Steve099

Guys,
What does this really represent when a car is a mercedes benz certified pre owned vehicle?

I ask this question as I recently purchased a 2020 S350d that was represented as a clean car, one owner , low miles and full logbooks. I was also told it was serviced properly before being shipped to me. In actual fact it was missing its last service as the vehicle started flashing warnings about low oil and low coolant after 3000KM which the dealer repeatedly lied about and refused to supply proof of service records. Then due to a scratch I put on the front bumper 2 months in, the front bumper was taken off by my authorised repairer this week and they discovered the bumper had been previously damaged, then very poorly repaired using glue and cable ties which explains why it scraped on my driveway when my previous S350 did not. The bumper is so badly damaged from the previous run in it had with a gutter it cannot be repaired and needs to be completely replaced. Also both front quarter panels have cracks in the corners which cannot be welded due to the panel material being so thin, so two new L & R front quarter panels need to be also be replaced to fix it properly.

Total costs for repair from what was first thought to be a small scrape are now $10,700 AUD!!!

I am currently in dispute with the local Australian MB dealer over these issues as I feel the car i purchased in good faith was not accurately representative of the the mercedes benz certified pre owned banner it was sold to me under. In my opinion it is not a truthful representation on the product being like a new car. My insurance company and broker are obviously not happy either.

Please be candid with me in your responses here, if I am in the wrong thinking I have been materially mislead in this transaction?

Will MB make this sort of situation right and make me whole again?

Note: All Australian MB dealers are now an agency for MB. They are not allowed to sell cars for anything less than MB dictates under this new agency model and they get paid a fee for each sale. These dealers are very unhappy with this change and a bunch of them are currently suing MB for $700M in courts.

thanks in advance.

DaveW68

I believe you have a claim against the dealer that certified the car and possibly MB if you can prove all of the previous damage with photos and documentation from the body shop. That car should not have passed a certified inspection as most of those issues should have been noticed when the car was on the lift. But your claim will likely be subject to Australian laws. You may want to start with confronting the dealer with the documentation of the damage and see if you can get them to pay for the damages. If they refuse, you would probably have to get a lawyer involved to get it worked out.

superpop

I purchased a 2018 E400 Cabrio for my wife a few years ago while it was still under warranty but was also advertised as CPO. I think CPO means they run it through a car wash first. When I brought it home and started really looking it over I noticed 3 bald tires and several scratches on a piece of molding. Took it to a different MB dealer near me and they told me they would re-run it through the CPO process and fix what they found. Ended up doing 2K worth of work on the car including the tires and an alignment. CPO seems to be meaningless to some dealers.

emilner

To put it bluntly a CPO car has had a Car Wash, been Polished and Offered for sale...

badq45t

I think the only real value is if you want to get a MB extended warranty you can extend easlily. I was under impression that they would have done more, the only real value I got was the orignal tires were replaced with brand new MOE Michelin tires.

cfmistry

Agreed. CPO is worthless except the ability to extend the MB warranty.

Tom in Austin

Dealers can ask ~ $2,000 more for a CPO car ...

badq45t

Sometimes that may be worth it, I think it really depends on the dealership. I did get a new set of tires and new front brake pads from the dealer that bought my car off MB auction. I also was able to get a good deal on 3 years of maintance plan and 2 more years of warranty (out the door for $4,800). I wouldn't say that CPO is huge on a late model you may find cars great condition from a 3rd party. I was locked in on a better optioned car in AZ from a place that only sold MB (they since folded) that was super nice but lost it.

places

CPO is only as good as the people conducting the inspection. Statistically reduces the chances of getting a troubled car. That's all.

Donnymac

If I recall, there is a CPO check list required to become a CPO car. Were you provided a copy?

I will look for mine.

W205C43PFL

Correct here you are:
https://pictures.dealer.com/superior...b7e2684f55.pdf
https://www.mbusa.com/content/dam/mb...s-Brochure.pdf

MBS63AMG

You summed it up. It's a feel-goodism sales tactic. CPO means nothing.

as.thompson

Plus one more year of warranty isn't it?

