vitaman

I have an early January build on order. The wait is no fun, the decontenting on '05's is perturbing (found out yesterday that the Rest button is gone and the Charcoal filter is a thing of the past....the latter really bothers me), and the full retail price with taxes is of course significant.
Recently came across an '04 at an out of state dealer (not Mercedes) that is equipped exactly the way I want it. It has 5K miles on it and will save me in the neighborhood of 20 Grand. Turns out it was a MB buyback due to problems with the Radio and phone system (lock ups and black outs). It was titled originally in NJ and is Alabaster White.
Does anyone know this particular car? Would the warranty be affected by a Manufacturer buyback? Is there an easy way to use the VIN to contact the original owner? Would it be useful to pay a local MB Dealer to inspect it?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Beowulf

FWIW, my '05 has the Rest button. While the charcoal button has been discontinued on the 4-zone A/C system, one source says the activated charcoal filter itself is still there (at least in Euro cars), except now it's in continuous use. Another source says you should be able to do a drop-in replacement if it isn't there. Try asking scorchie or Steve (MbenzNL) for the low-down.