AlexH

Hello all,

6 weeks ago, I dropped off my '07 z4 coupe at CarMax (man, I miss that car) because I need 2 more seats to pick up a 2006 E350 with 27500 miles. I bought this car for $28500 with 3.9% APR. It is the Designo edition with navigation and CPO. I was surprised to find that the sticker on this car is nearly $61000. I have owned 2 BMWs and bought them both new with free service for 1st 4 years. Well, I am not getting the same pleasure with MB and do not intend to pay any dealers for maintenance as I do minor maintenance myself like oil and brake change. My question to everyone here is if you had ever encountered any problems with warranty repairs if you never took your car to a MB dealer for service and service it yourself. On a side note, did I get buried with paying $28500 for this car?

lkchris

You'd better do a LOT of reading about doing your own brake work, as it isn't old school at all. Have to turn off some electronics first.

K-A

The Price you payed is about right for a CPO more "special edition"-y version. I got mine for about the same Price, a fully loaded AMG Sport model. You could get them alot cheaper if you go for non CPO, higher Mileage, Indie lots, etc. Also the '09's just came out so I think Prices are dropping again.

Blue Book for these cars is waaaay higher than what we payed, but real world numbers and economy, etc. come into play to make it a different story....

Polar Bear

Sounds like a fair price. I think the CPO agreement states that if you do your own work that you need to maintain the receipts and document the work and the date and mileage it was performed. I don't think it gets much more specific than that. I imagine the only time you would be asked to produce such documentation would be in the event of an engine failure, etc.

What color Designo is the car? Sounds like a nice car.

AlexH

I am glad to hear that I didn't over-pay after I found out about this forum and the report of price reduction of the new '08s and arrival of new '09s. I am not too thrilled of the color. It's silver but somehow it looks like a cream with a hue of green in the sunlight.

I only did one oil change just to be on the safe side. I thought the BMWs are oil hog at 6.5 quarts but this MB requires over 8. To hit you more on the wallet it requires a weight that I could only find in Mobil 1. So far the car has a very high WAF and rides very stately. But I am looking to stiffen the ride just a bit.

007_e350

I think thats not a bad price .... I had been waiting for something to fit my budget so I got an 06 4matic 350 in pewter w/ 40k miles for $23.5 ... and thats not a CPO, its $3k alone for that and then add 2 grand for the lower mileage... good deal

Are you using 0w - 40w ? Only Mobil 1 has that viscosity rating .... I'm a big fan of Castrol not Mobil 1 but have no option .... have you looked at Amsoil (www.amsoil.com) .... they have 0w - 30w and I read some great reviews abt it

Barry45RPM

The car REQUIRES Mobil 1 for "Once a year" oil changes. Also the more oil in the crankcase, the longer the oil stays "clean" and cool, therefore the longer change interval.

Given the once a year/12,000 mile oil change interval, and the cost of a yearly dealership oil change, its not expensive when you consider that the average non-MB car owner changes his oil every 4,000miles/3 Months (3.5 X a year)... not a reason to get aggravated about.

senor samba

You said you purchased your car thru CarMax? and its certified? be sure the CPO warranty 9 you have)covers what a manufacturer MBCPO warranty covers. MBCPO warrantys cannot be rolled over from a person trading in their MBCertified car to a dealer. The MBCPO warranty will void if the car is traded in.
your E Klass looks nice! and you got a very good deal congrats...

AlexH

Yeah, I used Mobil 1. I think it's good oil but would rather prefer Castrol.

AlexH

Thank you! I actually sold the Z4 coupe to Carmax as the MB dealer was 4 grand off from Carmax. It's the second car I sold to Carmax. The nice thing with the MB dealer is they sent a driver who drove the E class with the diesel engine to pick me up at Carmax. I think it has pretty good pickup power and we got a few looks from other drivers on the freeway. If the price on the diesel engine is $5000 over the gas, I would prefer it over the gas model.

Dema

Did carmax give better price than trade in? I'm also a convert from Z4 to E350 because need more seats.

AlexH

Yes about $3000. In this economy, many dealers do not really want to take any trades.

mcleantmw

Don't forget that buying the Certified Pre-Owned Benz from a MB Dealer also gets you a 12 months/NTE 100,000 miles warranty which is worth its weight in gold. Did you also buy either the one year or two year extended CPO warranty from your MB Dealer? After mine expires in Jan 2010, I plan to buy a Warranty Directy warranty to cover any major component failures due to the high cost for repairs. And, other than oil changes, I'd check with your MB Dealer or contact MBUSA on what repairs you are allowed to perform yourself without voiding your warranty.

Untertürkheim

Honestly Castrol is an inferior oil, they use Group III base stock. If you want an excellent oil that is very available and not M1, get the Valvoline 5w40, that is also 229.5 rated, and amazon sells it.

K-A

Yeah, I got the extra 2 year Warranty, they had it listed for $3K but talked him down to "cost", which was $1,500. Yeah, I'm not really gonna touch the Car in fear of voiding Warranty, haha.

TPAbnz

Don't they also approve Kendall synthetic?