Rainman!

Here's the deal...
2008 E350 4matic CPO with 22,600 miles. Usual features-P1, Tex, etc.
Iridium gray with Macadamia interior...my preferred interior.
Same Dealer sold, serviced and then taken as trade
Dealer ask $33,700, price $29,900.

jcat

in a word, yes. that's a really good deal for CPO with that low annual mileage. Can't really go wrong there, plus since it was sold and serviced at the same dealer you have literally every service record at your disposal.

WEBSRFR

Go for it! That sounds like a great low mileage car. Especially if you plan to keep the car for a while I think it is a great find. The price is reasonable for sure and with all the black interiors it is nice you found the color you want. I had such a hard time buying my 211 because so many of the cars had black interiors.

Enjoy your car!

vettdvr

Do a search for reliability before you buy. Don't be emotional get the facts on the vehcile.

jcat

Man, you are SO bitter toward the 211 cars and MB as a whole. Why don't you just sell yours and stop coming on an MB focused forum??

All your gripes are mainly related to SBC and AirMatic. His 08 350 sport doesn't have either of those systems and MB had worked out most of the bugs by then.

JeffyPooh

2008s are supposed to be relatively free of most the major problems. I've only had the broken trunk lid wire problem in nine months.

On the other hand, I'm told that extended warranties are generally worthwhile.

jcat

On any car with parts/labor as expensive as these (bmw/audi are no exception) an extended warranty is worthwhile. Especially CPO

Rainman!

Are you saying I should look into an extended warranty in addtion to the 17 months remaining on the factory and CPO warranty?

BTW, sounds like you and vettdrvr have a little history, but his advice was sound. You can get caught up in the emotion of car buying, which is exactly why I came here for advce.

jcat

Absolutely. 17 months at the national avg of 1500 miles a month is only 25,500 miles, bringing you to appx 50k. You will want coverage to 100k if you can afford if. Not to say it WILL break, but if it does have a major failure just once, the warranty could pay for itself.

I'll agree there, but it's hard to take someone seriously who comes on a Mercedes board with the specific intent of bashing every car the brand makes because he bought the most notoriously problematic W211 model year. He damns any and all mercedes vehicles because of his one bad experience, when the car you're looking at has none of the problematic systems that his does, so it's not apples to apples.

XXBogey

Paid $29,700 for the same unit, 31,400 mls. inc. the Sport Package from a MB dealer in Pittsburgh. Arctic White with Tan int. Could not be Happier! Traded a '06 RL with 51,000 mls. PS. The 18" sport wheels are a PIA, cleaning wise. Was out of warranty (48 month) and I went for the 2 year CPO extension.

mhass350

Did you do it?

When I bought my 2009 last Friday I didn't purchase an extended warranty because it would have overlapped the remaining 22-months/23,000-miles on my factory. Granted I bought from a Porsche dealership and it wasn't CPOd.

If I had bought from a MBz dealer I would have up'd the CPO warranty for a few additional years. I drive less than 1000-miles/month.

If you don't get the warranty now, budget for it in 16 months or whenever your CPO runs out time wise - unless you drive a lot of miles. You can still have it CPOd (or re-CPOd as long as it falls within the current CPO stipulations) right before the warranty runs out.

Simply take it to the dealer before the warranty expires and they charge an hour of labor to check out the car and then you can make the purchase. I looked into this when my 2008 C350 warranty expired in Nov 2011 but I was fairly sure that I was going to trade it in so I took the chance for a couple months.

If I remember correctly, on my 2008 C350 with 43k and 1-month left on factory warranty (no CPO coverage) it would have cost $2200 for a 2-yr/24k, $2500 for a 3-yr/32k and $2900 for a 4-yr/42k. Not sure of the E350 price point but I imagine it is comparable.

Rainman!

[quote=mhass350;5103241]Did you do it?

I'm supposed to pick it up today at 5:00.

BTW, a little research from the November, 2010 Consumer Reports that I just read this morning...

Under the head of "Used-car alternatives" in a review of luxury cars.

"You can save or get more for your money by buying used. These luxury sedans offer a good mix of room, comfort, and performance. All vehicles have proven to be reliable for the model years shown (my emphasis added). The pricing shown assumes that the vehicles are in good condition and have reasonable mileage."

2008 Infiniti M35X (AWD)...$30,175
2008 Mercedes-Benz E350..$31,250
2008 BMW 538i.................$28,650
2008 Lexis LS460...............$43,450

Even more...

What was then the current year E350 at the time (assume it was a 2011) was listed as 7th and was...wait for it...RECOMMENDED.

XXBogey

[quote=Rainman!;5103274]Prediction: Your gonna..... LOVE IT!!!

mhass350

^^agreed
The wife is not happy so you know that means i'm enjoying, i.e., spending a lot of time with, my e350. I've had mine less than a week and I have already started with the mods.

barcheta

Depending on how long you intend on keeping it (I tend to keep my cars longer than most) I'd go as far as purchasing additional warranty coverage just to be safe. Eyes wide open contributes to good due dilligence.

XXBogey

[quote=Rainman!;5103274]Rainman....How about an update?

vettdvr

SO.. What's wrong with getting reliability before you buy. Don't be emotional get the facts on the vehcile. And making an informed decision. Why try to read what isn't there.?

Rainman!

[quote=XXBogey;5106783]Picked up the car Thursday night as expected....even my wife liked it! Sorry no pics yet.

Blue tooth adapter from E-bay in the mail arrived on Saturday. Wife.."How did that get here already?"

Not much of a mod guy, but do want the HID lights.

Still on the fence on the extended warranty, but I have 30 days to pull the trigger without a reinspection. Assume the price is negotiable, so any idea what I can do as far as a discount?


Now where's my Zaino?

XXBogey

[quote=Rainman!;5108592]In Feb.'12 I got a slight discount on two CPO years, which gave me 2 additional years or 135,000 miles of "bumper to bumper" coverage for $1,990. Got it down from $2295. Good Luck with your new Benz.