2010 Mercedes E350 4matic - sold

 

I am selling my 2010 Mercedes E350 4matic sedan.  It has 167k miles on it but runs and drives great.  There is a slight whine in the drivetrain that has been there for years.  The rims have curb rash and some are somewhat bent but it does not cause any problem. It was hit in the back in 2019 but there was no structural damage and we had it repaired at Benishek & Will which is a very reputable body shop.  Current Kelly Blue Book value is $5,782 - $8,569.  I will sell it for $6,000 or best offer.  

I bought this car in 2015 from Autohaus in Peoria.  We took many road trips in this car, especially between 2015 through 2018 so many of these miles are highway miles.  The car has had very few miles since 2021.  It has always been kept in a garage.  This is the first year of the W212 body style and these have been great cars.  

Mercedes GL450 120k Maintenance

 The GL450 is now past 120k miles (123k) and due for a few maintenance items.  I recently replaced the front brake pads for the first time.  My E350 also went 120k before needing front pads.  Here are the new versus old pads showing wear.

I let them go long enough it also took out the wear sensor (which is cheap to replace).

I replaced the spark plugs too.  This required a special 14mm thin-wall 12-point wobble socket.  

When working on a Mercedes, you will need a set of reverse torx sockets and wrenches too. 

I also replaced the accessory belt. 

The belt appeared to be in great condition.  No cracks or visible wear at all.  My E350 belt was like that too.  But at 120k miles it seems like a good idea to just replace it anyway as they are not expensive, even through Mercedes.

As I was replacing the belt, I broke 2 plastic coolant tubes.

Overflow Tube

These were about $130 each and in stock at the local dealer since they often get broken.  The overflow tube in the bottom photo broke very easily.  

I change the oil using the oil reminder in the display.

2013 GL450 versus 2020 GLS450

 

Our 2013 GL450 when we bought it in 2018

We bought this Mercedes GL450 back in 2018 with 64k miles on it.  We now have 123k miles on it.  With the high cost of fuel, and time for some maintenance, we decided to look at options.  First we considered getting an electric car.  We settled on the Tesla S and drove several.  We almost bought a really nice red 2018 but decided the added cost of insurance, tabs, etc., and parking space just was not worth it.  So we decided to consider replacing the GL450 with something newer and more economical.  We also wanted lighter color interior as ours is black and it gets hot in the sun.   We drove a 2019 Mercedes GLC350e plug-in hybrid.  I liked it but Kelly preferred the GL450 we had to it.  The 2020 and up GLS450 has mild hybrid and a smaller 3.0L I6 engine that is rated at the same 362HP as our GL450 which has a 4.6L twin-turbo V8.  It claims 5mpg better in town and 4MPG better on the highway.  I found a 2020 GLS 450 with 33k miles on it at the local Mercedes dealer so we drove it.  Very disappointing actually compared to our 123k mile 9 year old GL450.  Ours drives smoother, has significantly more acceleration and delivers it much smoother, and has a better feel to it.  So, we will be keeping our 2103 GL450 for a while more.  I suppose we will eventually need to replace it but not in the near future.  Below are some photos of the 2020 GLS450 we drove.  

There were some really nice features in the newer model.  I like the instrument cluster (LCD screen really) and the much larger navigation screen and better navigation, and Android Auto.  I liked the mild hybrid but it did not seem to add much other than useful start/stop where the accessories remain working including the AC compressor.   Honestly, that was about it.  I am disappointed with this GLS450 being the replacement for our GL450.  It does not feel like a step up in some of the most important ways.    

Mercedes GL450 100k miles

 

I bought a 2013 Mercedes GL450 back in 2018.  It had 64k miles at the time.  It is a fantastic trip vehicle and we have used it for many long road trips.  It hit 100k miles the other day.

As I said this is a fantastic road trip vehicle.  We have taken it on numerous long road trips from 500 miles to 1800 miles each way.  I have made several trips over 1700 miles in 2 days and with me behind the wheel the whole time.  This has the lowest driver fatigue of any vehicle I have ever owned.  For a large SUV it actually handles pretty well.  The fuel economy is not bad either for an SUV this size.  It has done 21MPG on road trips and I generally get about 17MPG in town.  The twin-turbo 4.7L V8 has a nice wide powerband and good power.  I have towed a car on a trailer up steep hills out West with little effort.  

The utility of this vehicle is also very good.  It can tow 7500lbs and has great interior space.  The air suspension keeps it level at all times too.

