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Those decoders dont tell you what options are on the car? terrible decoders
They do, but it lists all the options even the standard ones and includes things like paint color, leather color, engine, transmission etc. Once you know what the option code you're looking for, you can just scan the list for a particular number.
That stinks! the bmw ones told you what specific options the car had and decoded everything.
Just run the vin decoder on your car and you'll see what I mean. It does tell you the option number and the description, it's just that it gives you all of them so you might have around 100+ option codes so if you're looking for a particular one, it's best to figure out what the option code is so you don't have go through 100 codes and their description each time. Also gives you info like engine/transmission number build date etc.
This is what works for me.....
I use autotrader, set email alerts. CPO Dealer Only, Photos Only, any location (cars can be shipped for under a grand just about anywhere) Pick your color.... Then, when you get an alert, just jump to the photos. Immediately you can notice if it has the sport package, then the interior photos will show types of seating, look how many buttons are to the left of the steering wheel, typically a loaded car will have 4 to 5 switches, the 5th being HUD. Its actually a very quick process to look at the photos, and weed out the over priced, under optioned cars out there..
+1
I had a difficult time finding mine. Diamond white, porcelain nappa, 3d surround, sport package, heads up, surround view, driver assistance, etc. I learned to ignore the descriptions and look at the pictures. Learn how the options you want affect the car's looks. Much faster that way. Sport package is easy, 3d surround, look for the tweeter in the doors, the speaker on the roof or a lack of storage in the trunk on the driver side. Surround and driver assistance look for buttons left of steering wheel or three black plastic sections in the grille. Also, learn what options or packages have to be optioned together. It takes much more time initially, but it pays off. You can almost always find the info you need from pictures.
I had a difficult time finding mine. Diamond white, porcelain nappa, 3d surround, sport package, heads up, surround view, driver assistance, etc. I learned to ignore the descriptions and look at the pictures. Learn how the options you want affect the car's looks. Much faster that way. Sport package is easy, 3d surround, look for the tweeter in the doors, the speaker on the roof or a lack of storage in the trunk on the driver side. Surround and driver assistance look for buttons left of steering wheel or three black plastic sections in the grille. Also, learn what options or packages have to be optioned together. It takes much more time initially, but it pays off. You can almost always find the info you need from pictures.
Looks great, but I have a hard enough time keeping my beige interior clean, that color would be really tough for me with the way my seats get dirty so quickly, I really almost wish I'd just
gone with a black interior, would not have to be cleaning the drivers seat so much.
I found that the best way is to look for the rarest option for the model and year you are considering. In my case it was the Night View Assist PLUS (610) on a 2014 S550 4Matic. I located one within two weeks in Ohio through my local dealership's website (Benz of Burlington, MA <--- Love these guys) and they shipped it out here. It had 29K miles and listed for $71K (sticker $127K). I couldn't quite afford it so I paid the difference with my Home Equity Line of Credit, which is totally logical since I consider it as a quick extension of my living room. I added video in motion, sheep skin rugs and a 1-lb bismuth ingot to the steering wheel (right of the bottom center bulge) so it stops muting the audio when I'm too steady, lol.
I got it a year ago, added 40K miles to it and I love it even more today. Here is the list of options it came with:
501 Black Exclusive Nappa Leather ($4450)
P01 Premium 1 Package ($4500)
137 Comfort Box ($350) 325 Rear Seat Package ($3000) 421 Sport Package Plus One ($6650! Took those wheels off for winter!) 445 Warmth and Comfort Package ($2600) 501 Surround View Camera ($900)
585 Air Balance Package ($350) 610 Night View Assist PLUS ($2260)
735 Exclusive Trim Package ($950) 867 SPLITVIEW ($710) 997 Driver Assistance Package ($2800)
The red calipers were a bonus since they are not even an option on the S550. After searching, I found out that they were a present to the car leaser from the dealership. Lucky me.
2014 S550 4Matic. Now Winter Ready (20" AMG Multi-Spokes Mixed replaced with 19" 5-Spoke Black all around. I added MB caps this year and V8biturbo letters to the fenders).
I found that the best way is to look for the rarest option for the model and year you are considering. In my case it was the Night View Assist PLUS (610) on a 2014 S550 4Matic. I located one within two weeks in Ohio through my local dealership's website (Benz of Burlington, MA <--- Love these guys) and they shipped it out here. It had 29K miles and listed for $71K (sticker $127K). I couldn't quite afford it so I paid the difference with my Home Equity Line of Credit, which is totally logical since I consider it as a quick extension of my living room. I added video in motion, sheep skin rugs and a 1-lb bismuth ingot to the steering wheel (right of the bottom center bulge) so it stops muting the audio when I'm too steady, lol.
