out and will buy my CL within a week (for decision time). what i am looking for:

2003 CL500 sport, exterior-brilliant silver, midnight blue, or mocha black, interior-royal blue, ash, or stone, options-keyless go, auto trunk, and heated steering wheel.

i need some purchasing suggestions, should i...
1. go to my local mercedes dealership and buy a cpo vehicle (either from in house inventory or mercedes-benz dealership only auction)
2. go to a used car dealership (i know someone there so i don't think it will be as expensive)

also, is cpo + extended warranty better or is an outside warranty company better? i am looking for the most protection for the money as far as term to milage.

 

I'm in the same situation as you, but I have already locked into the perfect choice for me. Going against my impulse to pay cash, I opted to finance my CL purchase so that I can utilize my cash for other business & investment opportunities.

I would recommend sourcing your MB from an actual MB Dealer to get that CPO vehicle. You'll have a whole lot less of a hassle & headache regarding the warranty b/c it'll be already taken care of. You can go to a non-MB used Dealer, but from what I understand, you will not be able to acquire a MB warranty on the same level despite what any used sales guy will tell you (Due to the vehicle being owned by a commercial non-MB establishment. It's a way the MB dealer network "looks" out of their own I guess). My choice is a CPO CL and warrantied til 2009/100k with no deductible.

I'm not sure what benefits, if any, an outside warranty would have.

There are several non-MB warranty companies that are available. Between your Used Dealer contact & everyone else on this board, you'll be able to find a good fit.

Now, there is a 3rd option. If you're lucky, you could find the perfect private vehicle that is already CPO'd. Hopefully your finance company permits a used private vehicle transaction. My Financial Advisor recommended JJ Best Banc & Co.. Although I only spoke to them briefly, they seemed professional and courteous and created a package that worked for my needs in a privately owned vehicle transaction.

Good luck on your search.

 

Lexlyf is correct Phat Ho. The most overriding concern you should have with buying a CL is warranty work. The CL is an amazing car. One of the best coupes in the world. In my opinion, the best actually. But it is not the most reliable, sadly. Its still more reliable than like a Ferrari.. or an Aston Martin, but you have two things working against you. TONS of electronics in this car, and a car that is VERY expensive to repair.

If you think you are getting a good deal on a car, you can lose ALL your savings with one trip to the dealer. There are a number of board members here and at benzworld.org that have older CL's and live with some problems as they are just too costly to fix.

My power folding mirrors are not snapping back to place right now. They have been working on it for 3 days. Its a minor issue, but I would be horrified of the bill. I have actually had a repair bill, covered under warranty, that was close to $30,000. Think about that. They couldn't locate the problem so they just started replacing parts. Turned out to be a very simple thing at the end.

If you are going to keep this car for a while, you do not want to be without a warranty.

Now there are aftermarket companies, and some members have had good luck with them. But know this... it is the dealer's OPTION whether to accept your warranty or not. They don't like it because they have to prove the work, then wait to get paid. Some are afraid of certain companies and will not do the work at all. The only warranty that obligates every MB dealer to work on your car and covers pretty much everything, is the Mercedes Benz CPO warranty.

So to me, this is critical. You can try to save some money on a used car from a used car dealer or some auction, but you are one ABC suspension problem away from losing all your savings.

So how do you get a CPO warranty? You will not get it through a used car dealer. Only an MB dealer.... or, you make a private party transaction between you and another owner whose MB is CPO. Problem with that is there aren't many private parties that sell CL's. Most get traded in because the owners are affluent and don't care.

Here is my recommendation. Find the car you want at an MB dealer. You can search through MB's website of all USA dealer's inventories. These cars will generally be clean, not having been pulled off a levy in Louisiana. They haven't been sitting in some used car dealer's lot with every employee taking turns at taking it home because its the coolest car on the lot.

Once you find what you want, narrow it down to a few vehicles, and start bargaining. Tell them you get another one at such and such place and price. They are there to sell cars too. And I find they are more willing to bargain than a regular used car dealer. They have lofty prices because some poor older couple will walk in that can't tell a CL from a motorscooter and they pay top dollar. But I have been able to bargain with MB dealers some substantial amounts. Don't be put off by the high original asking price. If you live in a cold climate, buying a CL in the dead of winter is the best thing to do.

At an MB dealer a CPO car will have an extra year of warranty only. You will have the choice of another year, or two years of going beyond that extra year. I recommend you do it. Even if you don't use it, it will make the car much easier to sell as the next buyer will be in the same shoes you are in now.

