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So, someone rear ended me in my trusty and very much loved 2008 CLK350. I combined the little my insurance company gave me with some cash I had on hand and started searching for a replacement. After a bad experience with various private owners and used car dealers, I finally settled on this car from Carvana.
Any experience with Carvana? Good or bad? Did i get a decent deal considering the market? What tips do you all have for me?
I plan to drive the family on a long trip to see my parents (Savannah to Pittsburgh) the next day. So I am trusting that Carvana did the inspection and reconditioning well.
I would plan a few days before hand for your test drive since you did not get to do that yet.
I think they have a 7 day or so give back if you do not like it.
With that mileage I would question brake pad life, tire tread, has it had all those MB services? etc etc.
Ideally I would not have planned it this way. But it is what it is. I am supposed to get it Friday at 6:30PM. We leave early Saturday morning for Pittsburgh.
You are right about the 7 day trial period.
Carvana does a 150 point inspection to include brake pads, belt condition, tire tread, etc...
I’ve seen some really bad Carvana purchases, so take that 150 point inspection with a grain of salt. I hope it works out for you. Search Carvana on this site or other car sites for some reality stories.
For an 8-year old car, I think the mileage is within the average range (10K per year). For a 4-matic, The VIN doesn't reveal any other options beyond P1, such as the expensive to repair airmatic susp. Which is fine by me. The wood trim is typically faded (see contrast in the console pic below). You will have to decide if you like it, as it is expensive to replace.
I think it's a $19-$20,000 car, but with the current market, the Carvana price sounds OK to me.
My son used to work for Carvana.
They had unique concept of giving 7 days money back, while actually checking and preparing cars for resale.
But over the years the quality degraded, while most of competing dealers start giving money back, or credit warranties as well.
My son's last impression was that they did not hired highly qualified mechanics, when MB require special training.
So buyer beware. They build new car tower right in the center of Las Vegas a year ago, but looks only about 30% filled.
Good luck on the transaction.
Caravana has a good warranty. Bring it to the dealer for a used car inspection (you'll have to pay for that), paying special attention to the front driveshaft U-joint, CV axles, and any brake rotor pulsation.
I have to give Carvana some credit for understanding the difference between MB-TEX and leather. I can't tell you how many times I looked at a used car on CARS.COM, got the VIN, looked it up, and "leather"...wasn't.
Amazing, how the wood really doesn't look all that bad EXCEPT that one panel - which gives weight to the theory about UV protection lacking in the clearcoat. My 2013 was very evenly horrible. I replaced it all with a fair amount of money and a lot of work. You might get lucky and find a better single panel on eBay. IMO, makes a world of difference.
During my search, I noticed several cars listed on several sites at the same time. Cars.com seemed to be the lowest priced; while the door to door delivery sites were always 1 to 3K higher for the same car.
I think one could have an independent inspection done for less money.
I think one could have an independent inspection done for less money.
Sounds good in theory, but do you know a shop who does proper inspections? I never paid for 1, but buyer of my car did and I drop the car for it.
They did "roadworthy" inspection. Meaning they check tires and brake pads, but never did engine performance test, nor test drive.
Brake pads are cheap,,,,,
In case of Carvana, they use $40,000 camera, who gives you 360 interior pictures, so with careful looking you will find cosmetic defects. As for performance, they give good warranty on top of 7 days money back. Usually they sell cars who still have factory warranty anyway Don't think you can get better than that.
For an 8-year old car, I think the mileage is within the average range (10K per year). For a 4-matic, The VIN doesn't reveal any other options beyond P1, such as the expensive to repair airmatic susp. Which is fine by me. The wood trim is typically faded (see contrast in the console pic below). You will have to decide if you like it, as it is expensive to replace.
I think it's a $19-$20,000 car, but with the current market, the Carvana price sounds OK to me.
So, as someone else pointed out, Carvana is good at pointing out blemishes and taking lots of pictures. But also, they have no "hidden fees" like 99% of used dealers have. BMW of Hilton Head for example is one of the worst with over $2200 just in fees on their used cars! These dealers are allowed to get away with advertising relatively low prices on cars.com, autotrader, facebook marketplace, etc... and earn the "Great Deal" symbol when in fact it is not such a great deal. It is false advertising!
Only time will tell if I get a good transaction or not. And hopefully I will not have to use the 7 day refund or the 100 day warranty that comes with Carvana.
Update: the driver called me a few hours before delivery and said there was a code indicating intake manifold problem. They are taking it to the local Mercedes dealer and giving me the option of receiving the vehicle after it’s repaired or refusing delivery of this vehicle and looking for a different car on Carvana.
I plan to call the service advisor at the dealership next week and discuss the issue with them, but thought I would ask here first. Any idea the extent of the intake manifold problem? Any reason not to let them repair it and take delivery later?
Your engine is M276, not M272. 276 upper manifold doesn't have any of that stuff.
good to know. Also, I have a friend who is a service advisor at the Mercedes dealership in town. His shop is getting the car. I will get all the inside information from him.
To be honest. The spec of the E-Class is mediocre. Find one with ILS and Intelligent Drivers Package. Only option that car has is premium package and the wood steering wheel if I remember.
M276 does not have the same issue as the M273 - this is just misinformation. Find another one, there are better W212’s out there.
I'm gonna side with ml350, I think you can do better than the one you picked. This one is a base base base model. At least the rear seat folds down, my stupid rear seat is fixed.
I paid 22k for mine in Dec. Granted it is a 2013, It had 61k miles, and more than 13k in options. About the only thing it’s missing is leather and active seats. Wood is a little wonky but had excellent service history. Car was rode a little hard as far as scratches and cleanliness but I got her in pretty good shape with some elbow grease.
Last edited by badbenz94; Apr 27, 2022 at 01:32 PM.
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
What you want is a Mercedes PPI ("Pre Purchase Inspection"). You can get these done either by a dealer, or by an independent who has Mercedes training, and will follow the book on the PPI. expect it to cost $100-200 as its at least an hour of a very detailed inspection of every aspect of the car, including a road test. you should get back a 3-4 page report with tons of details.
What you want is a Mercedes PPI ("Pre Purchase Inspection"). You can get these done either by a dealer, or by an independent who has Mercedes training, and will follow the book on the PPI. expect it to cost $100-200 as its at least an hour of a very detailed inspection of every aspect of the car, including a road test. you should get back a 3-4 page report with tons of details.
Do the quality of these vary from dealer to dealer? Not MB related, but I got an Audi PPI done once at a big dealership and they didn't even bother to remove the plastic guards underneath the car and I later found out it had several oil and coolant leaks which would have been super obvious if they just took off a few plastic screws and cover pieces. Worst $250 spent at a dealer. I've since only taken cars to highly rated specialty independent shops which seem to be much better and can give more realistic pricing on repair costs.
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
hmmm. Mercedes and good MB indies take it pretty seriously. I can see how other dealers might blow you off.
after we bought our 1994 E320 wagon, we brought it to our local good indy volvo guys who are also doing benz, and they had their benz factory trained tech do a full PPI. she made a LONG list of things wrong, mostly quite minor. we already knew the transmission was on it last legs and factored that replacement cost before buying. Her list helped me sort out what needed doing, and getting it done efficiently. do the interior stuff myself.
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