I got it a year ago, added 40K miles to it and I love it even more today. Here is the list of options it came with:
501 Black Exclusive Nappa Leather ($4450)
P01 Premium 1 Package ($4500)
137 Comfort Box ($350) 325 Rear Seat Package ($3000) 421 Sport Package Plus One ($6650! Took those wheels off for winter!) 445 Warmth and Comfort Package ($2600) 501 Surround View Camera ($900)
585 Air Balance Package ($350) 610 Night View Assist PLUS ($2260)
735 Exclusive Trim Package ($950) 867 SPLITVIEW ($710) 997 Driver Assistance Package ($2800)
The red calipers were a bonus since they are not even an option on the S550. After searching, I found out that they were a present to the car leaser from the dealership. Lucky me.
2014 S550 4Matic. Now Winter Ready (20" AMG Multi-Spokes Mixed replaced with 19" 5-Spoke Black all around. I added MB caps this year and V8biturbo letters to the fenders).
That's amazing you found one the way you wanted it. Looks like a wonderful car.
What's frustrating is that I can't just search for all of the W222 with the packages I want. After giving it more consideration (and talking to more family members) I'm going to go with the Executive Rear Seat Package instead of the Executive Rear Seat Package Plus so we can fit 5 if needed. The other major options are the premium package and drivers assist along with black or blue exterior and beige/espresso interior. Should that really be that hard to find? I'm not seeing many cars with both the premium and drivers assist, let alone any with those plus any backseat options. I'd also consider a S600 or Mayback S600. I thought I'd found a good one, but it was subject to lemon laws and I don't want to deal with that.
If I'm going to custom order it won't arrive for a few months and by then the Lexus LS 500 will almost be out. It's a tough decision to buy new or wait to try and find a certified pre owned with the options or wait for the new Lexus and what that looks like.
That's amazing you found one the way you wanted it. Looks like a wonderful car.
What's frustrating is that I can't just search for all of the W222 with the packages I want. After giving it more consideration (and talking to more family members) I'm going to go with the Executive Rear Seat Package instead of the Executive Rear Seat Package Plus so we can fit 5 if needed. The other major options are the premium package and drivers assist along with black or blue exterior and beige/espresso interior. Should that really be that hard to find? I'm not seeing many cars with both the premium and drivers assist, let alone any with those plus any backseat options. I'd also consider a S600 or Mayback S600. I thought I'd found a good one, but it was subject to lemon laws and I don't want to deal with that.
If I'm going to custom order it won't arrive for a few months and by then the Lexus LS 500 will almost be out. It's a tough decision to buy new or wait to try and find a certified pre owned with the options or wait for the new Lexus and what that looks like.
If you're going to custom order, you could also do the European delivery. There's a subforum for that and one guy does a lot and can sometimes discount more than the standard 7 percent.
What makes matters so much worse, is the way some dealers market their CPO & used cars. So many of them will list a W222 as having bucket seats, leather interior, automatic transmission, power steering, Panorama Roof, 4-wheel disc brakes, aluminum wheels.........you get the picture. Or, they will list the options in with the boilerplate of every single feature every W222 has, making it very difficult to sort through the mess. So many times, when I am searching online ads, I want to reach out into cyberspace and strangle these idiots.
Could not agree more. I've talked to my local dealer about this, as their ads are similar to what you described. Didn't seem interested. The only website I know that lists an exact printout of the standard features, along with a list of the options is texascarsdirect.com They do an excellent job of marketing their cars . . . alas no CPO's of course, as it's not an MB dealer.
Could not agree more. I've talked to my local dealer about this, as their ads are similar to what you described. Didn't seem interested. The only website I know that lists an exact printout of the standard features, along with a list of the options is texascarsdirect.com They do an excellent job of marketing their cars . . . alas no CPO's of course, as it's not an MB dealer.
cars.com and autotrader.com both have ads from dealers that show all the options, or not...but, with a bit of sleuthing and good pictures, you can pretty much see every option an S Class has. Again, the dealer-seller has to take many pictures of the interior-exterior of the car. 3D stereo is easy, heads up display and night vision too. AMG sport package, no brainer. What level of rear seats is as easy as figuring out with one picture of the rear seat. Leather level, same. Magic Body Control is found on center console, if detailed picture is there.
Again, you can usually see pretty much every option by just looking closely at the pictures provided.
cars.com and autotrader.com both have ads from dealers that show all the options, or not...but, with a bit of sleuthing and good pictures, you can pretty much see every option an S Class has. Again, the dealer-seller has to take many pictures of the interior-exterior of the car. 3D stereo is easy, heads up display and night vision too. AMG sport package, no brainer. What level of rear seats is as easy as figuring out with one picture of the rear seat. Leather level, same. Magic Body Control is found on center console, if detailed picture is there.
Again, you can usually see pretty much every option by just looking closely at the pictures provided.
So just inked a deal on a cpo 15, diamond white,black exclusive designo interrior w suede headliner, rear seat package..warmth and comfort pack, and my desired amg sport package.... cars being cpo'd Ill get it next week.
So just inked a deal on a cpo 15, diamond white,black exclusive designo interrior w suede headliner, rear seat package..warmth and comfort pack, and my desired amg sport package.... cars being cpo'd Ill get it next week.
That's rarer than an exotic bird. Congrats! White exterior/black designo interior, suede headliner, and all those options??? Yea, rare sir.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
Patience
