Yes, you can buy the vehicle and then buy the CPO warranty from another dealer at any time before the original CPO warranty expires. However, I would not wait long since the prices increase yearly. As a side note, if you decide not to keep the vehicle and have not dipped into the extension time frame, you can get your money back.

 

you are correct sir, if you don’t use it it’s fully refundable. In fact, salesman tells me even a year into it, it can be prorated and refunded. I have not had a chance to discuss this with the Finance manger yet, just getting the ball rolling on the car as it’s being inspected for CPO certification before purchasing.

 

So other than checking CarGurus, cars.com, eBay, and the like and other than checking KBB and TrueMarket, are there other websites you recommend to get another prospective on what a car value is? Just trying to gather as much data as possible and make a good informed decision before signing on the dotted line. Thanks!

 

CPO is a tough one to value since they bring significantly more than non-CPO. You almost have to compare the sale prices of other CPO vehicles. I typically go to autotrader or carfax since it lists how long they have had the car. If it's been there for some time, they are either in the car for way too much, priced it too far above market price, or they will be willing to deal. It's an easy conversation that they have overpriced the vehicles if it's been sitting on their lot for 6 months or more.

 

If you want luxury and are willing to spend around $3000-$6000 per year in maintenance then this is the car for you. If you want to be a real baller then get a 2008-11 Toyota Land Cruiser because they will only go up in value. The 2012-2015 ML350 is not a rare collector's car because they built over 300,000 units total so it is not a good long-term investment and will not go up in value...it's essentially a money pit. They overengineered the hell out of it and made things way too complicated. For example, they put the damn battery underneath the passenger seat which takes a trained mechanic at least an hour to get to, while most cars have their battery in the engine bay or in the trunk and that takes only 5 minutes to remove. The only reason why I am keeping mine is because it was handed down to me from my dad who died of cancer. I wished he had been smarter enough to buy the 2008-11 Land Cruiser though but he was not a serious car guy like me. He was just someone who just wanted to get a MB because it's a status symbol. So if you're one of those types like him then buy the ML350. But if you are a heavy hitter then get yourself a 200 series Land Cruiser (2008-11). Keep in mind the W166 ML350 has a design flaw with the camshaft adjuster and after 50,000 miles it is not cover under the warranty, so the dealer will charge you $6,000 to replace it. I posted pictures of the quote from the MB dealership in one of my threads. MB does not make money from selling you cars. They make money from financing and from automotive repairs for cars that they overengineered. Keep that in mind. If you do get the ML350 then make sure you replace the rubber suspension bushings that are cracked and get the yellow B6 Bilstein shocks because they make the ride so much more sporty but still comfortable. In summary the ML350 is a luxury crossover designed to be driven on the street and to do very light off-roading because it has a unibody design instead of a body on frame design. It is not a real truck but is really a very luxurious sedan disguised as an SUV.

 

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i wonder how you calculate the 3k to 6k maintenance per year. With fcp euro, there are no way you spend that much on maintenance every year

 

If you wrench on your own car and get cheap aftermarket parts, then maybe. If your own time is more valuable and you leave the servicing to others, $3-6K (Canadian at least) is pretty much spot-on - and any Mercedes is certainly going to be at the higher end of that range. Basic rule of thumb is plan on spending ~5% of the value of the car (when it was new) annually on R&M.

 

You know fcp euro has life time warranty on all the parts they sell. The initial year of ownership of the vehicle maybe higher, but after that, just the shipping cost to ship back the user parts to them.

 

What in Gods name are you talking about? Look at production numbers…. Just as many Toyota Land Cruiser running around as ML’s. They make both in large numbers. You make it sound like the Toyota is rare and limited and the ML is in everyone’s driveway. Step up to Ferrari ownership if you want to talk about exclusive and investments.

ML is not a crossover. It’s a SUV.

What ML cost $6,000 a year to own? LOL none of them. Even a ML63 serviced at a shop does not run that high unless it driven often and hard.

I have taken ML’s off road and they are very capable. Not as much as a G Wagon of course but very capable SUV’s.

 

He is out to lunch. If you want confirmation, see the thread he started at https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...l350-3-5l.html.