You just have to be patient, and search. And remember, that the cheapest car to buy is not the cheapest car to own. Pay more for a good car. Most of my friends who are in the car business told me that I paid Waaaay too much for my car. They were all wrong. I bought a cherry one-owner car after searching for a year. I knew CL's better than anyone. I picked up a very low milage, garage queen that had every option in the right color.

So don't panic. Find the right car. When it comes time to sell, you will get a lot more money back for it. And your investment will have been a much wiser one than if you bought cheap, spent a ton of money on repairs, then sold cheap because it was not so desirable a unit to start with.

I think you know the options:

CL2 AMG sport package (about 5K new)
Keyless Go (about 1K new)
Parktronic (about 1K new)
Distronic (about 3K new)
Trunk Closer (about $600 new)
Tire Pressure Monitoring (about $600 new)
Ventilated seats (standard on the 600, option on the 500).

1 year extended CPO warranty starts the day your factory warranty ends. Always ask for the car's "in service" date. Thats the date the warranty started. You can buy a 2003 whose warranty started in october 2002, or you can buy one that started in January 2004. Obviously one car is more valuable than the other. This should be one of your first questions.

Also, I know you are considering a 500, but from a financial standpoint, a 600 may be a better option. It is a car that was significantly more expensive, and has already taken its hit. It is much more rare, and as a used car, you are getting more for your dollar.

I still know the CL market very well. Feel free to PM me or e-mail me with cars you find and are unsure about. I will definitely give you advice and insight.

Good luck.

 

O.K. damn...great advise.. just a few more thoughts..

Let me start with just saying $30K for a mirror problem...??what the F$#!!!..luv those mirrors folding and actually use them more than I ever imagined...but 30?

That said...I'd like to inspire you to look at an AMG car..once you go there...you will NEVER go back..600 is an awsome machine...but gotta say my 55 is a great alternative.

Agree with recent post that YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR...maintenance can be heart breaking...I had issues with ABC, ventilated seats and most recently the AIS..would have been extremely painful if not for Starmark!

Warranties are these cars are GOLDEN...

Good Luck!

 

wow. i think that was more thorough than my senior thesis. when you stated "your investment will have been a much wiser one than if you bought cheap, spent a ton of money on repairs, then sold cheap because it was not so desirable a unit to start with" this is exactly what happened when i had my 2001 bmw 740iL, i dumped it in 2 years. i thought i was gonna die. anyway, again...wow. i WILL check back after a few visits to my local dealers. thank you so much.

 

hey lexlyf, do you really own BOTH the turbo busa AND the 9R? i mean, death wish anyone? you might be able to travel back in time with that busa. my god! i mean turbo charging a busa? doesn't it already do 200mph?

 

haha I didn't even notice his Hayabusa was turbocharged... he does have an interesting array of toys.

 

I agree a 55 is also a good car to look at. In fact as a whole, the 55 holds its value the best of the three.

There are many more 500's. I know you are going for an 03 because of the redesign, and that's not bad thinking.... but the major change in 03 came to the 55's and 600's, not the 500. If your budget is limited, you can consider an 01/02 600 or 55. I think you will enjoy owning one more.

Listen, a 600 was valuable enough to someone to pay a $50K premium over a 500. Now that premium in the used market is somewhere around 10K, give or take a little. That represents more of a bargain.

I am not saying don't get a good '03 500, I think its a great choice, especially a clean one. But also consider the 55/600 as they are the better value and are more likely to depreciate slightly less at this point.

 

It was a few small electronic glitches. They relaced EVERYTHING. The plus was I gained some cool extra features. Mirrors don't auto fold on lockup on 02's. Now mine does thanks to the new parts. Anyway after changing all these electronics including the main ECU, an MB rep flew in from Florida and figured out it was.... (drumroll here)... THE BATTERY. Its voltage was slightly too low. They put in a new battery and all was fine.

The bill was $30,000. Or the price of a new Acura. I was just thanking God for the warranty. At least I got all these new parts including a brand new battery.

 

Haha!

I just caught this. Yeah...it's true. Even my daily driving Lexus GS300 was turbocharged. It's due back in the shop this week to reinstall the turbo (will run @ 1 bar).

The turbo Busa was an impulse buy last summer. Me & a good friend actually drove my 911 turbo out to Ohio (a great trip out to begin with), picked up the Busa & I rode it all the way back to Maryland from Ohio, while my buddy drove my 911 back behind me. The Busa turbo'd is a bit on the silly side. The bike literally wants to wheelie 1st through 3rd gear under part throttle. Even better, the sound of the HKS blowoff valve sounds crazy when I'm changing gears or backing off throttle in traffic.

