NOTORIOUS_FAP

This car I'm looking at has 114k km on it and he's asking $16,900 for it, I'm going to try and bargain it down. It's in good condition has the service history and everything, a new brake job and all.

But my question is I've heard about the prices people are paying for their cars here and they're very well priced. Where can I find these cars? I looked on autotrader.com and autotrader.ca and what I'm paying seems to be the going price for this car.

Yet I read someone paid $12k for a 2005 which I have no idea how.

Can anyone help me or explain to me how they found these deals? I live in Edmonton Alberta but I'm willing to drive for a good deal.

Thanks

cryhavoc38

research your pricing using nada.com or the kelly blue book web site
enter in the milage and the options and you should get a very good range of pricing for average trade in, average private party sale, and average Dealer retail.

For an 03 E320, the price the guy is asking seems way high.

We bought an 04 E500 loaded, for $15k just a few weeks ago and that was at the dealer.

NOTORIOUS_FAP

That's what I was thinking of offering, 15k that seems fair to me. What's your location and how much mileage was on your car when you bought it. Did you do a PPI as well?

JeffyPooh

My previous car (2004 C240 4Matic, 120k km) is on the market for $15k at the dealer. And that's 'just' a C class.

Prices in Canada seem to be a bit high, probably partly because of the ~52% residuals on 3-year olds combined with the history of the exchange rate, and partly just because.

There are also some differences in the included options. For my 2008 E350 4Matic, the list of equipment made 'standard' by MBC goes on for a couple of pages.

$16.9 for an '03 seems high. Maybe if it was loaded and perfect. The mileage is pretty low for the year.

Check the preowed MBs on the MBC website. Give you a good idea of the upper price point for nice cars.

JeffyPooh

E.g.

VIN: *WDBUF70J03A301009
(Google the VIN)...

Is E500 (!) with 115k km for $16.5k at a dealer.

NOTORIOUS_FAP

So I looked at the vin for this car and found out its a car from Eastern Canada which seems to be a big no no from everyone I've talked so far plus he's over charging so it's out of the question.

I looked at the Mercedes Benz Canada site and according to that I should expect to pay around $18 at the most. I'm only interested in the E320 which seems to be quite difficult to find right now I don't know why. They are a lot cheaper in eastern Canada and cost more here, which is for good reason I guess.

So would you guys agree with me that a 2005 E320 with between 100-120k km on it I should pay $13-$16k for?

JeffyPooh

What do you mean by eastern Canada?

There seem to be a lot of CPO cars coming out of Ontario and Quebec. Makes sense since that's where most of the new ones are sold.

NOTORIOUS_FAP

By eastern Canada I mean particularly Ontario and Quebec. They use salt in their roads during winter which really causes trouble with rust. When cars come here from there the under carriage and the suspension is usually rusted out and everyone I've talked to has said just avoid those cars.

This makes it quite difficult to find something nice on the western Canada side.

JeffyPooh

ON & PQ got nothing on NS. Here the temperature swings back and forth around 0°C all winter - much worse than ON & PQ.

You should probably judge rust on an individual car basis. There seem to be lots of very low km per year E-class, almost as if they were not driven much (like maybe not during winter?). My 3yo '08 E350 came from ON with just 24k km on the clock (8k per year).

By the way, well worth checking out what CPO cars are avaiable from the dealer network. I had a choice of several options and the dealer had the best deal - all things considered.

NOTORIOUS_FAP

Yeah I think that's going to be my best bet, unless something better comes up. I'm going to check out all the dealerships they have in Alberta often in case something comes up. I don't mind paying more for a CPO rather than a car with a lower entry price but a higher up keep.

I spoke with a mechanic and he told me the car had spent too much time in Ontario and there probably is going to be a lot of trust. It had spent almost 60,000 km of it's life there.

Do you think it's worth going down to the states to get a better deal, even with the added costs of making the car compatible with Canadian standards?

JeffyPooh

Buying a US car, you might save a few bucks, or you might buy into a cross-border nightmare.

At the risk of starting to sound like an advertisement... The MBC CPO system often offers extremely good lease or financing offers (not zero %, but pretty close).

The value of a warranty should not be underestimated.

Also, the dealers typically fix up any obvious defects. Plus they detail it so it looks new.

Be aware that the different models (E300, E350, etc.) not only have different size engines, but also have different trim level and features. The differences between E300 and E350 for example is a lot more than 500cc.

It took me several months searching and waiting for my car to magically appear. Good luck.

Gersh320

The only item that has gone 'wrong' with my 2003 E320 is the front right suspension has that infamous clunk sound gong over bumps at low speeds. Something about blue fluid that they used to fill one of the joints leaks.
My other suggestion is to have them remove the air box to inspect the gaskets and other items. Inspect the condition of the air filter elements, aux battery terminals, and under the car have them remove the skid plate to check for transmission and oil leaks.
Hard winters, check the CV boots; axles are extremely expensive on this vehicle.
I would also try to work out a deal where they change the oil/filter, differential oil, and all air filters.
Good luck on your search. Be patient, it will come. I absolutely LOVE mine!!!

50ae

I paid 18.5k for my 2005 E-CDI with 78k miles on it at the start of the year so 16K$ for an older car with way more miles on it and a gasser at that seems way high to me. I bought mine in Dallas. I would think you could fly to Dallas or Florida and even with the cost of the airfare and gas back you would be able to save quite a bit of cash and get a nice vacation out of the deal.

Gersh320

I agree, you could make a vacation out of it too . Lots of great deals on E class in TX. I nearly got mine from there as well.

JeffyPooh

"...way more miles..."

OP's 114k km < 78k miles (=124k km).

:-)

50ae

Darn you and your math, lol. Never the less, a gasser is cheaper down in Dallas.