Hoping to purchase a CPO GLS550 and I’ve narrowed down to these 2:
https://www.smithmercedesdealer.com/inventory/certified-used-2018-mercedes-benz-gls-gls-550-4matic®-4d-sport-utility-4jgdf7de0jb160525
Out door price they are about $9000 apart and I would have to pay shipping for both with the 2nd vehicle being farther in FLA. Also the dealer fees in FLA are ridiculous like $1500 extra on top of 6% sales tax.
Both cars are pretty clean and non smoker. The FLA car has 9 months of new car warranty left then CPO kicks in. The first car in Massachusetts has a little paint damage on the passenger side front bumper (pic attached). Does this even pass CPO standards? Any suggestions appreciated. Which would you go with is the first car worth it for the price savings albeit higher mileage? I would prefer Anthracite trim over the Burlwood.
I would go with the one in FL. Lower mileage, nicer trim that you actually like with upgraded steering wheel ($500+ option), comes from the region where rust doesn't exist (the one in MA already has rust stains on the hitch). You also don't have to worry about the damage on the front bumper and save yourself some hustle (and $$$) of getting it repainted. One major thing to consider -- CPO warranty is NOT a bumper-to-bumper warranty. For instance, it doesn't cover some electrical things such as your radio and touchpad. Go with the car that still has the original warranty so you can take care of any issues without getting a run around.
Hope this helps and good luck with your new car!
P.S. try to ask for some accessories as part of negotiations. Stuff like a trunk liner or even weather tech floor mats will help to off set the price difference
Thanks for your response! I like the look of the Poplar wood wheel on the FLA car, but would prefer the heated leather wheel ($250 option) of the Massachusetts car as winter is approaching and it gets pretty cold where I live. I also read the wood part of the steering wheel can get get hot during summer and stay cold during winter since it’s not heated and can be prone to cracking down the line.
The dealer of the Massachusetts car assured me there is no abnormal rust. Have you seen issues of GL’s brought from up North?
I’m just torn because the difference is $9,000 in both cars but I’m trying to determine if the lower mileage and 8 months remaining of new car warranty is worth the difference. I feel as if hardly anything will go wrong from that 8 month period of 31,000-45,000 where the new car warranty would be needed before CPO kicks in.
Also, the dealer of the Massachusetts car said the bumper issue is hardly noticeable and if it bothers too much can be re-sprayed for about $500.
Wouldn't worry about rust. I live in Minnesota, have a 2018 GLS with zero rust. In fact my 2011 Audi A5 has zero rust as well. Cars made now are pretty much rust proof.
Both of choices look great. Let us know what you choose.
I don't believe that CPO would cover these stains since they are cosmetic. There is a 50/50% chance that a dealer would replace the trim under the full car warranty. Under CPO, I would say you have 1% chance of getting these replaced. Just ask the dealer to replace them before taking the delivery !
Replacing the trim around the windows isn't too big of a deal. Replacing the roof rails is a major PITA as the entire headliner would have to come down. Once it comes down, it's super hard to get it back on.
Another option that you have is to have the side trim wrapped and roof rails repainted.
I don't think it is stained because of a car wash. However, it might be stained by road salt.
P.S. Based on where your are located , make sure that the tires these cars come with can be driven in the wet/snowy conditions. Some of GLS550 came with Continental CrossContact UHP (Ultra Hight Performance) tires that were not designed to be driven in freezing temperatures, snow and ice. In this case, you'd have to spend additional $1500 to get a new set of all-season or winter tires.
I’m just torn because the difference is $9,000 in both cars but I’m trying to determine if the lower mileage and 8 months remaining of new car warranty is worth the difference. I feel as if hardly anything will go wrong from that 8 month period of 31,000-45,000 where the new car warranty would be needed before CPO kicks in.
Having 8 full months of the factory warranty is a HUGE deal. You are buying a car sight unseen and without test-driving it. You have no idea what issues you may encounter once the car gets delivered. I have a personal experience with buying a CPO GLS550 with 5500 miles(!) on it. One would think that it's a brand new car, right? Wrong! When the car was delivered, I discovered that the touch pad had intermittent issues. It was confirmed by the local MB dealer but, ironically, the pad was not covered by the CPO 'warranty'. It took several calls to MB North America to sort it all out and get it replaced under goodwill.
