CarandWatch

Thanks for allowing me in the forum! I've found a 2015 S550 4matic at my local MB dealership. 18k miles, one local owner clean Carfax. Only negative is the car is one year too old to be sold as a CPO car. I could, for around the same price, likely find a 2016 CPO albeit with higher mileage. I really love the idea of buying such a low mileage S.

From what I've read the 2015 W222 has been a reliable car. Would a third party warranty be worth the piece of mind? More importantly, are there any companies that are reputable and easily accepted by MB dealers?

As an aside, dealer was asking $54,800 USD for this low mileage example. After days of negotiations they are now down to $53,000 plus taxes and tags. The market has appeared to have gone up on these cars like most everything else.

CarandWatch

...one other thing. In my search online I have noticed a few 2015 s550 examples that have appeared to have been recently CPOd by the dealer (these cars are not the color or mileage I want)... So I'm wondering if my dealer is incorrect as to whether or not this 2015 can be certified.

DaveW68

In order for a dealer to put an actual CPO cert on the car, it would have to meet the MB allowable condition and be within the original 4 yr/48k miles. The car you're considering cannot be certified by MB.

I purchased my 2015 S550 4matic in December with 30k miles. I purchased an exclusionary warranty policy through Endurance for $4100 that got me 7 yrs, 100k miles of coverage with a $100 deductible. The cap on repairs is the NADA retail value of the car at purchase or the actual purchase price. There is a vender on this board who may try to convince you that he offers a better policy, but his is capped at $20k in lifetime repairs, so less than 40% of what you'd get through a policy like mine. There are also some naysayers here that will tell you that after-market warranties are a ripoff and complete waste of money, but the ones I've had have always been fantastic. In fact, my car developed some oil leaks less than 2 months after I purchased the car. The warranty paid out over $2500 in that claim to do the repair. So $1600 in repairs over the next 6+ years and it has paid for itself.

When I had my S600 that I purchased with just 24k miles, I purchased a similar warranty through my credit union and only paid $3300 for that policy that covered the car for 7 yrs, 75k miles. In the 3+ years that I had the car, the policy paid out $24k in claims.

Even though the mileage is very low on that car, there will certainly be things that go wrong and a warranty will be well worth the investment. The fact that the car has such low miles means that it wasn't driven much and likely sat for long periods of time. So gaskets and seals are likely dried out and leaks are going to develop. The car is nearly 7 years old and age of parts seems to be just as much of a factor as high miles when it comes to repairs. Fortunately almost all warranty companies give the most precedence to miles when figuring the cost of a policy and term you can purchase. So you can likely get a good one like mine for slightly less than I paid. But always get the top of the line exclusionary policy that covers everything on the car except for the items that are specifically included. And purchase the max years and miles since the policies are transferable to the next owner and add significant value to the price of the car. The policy I have is better than any CPO policy that MB offers. And remember that there is some room for negotiation in price. Mine was financed at 0% for 3 years.

PM me if you want details so you can check into the one I have.

TNS550

I bought my 15 S550 in a private transaction in April 2019. It had 6,200 miles but was placed in service in Sept 2014 so out of original warranty. This is essentially my first MB (previously owned a 74 450SL as a play car for several years) and I was unsure about reliability. After researching this site I decided to buy a Fidelity Platinum exclusionary warranty. Since I will only put 5-8k miles a year on the car I bought an 8 yr/80k mi warranty from the local MB dealer for $4k, which was cheaper at the time than the two dealers often mentioned on this site. This warranty can be purchased from any auto dealer that has a relationship with Fidelity. I have utilized the warranty to replace the pneumatic pump for the seats and reload touchpad software, totaling $1,500+. Dealer handled the claim. Other than that, no issues just routine service.

As an aside, as an example of rising used car prices, my S currently has 18k miles. While there are likely differences in features with the car you are considering, the pricing you stated is $7k more than I paid for my S in April 2019.

cfmistry

I personally would buy a higher-mileage 2016. A well-driven car is a working car; all vehicles tend to have issues as they sit unused. Also, CPO is worth it's weight in gold; for that first year or two you can have lots of small kinks ironed out for free.

superpop

Used car pricing is stupid right now. I purchased my 2015 S550 4Matic with an MSRP of 115K and 17K miles in 2017 for 59K or close to half of MSRP. Car was two years old and still looked and smelled new. Now a 2 year old S Class is around 80% of MSRP. My experience with my car after 4 years and at 51k miles is that this model and year is exceptionally reliable. I have replaced the tires twice as it does like to eat tires, done the brakes once, did it myself for around 600 bucks in parts. And finally I did replace one strut because it was making a bit of noise over bumps. Total cost was around 450 bucks for the part. If you are comfortable turning a wrench these cars are just as easy to work on as any modern car. If not you may want to get a warranty. I am typically not a fan of warranties but age is definitely a factor with parts. The only other issue with a super low mileage car like this is the fact that as you rack up the miles the depreciation is accelerated, you are paying a big premium for low miles. Finally, you are probably buying at the height of a car bubble that will pop as soon as the new cars start flowing again and in 6 months your car could be worth sub 40K. This doesn't really matter if you are going to keep it for a while but if you can wait a while, I would.

CarandWatch

UPDATE: After doing some more research and asking the dealer to then do research on their own... they called me back and claimed they made a mistake... this car is within the 6 year window and CAN BE MB CPO certified. However, that would up our negotiated price from 53k to just over 55k. If I wanted to extend the 12 month/unlimited miles CPO to 36 months/unlimited miles... that would be another $4300 (For a total of ~59.500 plus tax and tags)... while I'm happy the car can be CPO'd, it now just makes sense to move up to a 2018 or 2019 CPO car for only a bit more money...

superpop

That is what I would do, get the newest S560 you can for the money. As long as the mileage is under 30K or so you should be fine. Tech in the facelift cars is a bit better as well. I would shy away from the S450 though as the V6 will not be the same as the V8.

CarandWatch

Or... I could always go this route . However, I personally think this terrible color combo really spoils the car...

https://www.mbofdevon.com/certified/...3d572f9324.htm

superpop

I would not risk my bank account with a 6-7 year old AMG car. Great when it is under warranty but out of warranty it could seriously punish you financially. Price out a new set of brakes as an example.

OnlyGerman

55k? Wow. Maybe time to sell my W222. But the W223 is ugly in and out so maybe not...

cfmistry

I was tempted by one too, but the parts prices on AMG-specific parts ruin the fun. Brakes, struts, etc.

sap4eva

I had a 2010 S-550 with ABC suspension and I’ll never buy another S-Class without a warranty. That was the only major issue that I had with my car and a peace of mind is priceless to me. My vehicle was low mileage so I didn’t think the warranty was necessary. The ABC system had issues, but I didn’t realize until after I purchased my car. I’m not sure if it happened because of the accident and just wasn’t fixed properly or because the system was known to fail. I purchased a low mileage 2016 two years ago and got the warranty this time. It’s better to have it and not need it…than to need it and not have it.

Highline-Autos.com

I had my Mercedes S550 covered by Freedom Warranty before I worked with them, had no issues, air struts replaced no problem, fiber optic cables replaced no problem. Just those jobs paid for 3/4ths of the cost of the warranty. Text or call me at (602) 909-9216 or send me an email at tgibson@highline-autos.com for a quote and example contract. Freedom is accepted at all Mercedes Dealers in North America and you're covered for $275 per hour in labor.