Jorge18

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...09898288&Log=0

I know it's tough to gauge a car by pictures online, but anything I should be looking at?

Is there a quick way of knowing if the car has the Airmatic suspension?

konigstiger

Standard suspension, no airmatic.

Jorge18

That's awesome...thank you for that.

Anything that you can see that's missing from this car?

cc16177

It doesn't appear to have distronic... not sure if you're worried about. I can say it's one of the best things about the car in my opinion!

Jorge18

Hm, you're right. I guess that's why the price is as low as it is.

Airmousam

Small % have distronic, great option, but not a deal breaker

No split rear seats, no pano, no massage seats....but if the carfax is clean and it was not owned by 20 people...price looks like a very good starting point. Good luck

Jorge18

That's true. Carfax is squeaky clean, and looks like it was only one owner.

Any opinion on how much I should be paying for this particular vehicle?

thefisch

Actually, sometimes options like distronic are not reflected in the price when buying used which is strange given how much that costs up front. The biggest factors are age, mileage, condition, etc.

Options are a personal choice. This one seems well optioned but doesn't have everything. I don't have split rear, pano or distronic and have managed to survive somehow. If those are important to you, then wait for the right one.

However, this car looks clean. I can't comment on price but I am sure you've done your research online.

hyperion667

for the miles and year, seems like a fair deal........offer 28 and see where it goes

Johnny Rad

Agreed; looks really nice. One more thing to check is the service records, which your local stealer can / may share with you.

Hive: What's "919, aircon cooling power pack" and "J81, June release?!"

The A/C in my '12 blows in a bad way. Maybe Merc saw fit to upgrade it in '13? --> Turns out that I've also got this code noted on my '12 build sheet, so it's not new for '12.

Does June release mean an early production for that model year? If it is, it wouldn't bother me since the W212 had been around for a few year already. Just wondering.

Johnny Rad

UPDATE: I just checked and my '12 Merc also has the "919, aircon cooling power pack" so it's not new for '13. I don't want to think about how sad my A/C would be without the "power pack!" [Yes, I had the stealer check it out and it's "operating as designed" or similar.]

cc16177

It is a good price. I paid $30,500 for my 2011 E550 with a 3 year CPO warranty and that was 6 months ago with 47k miles.

I would have loved to buy a 2012 or newer for the better engine but I wanted distronic etc which pushed those out of my price range.

jonUF02

I had my eye on that one too. Looks like the price has come down a few thousand over the past couple months. It's a good deal for a 2013 with average miles, just about the cheapest around right now. I'm still getting autotrader alerts for 2012-2013 E550 for the whole country.

Looks like a P2 package, but none of the above-and-beyond options like Pano, distronic, dynamic seats. It's a great car, you'll love it. Anything under $30K for a 2012-2013 model is a good deal as long as the history is clean. Check the Carfax for damage reports and service history.

My A/C blows colder than any other car I've ever had. I leave it set on 75 and it freezes me out.

Jorge18

Something I noticed on the Autocheck...There's nothing in the report between the time the car is first registered (195 miles) to when the car was sent for auction (42,062 miles).

Would you consider that a good or bad thing?

jonUF02

Not necessarily bad. I have a 2012 Nissan bought new, now has over 60K on it, and has never once seen a dealer to be recorded. I have only changed the oil and rotated tires in my driveway (Mobil 1 every 5-6K miles), and just recently put new tires on it at Firestone. So I'm sure my Carfax would show nothing.

I would say that most new MB buyers are not the type that would do this, and most reports show regular dealer service when the idiot light for service goes off, they just take it in.

I went to one dealer who showed me Autocheck report on a 2004 E55, then I ran my own Carfax on the same car. Carfax showed a ton more history than Autocheck; to the point I would say Autocheck is useless.

Jorge18

Thanks that's what I figured.

Only thing that worries me is that Autocheck shows that the car had frame damage, but I ran an Epicvin report and that doesn't show any sort of damage.

Cao Black

I would try to determine if it actually have damage. you

LOL. Tried that initial response on a tablet. Not so good, sorry. I would try to make the seller sign something, an affidavit, that no frame damage has occurred. You don't want those potential headaches.

Johnny Rad

Frame damage?! Bam, I must've missed that bombshell earlier.

You don't want the hassle of dealing with it when you sell later? I also wouldn't want the hassle of trying to get the record expunged assuming it truly hasn't had frame damage at some point.

Keep looking. Find one without a story that doesn't start with "I know what it says, but it really hasn't been upside down in a ditch... not exactly anyhow." The E550 isn't not that rare to put up with this baloney.

MBSebas87

haha same here. I would pass man

homeofstone

Frame damage. Walk away or don't pay more than 25k out the door.

badbenzz

That's why its priced where it is

Jorge18

I'm still going to look at the car. If it, in fact, doesn't have frame damage then I can get a great deal on the car, and I'll use it to my advantage.

I find the autocheck very weird, because it doesn't show any accident, it just shows that a dealer reported it as frame damage.

Jorge18

Another thing...I spoke to someone at Mercedes, and they tell me that it is available for an extended warranty. Would they provide a warranty for a car that has actual frame damage on?

thefisch

Even if you don't think it is damaged, it is on the autocheck report so anyone you sell it to in the future will think it does. Seller should be able to explain the report damage.

Extended warranty is available since it is still under factory warranty. It has nothing to do with whether or not it's been in an accident. Of course they won't cover damage as a result of the accident.

thephantom

Typically Carfax is useless when it comes to the important information like frame damage, flood, accidents. However, it's more "showy" with maintenance records. Autocheck is more reliable when it comes to reporting damages.