Prochambers

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/m-Auto-...sting=90991719

Does this seem to be a good purchase? I will be looking for a 2010 very soon and was wondering if a S550 similar to this one would be a good place for me to start. I'm currently driving my 1987 420 SEL as a daily driver but the mileage is getting close to 300,000 miles. So I would really appreciate if you folks on here would chime in. Thanks in advance. Take care!

DaveW68

Nice car....but I'd look for one with fewer miles....preferably under 35k as warranties (which are a must) are much cheaper with those miles.

Prochambers

Thanks DaveW68.

Nuru

+1

Mike5215

Low mileage is always nice but a rare find. Buying a CPO car allows you to take a car with average mileage (50,000 for a 2010) and not sweat being able to get a warranty from a 3rd party. CPO now features unlimited miles, and comes with 12 months of coverage that's extendable to 24 or 36. (36 adds $4500). A CPO car will also come with 1.99 APR financing thru MBFS.

Only MB dealers can sell CPO cars, so your best search tool may be the mbusa Certified Preowned section on the www.mbusa.com website. You can also filter for Certified cars on AutoTrader and get the same results.

Prochambers

Thanks Mike for the information. Will definitely take my time to locate one when the time is right. Take care!

DaveW68

Keep in mind that those certified cars command a hefty premium. And $4500 for only an extra 2 years seems like crazy money to me on a car that you're already paying a premium to get.

You might be better off finding a lower mileage example for less than a certified higher mileage car....and purchase a good exclusionary after-market policy with more years at a better price. MB dealers aren't always the best place to find the car you want. You might have to go some distance to get an ultra low mileage one, but there's lots of them to be had. Check cars.com as you'll likely find what you're looking for.

Also, check around to credit unions in your area to see if they offer warranty coverage as it's significantly cheaper than elsewhere if they offer it, especially if the car has low mileage. They also offer great interest rates on used cars.

Do your homework on the cars you're considering. Preferably a one owner car that has all service records and hasn't missed any of them. You might spend more time doing your research, but in the end you can save a lot of money and get exactly the car you want at the price you want to pay.

I searched for almost a month before I found my dream car. But I saved a ton of money and got a mint '07 S600 with only 24k miles at a great price. And a 7 year/75k exclusionary warranty for just $3300 through my credit union that is highly rated and pays on claims.

Good luck on your search.

triniexr

If I had to look for a car again I'd spend the bit extra and get one with the Band & Oulfsen system. I'm surprised that car didn't have the panoramic roof....

Try and get one with less mileage and make sure it has extended warranty.

Mike5215

Yeah, good luck.

selpo

You don't necessarily have to buy a CPO to get MB extended warranty. From my understanding, as long as the car is within the original warranty period, most of them will qualify for a MB extended warranty. One of the MB finance person I spoke to stated that the only way a car will not qualify for MB ELW if it is within the original warranty period is if it was sold by a MB dealer as used but not CPO.

Mike5215

On a CPO car, you get the balance of the factory warranty first, and then the CPO clock starts ticking when that expires. Generally if a MB dealer has a car on his lot that qualifies as CPO he's going to go ahead and certify it rather than sitting it out there as a regular used S. Extending the factory warranty in practice is almost always limited to folks who bought the car new and want to maintain the warranty.

CPO is such an easy way to get into a relatively inexpensive S Class totally worry-free, I'm stunned when there's a debate about it.

DaveW68

There's a debate because there are cheaper ways to get into a used Benz than CPO with longer warranty options than CPO offers.

But I'm not saying that it isn't the right option for some folks. But those would usually be the folks who don't have time to do their homework and don't mind forking out the additional premium that buying a CPO offers.

If you're going to keep your Benz more than 3 years, skip CPO and purchase your own warranty....and find a low mileage example.

Prochambers

I definitely plan on keeping the car more than 3 years. So you have made a great point about skipping CPO and finding my own warranty. My credit union offers very good pricing and after market warranty protection. Thanks to all who have chimed in so far.

Mike5215

I should clarify. There's little debate amongst people with actual S Class ownership experience (8 years and 3 S Classes for me) and actual S Class warranty claims experience (Two high mileage cars under CPO and 3rd party warranty, one kept outside of warranty, $20,000 in warranty claim experiences, $6000 in major repairs out of warranty.)

But as far as guys with three months of S Class ownership and zero S Class claims experience go, Dave gives the best advice

DaveW68

Actually, less than 2 months of S-class experience.

But as explained many times, I had the exact same warranty coverage on my M5, which is another expensive and complicated car, and the claims process was painless in my experience.

Even you Mike, have said several times that you would not own an S-class outside of warranty. Since you cannot get more than 3 years of coverage going CPO....and the OP says he's gonna keep the car more than 3 years, then I would think that you'd agree on going with a good after-market warranty where more than 3 years of coverage can be purchased at a very reasonable price. Additionally, the warranty is transferable to a private party, so that can add significant value to the car at time of resale.

And it would make very little economical sense to wait till the end of the CPO and purchase an aftermarket warranty....as the costs with higher miles could be astronomical...if even available.

I'd be interested to see if the OP's credit union offers the same policy that I have....and who administers it.

marthyh

If you plan to keep it more then 3 years (as I almost have it for now) I would put the money,you otherwise put into a warranty into a repair fund.

Admitting I don't drive that much (10k kms) and do my own maintenance/repairs and have bought a star diagnose clone just in case.
I avoid the M-B garage and go to indies if its something I cannot do myself.