The vehicle did have one annoying sound that was very intermittent when we bought it.  Accelerating from a stop while turning left cold the clunking sound would intermittently happen.  It was under warranty so we took it to the dealer.  They replaced a bunch of parts at 80k miles and it seemed to go away for a while.  At about 95k miles it came back and was much worse.  Finally we had the left front axle replaced and it was fixed.  One of the CV joints was bad causing this noise.  

The factory equipment tires do not last long at all.  There were not many tire choices for this vehicle either.  It has higher load and higher recommended pressure than most tires this size.  The first set I replaced I used the factory Continental tires at 76k miles.  They were down to the wear bars by 96k.  Now there are better tire options so I upgraded to Michelin tires.

Mercedes E350 4matic 150k miles

I wrote a review of this car when it hit 100k miles back in December of 2017.  It now has 150k miles and there is not much new to report.  I did upgrade the headlight bulbs to LED.

Here is the things I did to the car in the last 50k miles.

12/27/2017 105k mi drivers seat cover. This is a known issue on these cars. I bought the part and replaced it myself.

1/20/2018 107k mi drivers front tire road hazard warranty replacement

2/25/2018 109109mi blower motor. This had a very minor intermittent squeak. Very simple to replace.

3/13/2018 new windshield

6/17/2019 117,715mi front brake pads. This was the first pair of front pads!

7/8/2018 119,869mi spark plugs.

8/5/2018 121,555mi belt. Although it was still fine. It just seemed like a long time to go on a belt.

11/18/2018 129,401mi Thermostat and PCV cover. Both a simple job.

The car was hit in the back by an inattentive driver in December.

But Banishek and Will fixed it back up again.  Good as new.

This car drives pretty much the same as when we got it.  Runs and drives great, never uses oil, no issues really.

Things for car folks to do in Las Vegas

I visit Las Vegas often to visit family.  I am not a gambler, it's just not my thing. I am also not into the night life.  While there are the biggest attractions in Las Vegas, what can non-gambler car people do when in Las Vegas?  I have found many very fun things to do so I thought I would capture some here.

Update 2023: I moved to Las Vegas now.

Drive high-end cars on the track

There are several great venues to drive supercars and sports cars in their natural habitat, on the track. By track I mean a proper road course and you drive them at speed. While there are also places to rent them and drive on the street, this would be a frustration for me as you would be stuck in traffic and not get to experience even a fraction of what these cars can do. I wrote a blog article here: http://ltrpca.blogspot.com/2019/03/next-time-you-are-in-las-vegas.html describing some of the main experiences at the track.  I also went to Speed Vegas and drove the Ferrari 488, and Exotics Racing and drove a Porsche GT3 RS. Update 2020: Exotics Racing now bought Speed Vegas and merged to the Speed Vegas facility south of town.  Another venue is Dream Racing where I drove a C8 Corvette in 2023.

Playlist of videos from these Las Vegas tracks.

There are others.  You can drive off-road or NASCAR experiences too.  The Las Vegas Motorplex is a center of much of this.  This is my favorite car thing to do in Las Vegas by far, but it is also the most expensive.  Plan to spend a few hundred dollars but it is well worth it.  Many exotic cars are ridiculously expensive to buy and own.  Once you spend that much, most people don't want to risk that investment by taking them to the track and driving them hard.  Here you are just renting the car (insurance included) so no worries.  You can really have fun in them and give them back when you are done. You get an experienced instructor to show you the line and how to get the most out of these cars at their track. It's the best way to experience these cars.

Note: in 2020 Exotics Racing bought Speed Vegas and merged these operations to the Speed Vegas track.

Drive your own sports car on the track

Spring Mountain Motorsports is just around the mountains near Pahrump (less than an hour away).  It features many tracks, my favorite being Charleston Peak (shown below).  

Driving here requires that you find an HPDE, register well in advance, and have your car inspected and prepped for the event.  Find and register for most events either at MotorsportsReg or Club Registration. Caution: this is very addictive! 

Drive Go-Karts

There are many places too drive go-karts as well, both indoors and outside.  Exotics Racing offers both supercars (above) and go-karts.  I have driven the electric indoor go-karts at Pole Position which is close to the strip.  It's inexpensive and fun and since it's indoors and the karts are electric you don't have to deal with the weather.  There are many others.

