RainDelay

I am currently debating between two cars as my first Benz.. I dont have much experience with the market trend so I would love some input into which unit is the better buy.

#1 - C300 premium pack without navigation. 10,000 km's. This is buying from the Benz dealership.. the overall price - after taxes - is $45,000

#2 - C350 Navigation pack. 28,000 km's. Private seller.. After taxes $42,500.

Both are black color with black interior. The mileage however is higher but it seems less concerning to me. The owner reports one break-in which ICBC has fully repaired the damages.

I did place down a 1000$ deposit for car #1 (car #2 just came into the picture today). But I do have the option of getting my deposit back at the dealership. Im leaning towards car #1 right now because its from a recognized dealer and also its a lot lower in mileage.

Are there any issues with buying from a private seller? What are some areas I should inspect from the private seller before buying?

Is the price for car #1 a good deal?

PS: I live in Vancouver Canada and i've been told the pricing is higher than normal around here.

Thanks for all your help!

lkchris

I'd suggest having the dealer perform a pre-purchase inspection on the private seller's car--especially if the original warranty is about to expire (you didn't state age).

These cars are called W204 in Mercedes-speak and for 2012 these models will be fairly comprehensively facelifted, meaning when the 2012s arrive the earlier versions could easily drop in value. They're still fine cars, of course, but just some food for thought.