Car Model Guide/ Mercedes-Benz/ E-Class/ W212

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon, W212

The quiet, comfortable one of the executive class: softer and more isolating than a 5 Series, built to cover distance, and almost always a diesel.

Overview

The W212 is the sedan Mercedes-Benz E-Class, built 2009–2016 and facelifted in 2013. 10 standard engines are documented here, each with its own issue list, inspection sequence and price band. Asking prices across the standard range run €4,000–€22,900, and 0 of the 10 carry a risk level of 4 or 5; the facelift cars sit at a premium over otherwise identical pre-facelift ones. The cheapest way in is the E 200 CGI M271-EVO from €5,200, while the E 200 M274 is the lowest-risk engine at €8,450, which engine you buy matters more here than which year. Prices are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan (W212) · photo Mercedes-Benz E-Class W212 Shishi 01 2022-03-02 by JamesYoung8167 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Body style	sedan	Production	2009–2016
Platform siblings	S212 wagon	Facelift (LCI)	2013

What changed at the 2013 facelift

Single-piece headlamps replaced the twin-eye look; new bonnet and bumpers; M274 2.0 turbo four replaced the M271 EVO 1.8 in the E200/E250 petrols; M276 3.5 V6 replaced the M272 in the E350; Diesels migrated from CDI to BlueTEC (SCR/AdBlue). The engine changes are the ones that matter, a car built in the changeover year can carry either engine, so check the engine code on the block rather than the registration date.

Engine matrix: pre-facelift, 2009–2012

The 8 variants sold before the 2013 facelift. Power and years come from the variant records; prices are illustrative, not sourced.

FilterFuelGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under8 of 8

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
E 200 CDI	OM651	diesel	2010–2012	136 PS	360 Nm	R3	17	€4,200–€11,000	€5,500	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 220 CDI	OM651	diesel	2009–2012	170 PS	400 Nm	R3	17	€4,800–€13,000	€6,300	Buy	View
E 200 CGI	M271-EVO	petrol	2009–2012	184 PS	270 Nm	R3	14	€4,000–€10,500	€5,200	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 250 CDI	OM651	diesel	2009–2012	204 PS	500 Nm	R3	17	€5,600–€15,000	€7,300	Buy	View
E 250 CGI	M271-EVO	petrol	2009–2012	204 PS	310 Nm	R3	14	€4,600–€12,000	€6,000	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 350 CDI	OM642	diesel	2009–2012	265 PS	620 Nm	R3	17	€6,500–€18,000	€8,750	Buy	View
E 350 CGI	M272	petrol	2009–2011	292 PS	365 Nm	R3	14	€5,500–€14,500	€7,250	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 350	M276	petrol	2011–2012	306 PS	370 Nm	R2	14	€8,000–€21,000	€10,500	Buy	View

Engine matrix: facelift / LCI, 2013–2016

The 9 variants sold from the facelift on, priced at a 9% premium over the pre-facelift car.

9 variants from the facelift on, carrying a real market premium of roughly 9% over an otherwise identical pre-facelift car. Variants appearing in both tables were sold either side of the changeover, the build month decides which one you're looking at, not the model year.

FilterFuelGearboxRisk ceilingGood buy under9 of 9

Badge↕	Engine	Fuel	Years↕	Power↑	Torque↕	Risk↕	Issues	Price band↕	Good buy↕	Verdict
E 200 CDI	OM651	diesel	2013–2016	136 PS	360 Nm	R3	17	€4,600–€12,000	€6,000	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 220 CDI	OM651	diesel	2013–2016	170 PS	400 Nm	R3	17	€5,250–€14,150	€6,900	Buy	View
E 200 CGI	M271-EVO	petrol	2013–2013	184 PS	270 Nm	R3	14	€4,350–€11,450	€5,700	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 200	M274	petrol	2013–2016	184 PS	300 Nm	R2	14	€6,550–€16,350	€8,450	Buy	View
E 250 CDI	OM651	diesel	2013–2016	204 PS	500 Nm	R3	17	€6,100–€16,350	€7,950	Buy	View
E 250 CGI	M271-EVO	petrol	2013–2013	204 PS	310 Nm	R3	14	€5,000–€13,100	€6,550	Buy w/ conditions	View
E 250	M274	petrol	2013–2016	211 PS	350 Nm	R2	14	€7,400–€18,550	€9,600	Buy	View
E 350 CDI	OM642	diesel	2013–2016	265 PS	620 Nm	R3	17	€7,100–€19,600	€9,550	Buy	View
E 350	M276	petrol	2013–2016	306 PS	370 Nm	R2	14	€8,700–€22,900	€11,450	Buy	View

Market availability varied by country; check the engine code stamped on the block rather than the badge on the boot. · Compare every engine side by side →

Model-year availability

Which engines were on sale in which year, from the year ranges in the variant records. Availability varied by country.

