jagata

I have been looking at the market on 2007 S550 because I am trying to sell mine. I have seen way more w221 sell faster if they came from a lot versus a private party. My question to you all is what do you prefer, buying from dealer or private sale and why?

i_am_amused

dealer for me, and "name-brand" dealer at that

a friend of mine bought an AMG from a "used car lot" and has no one standing behind the car now that it *may* be facing a major repair about a month after his purchase. He had a pre-purchase inspection that turned up no problems (but failed to buy a warranty)

I bought my 2004 S55 from a BMW dealer (who must not have realized what they had, or got it insanely cheap in trade. Only 17K miles!!!) and it came with 30 days of 50% parts & labor warranty plus a company's reputation that would need protecting in case it tured out to be a lemon. And they agreed to an oil change, minor paint repairs to both bumpers, a new cup holder, and new batteries for both KG keys. The 30-day warranty might not have helped my friend, but the dealer would surely not want to get known as having passed on such a problem car to a valuable customer.

(Mine turned out to be CPO for 18 more months, which neither I nor the BMW dealer knew until after the purchase, but that's a separate story.)

carsnob

Only from a factory MB dealer. They have stringent requirements and a thorough 150 point (+/-) inspection that is done before they put it up for sale. When they take in a used MB, they can recognize if there are any problems such as repainting etc. and they put on a warranty so you are pretty much guaranteed genuine MB parts throughout and an almost perfect car.
It's worth letting them make their margins for the reasons above. Besides, when they do take in a car, they pretty much hose the vendor who wants to walk away hassle free so they take less for their car. The dealer will spend the 2-3 thousand for a warranty and redo the brakes or tires etc. So you're getting a pretty good car from the dealer.

As for sales, I sell my cars privately and get more for them that way

jagata

Yes all good points but I am talking about Non-franchised used dealers. I have watched other cars sell for more than mine with more miles for more money not to mention they sell them faster as well. Do people trust used car lots over private?

bigben320e

Typically, non-franchised dealers which deal in high-end cars have better prices. Speaking from experience, I have two MB's from non-franchised dealers that had them inspected by a Mercedes dealership, and I received the report from the MB dealership.

On the CLS, I was faxed the report and of course they had the Car Fax and Auto Check. The car was shipped to my door, and I got an extended 7yr/100K warranty from MB on it after buying, since it had 29K miles on it. Saved over $10K on the price at the time.

On the R, the car was taken to the MB dealer for inspection while I waited. They gave me a SRT loaner truck even to drive around Chicago, and threw in a clear bra. I checked the dealer out and walked the building, all cars were parked inside, and were all high end lines. The classic was a Maserati Quattroporte that was in a air bubble, the customer had arrived the same day I was there to get it. Saved about $15K, I had to drive back to Atlanta, which was an awesome trip. The R only had 11K miles on it, so I didn't even bother with an extended warranty. The MB dealers in GA and FL wanted about $50-55K, I walked.

Bottom line, get a low mileage, inspected car if you want the non-franchised route. Then get an extended warranty from MB if you want extra protection.

daragez

i'll buy it from dealer!....

jagata

No one is willing to buy private?

wman

That certified pre owned warranty can be worth alot of money, just bought a certified pre owned 2006 sl500 the car looks factory new, 20000 miles the dealer serviced completly , plus new brakes and michelin high performance tires in addition to everything else, more important peace of mind from a dealer...........

CMS

I prefer dealer but won't rule out a private party sale. I'd have the car closely inspected if it were a private sale.

sun72

Dealer...CPO is what sold me

softgenious

Private party as long as original warranty is still active.

vonbeeler

PRIVATE PARTY preferred for price.

CPO was originally created as marketing ploy to get Joe dumb *** to pay full retail.

Oh boy!!! The dealer gave this car a 100 point inspection, here is an extra $5000 dollars.

In todays world we have access to information. You can find out everything you need on the INTERNET. If you have been brainwashed and it will make you feel warm and cozy, go get a 100 point inspection at the dealer. They will charge you no more than $500. If you need a warranty buy a car with one.

I will always try to buy from private because that is where I will get the best deal by the tune of about 5-10%. However If you find something rare at a dealer that is exactly what you want, just buy it knowing your paying a little more. Most of my cars were purchased from dealers because they had the exact car I wanted at the time. However prefer to buy private if I can find what I want.

vonbeeler

If the competition is selling and your not its simply one of three things:

Your not advertising correctly, Your priced wrong, or your car is trashed.

Has nothing to do with people preferring dealers.
People are always looking for the cleanest well priced cars.

BENZITCH

Ist off private party, and from there home, not a parking lot. Reason being, I like to know how this car lived and where. See what maintainence was done on the house... So much info gained just by sizing it up.
2nd Low to no pressure. We all know a saleman when we see him coming.
3rd if the car is a good one the seller is usually willing to go the extra mile on a PPI alignment whatever it is which means more negotiations.

That being said I have never had a warranty other than what was written by me and the seller.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK ALWAYS.

jagata

Yes Thank You. And no my car is priced under other dealer cars, and no it is NOT trashed I get compliments from service techs to car nuts at shows. Advertising was through the normal channels ie. cars.com, craigs. I feel the majority of people are programed to believe they are getting better deals at the dealership, the answers I been getting confirms that.

i_am_amused

Joe Dumbass is going to pay too much for anything/everything. Regardless of whether CPO exists or not, there will be people that don't know how or just don't care to get the best deals.

I shopped used Audi, MB, Lexus, BMW, and was able to find CPO vehicles at comparable prices to private sellers and non-franchise lots. Not always, but often enough to make the search worth the time.

i_am_amused

good tip about seeing how well kept the owner's home is. If it's cared for, there's a better chance his other property is as well.

What's PPI? All I could come up with is Producer's Price Index, and I'm sure that's not it.

BENZITCH

Pre Purchase Inspection
It can be done at a dealer as if they were going to CPO the car if they had it on there lot. I choose the guy who is going to be doing the work on it, if I buy it and as it ages, my independent.
NO this will not get the car a CPO.

i_am_amused

duh... I should have known that. I had a pre-purchase inspection done on my AMG. I wouldn't buy non-new or non-CPO from *anyone* without one done by the mechanic/shop of my choice. While CPO explicitly specifies an inspection has occured (and refurbishing/repair in some cases), I did stumbled upon a pissed-off MB CPO buyer's rant page about how no inspection was done. I believe that to be an anomoly, and would probably not insist on an inspection prior to CPO purchase, depending on the age/mileage of the vehicle and how much factory + CPO warranty remained. Maybe I'm too trusting, but I've had good fortune with manufacturers standing behind their products and warranties.

aeggroup

I buy on dealer's action...2 years old car with 25-30K miles on it, which is still on warranty and I'm checking Carfax before I will bit. Another thing...car must come from MB financial service, which means it was leased or on manufacture program. THis car would cost about $45K today and it;'s much less than any delaer's price.