Thinking of buying 2005 SLK 350

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tingtongpj

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Manchester
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E300 Hybrid AMG Sport Touring
hi all i'm after some advice please i'm thinking of buying for the wife a 2005 54 plate SLK 350.

i have read about engine issues but was just after some more help, the car has 80k with full service history, is it likely that the issues on engines even before 468993 would have shown issues already and should have been fixed ?

i do not know the engine number yet but i want to be prepared if we decide to go and have a look.

is the general opinion to stay away even if everything has been addressed with the car ?

thank you.
 
Do you have the registration number, if so, I or someone else on here can get its datacard from ECP/WIS which will give the engine number.

A 2005 350 will be under 468993, perhaps the service history will show whether it has already been fixed. Otherwise it's around £2.5k to fix properly, by someone who knows what they are doing. Once fixed, it should be fine for the rest of the car's life.

It's quite likely that the balance shaft gears problem has not appeared yet, its a wear issue on improperly hardened gears so harsh acceleration and high revs will bring it on, but driving Miss Daisy style will vastly slow the gears wear.

The safest approach would be to stay away, but if the price reflects a £2.5k risk and condition is otherwise excellent, then why not?
 
Do you have the registration number, if so, I or someone else on here can get its datacard from ECP/WIS which will give the engine number.

A 2005 350 will be under 468993, perhaps the service history will show whether it has already been fixed. Otherwise it's around £2.5k to fix properly, by someone who knows what they are doing. Once fixed, it should be fine for the rest of the car's life.

It's quite likely that the balance shaft gears problem has not appeared yet, its a wear issue on improperly hardened gears so harsh acceleration and high revs will bring it on, but driving Miss Daisy style will vastly slow the gears wear.

The safest approach would be to stay away, but if the price reflects a £2.5k risk and condition is otherwise excellent, then why not?

helpful thanks

the reg number is LH54 AAX :thumb:
 
Here's the datacard:

Datacard for vehicle identification number: WDB1714562F037094
Engine number ... 272963 30 012039 Front axle 1 ....
Sales des. ...... SLK 350 Radio unit no. .. AL242040906013
Order number .... 0 3 757 10184 Rear axle 1 .....
Production order Rear axle 2 .....
Transmission .... 722906 00 077629 Cab .............
Vehicle title no. Platform ........
Power take-off .. VIN .............
Front tire 1 .... Trailer hitch ...
Front tire 2 .... Steering ........
Rear tire 1 ..... Equipment ....... 877A
Rear tire 2 ..... Paint/code 1 .... 775U
Order number 1 .. Paint/code 2 ....
Rims ............ Paint/code 3 ....
Lamps ........... Paint/code 4 ....
Windshield wipers Paint/code 5 ....
Order number 2 .. Door lock .......
Speed. corr. .... Steering lock ...
Transmission lock
Tank lock .......
Delivery date ...
SA code:
170 ENGINE OUTPUT, FRONT
205B OWNERS MANUAL AND SERVICE RECORD - ENGLISH
221B SIGN COOLANT/REFUELING - ENGLISH
241 FRONT SEAT LH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER SEAT, STRG. COL., MIRROR)
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB
283B AIRBAGLABLE - ENGLISH
386 MOBILE PRE.-INSTALLATION (MTUS)
427 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 7-SPEED
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
500 OUTSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR LH AND RH FOLDING
523 RADIO AUDIO 20
524 PRODUCT PROT. F.PAINT - TRANSPORT VEH.PRESERVATION
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
580 AIR CONDITIONER
607 L.A.WHL STAR-DESIGN 17 INCH WITH MIXED TIRES
613 HEADLAMP LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC
668 PRODUCT PROT.F.TRANSPORT VEH. W/ TIE-DOWN HOOKS
669 SPARE WHEEL / FOLDING WHEEL
673 HIGH-CAPACITY BATTERY
775U BRIGHT SILVER METALLIC CLEAR COAT PAINT
7XXL NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
805 YEAR OF MODIFICATION
819 CD CHANGER
870A LEATHER/NAPPA/SEMI-ANILINE
876 INTERIOR LIGHT ASSEMBLY
877A LEATHER/NAPPA/SEMI-ANILINE - RED
880 CLOSING SYSTEM WITH INFRARED REMOTE CONTROL
882 INTERIOR SAFEGUARD
983 COC PAPER EURO 4 TECHNOLOGY W/O REG. CERT. PART II
989 IDENTIFICATION LABEL UNDER WINDSHIELD
M272 V6-GASOLINE ENGINE M272
M35 DISPLACEMENT 3.5 LITER

As expected, its a low engine number, within the balance shaft issue number range.

You may wish to look at MB's Extended Warranty website - they would cover the nasties for around £1k pa (Tier 2 with £250 excess, £1.35k with £0 excess).

Maybe worth negotiating to get the vendor to fund a 1 year (or 2, cover goes up to 100k miles, different cover "Driveline" available for over 100k miles) warranty.

Especially as there could be another issue around - have you come across the 7G gearbox electroplate issue? I think 2005 is probably early enough to require valvebody replacement as well as a new electroplate (circa £1.4k) 2006 onwards (VGS2) only needed the electroplate at around £600. VGS3 boxes (late 2007 on) don't appear to be affected.


All in all these issues explain why I would be looking for a 2008 onwards 350. If only there were more 350 petrols available!
 
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Does anyone have the exact percentage of failures per engine produced. There are thousands out there but you don't actually see many posts on the forums for failures, just the reposting of the problem that can occur.
 
I think only MB would have that data, and we are not going to see that, are we?

If you read the thread entitled "The complete M272 engine thread", I think you may come to the conclusion that the balance shaft issue is more widespread than many other 'horror stories' posted on forums.

Firstly, the problem was due to the balance shaft gears used in a couple of years or more engine production not being hardened. Not good news when you consider what they are used for in 230-260 bhp engines.

Secondly, MB issued the technical bulletin included in the thread and made a kit of the necessary replacement parts available under a MB part number.

Thirdly, look up the US class action for this on Google, last year MB agreed, just before the court hearing I believe, to pay for remedial action on US cars up to 10 years old.

Given their current approach to the GLC crabbing, do you think the above reflect a small percentage risk?

My indie, who was a Diagnostic Technician at a MB main dealer until late 2014, told me he had fixed quite a few 350 failures, but not seen many 280 failures. He said you could always tell by the presence of bits of rubber when the engine oil was drained.

Finally, just google the US MB forums and Youtube for this issue, there's a lot to see and read.
 
I would not worry about it, if it goes then fix it.
Bigger problems on early cars are the rear subframe going rusty so see if you can get it MOT at the nearest MB main dealers.
 

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