Variant	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
E 200 CDI OM651		◐	●	●	●	●	●	●
E 220 CDI OM651	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
E 200 CGI M271-EVO	●	●	●	●	◐
E 200 M274					◐	●	●	●
E 250 CDI OM651	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
E 250 CGI M271-EVO	●	●	●	●	◐
E 250 M274					◐	●	●	●
E 350 CDI OM642	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
E 350 CGI M272	●	●	◐
E 350 M276			◐	●	●	●	●	●

● full year · ◐ arrives or leaves mid-generation. Years from 2013 in the accent colour are facelift (LCI) cars. Verify the engine code, not the model year.

Rating map, price against risk

Good-buy price plotted against risk level for every standard engine, so the value corner is visible at a glance.

Every standard engine in the chassis, plotted at its good-buy price against its risk level. Cheap and low-risk is the top-left; expensive and fragile is the bottom-right. M cars are excluded, they would stretch the price axis and tell you nothing about the rest.

Buy / strong buy Buy with conditions Caution / avoidLeft is cheaper, up is safer. The top-left corner is where the value is.

Prices across the range

Where the money sits across the whole chassis. Every figure here is an illustrative placeholder, not a sourced market sample.

Every standard engine on one euro axis: the bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile of asking prices, the tick is the median and the green marker is the good-buy figure. AMG cars are excluded; they sit an order of magnitude above the rest.

Cheapest good buy€5,200E 200 CGI M271-EVO

Median good buy€7,300across 10 engines

Dearest good buy€10,500E 350 M276

Full range€4,000–€22,900P10 to P90

Every standard engine · cheapest first · E 200 M274 highlighted as best value

€5k€10k€15k€20kGood buy

E 200 CGI M271-EVO€5,200 E 200 CDI OM651€5,500 E 250 CGI M271-EVO€6,000 E 220 CDI OM651€6,300 E 350 CGI M272€7,250 E 250 CDI OM651€7,300 E 200 M274€8,450 E 350 CDI OM642€8,750 E 250 M274€9,600 E 350 M276€10,500

at or under the good buy · good buy · median · bar spans the 10th–90th percentile

Chassis-wide issues, every engine inherits these

Faults recorded against the bodyshell and running gear rather than one engine, so every variant on this page inherits them.

Front control arm bushing wearE9x chassis€300–€700

Knocking over bad surfaces, vague or wandering steering, uneven front tyre wear, steering shimmy under braking. The front lower arm bushings are a known wear item on this chassis and go well before the ball joints.

Check: Drive over a rough road at low speed with the windows down and listen. Check the inside edges of the front tyres for feathering.

SuspensionuniversalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–150k km

Electronic steering lock (ESL/ELV) failureE-Class platform€150–€1,200

The engine cranks but won't start and the steering stays locked, sometimes after several attempts, with steering-lock fault codes. The small motor that drives the locking bolt wears out and the module eventually blocks further attempts. The cause is consistent motor wear rather than anything variable.

Check: Do several cold starts. Listen for the steering-lock clunk as the key goes in, and scan for B2254 and related codes; intermittent no-starts are the early warning.

ElectricalcommonPartly detectableevidence: documented80–200k km

Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheelsE9x chassis€150–€900

Harsh ride, vibration at speed, slow punctures. Stiff-sidewall run-flats transmit impacts straight into the rim, and these alloys crack rather than bend.

Check: Inspect the inner rim edge of every wheel for cracks and hairline splits, not just the face for kerbing. Budget for a set of conventional tyres; most owners switch and the ride improves markedly.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seamsE9x chassis€300–€2,000

Bubbling at the rear arch lip, scaling on subframe mounting points and rear suspension components. Age plus road salt. This generation isn't a notorious rotter, but nothing from 2005–2013 is immune in a salted market.

Check: Put it on a lift and look at the rear subframe mounting points and the arch lips from behind. Largely a non-issue on cars from southern Europe, a real one on northern and Baltic cars.

