Karen1122

Hi guys,

New here and am considering an S550. You opinions would be greatly appreciated. I have experience with BMW but very little with MB.

2008 S550 V-4, 4matic lease return on certified pre-owned program
30K miles (a bit high for 18 months)
7/07 Inservice date
Premium package 3
Distronic Plus Package
Sport package
Rear seat package
Active body control
Heated steering wheel
Panorama sunroof
The asking price is $69K

Does the pricing sound about right? How much room do you think is available for negotiation? What is the market like for these cars now?

What things should I look out for? Any specific short comings or soft spots on these cars?

Any and all coments are welcomed!!

drksuh

Karen, I just purchased a similarly equipped 2008 4Matic for $73K but it had only 12K miles and was put in service on Feb27, 08. I think your price is excellent because yours is FULLY LOADED and would be over $110K at full list when new. $69K is fair but you will love the features (there are no features that yours will not have) including Distronic Plus Cruise and the Adaptive driver seat. This is a superb vehicle and certainly the new S class is the best car Mercedes has ever made. Even if they wouldn't budge off $69K, if it is in excellent shape, then I say go for it. With Certified Warranty, you are in great shape. Don't hesitate for a great car which is equipped like no other I have seen.

nkole

You might ask that the dealer extend the warranty to the full 7 years. They usually start with only a one year extension (to a total of 5).

Neil

Karen1122

Hi Neil,

Your comments suggest to me that there is some flexibility in the coverage of the CPO program. I am not used to this from BMW. They are very firm in the length of the coverage and can only go outside of BMW to get a third party warranty.

How common is it for MB to go beyond the 5yr / 100K mi CPO limit? Also, I would imagine that they would charge for this?

lkirchner

You are correct that it is fully loaded but not correct in saying there are no features that will not be had. Designo while expensive is absolutely beautiful and not included in this car.

NJS430

A car delivered on 7/07 could not have premium package 3. Does it have Blind Spot monitoring?

Karen1122

You are correct! Sorry I am new at this stuff and was going off the web site for the options choices

WSH

Seems like an absurdly high price for a heavily used car

Sales of all $100K cars have collapsed; dealers have ~7% margin (vs MSRP)...and factory has numerous additional incentives to spur sales

Would look at what cheapest deals are on new, '09 S550s in stock at local dealers/on Net

Also evaluate any special lease deals on new S550s

S-Class is perhaps world's best engineered sedan today; anecdotally, reliability of this latest-gen car is superb, despite rather complex tech...but wouldn't want to own any high-tech car much beyond 2-3 yrs, as no one really knows decay/lifespan of these various systems; even w/warranty, opportunity cost of one's time is too great to waste visiting dealer for various repairs of aging cars

Makes little sense to get a used copy when a glut of new copies exist, w/deep discounts...and have full lemon law and factory warranty protection...in addition to aesthetic pleasure of a pristine, new car...if cash-constrained, would opt for a new C300 (or upcoming new E350) rather than any used S550

Karen1122

WOW!!

1 Its a great price - take it

1 Walk away fast


Any other comments??

Red Marko

Karen,
It seems to me, that you are seroius to shell out the money
It's nice to aks us for an opinion.
Asking price rather steep IMO, taking under account high mileage, not knowing previous owner (his/hers driving habits) and few other obvoius things.
But, do yourself a favor, compare, compare, compare. Use the net, spend few additional hours at various dealers and ask, ask, ask..
As they say, there is no such a thing as stupid questions, just stupid answers.
Depending on:
Your time
Your location
Your money ...
I think, you could get (much)better deal.
Mark.


Hopefully... welcome to the club

Quadcammer

In my opinion, the price is quite high.
If you've fallen in love with this particular car, offer $60k. They will act offended, cough a bit, tell you to leave, and then call you in a week with an offer for $63k.

Very few people are buying $63,000 used cars these days, so you have a lot of power in the negotiations.

nkole

I agree with OliverK's comments.

The CPO can add anywhere from 1 to 3 years to the original warranty. So you will end up with a 5,6 or 7 year total coverage. All bring the total mileage to 100K. The nice thing about the CPO is it essentially (with a few small exclusions) extends the original warranty. You take the car to any dealer, there is no deductible or questions asked. They just fix the car. That said, I didn't buy an extended warranty for my 08 S550. I'm betting it will be trouble free.

Neil

TimsSL65

A week ago I took delivery on a nearly identical 2008 S550 (19,000 miles, silver/gray, all options, 4Matic, AMG, CPO, etc.) for $65,000. I looked long and hard, and can assure you that my car represents a good value in this market. Using mine as a very current point of reference, and allowing for your higher miles, I think that $60,000 would be a great price for your car.

Tim

irieblue

ABC -- Active Body Control is not an option on the 4-Matic, and is normally $3960.

Dema

Price is high better to check remaining new 08 in lot or demos which may have just under 5k miles.

blazinginder

considering the fact that mercedes was discounting new 08's by 20k+

A good price for this vehicle would be around $35k off the original sticker

lalithster

I am also in the market for 550 and the only option I want is distronic 2 but I cant seem to find an s550 with that option. I have been looking mainly on ebay and online. How much was that distronic option and is it part of any premium pakage?

Thanks

FloridaE55

Nope, must have a built-date of 07/07 or later..