Great deal for you! I have an independent dealers license and after 10 years I can never figure out why big franchise dealers will let the car go to wholesale after 90 days but not try to sell retail for like 31k. Does your dealership do that too?

 

I think this must be before Internet. The playing field is more even nationwide. You can buy online and even at the auction I see people from across the country bidding on cars 20 states away.

 

Me too.

 

Do you do this as a business or just for your personal vehicles? I don't mind buying most things over the internet, but I am not sure I have the guts to do it with a car.

 

I used to do it as a large part time business.. did about 180 cars a year. Now my main prof is more busy so I do just a 10-15 cars a year, a lot for friends and some to just "keep me in the loop". I made little per car compared to large dealerships but kept my overhead real low. Indoor warehouse style. That is the best way, people who come see you are not tire kickers to waste your time.

You learn from your mistakes. I know which auctions to trust there condition reports and which not to trust. I know anything is ok to recon except a smokers car. That is hell to deal with, the auctions do list that info now but dealers generally do not.

The knowledge of the business helps. For example I just got a X3 for my wife that was previously bmw certified in 2013 and was traded in to a porsche dealer in 2014. Well bmw CPO carries over no matter who owns in unlike mb cpo, even if it goes to dealers or auctions. (they changed this in 2014) so i got a CPO bmw for under normal wholesale price. At a bmw dealer that is 4-5 k more at least. I can turn around and make a little on it but my wife likes it too much.

But yes it takes ***** and a lot of trust to buy a 40k car online sight unseen. You can get a feel of who to stay away from. Shady car lots, American dealers like ford franchise etc, these seemed to have the typical "used car salesman" ppl employed that would say any lie to make a sale.

I just picked up a mint 2012 Hyundai Sonata SE for a great deal if anyone is looking

 

While it seems like a business I would enjoy if I had the time and could partner with someone knowledgeable, I have never enjoyed the selling part when dealing with the general public. I would rather be the guy who helped friends and family get a good car at below retail price. Last car I owned I sold to a coworker for their kid. Car was in great shape, well maintained and they saved some money and I saved some time. I could have tried selling it myself and likely made hundreds more, maybe even a grand more, but I hate wasting my time with lowballers and tire kickers, as you say. Peolple don't show up to meet you or spend an hour going over the car and then try to get thousands off your asking price. I told my coworker the price - no haggling - they knew it was a good car. They waited a month for me to purchase my replacement car and then we closed the deal at the bank together - stress free. They would have waited another month if I needed them to.

 

I work for a large corporate dealer group,if a car does not sell within a certain period of time they will keep dropping the price or send to another one of the groups dealers or wholesale the car,in our case a Mercedes Benz dealer is right across the freeway so it is harder to sell MB cars here.Lets face it as a Lexus dealer MB are direct competition so most people who come in here are looking for a Lexus not a Mercedes.

 

I bought my 1st MB a 2004 E320 from a Toyota dealership. The same guy that owned this dealership also owns the MB dealer a few miles away. An older lady traded it in in 2006 on an Avolon and they were unable to move it like Michael stated. People aren't going to a Toyota dealership looking for a Mercedes. I always wondered why they didn't send it to the MB dealer which my sales person said that was their next move if they can't sell it. Anyway I was shopping for one and stumbled across it, absolutely mint 25k miles OTD for 35k after much haggling, they were asking 39,900. This car has leather and woodgrain steering wheel so a few perks. It stickered for 55k and the best I could do locally was 40k CPO on the same car with more miles. It's my current DD and I love this car. They did give me a 5 year warranty included in that price. But if you can turn a wrench, these cars are easy to work on.

 

I search thru www.mbusa.com cpo inventory. The '11's are running in the low to mid-40k's. How overpriced is that??? Please advise. Also, how would I get the CPO warranty unless I get the car from the dealer?
Thx.

 

As far as I know, only Mercedes can CPO a car, and the vehicle still must be under factory warranty. Normally, they take in a trade/or buy back a lease, if it passes the CPO certification, they slap 3-5k markup and sell it. If there is something wrong with it or has higher miles, it will be auctioned and some off lease company will pick it up, or sold without CPO certification.

With CPO, you will have an option to extend it for 2 more years, I was quoted $2500 when I got my E350.

 

I believe the MB extended Limited warranty (better coverage than the CPO) can be bought for an additional 3 years beyond the initial 4/50K warranty as long as bought via MB dealers while the car is still in that initial warranty period and meets some other criteria. There are several MB finance people at dealers whom are recommended and will sell remotely.

