alboogiee

i am planning on purchasing a C32, i have found the perfect one in the chicagoland area, currently i live in california and dont plan to take a trip back home to chicago to see this car... so a few questions about buying a car long distance.

1. what/how should i do this? i.e. i know cover carrier, but what should i ask the dealer for/show me about this car? i got the basics, pictures and car fax but how else can i verify this car is in good shape?

2. they are giving me the option to trade my current MB in for this one, plus of course shipping charges, should i do it? i personaly dont like the hassel of selling a car privetly.

3. should i go through with this? i know there are more C32's out there with the options/color/late VIN i want, but this deal seems really good, because of the low price, but with shipping and everything it will even out to what i would pay here in cali.

4. are there any advantages to regiserting the car in IL rather then CA? i am in the military so i legally can register my car where ever i want (as long as i have a mailing address) how much do you all pay for registration in CA?

thanks!

on a side note, (yes i have searched and seen almost all the responses to this but..) if anyone has any cautions, anything to specify look for on 2002 C32s, or a set of bad/good VINs speak up! deal is hopefully closing before dec 31!

thanks again!

Alex

genechien

personally, i would never spend that kind of money without first personally inspecting the car...i'd wait for something in cali to pop up.

desertsun

Ice...Salt Bad

Wait for Calif/SW car

C43AMG

I would also inspect the car personally. For all you know you could be buying a Katrina flood car.

alboogiee

good point... that didnt even cross my mind since they took pictures of the car while it was still nice out.

i am just an impatient *******, i want my C32 NOW!

alboogiee

what is with the headlight difference on these C32s? i have seen this before, both are xenon, same year, same options, just the clear lenses is a later VIN, is that what it is later vin=clear headlight??

alboogiee

it was in the car fax that it was not, apparently there was a group of peole that went through parking lots down there recording every VIN of the flooded cars,

also car fax is reporting every car in their reports that were ever registered in one of the areas the hurrican hit.

KEY08

Where is this '02 C32 coming from. I just turned my loaded Brilliant Silver in with 23,800 miles on it 2 weeks ago to MB of Arl. Heights, IL.

alboogiee

dont think yours is one of the ones i am picking from, the dealer i am working with currently has 3 02's and 2 03's, only 2 are loaded, and both have more mileage then yours.

btw the dealer is http://bentleydownersgrove.com/

KEY08

Good hunting!

amgmark

Hey man.. I also live in Cali.. I was considering buying a C32 from Texas because the price was unbelievable. I had been looking locally for about 2 months to no avail.. I almost pulled the tigger, but right before I did a local C32 came on the market, also at an incredible price. The Texas car was still cheaper, but I wouldn't have been able to inspect the car, and the shipping would have brought the price up to about the same as the Cali car especially when you consider the taxes, registration, etc..

If you live in So Cal you might want to check out Fletcher Jones, or MB of Laguna Niguel. I have noticed they seem to have a pretty good stock of C32's and they will carry the Starmark warranty, but the price will be much higher.

Price was a major factor for me so the dealer was not an option. I was able to pick mine up from a motivated seller locally here in SD for a great price, luckily they bought with the starmark and it transferred to me.

I would continue to look locally, you just may need to wait a few weeks/months for the right price.

Good luck!!

MarcusF

A car from Bentley Downers Grove . . . . . . . . . . . . site unseen???? Bently Downers Grove and Luxury Motors are the same place. There are tons of threads on a number of forums about them. I first heard of them on RennList, and it was substantially less than positive.

You may want to read this link, which was posted on RennList -

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/n...id=15636&rel=1

I've never personally dealt with them. They may be wonderful people, however . . . . .

http://euroteknik.com/forum/printthr...?t=10429&pp=40

You may want to read ALL the posts at the Chicago car forum

Marktini

PM sent.....

360_iti

Alboogie, I bought my C32 from across the country too, since it was reeeallly hard to find a white one locally. And I had never seen the car in person before. But everything turned out well. This is what I did.

1. Got info from Carfax.

2. I asked the seller to take the car to a local MB dealer for inspection. Then I contacted the service manager at the dealer directly and asked them to fax me a written report. Lucky for me, the car was in show room condition mechanically.

