I have been driving MB sedans (E & S) for the past 40 years and have always been a DIY type. Although there are quite an assortment of people that think if you lift the hood of your MB car that makes you something less than what they perceive you to be, nonetheless if you can diagnose and repair your own car you’re a giant step ahead in more owners. In any case, I have seen dozens and dozens of people that ask the question as to whether you should buy a pre-owned MB, what are the benefits versus the liabilities etc.. This question is generally easily answered by common sense.
Firstly, unless you can find out how the car was used and serviced during its first 10,000 miles of service to the first owner then it would be prudent to pass it by.
This also holds true for dealer demonstrators and service loaner cars. These cars which aren’t owned by anyone usually have the hell beat out of them because the sales people don’t care however these cars are driven and mistakenly think E class cars that have small engines (4 & 6 cylinders) think they’re speedsters and jump on the pedal at every opportunity.
loaner cars suffer even worse as the people driving them think nothing of putting in regular fuel in them instead of premium. All this amounts to abuse and misuse of new cars that will eventually windup as being sold as pre owned cars whose initial misuse may well come back to haunt the subsequent owners.
Yes, most of the time come they will come with the balance of the new car warranty but the total life span of the car can well be significantly shortened and if you buy a mild hybrid vehicle somewhere between 48 and 72 months you’ll be looking at a $4,000+ repair or if it’s an S class car you can multiply that amount by 5 or $20,000. Most buyers forget to take that reality into account. All of this holds true for any brand new (pre-owned car) that you buy. In the end, if you can swing a brand new car that’s undoubtedly the best way to go. If you can’t, do yourself a big favor and do your homework and find out how the car started it’s life and get a “CarFax” report which will tell you whether the car has been leased or the essence of the mileage that is currently on it. I have always purchased my cars and ordered them so that I got the options I wanted and none that I didn’t want. Lastly, unless you can write off a lease never lease any car, it’s always cheaper to buy it. Best of luck to all.