 

^ You can extend Limited warranty, I was quoted $2500 3/75k total miles, $3000 3/100k total miles. CPO has an advantage of unlimited mileage.

If you do not buy the car from MB dealer, get the vin and verify if the car qualifies, dealer that gave me the quote said some vehicles may not qualify.

 

If you can save enough money buying a non-cpo to cover the MB extended warranty, that is a no-brainer unless you drive a lot of miles. The MB extended is better than CPO.

 

There is a poster with access to the Mannheim auction data and will periodically post it. If I remember his last post good condition low mileage E550's were in the $33-37 range. Assuming $1K to get the car ready for sale, the cost of the CPO warranty,profit and overhead I would assume $38-$43 would be the range from a dealer.

The extended warranty is better than the CPO unless you drive a lot. Then the unlimited mileage on the CPO warranty is a great deal.

 

Latest auctions for 2011 550 W4: high price at $31K, low $24K, average $27K. Estimated Retail is $31K - $37K. Very low number of cars however - about a dozen June 4 to July 2.

 

the Above Average Low Mileage ones are a little more at least on manheim, but there aren't very many like you said - 2wd


Above Average Below
Sale Price $33,467 $29,344 $25,221
Odometer 22,411 44,821 67,232
Total Sold All 10



06/17/14 DALLAS Lease $30,100 41,008 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
06/18/14 PALM BCH Regular $32,000 34,833 Above STL GRY 8G A Yes
06/19/14 RIVRSIDE Lease $27,750 44,931 Avg CPR BLU 8G A Yes
06/23/14 DFW Regular $37,100 25,914 Above White 8CY A No
06/24/14 HOUSTON Lease $24,400 78,108 Below GRAY 8G A Yes
06/25/14 SF BAY Lease $32,500 27,175 Above STL GRY 8G A Yes
06/25/14 SF BAY Lease $31,250 36,322 Avg DIA WHT 8G A Yes
06/25/14 ATLANTA Regular $31,100 29,629 Avg SILVER 8G A Yes
07/02/14 DALLAS Regular $27,500 51,236 Avg BLUE 8G P Yes
07/02/14 CALIFORN Regular $27,500 60,147 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes

 

I think I found the 6/19 listing bolded above for sale at Carmax in Oxnard, CA. The sale date is close but the mileage is spot on in the autocheck report. Blue 2011 E550 P2 with distronic and night vision. Wood looks faded but car is still under warranty for another month or so before time lapses. They bought it for $27,750 and are selling for $6k more at $33,998.

 

I too have a dealer's license here in NJ. And like the other gent in VA, It's a side gig... I do 2 cars a month or so...

I stumbled across my 2011 E550 w4 at Manheim NJ on 7/02. I had taken a couple days off surrounding the holidays. So I figured I might as well go to the auction to see how things are. I ended up with a 2011 e550 w4, sport, p2 pano, parking sensors, massage driver seat etc. Had 64k on the odo but had a 4.4/5 Condition report, clean carfax, and was being sold by a local new car BMW store. Paid a song for it.

Other than needing new rotors / pads up front (bc of the typical shimmy "warped rotors") the car is perfect. So there ARE deals to be had if you are patient and have access to the auctions - or someone willing to buy a car out of the auction for you.

Take care,

George

 

Given how few E550's showed up on that June monthly report, you were lucky they had one available - one in good condition at that. Did you go over the car thoroughly before bidding? Do they let you drive it so you knew about the rotors beforehand?

And if you don't mind, can you share how much the song was?

 

If you've never been to a dealer auction you wont quite understand just how the process works. It's not like going to a used car lot. You can walk around the car, hear it run (while a driver is driving it through the lane - waiting in line etc), look and see what lights are on, feel if the AC is cold, but that's about it. Sometimes if you get there early enough you can sit in it and maybe start it of your own volition, but no you can't drive it. You CAN arbitrate it (assuming it was sold green light) until 5pm that day. What that allows is you to bring the car back IF there is a mechanical problem exceeding $500. If the auction determines there is a problem, you can either refuse the car, or renegotiate with the seller. Wear items - tires, brakes etc do NOT count.

There were actually TWO e550 w4's at the auction. One with 56k in black, which brought 30,900 and mine which is silver had 63k and I scored for 23,200 - plus auction fees of about $450. Mine was in the first 10 cars to run, it was 100+ degrees out, on a holiday weekend.

