I live in Virginia, but my wife found a 2023 cpo S580 in Wilkes Barre, Pa with all the options she wants, BUT I told her no way are we buying a sedan from the rust belt. What are your thoughts buying cars from this far north with all the heavy salt on roads or I am just being super paranoid. She feels when buying a truck to be more concerned versus a luxury sedan. Thoughts.....

 

Have independent mechanic inspect, ask dealer for rust treatment. You are slightly paranoid. Don't worry. Enjoy the car, make wife happy.

 

CPO has 2 components --- Inspection and warranty

Dealerships frequently over look items in the Inspection and normal wear & tear items are not covered in the CPO warranty --- win win situation especially if the car is going out of State

So how many miles and how many owners (ask them to send you a Carfax report -- they already have it)
Carfax would tell you about the mileage/ownership, some what service history and what States it has been registered in?

Be advised -- the sales man probably going to show his Ignorance about the paint meter so tell the loser -- get life -- and to send you the paint meter reading.

Ask for Certification Inspection report as well

In Porsche world, people are having lots of issues with CPO cars especially if the cars are sold out of State.
If possible have an independent shop inspect the car too

Also certification doesn't cover the normal wear and tear items such as:

Ask for underneath pictures and paint meter reading to make sure there's no paint work done to it
Shocks ( PA roads I am sure are not one of the greatest in the country)
Brakes (pads and rotors) --- Heavy car with frequent brakes -- make sure they send you the brake pad and rotor measurements -- if not in the report.
Cosmetic stuff especially the bumpers --- resprayed bumpers never match the rest of the car and stand out like sore thumbs
---- ask them to send you some indoor photos under flourescent light to see any shade differences
Steering wheel leather condition -- rough spots from wearing rings
Seats pictures to see the wear especially on the driver side
Tires and wheels: tire tread depths and any curb rashes on the wheels
Books and 3 keys (2 key FOBS and one Valet key)

Is car uptodate on it's services -- remember services are either mileage based or year based which ever comes first
----- some of the expensive services are spark plugs, cooling system and transmission service (might not apply in your case)

Keep the out of state status candid for a better deal

Hope that helps

 

I grew up in NW PA, and still recall how the salted winter roads would destroy a vehicle in just a couple years. Salt and sand would find its way into every crevice in the undercarriage, and summer rain and humidity ensured year-round oxidation. The first clue of impending destruction was paint blistering, indicative of rusting action from the underside, which frequently occurred around the wheel wells and rocker panels. It's difficult to assess the state of oxidation, but sometimes other undercarriage components are revealing, especially brake components. If the car was driven infrequently during the winter, and/or if the intervening winters required little salting, it could be OK. You might check if the car was a local trade-in or if it was acquired from out of state.

 

Its so new still I wouldn't worry about it at all

 

For a 2023 Mbenz, even if driven daily on salt roads and rarely washed once a month, there shouldn’t be any noticeable corrosion or oxidation under the car. For paints and panels, paint protection technology has advanced significantly, and I assume that the factory paint on modern cars like this can last for 30 years or more before showing any signs of damage, unless repainted by a bodyshop during it’s lifetime.

 

Coming from the salt belt myself, if you have the choice to buy local and avoid all this - I would. Why go out of your way to get a salt car when other examples near you would not have this concern?

Rust never sleeps and once those parts underneath are exposed it will just keep going over time...

 

Wow! Thank you for all the great advice! I’ll use this on my search as I just got done passing on the car. I’ve bought CPO Mercedes before out of state, but always South of me, but I appreciate key details to ask for before purchasing!

 

Not a huge deal, and like others have stated, you're under factory warranty with CPO and corrosion specific warranty coverage from the OEM... you will be fine.

Trenton O. Gibson
tgibson@highline-autos.com
Highline Autos
Direct: 602.909.9216
Office: 480.348.0777

 

Agreed!

 

Can't emphasize using a paint thickness gauge enough--while you are watching. I just found out that my '21 has paint-over PPF on the hood and front fender (nothing on Carfax about any repairs). What a mess that is now. Unless you were a body shop tech, you'd never know. It was cleverly disguised and almost had my body shop fooled as well. The dealer is just washing their hands of this saying that almost 2 years have passed, yet I'm sure they knew--they may have been the idiots that had the paint work done (the dealership doesn't have their own body shop). Of course, no mention of any paint defects in the CPO inspection...likely because they didn't even inspect the car, they just processed the paperwork or had some lot-boy complete the checklist.

I've complained to MBUSA about the dealer and their shady practices with regard to the CPO inspection, but so far haven't heard back. Mercedes-Benz dealers talk a good line about honesty/integrity, but with few exceptions appear to be no better than any of the other crooks out there. BUYER BEWARE.