The Swaggery

Hey all, newbie here...

I'm very interested in purchasing a certified '14 GLK350 with about 18k miles on it. It's all great in every respect except when I noticed its service history was missing from the Carfax, I asked for the service records on their MB system but the MB dealership could not produce any. Apparently, the previous one-owner leased the car an never changed the oil after driving it for 18k miles (almost 2x distance recommended. The MB dealership assured me that the car had undergone rigorous inspection to get certified (minus the apparent slight oversight that the oil was never changed at the recommended 10k).

I definitely know two things: (1) oil should be changed often especially on a new car (especially since new car engines will accumulate metal particles in the oil) and (2) Mercedes certified warranty is not what it used to be (just one year on top of the new car warranty).

That said, I'm curious if anyone else thinks this might be a big red flag on this car or if you can offer some more insight on this. Thanks!

Flypenfly

I would find something else. But modern full synthetics can sometimes last that long without sludging. It is break in oil so that's a bit of a worry.

spyked

Just because MB doesn't have a service record doesn't mean it didn't have an oil change. Many cities have MB specialists, and every city has someone that can drain and add oil and change oil filter, even if just Jiffy Lube. That owner must have been really easy going if they had to watch that service countdown message when it went past due.

If you are interested in the car, and it's priced right, and spec'd to your liking, I don't know what I would do. Ask the dealer to call the original owner and just ask where they had it serviced would be a start.

Shadow5501

CPO and Starmark before it have only ever included one year of warranty. Additional years can be purchased. It used to be possible to add three additional years, though now MB offers only two additional years.

The Swaggery

Thanks Flypenfly! I agree 100%.

Spyked, I appreciate the response as well. I'm aware that this (a JiffyLube, etc) could be a possibility albeit a very remote one (though wouldn't most service places show up on Carfax?). I could ask MB dealership to call the original owner but I imagine for privacy reasons they wouldn't be able to. Also, it still doesn't explain how MB could have certified this vehicle if it doesn't have any record (MB or JiffyLube or otherwise) of an "A" service ever being done.

formerjeepguy

Some of us change our oil ourselves. I use MB oil and filter. This will not show up on a carfax. I save the reciepts and mark it all down in the service book.

The CPO label is a marketing tool that they use to raise the selling price of a car that they paid too much for in a trade in. It should never be used as a gauge for the car's quality.

spyked

No, Carfax might occasionally show service records from dealers and some franchise type auto shops, but in my experience they leave off way more than they include. I've only ever taken my new cars to dealers, and the services have maybe shown up on one Carfax report? The original owner might also have changed oil him/herself, or simply went to a local indie to have it done to avoid ridiculous MB dealer pricing. Or....never had it done at all, in which case use the B2B coverage and CPO warranty (on the off-chance that something goes wrong due to oil change interval).

Since you are a bit nervous, I'd say at least look at other cars. These aren't rare and there will surely be more off-lease GLKs at your dealer soon with the service records you desire.

pjw1967

We looked at 2 ML350 CPO's. One of them had big gaps in the Carfax report so we asked the dealer to run the internal records on the car. It's called the Vehicle Master Inquiry. It says for Internal Use Only. They showed it to me. It showed all kinds of repairs done under warranty, like sun roof leaking, brake problems fixed, and a few other items that made me nervous, including having to replace 2 tires and rims right before they put it up for sale. Told us it had been the sales mgrs wife's car. Then I went out 200 miles to search for another (not easy to do now on MBUSA site). Found a car 130 miles away. The Carfax had all the service records detailed, likely because it was the sales mgrs wife's car lol. It had never been touched by anyone but that dealership. We did the negos by email and text. They sent me the MSRP build sheet, and the preowned inspection report. And for icing on the cake, they gave me the internal billing for the costs to make it a CPO, which had a bottom line of $1,885.00. Of course, that was in the price of the car. So if they really want to sell you a car, and you demonstrate you're ready to buy , they will show you this stuff. How about Code 301, which is the Smoker Package. Anyone know what that is? Code 348 Low Coast Teleaid USA? All on the VMI....

pjw1967

Just checked the MSRP list. 301 says Ashtray, and 348 is the mBrace trial.