These are super complex cars that are full of computers. CPO warranty basically covers the engine and the drivetrain. Anything cosmetic or electronic-related is NOT covered by CPO.
My personal view is that $9k is a reasonable difference to pay for a car that has almost 20k fewer miles and comes with a factory warranty. In the first 3 years these cars depreciate about $1000 per 1000 miles driven (on average). You are buying a $100k car with 30k miles on it for $70k. It sounds about right.
I don't believe that CPO would cover these stains since they are cosmetic. There is a 50/50% chance that a dealer would replace the trim under the full car warranty. Under CPO, I would say you have 1% chance of getting these replaced. Just ask the dealer to replace them before taking the delivery !
Replacing the trim around the windows isn't too big of a deal. Replacing the roof rails is a major PITA as the entire headliner would have to come down. Once it comes down, it's super hard to get it back on.
Another option that you have is to have the side trim wrapped and roof rails repainted.
I don't think it is stained because of a car wash. However, it might be stained by road salt.
P.S. Based on where your are located , make sure that the tires these cars come with can be driven in the wet/snowy conditions. Some of GLS550 came with Continental CrossContact UHP (Ultra Hight Performance) tires that were not designed to be driven in freezing temperatures, snow and ice. In this case, you'd have to spend additional $1500 to get a new set of all-season or winter tires.
Thanks for your help. According to Carfax, that truck spent its life in Seattle and purchased at MB Financial auction by Hilton Head Mercedes and offered for sale as CPO. So I guess it’s not really a southern car. But don’t think Seattle deals with road salt either. My service advisor says that he sees that a lot on that trim.
Go with the Florida car. It's even better if you can find one from the southwestern US areas that typically don't get much rain like southern California, Arizona, southern New Mexico, or the western most areas of Texas. The harsh conditions really show up when you take the wheels off. If the car is from the north or it spent any time on salted roads, you may have a difficult time taking the wheel off due to the corrosion. Yes, that includes Minnesota. I purchased a GLE with very low miles from Minnesota and it took some time for me to remove the wheels from the hub since the hub was already corroding from two winters in Minnesota.
Again, highly recommend buying a car from a non rust belt state and or one that does not use salt or other chemicals to remove snow and ice. The corrosion will show up later in life and you will be making repairs trying to control the cancer the rust creates. That is the experience from any MB's I've purchased in the north or north eastern US.
P.S. Based on where your are located , make sure that the tires these cars come with can be driven in the wet/snowy conditions. Some of GLS550 came with Continental CrossContact UHP (Ultra Hight Performance) tires that were not designed to be driven in freezing temperatures, snow and ice. In this case, you'd have to spend additional $1500 to get a new set of all-season or winter tires.
Based on pictures posted above (but after quoted post): Mass. car is equipped with Contis CrossContact UHP which are normally summer compound tires but in 295/40-21 size for GL/GLS it is actually M&S rated while FL. car is equipped with summer only compound Contis SportContact 5 SUV. So tires are not the differentiator here. Having said that, I would also go with much lower miles car especially if original warranty is still remaining. Of course there's price to pay for it and its up to OP to decide.
Thank you guys so much for your help and input. I threw in the towel finding a nice one locally that wasn’t overpriced and was leaning to going with the Florida car which would have been way over my budget at $76,000 out the door plus another $1200 to ship!
Low and behold I decided to check CarGurus one more time and saw a CPO Black on Black loaded (driver assistance, heated steering wheel, anthracite poplar trim, 2nd row easy entry, trailer hitch, pano roof) with 41,000 miles just added at a dealer 30 mins from me. Only thing it was a 2017 and didn’t have night package. I thought this was a dealbreaker until I drove there and saw in person. This car was super clean fresh and only driven 9,000 miles per year. I bought that evening and it feels brand new! Best thing it was much cheaper than any of the options I was looking at. And the longer I look at how clean it is, I don’t miss the night package at all.
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