So far the car has 97k kms and is from 2006 (yes I am in Europe)
When I bought it ,had set 3500€ repair-fund aside and besides oil-changes,tires and brake-parts ,I still have it available if anything major breaks..
The only really important thing to check ;if you get an early car wether its not in the affected range for the engine balance-shaft issue and wether it has the tranny oil-change done timely.
As soon as you get it ,have tranny flushed anyway .
Airmatic is costly to maintain as well, but with Arnot providing revised replacement parts, that should be doable as well.

Then there is issues on the active seats which can be pricey to repair, so if you're scared take a car without it..
Then one last expensive item to fix if it break ,is the comand system.

Other then that ,its used as a taxi in Europe for a reason: its a good reliable car generally and its such a great comfortable tank as your present car is.

My 2 cents..

Mike5215

I guess it all depends on whether you believe the thing the guy at your bank sold you for $1,300 provides the same protection as a Mercedes factory warranty.

CPO is transferable as well, and refundable for unused premium, so you can either pass it along to the new owner or get some of the cash back,

DaveW68

I don't know who has a $1300 policy that offers comprehensive coverage on these cars. If you know, please pass that info along.

I just read through the covered items through Mercedes CPO. I didn't see any items that the CPO policy covers that mine doesn't. It also appears that CPO is not exclusionary, but a named component policy from what I can see on the website, which would make it worse. But I could be wrong about this. Is there a deductible with these policies?

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/cpo#wa...her_components

Mike5215

Sorry. $3300 for 7 years/75k miles, I knew it was something insanely low and it had a "3". Mechanical breakdown on a used six year old biturbo V12 S Class for $470 a year. Almost seems too good to be true

No deductible on CPO. Really the same process as having the original factory warranty in place as far as repairs go.

DaveW68

Yes, over a 7 year period I guess it would break down to only about $470/yr. But I do have a $100 deductible. Zero deductible would have run me just under $4400. I'm banking on less than 11 warranty claims in the time I have the car.

tights24

Howdy, new member here. Forgive my ignorance here, but are these really prone to failure so much that a warranty must be purchased? Regardless of the year, going back to 2007, are folks just scared of a potential $5000 service fix, or is it a given that it WILL have an issue and whatever that issue is WILL be expensive? I've never owned a German vehicle, and I know the cost could be a bit expensive for "little things" that pop up, but even domestic vehicles are expensive when taken to a dealer. Try walking out of a dealership for any newer non warranty vehicle for under $400. Just curious what the reasoning is and actually how common it is compared to the amount that don't have issues. Like any car forum, you mostly hear about the bad things because someone is looking for help for a fix. I'm not arguing here, you folks are the experts, not me, just curious is all.

DaveW68

Hey Tights....welcome to the forum!

There are some items on these cars that "might" be prone to failure. You'll find plenty of discussion on certain items such as the air suspension, coil packs, and a few other things. You're correct that most of the folks who first sign on are looking for help with a fix or buying advice. Then many get hooked and become part of the community.

The S-class is the most technologically advanced car in the world. This car sets the trend for all future cars and what technology will eventually come in them. With so much tech, there is more that can go wrong compared to lesser cars. But folks get hooked on them and forgive them of their misgivings due to the incredible ride and comfort they provide, as well as great performance, especially in the S600 and AMG cars.

It's best to search for one with low miles and a complete service history. As mentioned many times, you'll get your best deal on a warranty with low miles....and it's worth the premium to get a low mileage car. A warranty is pretty much a must for most folks because repairs can be stupid expensive. What might cost $500 on your Yukon might cost over $2500 on one of these cars. You can probably do a full brake job on your Yukon with rotors and pads for $600 or less. Expect to fork out around $2k or more on one of these beasts. You have to pay to play, but the game is fun!

Mike5215

Fair question. I try to limit the advice I give new owners or potential new owners to my personal experience, for whatever that's worth.

2005 S550 purchased CPO in 2007 with 40k miles on it. $13,000 in warranty repairs over two years. The only big ticket was $5,000 for the Airmatic system, which is a known and common point of failure. The rest was small stuff but it's hard to get out of the shop under a grand no matter how minor. Loved the car and decided to hang on to it after 100k when the CPO expired. Very bad idea, as the car ate a $6000 transmission at 103k miles.

2004 S430 in 2011 with 34k miles. Flawless car, perfect maintenance records. Not eligible for CPO based on age, but I only paid $21k for it. Bought an EasyCare service contract, which paid for itself over two years. Airmatic failure, bad differential bearings, leaking seals. Okay warranty experience, but usually a bit of back and forth to get stuff covered. For example, where CPO would have replaced the diff OEM, EasyCare would only authorize a salvage part. Parted with the car reluctantly when the miles ran over the warranty and EasyCare wanted $8,000 to extend.

2010 S550 CPO in 2013. $3,000 in warranty repairs to date, still have two years of warranty remaining.

That said, if you can eat a $5,000 repair and/or a string of $1,000 repairs I'd say roll the dice and self insure. For me, waiting for the next shoe to drop spoils the experience of owning an S Class and I'd rather throw a few grand at it up front and just enjoy the car during the warranty and then unload it. Plus I wouldn't feel comfortable putting money on mods with the uncertainty of repair costs hanging out there.

Prochambers

So is this why there are so many S550's are available for sale only after a few years of ownership? It seems many are leasing and unloading them once the lease is over!!!

DaveW68

Absolutely! These cars are mostly leased by execs, then turned in at the end so they can lease a new one. For me, I couldn't see forking over $1500+ per month to rent a car.