Body & corrosionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Front thrust-arm and control-arm bush wearE-Class platform€300–€600

A clunk or knock over bumps and when turning at low speed, vibration through the wheel, and vague or wandering steering. The aluminium front arms use fluid-filled hydraulic bushes that rupture and leak; the bushes aren't separately serviceable, so the whole arm is replaced. The cause is consistent.

Check: Look for brown hydraulic fluid weeping from the bushes, rock the arms for play, and listen for a clunk over rough roads and on full lock.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented95–160k km

Footwell module (FRM) failureE9x chassis€150–€700

Headlights, indicators, windows, wipers and central locking stop working at once, usually right after a battery change or a jump start. The module's memory corrupts when supply voltage dips. It is the single most common electrical failure on this generation.

Check: Test every window, both mirrors, the wipers, all exterior lights and the central locking before you drive. If any cluster of these is dead, this is why.

ElectricalcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Rear shock mount wearE9x chassis€250–€500

Knock from the rear over speed bumps, a hollow thump from the boot area. The rubber mounts perish. On hard-used cars the mount can crack the surrounding turret metal, which is a far bigger job.

Check: Lift the boot floor and look at the top of the shock towers for cracking or a lifted mount. Listen for a knock over bumps.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented100–180k km

xDrive transfer case actuator failureE9x chassis€600–€1,200

Grinding or binding at low-speed full lock, 4x4 warning lights, a shudder when manoeuvring. The actuator motor and the transfer case's internal chain wear, especially on cars run with mismatched tyre sizes.

Check: Full-lock circles in both directions in a car park, slowly, listening for binding. Check all four tyres are the same brand and wear, mismatched tyres destroy these.

DrivetrainoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented120–220k km

iDrive CCC head unit failureE9x chassis€300–€900

Black screen, rebooting, refusal to read the drive, non-functioning navigation. The early CCC unit's hard drive and mainboard fail with age. Later CIC units are more reliable.

Check: Turn it on and use it for a few minutes: navigation, radio, settings. Reboots during that window are the fault showing itself.

ElectricaloccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Panoramic sunroof drain blockageE-Class platform€50–€400

Wet front footwells and carpets and damp A-pillars after rain, with soaked module connectors as the secondary risk. The sunroof drain channels clog with debris and water backs up and overflows into the cabin. The cause is consistent; the cost jumps if carpets or modules are soaked.

Check: Lift the footwell carpets to feel for damp, and pour a cup of water into the front sunroof channel to confirm it drains quickly.

Body & corrosioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–200k km

Coolant expansion tank crackingE9x chassis€120–€250

Coolant smell after a drive, slow unexplained loss of coolant, crusty residue around the tank seams. The plastic tank goes brittle with age and splits, usually at a seam or around the level sensor.

Check: Look at the tank with the engine warm, dried coolant leaves a white or pink crust. Cheap to fix, but it tells you how the car has been maintained.

CoolingcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented90–200k km

Unregistered replacement batteryE9x chassis€30–€60

Random electrical faults, warning lights that come and go, a battery that dies again within a year. The car's power management must be told a new battery was fitted. Cheap replacements are routinely fitted without coding, which then overcharges or undercharges the new battery.

Check: Ask when the battery was changed and whether it was registered. A car with a new battery, no registration and a scatter of odd electrical faults usually just needs coding.

ElectricalcommonPartly detectableevidence: documented

Written once against the chassis and shown on every variant page below, so nothing here is repeated 10 times: AMG cars included, since the bodyshell and electronics are shared.

Buying summary

Our read on the chassis, built on the records above rather than added to them.

The default and the best buy: E 220 CDI. The OM651 four is the volume engine and the running-cost sweet spot, but insist on a car that has had the early timing-chain and injector issues addressed. Best if you cover big miles: E 350 CDI, the OM642 V6, effortless and long-lived bar its oil-cooler seal. On petrol, the facelift M274 cars are the low-stress choice; the pre-facelift M271 EVO fours are fine but less refined. Two universal checks: the electronic steering lock, which can leave the car unable to start, and the 7G-Tronic conductor plate at higher mileage.

Cheapest and dearest in this chassis

The ends of the range by good-buy price. Useful for sanity-checking anything you're quoted.

Lowest entry price

E 200 CGI M271-EVO : from €4,000, risk 3

E 200 CDI OM651 : from €4,200, risk 3

E 250 CGI M271-EVO : from €4,600, risk 3

Lowest risk

E 200 M274 : risk 2, good buy at €8,450

E 250 M274 : risk 2, good buy at €9,600

E 350 M276 : risk 2, good buy at €10,500