Visit a museum

Here is a great article highlighting some of the car museums. I have been to the Shelby facility, both at the old location near the speedway, and the new location South of the strip.

Shop for car related stuff

Being a Porsche fan I found a rare Porsche Design outlet shop.  I think there are only 2 of these in the country, one being at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets mall North of the strip. Porsche Design merchandise is not cheap so finding it at a discount is great. Of course the Shelby store is a great place to shop and every Saturday morning they have a cars & coffee.

Go for a road trip

While Las Vegas is in a desert, it is close to mountains and lakes too.  

Hoover Dam and the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

View from the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

It's a short drive (about 40 minutes) from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam.  There is also a great view from the bridge to the South of the dam. You can walk across the bridge.

Biking on the Lake Mead Historic Railway Trail

Mount Charleston

Mount Charleston is a short drive (about an hour) from Las Vegas where you can get away from the desert and enjoy the mountains and pine trees.  In the winter it is often snow covered.  In the summer it is much cooler than Las Vegas, often by 30F.  My Charleston can be very crowded at times.  You can see the traffic and congestion in the video below taken the day after Christmas.

Mt Charleston the day after Christmas 2022

Mountain biking on Mt Charleston in the summer

Valley Of Fire

I have actually not visited this yet but I plan to soon and I will update then.

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is the most visited park in the country with over 2.5M visitors each year.  There is a scenic drive and many hiking trails but you must get a reservation to enter.  

On the way to Red Rock Canyon there is also Calico Basin which is very colorful and has several trails as well.  

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is less than 3 hours away.  There are great hiking trails and camping as well as hotels and lodges.  

Mountain Biking

The Las Vegas area has many mountain bike trails.  I use Trailforks to find most of them: https://www.trailforks.com/region/las-vegas/?activitytype=1&z=9.2&lat=36.19202&lon=-115.28210 . In the winter the lower elevations are great.  When it gets hot in the summer, go to higher elevations like Mt Charleston.  Some bike shops offer bike rentals, including some offering electric mountain bike rentals.  Las Vegas is also a bike friendly community with many paved road biking paths.  

Mercedes E350 LED Headlights

My 2010 E350 does not have the HID option.  It has the old halogen headlights.  My other cars have HID and now I am spoiled.  I had upgraded to brighter halogens but that also means shorter life. LED headlights are now becoming more common so I looked into converting the E350.  Unfortunately I was not able to find a reputable light manufacturer that makes these yet.  I was hoping for Osram, Hella, GE, Philips, Bosch, or someone to make these but could not find any from them.  I ended up on Amazon and after reviewing ratings I settled on these:

Lasfit H7 

I also had to get some Tomall adapter clips to put them in (these clips were awful).  It took a bunch of bending and modifying to make this clips work and they still don't work well.  I later replaced them with a set from Lasfit directly which were somewhat less bad.  I ended up taking the retainer from the bulb and welding it to these adapter clips to hold the 2 pieces together so I could install them, and then insert the bulb.

The E350 uses H7 bulbs.  They are unpleasant to work with as they have these metal retainers that cut you to ribbons when you work with them.  The factory integrates this retainer into the connector making it easier.  The passengers side is easy to access but the drivers side is very tight.  I am able to get my hand in there somehow but its hard to work with the retainer.  To make it easier, I welded the retainer to the collar that comes with the Lasfit bulbs, installed the retainer clip and collar assembly, then pushed the bulb into place.

I had my passenger side headlight burn out so I changed it first.  It was cold so I did not spend the time to change the drivers side at that time.  This gave the opportunity to compare them though.  A week or so later I finally changed the drivers side too.  The videos below were shot with an inexpensive Yi Compact Dash Camera.

Here is a video of the old headlights.

Here is a video with a mix of headlights.  At this point I had upgraded the passengers side (right) to Lasfit LED but the drivers side was still halogen.

Finally, both headlights upgraded to Lasfit LED.

I am interested to see how these last.  I will post an update later.

