. However in 4-cylinder engines it can be worn even after 100,000 kilometers or 150,000 kilometers. So you have to pay attention to rattling noise after cold start. You can choose the manual 6-speed gearbox which is reliable or there are three types of automatic transmissions the older 5-speed and the newer 7 or 9-speed automatic gearbox. The reliability of all three automatic transmissions is quite similar so it doesn't really matter which one you choose. The automatic gearbox can have electronic or mechanic problems so don't forget to check it properly before buying. It should change gears very smoothly without some kind of a strange noise or hesitation. I recommend changing the oil in the automatic gearbox as usual every 60,000 kilometers. Before buying check the suspension parts and all the electronics. The car should ride quietly so we shouldn't make rattling squeaking or humming noises from the suspension. Check the exterior of the car for various paint defects or rust which can be the sign of the re-sprayed body. Also check the gaps between the body panels they should be even on the left and on the right side too. I hope that this information are helpful enough. If you have some questions or if you have personal experience with this car then write it into comments. Also if you liked the video don't forget to like or subscribe for more. By the way, you can also like my Facebook or Twitter page for the latest updates. Thanks for watching.