C2 Turbo

CPO- It's a fancy name used by big make manufacturers for a used car. By calling it certification ( certified), they entitle themselves to another $2500 from the customers. Like I have said numerous times, the things they over look are the ones that are usually the " normal wear tear items" costing the dealership money, hence the over look. The wear tear items are not covered by the CPO program any way and to top it off, if car's going out of town, more power to the stupid dealership.

Avoid certification as much as possible

badq45t

You do get an extra year of warranty at least, so that is value. For me looking for a very specific car I didn't find the prices that much different from the dealership, I did find one with fewer miles (19k vs. 30k) but overall the price wasn't all the different. The place I was going to buy from in Phoenix ended up selling the car out from under me before I coudl get there. The Stealership I bought from Calabasas totally sucked and I wouldn't get an oil change there if my life depended on it, but I got a decent deal.

Steve099

As an update to this post, i ended up getting getting the front bumper fully replaced and 2 front quarter panels. After exerting some rather public pressure on the dealership they finally remembered phone number and came to the table to pay their fair share of the repair bill. The bumper had been so badly damaged and poorly repaired previously it could not be fixed again or properly.

I understand they are short staffed like everyone is at the moment & their guys missed the damage however they did some other things that if explained in full here you would all agree was shady. Buying a high end benz should be a lux experience when buying from an MB dealer, I forced them to honour that regardless of them liking the hit or not. They did try to push me around and ghost me , the result was them getting a bloody nose and me getting what was right.

thanks for all your feedback on this question. Car is flawless now and I am enjoying a back massage every day to and from work with some easy listening music playing in the back ground they way I intended it to be.

Martsman

I’m glad to hear it worked out for you.

In 2021, I bought a 2020 s560. The car was stated to be pristine, CPO, with a clean car fax and only 9600 miles. About a week after I purchased the car, I took it to get ceramic coated. I told the Detailers about the pristine car with low miles. He walked outside to check the car out and went right to the front corner of the car. He said this car was damaged and the front bumper was repainted. He showed me all the issues he saw and I just couldn’t unsee them. I sent a very detailed email to the gm of the dealership and he called me right away. He said bring the car back for a full refund. i told him I put 500 miles on the car and he said just bring it back. Since they did right by me, I ended up buying a 2021 S580 from them.

badq45t

I have bought man used cars including my 2016 S550e and never had any issues. I carefully inspected my car before I bought it and while I wasn't married to CPO because i wanted the plug-in hybrid there are slim pickings. I had another care identified that was better equiped but they sold iit out from under me. It was nice that the dealership gave you a refund, but for me spending the $117k that my car MSRPi'ed for new wasn't something I was interested in, the 58k I paid was what I was willing to spend for a car at the time.

jumpman726

To get a car CPO'd the dealer has to pay Mercedes around $2,500 for the certification. The dealer then raises their price by about the same price.

If it's a high volume dealer Mercedes will usually give the dealer CPO certification instantly. The dealer is supposed to go through a checklist and fix anything they find wrong. The better dealers will actually show you service receipts that show the repairs they did to the car such as new brakes, new rotors, new tires, service A or B, new windshield, detailing, etc. If you're buying from a not so good dealer then the CPO just means you're paying extra to get an additional 1-year limited warranty.

W205C43PFL

I guess it too is regional dependent because in some regions, "Star-Certified" warranty is a super limited warranty compared to a regular (limited) new car warranty, lots of things are not covered.

braunfels

Yes, it all depends on the honesty of the dealer. The last two s class (2012 & 2019) were both CPO. The 2012 was flawless and even though the dealer was far away from me, they did right by me. The 2019 s560 was purchased from a local MB dealer and has had numerous issues that should have been addressed in an honest inspection. And, taking the car in to get the issues fixed under warranty has been a nightmare. So, in the future I would not purchase a CPO without a 3rd party inspection. I agree that the value for the extra price of a CPO is just a longer warranty. And, that warranty is only as good as the dealer wants to make it.

Tricky Rick

So much misinformation and just outright incorrect assertions in this old thread. While waking up early and having a coffee... I thought I would set your records straight.

