Musikmann

Hello friends,

I found the above mentioned vehicle with about 43,000 miles. I have asked that the dealer make it a CPO with possibly a 12 or 24 month extension to the 12/100,000 miles that comes with a CPO. I have not heard back from them as of tonight. As a non-CPO they are asking $35,995 so "as is".

Could you owners please give me some advice, hints, or bargaining chips to use? I would be most appreciative.

Musikmann

whoover

The longest Starmark extended warranty is for 24 months extended past the normal Starmark warranty period of five years from original delivery. Worst case scenario is that the car was delivered in late 2000, which would mean the warranty runs out in a few months. Starmark warranties are not written with terms of x months from CPO sale.

I'm sure you know the 2003's are much stronger cars since they're twin turbos. But more importantly, you'll be able to get one Starmarked with a couple years of coverage. It will cost you another $5-8K probably, but would be much safer and a lot more satisfying ride.

Musikmann

Hello again whoover,

I was told that a car can begun to be Starmarked for up to 7 years and 75,000 miles from the original date of delivery. This came from a salesman at my dealer, not the one that has the S600. My only experience thus far is with my 2001 E320 which was delivered in 08/2001 and was rendered a CPO w/53,000 miles on 06/2006. I paid to extend that to 24/100,000. It is also my understanding that the 100,000 is carved in stone, but that the number of months can vary. I was not presented with a 24 month extension, but I thought that would have been an option.

One of the techs and I were discussing the "12 bangers" and in his opinion, the earlier engines were superior to the newer ones, but he was not specific year-wise. After 2003, did the MB 12s evolve beyond the twin-turbos, or do you think he is talking about those?

whoover

On the warranty, I think we're saying the same thing. If the car was originally delivered in September, 2000 the longest Starmark warranty would be 100K/7 years, which means coverage to September 2007. And that's as long as Mercedes will write it. This is why you're not going to find 2001 cars Starmarked now.

Most of the reports I've heard say that early V-12's had problems (like ignition coil pack failures) that were sorted out later. But a tech would have more experience, of course. As far as I know, there were two forms of that engine, NA and TT, and 2003 was the dividing line. There's also the AMG version of the TT, bigger displacement, more boost, strenghtened, etc. in the S65.

bzliteyear

i LOVE these 600's...and there's no substitute for how well the interiors are put together and the quality of the material. having owned a V12 in a SL600 and also test driving a S600 before, my personal opinion is that the NA V12 isn't all that different than having a nice V8 w/ few exceptions. in fact, the zero to 60 might even be slower due to the higher weight of the 12 cylinder. the biggest difference was from 60 to 100 where the V12 really shines.

i agree w/ whoover on the getting 2003+ and the TT w/ CPO if you can. i wouldn't mind owning one if i could get a 10 yr warranty on the '03, but of course that's just wishful thinking on my part.

p.s. there are many pre-03 S600's in very good condition floating around craigslist in SF. they're all trying to hold $30k+, but i think the real prices are really high 30's especially since most do not have any cpo/warranty left. sadly, this is now cheaper than the S500 equivalent. the good news for you is that i'm starting to see 03's in the low $40k asking price. perhaps with the right one, you could even negotiate to buy one in the $30's. for $5-8k, i'd definitely get a TT w/ warranty. on my test drive from 40mph to 80mph was a rush that was the funnest i've ever experienced in my life, even better than TT porsche.

Musikmann

Whoover,

Thank you because I obviously mis-understood the Starmark rules. It looks like I just got into mine "under the wire" being that it was titled to the 1st owner 08/31/2001. I bought it in June, 2006 and extended the CPO to 24 months (June, 2008). If I understand you correctly, the best I could have done would have been to buy (if possible) 2 more months. This is good to know, and I sincerely appreciate your comment on that.

Regarding the earlier vs. later engine issue, a tech from my dealer just opened an indy shop and I was invited to a opening party today. We chatted a bit, and he agrees with you that the later TT 600 engines are better than the earlier NA ones.

Musikmann

Bzliteyear,

Nice stable of cars you have there, my congratulations!

I am also lured toward the 600 class because of the "no holds barred" amenities and the fact that they are/were $100,000+ cars. It's too bad we cannot legally experience the 60-100 in too many places.

Thanks for the advice on the 2003+ S600 too. Since you mentioned Porsches (I think they call theirs bi-turbo), I have a friend who just bought a 2004 911 "something" that he said cost $155,000 new - the thing had everything, plus a $17,000 power option he called a chip. Anyway, he said it runs 0-60 in 3.9 sec - all I can say to that is WOW!

bzliteyear

musikman - thx for the compliment...i particularly like the fact that my 4 current cars combined cost me $67k at time of purchase(the price of a new E550) but MSRP was originally $250k+ total.

similar to members here, i enjoy nice cars but i have a hard time putting money into depreciating assets.

good luck.

Musikmann

I like this comment. Another guy took that a step further and called all cars depreciating liabilities

bzliteyear

yes, depending on whether there's a loan on the car(s) vs paying cash, and also factoring in how much the future repairs will be, it can certainly go from depreciating asset to a liability.

hope everyone had a nice fourth...we all have a lot to be grateful...can you imagine if we were still part of UK?

Musikmann

I made my comment without thinking. You're absolutely right if we are referring to a car that is financed using pure accounting standards. If we pay cash it is immediately an asset, or pay off the car loan, the former liability becomes an asset. In either case, most of these darn things depreciate pretty quickly.

I don't remember now where I read the other guy's post, and I probably took it out of context, but it used to make more sense!

hbs600

I have a 2002 S600 which I bought 2 years ago with 44,000 on it. Since there wasn't an extended warranty bought by the original owner, I couldn't find a company to cover the car. They all considered it exotic because of the V12. The car runs like a dream (especially from 70 - 120 range) when everthing is working correctly, but let me caution you that unless you like to spend alot of money for imported parts when something breaks, go ahead and get a CPO MB 2003 or newer. You'll be glad you did.

Musikmann

Thanks hbs600,

By the time I got to the dealer it was already sold - I saw it though - it was NICE! I can't remember exactly when it went into service (the date was on the CarFax), but they told me it was too old to CPO. Having never seen one in person, I asked the salesman what he thought of it and he said something like "If you have seen an S500 then you have seen this with a different badge" (what a dumbass).

They also had a 2002 E55 AMG and he told me that was also too old to CPO - that's B.S. because I have seen several other 2002 MB-whatevers for sale. Either he doesn't understand the parameters, or the rules have changed simce I bought my CPO 12 months ago.

I agree with you 100% that if we buy any AMG or V12, it had better be certified.

PowerCell

Hey Musikmann -

I've got an '01 with 23K miles in excellent original condition that I'm looking to sell. Beautiful car, but I just don't drive it much. Let me know if you're still interested in buying one.


~ Ken

Musikmann

Hi PowerCell,

Thanks for the tip. I'd love to own one but as I wrote earlier, I'm afraid to buy a V12 without a good warranty. I haven't looked into any after-market companies thoroughly, but a couple of dealers have some recommendations. However, as hbs600 posted, he couldn't buy one of any kind for his 2002 S600.