Owning a Mercedes GL450

We finally sold the aging Volvo XC70 and upgraded to a 2013 Mercedes GL450 in the fall of 2018.  We wanted a vehicle that could comfortably travel 5 adults and luggage, be able to tow the Cayman on a trailer for track days, drive great in the Illinois winter, and haul stuff.  While I am not a fan of SUVs generally, they do have their purpose and the U does stand for utility (although I often refer to SUVs as silly urban vehicles).  We bought it certified pre-owned (CPO) from Isringhausen in Springfield with 64k miles.  We had considered several vehicles including Audi Q7, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Raptor, Volvo XC90, and more before deciding a GL fit us best. We had been looking for a GL for about a year.  We came close to buying a 2007 in 2017 but found it had issues.  Most of these prior to 2013 also had the air bag recall and no fix in sight. While I was hoping to spend less on an SUV we went ahead and stepped up to the 2013 and I think it was a good choice.  While we were looking at this one, Isringhausen also had a 2012 GL550 and we drove that one as well.

Left: 2012 GL550, Right: 2013 GL450

The 2012 GL550 (X164) is the last of the older design and we really liked the improvements that came with the 2013 (X166).  The 2012 had around the same miles and was also white.  We did not want black (which over half seem to be) and silver was not our favorite color either.  It was nice to have 2 while ones that were both in the year and price range we were looking for.  While the GL550 always gets more power than the GL450, the GL550 has other nice features like real leather and heated rear seats.  Between these 2 vehicles, the GL450 has a wider powerband and more torque due to turbocharging and direct injection.  It has only 20HP less than the 2012 GL550.  Acceleration to 60 is actually the same for these 2 vehicles but fuel economy is 2mpg worse for the GL550.  I also preferred the 19 inch rims of the GL450 to the 21 inch rims and wider tires of the GL550.

Ours has the panorama sunroof (3 glass sections) which makes for a very open feel.  We also have lane tracking, Parktronic, trailer towing, lighting package with Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights, Keyless-Go, and more.  While it did not have heated back seats, we just put a regular heated blanket back there and plugged it into the existing 115V outlet under the back seat.  Works great actually.  

Ours has the 4.7L twin turbo intercooled direct injected V8 engine (M278) which was only in the GL450 for 2013 and 2014.  Later models used a 3.0L V6 twin turbo and ealier models had a naturally aspirated 4.7L.  This powertrain is the same as the GL550 in 2013 and 2014 which was rated at 429HP but in the GL450 it is derated to 362HP.  I can get a flash file and rate this GL450 up to 500HP and 580ft-lbs if I really wanted more power.  No hardware changes needed.  However, I am very satisfied with the power it has.  The nice thing is that this powetrtrain should be very robust and durable with this lower rating.

Just shortly after buying it we took a 1000 mile trip in it.  Gas mileage was as expected, 19.9 on the highway but we were moving along briskly with 70MPH speed limits the whole way. The total trip also included in-town driving as we made many stops and spent time at the destination.

It drove great for an SUV.  Like our E350, there was very little driver fatigue.  Very comfortable.  

Mercedes E350 4matic first 100k miles

We bought a 2010 E350 4matic in the summer of 2015 with 34k miles on it.  Usually I search a wide radius and spend weeks looking for cars but in this case, it was the 2nd one we drove and we bought it only a few miles from our house.  I would have preferred red or blue but this car looks pretty good in silver in my opinion.  I think this is the best looking Mercedes sedan.  It is sportier looking than the S-Class in my opinion, but I would be open to an S-Class too.  This was the first Mercedes we ever owned but it will likely not be the last.  IN fact, we are shopping for another right now but we will also keep the E350.  I wanted to share our experience with this car after it passed 100k miles.  Actually it has 105k on it as I write this.  We have a 500 mile drive to visit our daughter that we make several times a year.  About 1/3 of the miles we put on this car are trips to see her.  The rest are normal mostly in-town miles.  We get all the seasons here including snow and ice.  Would I buy one again?  Heck yeah!  This has been a great car and I would highly recommend it to others.  These cars are a bargain as used cars.  They drop fast so you can pick up one with low mileage and only a few years old for less than half of new.  You can even find Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) for around half of new with a factory extended warranty.

Driving Impression

We have owned many cars over the years but this is the best overall car.  Driving the 500 mile trip as we often do leaves the driver with no fatigue.  The car inspires confidence and this makes for a low stress driving experience.  For a car of this size and weight it handles very good.  High speed driving feels comfortable and controlled.  Navigating through tight traffic is also as good as it gets.  The 4matic works well in poor traction conditions such as snow and ice.  With 105k on the car it honestly drives exactly the same as when we first got it.  I can get 27mpg on the highway at times, even when averaging over 70mph for the trip (which includes in-town driving).  We get about 20mph in town.  I am quite happy with that.  The engine has acceptable power for the car.  I would prefer the E63 AMG of course but it would be wasted on my wife and this is her daily driver.  