It is the manufacturer who drives CPO sales... Not the dealer. Hence, true CPO sales can only happen at a franchised dealer. If you see a CPO on sale at an Indy lot... He is just making it all up. There is no CPO sales for non-franchised dealer's lots unless they are tied to a franchise with a lot nearby. However... There are a lot of used car lots stating they have CPO units. They are doing this in order to make more money... It is all bogus! Mercedes-Benz has no clue and doesn't care what happens on a used car lot unless it is tied to a franchise at a separate location.

Manufacturers are the ones that set the bar for what can, and what cannot, be considered as a CPO unit, not the dealer. If a dealer tries to jam a car through on CPO that doesn't fit specs, it can get them in trouble with the manufacturer. Their original thought was to be able to offer something to give greater peace of mind to the consumer in between (supposed) total piece of mind for purchasing a new vehicle with full warranty and rolling the dice on a used unit. Usually, the manufacturer will set standards such as model year, no accident history, no adverse AutoCheck history, 75%+ tread life left on tires, 75%+ brake pad remaining, unit must be below a certain mileage, must be presentable with no or few scratches, dings, dents, etc. Sometimes only certain trim levels are eligible. Now... Some dealers can obviously pervert this into something it is not. A lot of dealers (most, probably) would rather not mess with the hassle of CPO units as they are responsible for answering to the manufacturer if warranty claims spike on CPO units. (IE, you are not reconditioning the unit carefully enough) It is also a mound of paperwork that the dealer would rather not have to do! The dealers must also pay their techs for doing CPO inspections also... So there is additional profit lost!

Lease sales drive CPO sales. A unit being returned after a 2-3 year lease usually has low miles and only requires an oil change and wiper blades. These are prime units for CPO sales. What they don't want to do is to have to install 4 new tires AND front brake pads AND pay the CPO premium to the manufacturer. That would eat up way too much profit!

Manufacturers may *request* that a certain percentage of their used inventory be CPO units. Some reps push hard for this... Some dealer owners do too. Most used car managers would rather take the money required to flip a unit to CPO and put it in their gross profit instead of giving it to the manufacturer. This varies from dealer to dealer and person to person, of course.

Personally... I'll never buy another new car in my life! WAY TOO MUCH depreciation. Smart buyers will buy a 2-year-old unit with low miles to avoid most of the depreciation and still get the manufacturer's warranty. This is, of course, unless you are ridiculously wealthy, as I am sure some are here. Myself... I like to buy an even older unit to save money but purchase from an enthusiast who has taken excellent care of the vehicle. But that is just me. YMMV.

W205C43PFL

Another thing about CPO is that dealerships pay a certification fee to MB (like you mentioned, the premium), and they go through a checklist although MB themselves don't send someone to monitor the tech and to ensure they follow the checklist, some I seen don't even go through those items and CPO it. https://www.mbusa.com/content/dam/mb...s-Brochure.pdf

Streamliner

Yes, after very many brand new cars in a row, I just went CPO, but mostly because I had to. My last five daily drivers were new S Class sedans. I really liked all of them, until I got the 2022 S580, which turned out to be a nightmare for me, so I bought a CPO 2020 S560.

Of course, you are right about the huge expense there is to buy or lease new cars, but to some, it is a true delight. To study the options and to figure out just how you want your new car built. The anticipation as you wait the three months or so before it shows up. To some, there is value in this and great enjoyment & satisfaction. Unfortunately, I currently find myself in The Twilight Zone, as there is not one new car out there, in the S Class price range, that I am interested in getting. I cannot remember a time like this, as since I was a kid, there has ALWAYS been some new car I wanted, but not today.

Anyway, good thoughts on the CPO program. My 2020 still has about 19 months left on the original factory warranty and then the CPO warranty kicks in, giving me another year and unlimited mileage. That’s certainly worth something.

Tricky Rick

Streamliner... Do what I do... Go back in history and pull something out of the hat! With the money you save you can add any convenience you want. I am getting ready to install a voice activated 4G head unit in my G... Along with a 1,000 Watt Pure Sine Wave inverter for anything I might need. The interior is perfect but I may go with carbon fiber instead of the dated wood.

You can use your imagination with a car that fires your soul instead of looking at the crap that most manufacturers put out these days. I used to LOVE BMWs... But wouldn't own one now. I have had several Porsches... But they just aren't as good as in the air cooled days!

I feel your pain!