ms2knights

I have been shopping around for an 06 S65. I have found one that I really like. It's black and has 31K, its a one owner vehicle, and has all the goodies (atleast I think so). The dealer was asking $81000, but I got him down to $78000, from which he will not go any lower. The vehicle looks to be in great shape, no dents or scratches, the interior is flawless, and it looks to have been well taken care of. He is also going to get me another key and the manual (since the car only has one key and a missing manual). Car fax and autocheck have come up totally clean. I guess, all I need to do now is to deal or not to deal? Anyway, your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

blume

do it!

whoover

It depends entirely on how long you expect to keep it and your appetite for risk. In 17K miles your warranty will expire and repairs are very expensive. Heck, a front-only brake job (pads and rotors) is $3,000, but you are presumably prepared for higher-than-normal maintenance costs. But it's unwarrantied repair costs that are the scariest. On any W220 you can face $5,000 suspension repairs, $3,000 electrical system glitches and more. The S65 engine is mostly bullet-proof, but anything can break. If it breaks on this engine, the cost can be astronomical. A replacement engine is something like $80,000!

Don't get me wrong -- it's a wonderful car and I strongly recommend you get yourself one. My advice is to only look at Starmark (CPO) cars and get the optional three-year warranty extension. This will cover you for 100,000 miles or seven years from original delivery date, whichever comes first. A Starmark will not be the cheapest S65 you can find, and the warranty extension is another $4,000, but if you plan on keeping the car a while this could be the best money you ever spent. By the way, the $4,000 for the three-year warranty on a Starmark is the same for an S350 or an S65, so it's an incredible bargain for the S65. Autotrader shows a number of 2006 S65 Starmarks around the country.

PS. There's a black S65 in Texas on Autotrader that sounds suspiciously like the one you're talking about except it has 36K+, not 31K miles. Be wary, as the race to 48K is very fast.

Suprfknman

You can go into any MB dealer and pay to extend the warranty of any 05 or later MB that is still under warranty regardless of where you purchased it. Just be careful some dealers are sneaky and will try to sell you an aftermarket warranty. I believe it is explained somewhere on the MB website.
Will

whoover

That's only available to the original owner. And it's more expensive (about $5,000 for the three-year extension bought before the car has 12K miles, more after). And it's not clear that they will sell one for an S65 (see footnote 4).

http://www.mbusa.com/care/warranty/extended-limited.do

Soon2bMB

you get it certified? if so do it!!!

ms2knights

Thanks for the reply's. I just checked on how much it will cost me for insurance, and my agent quoted me $175/Month or $1050 for six months. Is this the going rate for insuring an S65? Also, I will look into getting the extended warranty. Pardon my ignorance here, but this is my first MB. Why does the front brake job cost $3000? What do they do, for it to cost so much? I am definitely leaning towards purchasing this S65, but hope more of you can tell me whether I am getting a good deal or not for $78,000. Thanks

whoover

The rotors are big, composite (steel on aluminum) and drilled. You can't find them anywhere but the dealer and they can't be machined, only replaced. There are four pads per caliper (eight-piston calipers). These parts aren't cheap, but the brakes haul you down from 150 real fast. In general, maintenance is expensive on this car. At 60K miles, you'll have to replace all 24 spark plugs. Ask a dealer what that costs. You'll be lucky to get 10,000 miles out of a pair of rear tires, and they run the better part of $1,000. Insurance is just the start. You absolutely have to pay to play.

As to the deal, I tried to answer that earlier. If you keep the car past its warranty and get hit with expensive repairs, the deal wasn't so good. If you don't, it's pretty good. Spending another $10k now and having warranty protection for another 50K miles could be a much better deal in the long run. But it depends on whether you will keep the car that long and how much risk you want to take on now for $10K.

ms2knights

Whoover,

I see you are in San Jose. I am out here in Tracy, so not to far from you.

I will definitely keep the car for a long time. I have already spoken to the dealer sealing me the car, and he is going to add the Starmark warranty up to 100k for $3900 (or so he says). So, I will have the warranty ($3900), and have gotten a quote on the insurance ($175/Month), and now I know the high maintance of this vehicle, so I now I just need to make a final decision. I am definitely leaning towards purchasing it, because everytime I remember all these factors that make this car so expensive to drive, I remember driving it, and man was that quite the experience. Anyway, any further advise or suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

whoover

If it had the Starmark warranty, I'd go for it.

mastertrust

I paid slightly more for a CPO west coast car with 15k miles. Lease runs out before the CPO warranty so I'm a happy camper. Car is spectacular, easily the most impressive auto I've owned/leased.

ajgk

In August I traded my 2006 S65 in and got $80000. I had 15,000 miles on it. It was Designo Graphite. That is a wholesale number. If you can buy it for that go for it. I cannot tell you that the car will stop plummeting in value, but it is a hell of a car for $80000.