Take care,

George

 

No I have never been to one since I don't have access. It seems like it would be interesting to see though. Shopping there is another story, but I could see how if you knew what you wanted and could be patient then you could eventually get something close to what you want if you were willing to travel to get it. None of those reported sales were within 500 miles of me.

And thanks for sharing the prices. That is quite a price difference between those two cars over just 7k difference in miles. To your benefit of course. Seems like a good find.

 

Yeah I'm happy. I could take it to the PA auction (which is the biggest one in the country) and easily make 2-3k conservatively if not more. But I actually wasn't looking for an e550 or any car in general. Yes I knew it was going to be there because there is a pre-sale list, but I was honestly just browsing... But that's the thing with the auctions, you have to make spur of the moment split second decisions. When the bidding stalled (or should I say dropped so low) I had to raise my hand.

Any licensed dealer can purchase a car through any Manheim auction in the country, either in person or online. As drsaab was saying, you have to reply on condition reports, instinct, and well, ***** to buy a car sight unseen. I've done it many times for many people, but I usually stay within cars that are under factory warranty when buying blind.

My brother actually buys and sells cars in Miami and goes to the west palm beach and orlando auctions regularly. He usually deals in higher end stuff. RR's, Bentleys, Near new 911's etc. But he can scope out a car in person if needed.

These are the transactions for e550 RWD cars in the past month:

06/17/14 DALLAS Lease $30,100 41,008 Avg WHITE 8G A Yes
06/18/14 PALM BCH Regular $32,000 34,833 Above STL GRY 8G A Yes
06/19/14 RIVRSIDE Lease $27,750 44,931 Avg CPR BLU 8G A Yes
06/23/14 DFW Regular $37,100 25,914 Above White 8CY A No
06/24/14 HOUSTON Lease $24,400 78,108 Below GRAY 8G A Yes
06/25/14 SF BAY Lease $32,500 27,175 Above STL GRY 8G A Yes
06/25/14 SF BAY Lease $31,250 36,322 Avg DIA WHT 8G A Yes
06/25/14 ATLANTA Regular $31,100 29,629 Avg SILVER 8G A Yes
07/02/14 DALLAS Regular $27,500 51,236 Avg BLUE 8G P Yes
07/02/14 CALIFORN Regular $27,500 60,147 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes

AND HERE IS E550W4 4MATIC CARS

06/11/14 KC Lease $28,000 50,784 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
06/12/14 PA Lease $27,500 67,311 Avg BLACK 8G P Yes
06/12/14 PA Lease $27,500 55,976 Avg BLACK 8G P Yes
06/13/14 PA Regular $28,500 53,444 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
06/25/14 KC Lease $28,000 50,237 Avg STL GRY 8G A Yes
06/26/14 PA Lease $35,250 32,579 Above ARC WHT 8G P Yes
06/26/14 PA Regular $27,500 60,031 Avg IRI SIL 8G P Yes
06/27/14 PA Regular $26,750 68,778 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
07/02/14 NJ Regular $30,900 56,406 Avg BLK 8G A Yes
07/02/14 NJ Regular $23,200 63,981 Below SILVER 8G A Yes


What's interesting is that Manheim automatically considers my car "below avg" condition because it did so much less than all the others... Even though it's near perfect and had a 4.4/5 condition report.

Take care,

George

 

Good to know there is a presale list so you at least know what to target. I suppose they let you see pictures and condition reports ahead of time. And if there is a VIN on display you could check the history.

Rather than sell it, you can drive it for a few years and probably sell it for what you paid easy. Well done.

 

You always have access to the vin year make and model before the sale. They are required to register a car for sale at the auction. Pictures, and furthermore condition reports are at the discretion of the seller. He/She can add pics online which will be visible. Condition Reports actually are paid for by the seller and require the vehicle to be left at the auction earlier. But with all the online bidding going on, they are becoming more and more commonplace, as people become more comfortable buying sight unseen.

I really like the car, and I do think I will keep it for a while... A few years ago I had an 04 e500, they have sure come a long way since then.

Take care,

George

 

Another opinion - I have purchased and sold a lot of high end cars for my personal enjoyment. I never bought the cheapest car, or an auction car ever. I want to always know the detailed history, the service, ownership, and different states the car has been in or through. You get what you pay for, and that is called "minimizing your risk" with any high end car. Due diligence is not looking at a car in an auction line.