The Good Stuff

This has been a great car overall.  I would buy another in a heartbeat. 

• Virtually non-existent driver fatigue even on long trips in bad weather, which we do often.
• Excellent entertainment system with a dedicated volume knob.  By far the best way to control volume is a good old knob you can feel. The system are an AUX input and you can add an SD card adapter with in the dash.  It also had a hard drive you can store music on.  It has satellite radio built in for those who want that (which is not me by the way).  I wish it had Android Auto but it was built before that was available.
• Excellent controls for the navigation and entertainment system.  The knob control is FAR better than a touch screen.  It is easy to control with one hand while keeping your eyes on the road.  Much less distracting that a touch screen that you have to look at.  
• Great design of the center console door.  It is split in half and opens to each side.  This is far better than most than have a single hinge.
• Great backup camera.
• Excellent 4matic all wheel drive.  This system is full-time AWD with a center differential which is far superior to the automatic engaging part time AWD in most cars.  This system mechanically prevents loss of traction instead of just reacting to it.  It also has stability control to further enhance the system.
• Paddle shifters.  The shifters have a great feel and short throw.
• Transmission controls.  I actually like the Mercedes lever for selecting forward, neutral, reverse, and park.  It is out of the way and simple to use.  It is different than other cars and takes some getting used to.  It clears the console for drink holders and the drink holders are in exactly the right spot.  In most cars the shifter gets in the way and the drinks end up in an odd spot.
• Entertainment display.  I love the way the entertainment display is placed in the dash like it actually was designed for it.  Many new cars have this ugly tablet looking thing sticking out of the dash like it was and afterthought or aftermarket.  Also, I like that it is not a touch screen.  The controls are far superior to a touch screen and the screen remains clean.  
• Hook for grocery bags in trunk.  This is a small but awesome feature to keep your groceries from flailing around in the trunk.  Nets are OK but this hook is far better.  
• I can reset the service reminders myself without any tools!  This is a great feature missing from most cars these days.  Honestly I am surprised Mercedes would do this.  I do my own service and I need to be able to reset the maintenance reminders myself and this car has a way to do that using only the steering wheel buttons.
• Engine access is very open.  I replaced the spark plugs and this is the easiest car I have ever changed plugs on.  The air cleaner assembly comes off with no tools and you can then see all the coils in plain sight with open access.  Most modern cars have the engine tucked so deep under the windshield that you can only see half the engine.  
• Ride.  This car is a great compromise between smooth ride and good handling.  It is serene even at high speeds.  Very low road noise.  You can have a conversation at a whisper while going 90mph even on crappy Midwest roads.  It handles fantastic for a car of this size and weight.  
• Cruise control.  Mercedes did a great job with the cruise control.  You can easily see your set speed on the speedometer.  The simple lever has 2 detents for up (accelerate) and down (decelerate).  Clicking in the first detect changes the set speed by 1mph.  Clicking to the 2nd detent however takes you to the nearest 5mph point.  For instance, if you are going 72mph and you click it up to the 2nd detent once, you will go to 75mph.  If you clicked it twice to the 2nd detent you will go to 80mph.  
• The trip computer. It has an automatic trip computer feature that tracks your trips automatically.  It makes some assumptions about what constitutes a trip and it is pretty good.  You can of course manually start your trips too if you want.
• Everything in the car requires little effort to operate.  It is a great car for older folks or people with arthritis because of this.  

Gripes

This is a short list but, as with most cars (Porsche Cayman excluded) there are a few things that could be better.

• Seats.  The seats are very comfortable except for the fake leather.  I think you can get real leather as an option and I would.  While the fake leather does not wear at all, if does not feel good when wearing shorts and it gets hotter than real leather.  Perforated leather would be a great upgrade here.
• Drivers side blind spot.  The drivers side mirror is small and leaves a big blind spot.  I added a small convex mirror to correct this.  Very simple fix but Mercedes should have dealt with this in my opinion.  Some models has the blind spot warning system which would also be good.
  
