w221 David Wren Cars?

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merc85

MB Enthusiast
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Location
Harwich
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CLK 500
Well a friend of mine is looking for a S class, Either a Later non effected m272 v6 petrol or a 3.0 derv.

He went to see this today

MERCEDES S CLASS S350, Black, Auto, Petrol, 2006 | eBay

He drove it not knowing whether it was in the effected engine range and really liked it, According to it's engine number it is in the effected range Which he later found out so decided that he wouldnt buy it.

The dealer asked him why he didn't want to go for it, My friend replied because its engine may in the future suffer the v6 gremlins and he didn't want that on his mind.

The dealer got all upset, Saying he shouldn't read stuff on the internet especially from Mercedes forums etc etc And that he Risked the chance of having accident on the test drive, and waisting the dealer's fuel and time.

FFS come on really? is this how most dealers are? They all these days want to know if your going to buy the car before even driving it!

Going on the response of said dealer imagine if he did buy it and there was a issue?? would the dealer stand by his obligations??

If it was a £1000 fiesta i could understand it, But £11.5k is alot of money to risk for some people.

Anycase just thought id share this dealer here so you peeps can make your own minds up.:dk:
 
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He is probably upset because your friend knows more about the brand than he does. Sometimes the truth hurts.:D

To get ****y and saying he wasted the dealers time and fuel is just silly.:fail
 
By and large dealers are, *****. Went into Glasgow Porsche to chat about Panamera, guy point blank refused to take me out unless he was convinced I could afford it.

Edinburgh Porsche said I could have one for the weekend.
 
3 page stocklist, except over 50% of it is already sold. Not quite sure what to make of that.
 
"Shouldn't read stuff on the Internet".

That's exactly why you should. I doubt the dealer would be forthcoming with that info even if they did know.

Then you have all the aggro of trying to get it sorted out should it happen.

"Oh it's wear and tear and not covered by the warranty, sir". Fing great.

The 2010 S500 I drove was beyond the affected range for the V8 M273 although I don't know if the V6 M272 runs in exact parallel. I think 2007/2008 and possibly some 2009 cars might still have been affected.

2006 definitely would be affected.

I get the whole "some buyers are rseholes" and "some sellers are rseholes" but I've dealt with many more rsehole dealers than I have private buyers in anycase!

I imagine the dealer got pist because there isn't a huge demand for an 11 year old S class with potentially-expensive repair bills on the horizon - and he thought he had it sold probably.

By and large dealers are, *****. Went into Glasgow Porsche to chat about Panamera, guy point blank refused to take me out unless he was convinced I could afford it.

I had that with a Maserati Granturismo once from an inde. I'd bought a car from them previously which made it even worse!
 
Either the seller knows about the issue and got it cheap or as suggested has little knowledge about this engine (now updated) and is think crap how am I going to shift this one without a potential warranty claim?

The follow up comments by the dealer would make me glad the sale did not go through as I can't see any help from him if there were any problems
 
It also strikes me as a bit of a white elephant. If you want a petrol one, you'll buy a 500. If you're worried about the fuel economy, you'd buy the 320CDI?
 
It also strikes me as a bit of a white elephant. If you want a petrol one, you'll buy a 500. If you're worried about the fuel economy, you'd buy the 320CDI?

Yes my thoughts exactly, I did say to him to get the v8, But the economy came into it. He has a very low mileage w220 atm and just fancies a change so he is now looking for a Cdi.
 
There's a right price for everything.

An early one owner S350 with just 40,000 miles on the clock isn't going to die as soon as you hand over the Wonga.

There's a slightly, and only slightly, greater risk of a problem. And that problem isn't a complete car right off (the comment about £11,500)

This appears to be a properly maintained car that has literally only done 40,000 ( 3,000 miles a year for ten years), in the hands of one owner. Many of the problem engined cars will have died after doing 100,000 or 150,000 over the first three years of their life in the carriage trade.

So, if you want the car, just agree a warranty deal - from him, or bought on the open market. And the right price is whatever you and the dealer can agree.

There's a space in the world for an 272 bhp S350. Not everyone needs the S500's 380bhp to do the school run, or wants to spray their children and city neighbours with diesel particulates to save £500 a year on fuel. And diesel engines DO cost far more to maintain than their petrol equivalents.

The odds are that that car will do another 200,000 miles without much of a fuss. Just a agree a right price.

How about £10k including the 36,000 mile warranty that the dealer can offer?

(Cough, personally, I'd always just buy the V8, it's THE proven worldwide unit, and 27mpg, rather than 32mpg, is just £350 more over the course of 12k miles a year)
 
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Whilst not defending the dealer (who's trying to earn a crust), I would have got the engine number at the start, and determined if it was within the affected range and then if the issue was of concern to me, I'd not have taken things any further with that particular car.

If the dealer didn't want to provide the engine number (from the V5 he has), then that's a different kettle of fish.

Thorough research is important before shelling out c£11.5K.
 
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Whilst not defending the dealer (who's trying to earn a crust), I would have got the engine number at the start, and determined if it was within the affected range and then if the issue was of concern to me, I'd not have taken things any further with that particular car.

If the dealer didn't want to provide the engine number (from the V5 he has), then that's a different kettle of fish.

Thorough research is important before shelling out c£11.5K.

My friend didnt know about the v6 issues, So tbh i was a little to blame there :doh: But he is a forum member here and he did thank me for bringing to his attention.

Ive also read of a v6 giving issues at 50k but agree it may or may not happen.
 
M272 used in many cars for different purposes

Another thought that comes to mind is that the M272 was used in many different cars, for many different purposes.