The Swaggery

Thanks guys! All really helpful information. I'll see if I can press the dealership for more information on the service history but I'm sure they would've loved to give it to me before if they actually had it. I guess we will see.

davidjohnbamber

I owned a 2104 GLK250. I traded it just days before it's 24 month service was due. The car was bought in Arizona, and 6 months later I moved to Oregon, and registered/titled the vehicle there. Because the closest dealer was 140 miles away, I had my 12 month service done by a local shop using M-B spec fluids/filter. After trading in the car it was CPO'd. I never provided any service records on the car to the dealer. Later, when I checked the Carfax on my old GLK it stated that it had a new owner when registered in Oregon, and the only other notations was when the car was sold to me, and then traded in. I think that Carfax missed a few things?

bop11

You can have the oil tested. Get the dealer to do this as he is interested in selling the vehicle and the cost of an oil analysis is small compared to the cost of carrying the vehicle on his books.
There are many places through out the country that will do the test and report back on all sorts of things from bearing wear to acid build up.
Oil analysis is one of the bet ways to determine the internal state of an engine. Diesel truck owners and marine owners do this as a regular check.

Puyallup

I know this thread is a little old, but wanted to provide some additional assistance to anyone else that may run into this issue. I recently had the same delimma; I founded a nicely loaded 2014 GLK350 CPO. After reviewing he Carfax report I discovered there was no service records listed. I asked the Salesman and he assured me the car had undergone rigorous inspection and all was good over the phone. My solution:

I created a MercedesMe account and added the cars VIN # to my account. In doing so I was able to discover the previous owner had a 3yr. Maintenance Plan. Knowing this I was pretty sure the Services were done. If someone spent the money for a maintenance plan I'm sure they used it.

I was also able to get a copy of the VMI report later which confirmed my earlier assumption.

Rascally Wabbit

Similar experience with our 2010 GLK. CPO purchased in 2011. Car had been a loaner for the dealership or so we were told. Was accidently given the internal document on service & discovered no service whatsoever in the 18K miles mol since it went into their fleet. This explained why the rt. rr tyre had been replaced (the opposite was within 1/32" but not replaced) & a couple of other issues. Pretty unhappy about it so brought it to the attention of sales manager & the service manager. Got the 20K performed at a very reduced price but not happy at all about the experience. Now at 64K miles & no problems have cropped up from the neglect. Problem with CPO is a lack of oversight from the corporate level. For the dealership it is similar to the fox watching the hen house door. Dealerships utilise the CPO as a selling tool but who really verifies any of the work? Bottom line is cost of getting the car on the lot. Went with CPO as this was our first & possibly last MB. IMO buy from private owner with service records & stash the savings in the bank for unexpected repairs. Big problem is that so many vehicles are lease returns without any vestige of service records which is a pity.

dieseldoc

Some cars may not show records on car fax even if done. I traded in 2008 GL that was maintained meticulously by me at the dealer. Everything was not reported. My 2014 c class has also been maintained by same dealer. None of its servicing has been reported.

Rascally Wabbit

And your situation, dealer serviced sans records, is why I insist on the dealership writing in the maintenance log all of the service performed on the vehicle. It is like pulling teeth to get the service dept. to do that simple task. Book has to be out & then double checked when the vehicle is collected. Of course the books may get lost but at least I can say that an attempt has been made to record the service during the time of ownership. Often an accident is not logged if a police report is not written & insurance companies not involved. If the dealership repairs damage & does so internally it is not likely to show any where. Hence the case with ours where damage was noted & poorly repaired prior to our purchase. Likely the work was performed by one of the quickie used car repair businesses working out of a truck scenario. Wife loved the car, damage was not where it would cause further concerns but two years later I had to have it redone at my expense. Moving on...