• Transmission.  The transmission shifts to a high gear and holds it to the bitter end.  This is actually very common with newer cars.  They do this to optimize fuel economy but it makes the car feel sluggish and jerky at times.  The worst part is merging on from a long ramp such as a cloverleaf.  The transmission shifts all the way up and then when you step into it to merge there is no power and a big delay in downshifting.  Here is where I use the paddle shifters to manually lock a lower gear.  Speaking of the shifters, they seem to be a mere suggestion rather than a command.  Sometimes there is a delay between requesting a lower gear and actually getting it.  Under certain conditions such as requesting an upshift when going downhill, it ignores you all together even when the RPM will still be well below any concern level.  The transmission can occasionally have a jerky downshift.  This improved dramatically after having the fluid and filter changed though. 
• Headlights.  They are fine except I got used to HIDs in my Jaguar and Porsche and my E350 does not have the HID option.  You can get the E-class with HIDs and I would highly recommend it.  You can also retrofit HID which I may do.  
• Cruise control braking.  OK, many would call this a feature but I am not a fan.  If your speed exceeds the set speed of the cruise control by too much, the car will actually apply the brakes to get the speed back down.  I would prefer it not do this under most conditions.  We live in the flat land but in mountains you would actually want to downshift for this, not apply the brakes.  My use case on the flat land is when passing with the cruise set.  I accelerate to get around and then once I am back in the right lane I release the throttle to allow the cruise to resume.  This braking feature kicks in and slows me down rapidly which is not necessary or welcome.  It is easy to just disengage the cruise to pass, then re-engage it after your speed get back to the cruise set speed.
• Seat lumbar controls.  Actually I have this same issue with many cars lumbar controls.  They are not very intuitive and it seems challenging at times to get them set right.
• The entertainment system lacks Bluetooth A2DP (music streaming).  It's crazy how many cars lack this still.  A2DP has been around for a long time before this car was built.  Flip phones supported it back in the eary 2000's yet this 2010 does not support it.  Stupid.  It does have Bluetooth hands-free for phone calls and that works fine.  It also has a port in the glove box where you can connect all sorts of things such as USB and 3.5mm jack with the right adapters.

Repairs & Maintenance

So far this car has been one of the most reliable cars I have owned.  It is also easy to maintain.  While this is the first year of the W212 E-class it is a very reliable and durable car.   

• The biggest maintenance cost with the exception of tires has been the transmission service which cost me $433 to have done at a local shop. The dealer wanted over $700.  Mercedes recommend this every 40k miles which seems excessive.  The fluid is an expensive synthetic which is actually good for life but they recommend changing it due to clutch material building up in the fluid.  My Jaguars used a Mercedes transmission too and back then they claimed they did not ever need a fluid change.  I had a problem with my XJR at 120k miles because of debris in the fluid so I know why they want it changed.  I changed it at 80k.
• Spark plugs.  This was very easy to do at home with only basic tools.  I don't think I spent more than 20 minutes on it.     
• Rear brake rotors and pads.  I have replaced these once due to normal wear.  Parts cost is typical of these components, nothing out of the ordinary and simple to replace. I may not have needed new rotors but I don't skimp on brakes so I replaced them anyway.  I have yet to do the fronts after 105k miles.
• Tires.  Normal wear item of course and I get decent miles from a set.  Cost is typical for a car like this, $229 each on Tire Rack for the OEM Continentals.  Tires are not an area to skimp on so I do not look for cheaper brands.  I also changed the TPMS sensors when I did the tires.  They were all working fine but I wanted to get new ones with the tires rather than wait for them to have dead batteries.  Cost for these was also typical at $52 each on Tire Rack.
• Gas cap.  I had the check engine light come on.  I pulled the DTCs and I had 2 evaporative emissions DTCs.  This happened several times and I check to make sure the cap was tight.  It ended up being a leaky gas cap.  Simple and inexpensive fix.
• Air filters.  These have a bunch of screws to access them but it is still not hard.  There are 2.  Cost is typical of air filters. 
• Oil changes.  I use the recommended 0W-40 Mobile One oil.  Filter change is simple.  Cost for the whole oil change is about $70 and it is very simple to do.  
• Drivers lower seat cover tear.  There is a seam that tears on some of these cars over time.  I have a new cover on the way that cost me $229.  I will update with how this goes.
• HVAC fan motor noise.  It occasionally makes a faint squeaking type noise at certain fan speeds.  This is a common issue in most cars except most cars have enough road noise you don't hear it.  I have one on order for $180.  I will update after I replaced it.
• Battery.  Typical maintenance item.  Lasted about normal.  Simple replacement.  Typical cost.  

I also posted this review http://jimroal.blogspot.com/2016/12/owning-mercedes-e350-4matic.html after we had the car for a while.