Engines in an SLK350, SL350, C350, E350, CLS350, ML350, or engine R350 may have well been more heavily stressed than in an S350 - generally folks don't buy an S class to hoon around - especially if they're only doing 3,000 miles a year.

Just a thought.

Tell him to buy an S500..... just £350 a year more.....
 
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My friend didnt know about the v6 issues, So tbh i was a little to blame there :doh: But he is a forum member here and he did thank me for bringing to his attention.

Ive also read of a v6 giving issues at 50k but agree it may or may not happen.

It's that research bit - though I have to confess that I bought my E63 6.2 with no knowledge of the cam follower/adjuster rattle and mine was in the at risk range.

Lesson learned for me :thumb:.
 
So how did that risk work out for you?

It's that research bit - though I have to confess that I bought my E63 6.2 with no knowledge of the cam follower/adjuster rattle and mine was in the at risk range.

Lesson learned for me :thumb:.


So, how did that risk actually work out for you?
 
So, how did that risk actually work out for you?

Not good - £4.5K worth of warranty work to upgrade the tensioners and followers, with associated time off the road :crazy:.

Could have been much worse though, if I'd had to shell it out myself.
 
Owww....

Owww.... That's painful. Even if it's just the inconvenience and the feeling of your baby being fiddled with.

I had the M272 in my very low mileage SL350 and got off completely scott-free...
 
Hi all, I am 'the friend' lol.

I am thinking of changing from my current W220 and spent last week on a sun lounger in Turkey looking for it's replacement, not that there's anything wrong with mine 86k full history etc...

I decided to look at the Spire CLS (LG58***) in Stanmore, which had quite a few dents (and dust /cobwebs) and after looking closely at the rear access, which was a touch tight, I didn't even go for a test drive.....that's the CLS ruled out.

Next was a trip to David Wren, where I met his son Aaron to view the S350, I must say the car was in excellent condition, gleaming Black paint work and unmarked Grey leather, a truly great looking W221 with just under 40k miles and a FMBSH.
The test drive was just as good, the car felt tight and not as under powered as I thought it might....BUT
Merc had mentioned that there were problems with the early 350 petrol engines, unfortunately I hadn't had time to do my homework fully beforehand and truth be told I wanted to have a good look round a W221 along with having a drive as I'd not had the pleasure before.
After checking the engine number I found the engine was prone to problems and I e-mailed David to let him know.
The reply quite honestly amazed me....

Graham,
I have indeed spoken to Aaron and he informed me it was a complete waste of his time and energy meeting you, and you had no intention of a purchase, and I was annoyed that you misled him into test driving and risking insurance, wasting fuel etc, when you were already armed with all of your ridiculous information that you have obviously gleamed from forums, that are written by idiots for idiots! If I were that stupid to believe forums then I would never buy any car, it's simple good things are never written, bad things are.
You obviously do not deserve a car of such quality but you will purchase what you deserve.
I can guarantee that you wouldn't have tricked me if I were there, but you can take pride in knowing you tricked a 23 year old university student.
David.


I have not completely ruled out an S500, indeed I have narrowed my search down to a W221 so all was not lost on my trip, if anyone knows of any.....

Thanks again to Merc, without who's help I would have probably bought the S350, it may have served me well, however I din't want to take the chance :dk:
 
Wasn't there an MB Bulletin on this?
 
Well, that response confirms the impression I got from his website.

Pretentious twunt.
 
Hi all, I am 'the friend' lol.

I am thinking of changing from my current W220 and spent last week on a sun lounger in Turkey looking for it's replacement, not that there's anything wrong with mine 86k full history etc...

I decided to look at the Spire CLS (LG58***) in Stanmore, which had quite a few dents (and dust /cobwebs) and after looking closely at the rear access, which was a touch tight, I didn't even go for a test drive.....that's the CLS ruled out.

Next was a trip to David Wren, where I met his son Aaron to view the S350, I must say the car was in excellent condition, gleaming Black paint work and unmarked Grey leather, a truly great looking W221 with just under 40k miles and a FMBSH.
The test drive was just as good, the car felt tight and not as under powered as I thought it might....BUT
Merc had mentioned that there were problems with the early 350 petrol engines, unfortunately I hadn't had time to do my homework fully beforehand and truth be told I wanted to have a good look round a W221 along with having a drive as I'd not had the pleasure before.
After checking the engine number I found the engine was prone to problems and I e-mailed David to let him know.
The reply quite honestly amazed me....

Graham,
I have indeed spoken to Aaron and he informed me it was a complete waste of his time and energy meeting you, and you had no intention of a purchase, and I was annoyed that you misled him into test driving and risking insurance, wasting fuel etc, when you were already armed with all of your ridiculous information that you have obviously gleamed from forums, that are written by idiots for idiots! If I were that stupid to believe forums then I would never buy any car, it's simple good things are never written, bad things are.
You obviously do not deserve a car of such quality but you will purchase what you deserve.
I can guarantee that you wouldn't have tricked me if I were there, but you can take pride in knowing you tricked a 23 year old university student.
David.


I have not completely ruled out an S500, indeed I have narrowed my search down to a W221 so all was not lost on my trip, if anyone knows of any.....

I think you had a lucky escape from what is quite clearly an rsehole dealer.

The fact MB themselves acknowledge an issue rather highlights how much of a dimwit he is.

Imagine if you did have issues - you can just imagine how much fun you would have had sorting them.

The guy clearly has some personal issues.

The M272 V6 is a waste of time anyway. It wont use much less fuel in the real world than the M273 and the V8 is always better!

You might not use the extra power but so what...

Good luck with your search and watch out for other dumb-schmuck dealers!
 

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