Used Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet 2010-2017 reliability

Front and rear parking sensors are standard on the E-Class Cabriolet, so you shouldn’t need to worry too much about parking scrapes. However, check that all of the bodywork is nice and straight and that there are uniform panel gaps around the car, otherwise it might have been repaired poorly after an incident.

Check also that the alloy wheels are unmarked and don’t have any nasty gouges in them, because it’ll be quite an expensive job to repair them. Also, damaged wheels might be an indication of potential suspension alignment problems, which are likely to be indicated by uneven tyre wear.

Make sure all of the electrics work inside the car and that the electric sliding mechanism works correctly on the front seats, because if it doesn't, you won’t be able to get into the back of the car very easily.

Starter motor current limiter might catch fire

In the unlikely event that the engine seizes and the driver continues to try starting the car, the current limiter for the starter motor can potentially overheat and catch fire on cars built between 1 August 2014 and 31 December 2016.

Seatbelt pre-tensioners might not function correctly

The front seatbelt pre-tensioner ignitors might not perform as expected, and this could increase the risk of injury to front seat occupants in a collision. It affects E-Class models made between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017, so check with your local Mercedes dealer for further clarification.

Airbag might not deploy correctly

The propellant mixing ratio in the igniters of the front passenger airbag assembly might not meet specification. In a collision, they might not deploy as intended, increasing the risk of injury to occupants. This applies to models constructed from 1 August 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Fuel feed hose might not be installed correctly

The fuel hose might be incorrectly routed and therefore could potentially lead to chafing and leakage. Mercedes dealers are to check the routing of the fuel feed hose on affected cars and rework it if necessary. This applies to cars built between 1 October 2015 and 31 November 2017.

Power steering might stop working

The connector on the electric power steering control unit might not be properly sealed against water entry. If water enters the control unit, the power steering assistance can be lost. This applies to cars made between 1 August 2015 and 30 June 2016.

Newer Mercedes models that are less than four years old don’t have the best reputation for reliability, but older examples perform significantly better. So, while Mercedes managed to finish only 26th out of 31 car brands for cars up to four years old, it jumped up to 15th when it came to the reliability of its older models. That's still not outstanding, but it's a better result than both BMW and Audi achieved.

If you would like to see the full reliability list, head to the What Car? Reliability Survey pages for more information.