Performance engineering, manufacturing & distribution is and always will be part of my soul, thus the interesting array of "weapons" in the "shed."

Anybody shopping for a 650rwhp targa Supra or turbo Busa??!!

"I'll make you good price!"

 

Marken those two toys are both very unique, have you tried e-baying them?

 

As soon as I get them out of storage & get them detailed, on ebay they will go.

With the addition of the CL600 to the arsenal , there is just no need for them. During '06/'07 winter, I'm thinking it's Gallardo time. I am that sick ba$ta#d!

 

I didnt read AMG2GO's post, but I always advocate going to the dealer over "car lots", for another reason over the warranty. You can get a SWEET deal at the dealership (sometimes).

In many cases you can get into dealer financing (lower rates), as well as the service and piece of mind that comes with a "sound" car, or at least legal recourse if its a lame duck.

Also remember that while we all love the CL, many dealers are looking to move units and a 3 yr old CL is not as desirable as a 2005 so they may be willing to wheel and deal to move older stock.

I recently purchased a BMW and the package that I got from the dealership couldnt be touched by a car lot

 

EDIT: I just read AMG2GO's post and it is more exhaustive but DEAD on. I have seen so many people driving luxury cars with "christmas tree" dashboards because they cannot afford repairs.

The funniest thing about that is, the first thing people say when they get in is "Nice car, whats up with the lights on the dashboard?" LOL

The dealer lot comment is another great one, because thats exactly what they do, beat the hell out of the baller car and then sell it to you.

 

 

why do you need them? do the search yourself! www.mbusa.com, do a national CPO search then call and get the details, pics. If local dealers don't have it on their lot, they could care less about helping you. You gotta do it yourself.

 

but no luck, i mean very limited. i also called around from local newspaper listings the result was only frustration. BUT>>>i did get a call this afternoon and they found 3 from their mb auction buyer. 2003 black/black and black/ash both cars with no keyless go. they are talking about a third car silver/ash with keyless go and will call me tomm. on the price (i hope). all cars had acceptable miles w/sport pkg.
quest: if i successfully nego. with a mb dealer from way far out of state, how do i inspect the condition to see if it is acceptable? i mean, is it not all relative? i want something brought near to me to so i can check it out in person.

 

well you are spending 50K+ so a $200 plane ticket if all else sounds good may not be a big deal. You have to be patient. It takes a long time to find a good car. Keep looking... you will find it. Keep checking MBUSA and keep making calls.

 

especially to AMG2GO and rtgogo . wow, what can i say...for the very few moments in my life i took the advice instead of going against it. i DID find and negotiate a better deal with a dealer that already had one in stock. it was a local trade by some lady named mary something. anyway, it it is brilliant silver with ash interior and dark wood grain trim. 2003 sport, parktronic, distronic, auto trunk, keyless GO, pretty much fully loaded. the only thing that was missing that i wanted was a heated steering wheel. the condition is showroom, it still smells new, 23000 miles . they had it for $63,000 but they wanted to move it quick for the end of the month (i didn't have the money anyway) and i bought it for $57,000. i also extended my warranty for 2 extra years, out the door i paid $61,500 (actually i have to pay dekalb county, georgia tax so guess i am not out the door yet). i drove from atlanta to nashville to buy this car. there is some minor curb rash right at the underside of the spoiler near front bottom sport grille. it looks like surface scratches since it did not grind the paint off. i really want to take care of this, it bothers me even thought it is not noticable. driving it down from tennessee was A_W_E_S_O_M_E. it IS the ultimate long range cruiser . this post is kinda blabbering, like a 13 year old cheerleader on a cell phone but i can't help it.
where can i get a good price for a CL55 grill (the factory silver grille, i promise i will not put AMG badges on my car) and a new mesh grille between the fog lights (this one is dented)?
thank you all, i love it

 

Wow.

It sounds like you have had a life altering experience. Good for you. I'm glad it worked out for you and you have an extended warranty to boot. Wait til you have to utilize that bay boy (warranty) for the first time. You will not be sorry.

Reading your experience, makes me want to wrap my CL deal up tonight & fly to Beantown, but my situation is slightly different. Hopefully, I'll be set by the weekend.

BTW, let's get some pics of the new bam-bi-no in the MB family.

 

i'm gonna do a different superhero emblem for each double deuce rim: batman, spider-man, punisher, and daredevil....or maybe i'll just play a porno on the nav screen to cruise peachtree street