I am debating whether or not to look into purchasing a 2014 GL550. The ones that I am looking at are priced around $40k with 50-60k miles. 2015 and '16 GL550s are harder to come by at this price point. With this chassis going out, there is likely to be a drop in values. However, a website I checked out that tracks depreciation says that 2014-16 Mercedes-Benzes are the best values among pre-owned Mercedes. I'm looking to drive a hard bargain 15-20% off asking. Do you think this is a good time to buy or should one wait some more?

My 2014 GL550 with 82,000 is still an awesome vehicle and in high demand. It's worth $34,000 retail in Good shape. Good luck getting a bargain.

It seems like you have decided on a 2014 GL550. Is that right? Is your question, how much off from asking price can you expect to purchase the vehicle? Or are you asking which model year is more desirable?

My experience is that if you spend more time, and are willing to walk away from a deal, your leverage will increase and a higher discount is possible. The actual discount achievable is somewhat nebulous for a 5-6 year old vehicle. If you spend less time and are not willing to walk away, the discount is less. Buying from a private individual is better than buying from a dealer, from a discount point of view as seen by the buyer.

I don’t think there is any best time of year to buy a vehicle that is several years old. For a one or two year old vehicle, the best time in my mind is near the end of the year when new models are on the showroom floor. The new models compete on price vs the prior year models. This is not the case for 2014-2016 vehicles.

First off .... I would not waste time looking at a non-Mercedes-Certified GL550 ... anything not-Mercedes-Certified gives you a Very High Risk for additional service/repair expenses that will be painful ... especially since you want to be a "hot shot 10%-15% off asking price buyer".

Now... on a Mercedes Certified GL550 ... edmunds.com can give you a 3rd party estimate of legitimate Retail Price.... if you are in a Metro or Metro Adjacent Area.... please understand a experienced volume Mercedes dealer is NOT going to waste their time putting a Mercedes Certified GL550 out on their lot and their website at a too-damn-high-price... in today's internet world the web is every dealer's showcase window to the world and every dealer I know prices aggressively to their Local Market - most dealers price aggressively to their Region - and Top Dealers price aggressively to the National Market..

In Certified GL550's - please understand they key here is Mileage-Warranty-Features... have a good hunt !

Just realize that a GL550 with 50-60k miles is going to be due for some maintenance. Ours has 72k miles on it and we had to put new brakes and rotors recently and it wasn't cheap. That was out of pocket but there have been numerous "little" stuff that our 3rd party warranty covered. But stuff is going to wear out and brake here and there. Like fabbrisd1 said, I would highly suggest looking for a certified one that way all the wear/tear stuff is up to par and it has some extended warranty. This is not a cheap car to own and maintain especially the 550 as it chews through tires like crazy. I still love it though.

I ended up leasing a loaded 2019 Audi Q8 Premium Plus.

Also, I've had many a Mercedes-Benz and have a 2010 GL450 that I've been through everything with. I don't need to be lectured to about maintenance expenses. You're not telling me anything I don't know. 10% off is easy. If you're getting less than that off pretty much anything these days, you are doing something wrong.

I just test drove a 2014 GL550 that has just literally been traded in. It has 58k miles and has just about every option available on it. The salesman said that it will probably not be a CPO but will still meet MB safety standards prior to being released for sale. Does this qualify for MB certified? Or are you referring strictly to CPO?

LOL!!!!

It's not possible to get that truck CPO. It's too old with too many miles to be certified. You would have to purchase an after-market warranty if you want coverage on that truck. But it won't be cheap. Expect to pay upwards of $8k (perhaps more) for 4 yr/48k miles of exclusionary warranty coverage. There are other basic power train warranties available for a lot less. But the components that those cover usually aren't subject to failure....so it turns out to be a big win for the warranty company.

Do a search. There are some 2014 Certified GL550's with high mileage available right now. One has close to 70k.

How is the most efficient way to search for a CPO GL450 or GL550? I am located in Portland Oregon, but willing to travel some for the right car.

My challenge is I have Distronic on my 2007 GL450 and will not give that up on a newer 2013-2015 GL. I see the Distronic Plus on a few GL550, but seldom in the GL450 model (which I prefer).

Thanks.

Cars.com it’s where I find all of mine. I do definitely recommend holding out for Distronic Plus, sometimes called Drive Pilot in the GLS series.

Autotrader.com and enter Distronic in the search and select Certified in the search criteria.