3. I faxed a set of questionaires that I downloaded from the internet and have the seller answered all the questions, signed it, and faxed it back to me.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/questions.html

4. After that I began shopping for an auto shipper to transport the car from Michigan to Colorado. Enclosed of course.

The only thing that I did not expect was rusting rear calipers. As to MB this is normal and considered purely cosmetical. Again, lucky for me that MB Glauser here in Colorado would replace them for free. Considering that the car that I purchased was from Michigan, you might have the same problem.

psk145

funny, I grew up in Downers Grove, and I would never imagine a Bentley dealer where it is now.

I bought my car unseen from a non MB dealer in michigan off ebay. Paid way less than I would have out here, and it came perfect as described.

MBLN has at least 2 used C32's in their lot as of last week

my401

there sure are a lot of comments about people lookin and buying C32s. However, I've had mine posted for a few weeks with no response. I would even pay (send) Southwest airfare for inspection if purchased. Check out previous post.

mez456

Do not buy a car with out looking at it in person first. I learned the hard way:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c55-amg-w203/111209-bummed-out.html

This was from a very large MB dealership in Boston. It all worked out in the end because the GM of the dealership made it right with a great deal on a C55 but he was the only one at the dealer worth a sh***.

Mez

alboogiee

thanks for all the info everyone!

really appreciate it! as for lux motors and bentley DG, i am going to call it off tomorrow after some good commercial sources say no. i also am gonig to scrape the idea of purchasing from afar, i am going to sit on my impatient butt and wait until the perfect car falls in my lap...

any year C32 reasonably priced w/existing starmark or CPO
LOADED all US available options
white w/blue glass
no previous modifications and low mileage <50k
must be purchased from dealer (preferable MB dealer) because of current car and being taken on price, i have to trade and finance the negative into the new car...alot of negative with almost no downpayment b/c i just spent god knows how much $ on the wifes VW Touareg (early X mas present)

i too am from chicago, and knowing the surrounding area i never would have expected a bently dealer in DG.

i too am looking for a white one, loaded, very hard to locate, as you can see i almost settled for a silver one...

i did see your car in the classifieds, but it is too nice for me and for reasons stated above i woudnt be able to purchase it, thank you for teh offer to fly me/anyone out, now that is a motivated seller! good luck with the sale.

bump on this post, anyone know the reason why headlights on the cars are different? i am very curious!

everyone, thanks for the quick responses on the car, glad i got the skinny on the dealer before i took delivery of a lemon!

mez456

I believe the clear lenses are the bi-xenon lights. Could be wrong though.

Mez

360_iti

The left picture is bixenon (optional on 2004 C32). The right pic is xenon (optional 2002, 2003). I hope I'm right about the years. Both versions use the same HID bulbs, just different housing, lens and the bixenon assembly is equipped with self-leveling motor.
BUT.. the left one could be 2002 / 2003 too, with a pair of aftermarket bixenons.

Harpinc

The light question is Clear=BiXenon, The other is not. I almost bought a car from the same place but observed some odd things. I have bought many high end cars Merc, Porsche etc... and have found THAT ALMOST NEVER IS A DEALER CHEAPER OR BETTER UNLESS IT IS A MERCEDES DEALER ETC... SO THEY CAN GIVE THE CAR CPO.. I found cars in the Great Lakes region and other northern regions go for much less than the Southeastern cars (where I live). Like the other post eluded to the reason is the conditions under which the car is driven. I always look at the money spent on plane fare as money gone. If the car does not meet my expectations or the description then it is a No-Go. Beware of the dealer that can help you out with everything. Good luck. What kind of car are you trading.

Harpinc

Oh yeh!! My paint meter has made many a dealer change his story about wether a car had paintwork or not...

MarcusF

Walter’s in Riverside, www.waltsmb.com, has a 2002 C32, desert silver/charcoal, 34,000 miles, CPO, $31,900 with the first two payments waved. If that's not what you want, I would email them and state exactly what you want and what you'll pay. Walter's will find you a car.