dpayne7571

Still in the search for a clean low mileage S560 and found a few that have everything I want, BUT are located 400 miles away and are being sold by used car dealerships which scare me as I’d rather buy from a MB dealer.

How good is a PPI from the nearest MB dealer? If all looks good can I still add on to warranty on a 2020 S560 if mileage is under threshold?

Thanks for any useful information!

carlosinseattle

There are pros and cons to doing it either way. Normally, you'd pay a little more for the car at a MB delaership or at a place like Carmax. But, you'd have the option of buying a CPO from the dealership. But outside of going with a CPO, there really is NO benefit from a dealership purchase. And as many people have talked about on this forum, MB dealers aren't any better than other dealers at reconditioning a car for resale, at least from a mechanical standpoint. And the CPO warranty is just that, a really nice warranty. BUT...their inspection process is a joke!! Ask me how I know...or not, I don't want to ruin your day.

If you buy from an independent dealer or non MB dealer you'll probably get a better price. And you can still go to MB and get the warranty, or go the aftermarket warranty route. I chose to go outside of MB for my car and I'm still on the fence about the warranty, but probably will pull the trigger and buy it soon.

dpayne7571

Thanks for the warranty info. I know the CPO route all to well too, it’s only a warranty, nothing more. Nice to know I can add on to current warranty through MB being 2nd owner.

vincheung

I agree with Carlos, no real benefit to having it purchased from an MB dealership as their "inspection" isn't really as thorough as you think it is.

Additionally, if its a 2020, it's possible you still have a short period of the new car warranty still in effect (depending when it was initially purchased), you could call MB with the vin number to inquire on the new car warranty expiration date. Have your mechanic give it a good look over if you need to take advantage of the remaining coverage, then start shopping for extended warranty options.

Before the expiration of my GLE's warranty, I had my mechanic give everything a detailed once over and spotted a small leak. Turned out to be an motor mount, I made an appointment for two days before new car expiration and the dealer changed out all the motor mounts and completed an alignment.

As for extended warranty. Touch base with Highline-autos.com who is a sponsor on the forums here and offers excellent warranty options at rates lower than you would find at a dealer.

NbyNW

If it's out of factory warranty, and you do buy from a non-MB dealer 400 miles away, which is no big deal as others have said, make sure their typical 30 day warranty will be covered at your local MB dealer or any shop local to you.

carlosinseattle

After the dealer CPO purchase I got rid of that car and purchased another. The car was in Georgia and I live in Seattle so I used Car Pro inspections to perform the PPI, It was thorough but not cheap. I think I paid around $450 for the most thorough inspection they would do. It did include a test drive and they sent me 100+ pictures. You should definitely have a PPI performed ahead of time.

dpayne7571

Thank you for that useful information! I'll get in touch with them once I find the right car, hopefully closer to home than further!

Highline-Autos.com

Thanks for the shout out @vincheung , @dpayne7571 You can feed me vehicles you are considering and I can send you over pricing and coverage options to keep in your back pocket while you search. You can reach me at tgibson@highline-autos.com or (855) 924-1333.

badq45t

I bought a CPO from a dealership 400 miles away, SF to LA and I flew down to get the car with the idea that if the car wasn't perfect then I would just fly home (my family lives in LA so I could have stayed the night. Mercedes Benz of Callabasas was horrible from the get go, BUT the car was at the end what I wanted so I bought it. That was after the car was completely dirty inside and out, I told them that until I saw the car after the 1.5 hour detail I was not going to sign but we got paperwork started. Then they couldn't find the second key, the mats (that is part of CPO) and the charger (comes with 550e) and the manual, which they claimed to never find and a YEAR later I found in the package with the charger after spending $100 on a copy. The experience stunk, the finance guy was a hard driving salesman and at the end of the day I finally got the hell out of there with 2 years extra warranty (I got 1 repair for $1500 out of that) and I did come out way ahead of the up-front 3 year maintance package (for $4800 for both). I had to fight to decline wheel protection, paint protection, bla bla bla bla bla...so for me first Mercedes, most expensive car I had ever bought (I am have $$ but I never buy expensive cars) and the experience was terrible.

But today I love the car and obviously wouldn't ever go back there again, so moral of the story, if you trave 400 miles, big deal, do a 1 way rental car or fly like I did if it aint'r right head home...but a dealershpi doesn't assure a great experience

will_atl

If you buy from a non-Mercedes dealer, even while still under factory warranty, some dealers will NOT work with you to purchase and Mercedes Extended Limited Warranty, but there are some who will (you can buy out of state). If you don't actually use the ELW, and sell the car before the end of the ELW, you should receive a refund. I bought my ELW out of state (Jeff Jackson, MB of Louisville), and when I traded it in for my new to me CPO, the dealer gave me a form to send back to the dealer who sold me the ELW, and I recently received a refund check, as I have never claimed against the ELW.

wheatswake

CPO extended warranty just paid a $4000-$4500 bill for me.

Robb92914

Yeah I had some fading in my magic sky control glass when I first got mine and my CPO replaced it. About 13k

wheatswake

i have been wondering how much magic sky costs to replace and if CPO covered it. I could never get a straight answer. Glass not covered by CPO but electronics are. This is glass with electronics integrated into it. Did you have to fight to get it fixed?

dpayne7571

Dealer just told me the CPO started when I bought the car. Lol. This car was built on 10-19-18 being sold my a MB dealer who just offered it for CPO. I thought the 4 year warranty ran out after 4yrs from the build date and a dealer can only CPO a car in those 4yrs?

I bought a CPO S550 and it paid for itself within the 1st when a 4matic shock went out.

carlosinseattle

The original factory warranty goes from the in service date, meaning the day it was purchased, not the build date. And the maximum mileage for a Mercedes Benz CPO car is 75K, maximum age is 6 years.

Here's what the website says:

It meets our strict eligibility requirements.

Not just any vehicle qualifies to be Certified Pre-Owned. To be considered, dealers must ensure vehicles meet following requirements:

• Less than 6 years old
• Less than 75,000 miles
• Serviced according to schedule
• Includes a CARFAX® Vehicle History Report

wheatswake

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dpayne7571

Thanks. Learned from dealer today since this car is out of original warranty, but is a cpo then coverage starts the day I buy it and I still have 2yrs I can extend at additional cost.

These dealer doc fees and non-tax fees they jack up are insane and enough to make you want to walk away!

Lou B

I don't know this, but i strongly suspect that doc fees are a separate profit item on a dealer's books. Each dealer section - used cars, new cars, service, parts, and documents are, in my mind, competing to show owner/management how successful and important it is to the dealership. I related elsewhere about the time I was about to sign and pay for a used Lexus RX, but simply objected to the bottom line. Salesman took the docs to someone; when he brought them back, the doc fees of $500 had been removed. In that case, the docs office lost out. I think the docs fees are always a good place to try to save some money.

carlosinseattle

Not sure where you are but here's a car I might consider: https://www.walser.com/inventory/use...g8gb6ja375895/

Loks nice and nicely equipped, but Carfax says it's black, even though the car is white, and there was a MAJOR service done in December. Maybe a reason to not buy it.