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W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
CPO Purchase (sight unseen) - Acceptable amount of damage expected?
I bought a CPO 2015 E400 from a Mercedes dealership and had it shipped to my local MB dealership due to the distances involved. My assumption was that it wouldn't be terrible due to being under both the original warranty and sold as a CPO car. I picked it up yesterday, and while it seems like it's mostly OK, I noted some damage while on a lift at my mechanic's today (see pics below). It's your average "hit a speed bump or curb" sort of stuff, although the passenger's side is bad enough that its visible from up top as well. It's not a huge deal, but I had assumed a CPO car wouldn't contain such obvious deficiencies. I've also included a screenshot of the CPO checklist that was supposedly performed as part of the certification process. There's also a chip/small crack in the windshield that I had planned on letting slide, along with two bent OEM wheels. Are my expectations simply too high here? I suppose shame on me for not having a PPI done remotely or traveling to buy, but again, I had hoped the CPO process would buy some assurances.
CPO Checklist provided by dealer showing these items as passed
Grrr, that's rough to look at, and should have at least been mentioned to you. Maybe price a repair to that section and see if they will help? I believe the CPO process specifically requires them to replace any damaged wheels. I assume that includes a bent wheel. Perhaps it's bent on the inside part of the barrel and they either missed it or figured it wouldn't be noticed right away and then they could blame it on you. I would bring that up as well. You have nothing to lose by asking for a little assistance here. Don't let it ruin the experience and post some photos of the better parts of this new ride! Congrats!
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by KEY08
Grrr, that's rough to look at, and should have at least been mentioned to you. Maybe price a repair to that section and see if they will help? I believe the CPO process specifically requires them to replace any damaged wheels. I assume that includes a bent wheel. Perhaps it's bent on the inside part of the barrel and they either missed it or figured it wouldn't be noticed right away and then they could blame it on you. I would bring that up as well. You have nothing to lose by asking for a little assistance here. Don't let it ruin the experience and post some photos of the better parts of this new ride! Congrats!
The bends are on the inside so can only be observed when the wheel is on a lift and spinning, my mechanic caught them. Going to think on the bumper damage a bit and see if it's worth making a stink over... happy with the rest of the car though (so far) I'll get some more pictures up this weekend after I get her washed (of course it was raining when I picked it up yesterday...). Here's a couple blurry ones in the meantime ;-)
That damage looks familiar. Was the same on my car. Its due to the fact that the front end is so low it constantly gets scraped up by parking lot dividers. Unless you never park in a garage or other lot, you'll probably do a bit of it yourself.
Now should that damage have been documented before they sold the car, absolutely. Will they do something about it, hard to say. You may have a few days since you bought it to back out of the deal depending on the state.
Is it a good idea to buy a car sight unseen? I don't think so. Even if you can get the seller to document every inch of the car, that still doesnt let you feel how it drives.
The under-splitter scrapes I would suggest is somewhat normal. If the truth were known, I bet most of us here would mention that they have similar scrapes from those horrid concrete parking stops. After a year avoiding them, I now have similar scrapes under my splitter, too.
The right-hand under-corner valence is a different issue. I would have thought the dealer would have told you about that one. I would take some scratch remover to it and see if you can polish it out. You'd be surprised how much damage is just paint transfer (in this case) from painted curbs, etc.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by DFWdude
The under-splitter scrapes I would suggest is somewhat normal. If the truth were known, I bet most of us here would mention that they have similar scrapes from those horrid concrete parking stops. After a year avoiding them, I now have similar scrapes under my splitter, too.
The right-hand under-corner valence is a different issue. I would have thought the dealer would have told you about that one. I would take some scratch remover to it and see if you can polish it out. You'd be surprised how much damage is just paint transfer (in this case) from painted curbs, etc.
Thanks for the input everyone. I agree about the valence/lip in the front. The passenger side is the bad one , where it's dug down through multiple layers of plastic. I can see that it was repainted once and has been gouged down even further. I went ahead and sent an email, not rude about it, just wanted to see if they're willing to do anything. I obviously have no recourse at this point, just relying on goodwill.
Double check the wheels. I bought mine on the same, or looking like (Made in Czech Republic) and all 4 wheels had damages.
Several cracks with no bends make me wonder about material quality.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by KEY08
Wow, that’s a beauty. I see the fat five wheels on your other E back there. I literally must have bent 4-5 of them on my E500. Super fragile wheel.
Those wheels on my W211 have been pretty good so far, but maybe that's because they're the 17" versions rather than 18"? To be honest I'd rather be running 17"s all around for various reasons. My mechanic told me the OEM AMG wheels seem overly fragile and they see bends all the time on them.
I own multiple makes of vehicles and participate in multiple forums. This is becoming more and more common as a post. I bought a certified used "X" without seeing it and had it shipped to me. I have now received it and it has problems...shouldn't that have been taken care of it since it is certified?
As much as people would like to make a used car just another commodity, they are not and are not going to ever be. Each one has been used differently, maintained differently, beat on differently, and each dealer has their own interpretation of what "certified" truly means. Far too often the dealer's idea, the manufacturer's idea, and the consumer's idea are going to be very different.
The "no-look" concept is not, contrary to modern belief, brand new because of the internet. More common certainly but not new. We were trying to sell them that way 50 years ago. It created problems and disappointment then and still does today. There is still no substitution for looking at the vehicle live and having it inspected by knowledgable people.
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