MBNUT1

Seeking counsel on this. May pull the trigger on a 2012 E3504matic sport with 64k miles. The price is $24k which I think is a pretty good deal. The car has a clean carfax and complete service history with the services kept up to date.

I would have preferred to get one with some warranty and a luxury model but this deal seems a little too good to pass on.

What do folks think? The W212's appear to be pretty reliable based on the lack of complaints on this board. And for those who take the position that they wouldn't own a Mercedes out of warranty what would they say an out of warranty one is worth? There must be some price at which it is a fair value.

Also are there any good aftermarket warranties that can be purchased?

TIA

homeofstone

If you are worried about repair cost then don't buy any luxury vehicle that is out of warranty.

MBNUT1

Not that worried about it but reaching out asking if I should be. MBworld has been littered with folks that say they wouldn't own one out of warranty. I think that the W212 has proven itself to be reliable so it seems reasonable. To my way of thinking they don't suddenly become worthless the day they go out of warranty but the purchase price should reflect the additional risk.

Based on your recent purchase it doesn't seem that you are too concerned about owning one out of warranty and it's an AMG to boot.

KEY08

How many miles you expect to put on it annually would have an impact on the warranty you may need. Many extended warranties are always available. Do you rack up the miles?

homeofstone

I am not worried about repair cost up to a point. I paid $44k for a car with a msrp of $101k. I look at it as though I am $57k ahead. I know the car will continue to depreciate but not nearly as fast as the first 4 years. If I spend $20k in repairs I have still spent less money than buying new.

MBNUT1

I share that point of view.

justaguy

So roll the dice and let us know what happens ... I would spend a few dollars doing an inspection on the car by a qualified mechanic If there aren't any major problems with the car then the current owner shouldn't mind .

justaguy

P.S. I wouldn't buy an aftermarket warranty ... Not worth the time to try to get your money after you pay the repair bill .

Johnny Rad

Consumer Reports, JD Power and Edmunds all rate the E quite highly for reliability / expected reliability. Not sure how USA Today does their rankings, but they came to the same positive conclusion. It was good enough for me to try Merc for the first time ... then again, it was mainly the 4.7L TT w/AWD and the reliability info was kinda how I rationalized it. As a Merc neophyte, I decided it was CPO or nothing for my first rodeo. I haven't decided if I'll extend the CPO with two more years of ELW ... I've got time to decide if I'm extending it or not (much less keeping the car).

pamiboy

Getting the car inspected by a competent mechanic would be the first thing to do. Rest all depends on that. You can negotiate the price down for the immediate repairs. BTW that's only a two year old car. If all is well that looks like a great deal but my perspective is limited as I'm relatively new to MB and haven't owned one out of warranty. . Good luck.

MBNUT1

So I took it for a test drive today and only found two flaws. The first was significant lifter sounding noise on start-up. Research here indicates that it is likely the timing chain tensioners. the second issue was the tire were pretty noisey I only put 5 miles on the car so it wasn't clear whether they were flat spotted from sitting and would quiet down with time. They were fairly new Continentals extremes. I'm a Michelin man myself so I don't think very highly of them. Other than that it was a nice car. Considering having a PPI done.

homeofstone

Lifter noise. walk away.

Airmousam

Agreed, there will always be another car

MBNUT1

Thanks guys I pretty much came to the same conclusion

Patric

Just received my letter from MB about this today. Better late than never I guess.