Buying S Class Coupe, advice please!
Discussion
So im after a bit a second opinion/advice here. Im potentially going to look at 2015 S500 Coupe premium, its in pretty mint condition in and out and has just had a full paint correction detail and ceramic coating done. Its a beautiful car. Its got a full mercedes service history which ive seen pics of. Its around £31000 so its probably a bit of a bargain but is a private sale which isnt ideal for a car of this price as no warranty or help if s
t goes wrong within 3 or 6 months etc. Ive spoken over whatsapp with the seller he seems genuine but theres a couple of things i find a little odd about the cars history.
1. He gave me the reg so i could do a hpi check. The check came back with a mileage warning, it was registered as having 43300 miles beginning of december but then registered again end of feb this year as having 43000. So its lost 300 miles off the clock in 3 months. is this just a dealer rounding it down to nearest 1000 or is it a sign its been clocked?
When i asked the seller about the discrepancy he just said its the first hes heard of that. He said he did a basic hpi check when he bought it and it came back fine....
2. The car has had 3 owners, first owner from new had it for 7 years, 2nd owner only had it 4 months , and now the seller im dealing with has owned it 3 weeks. When i asked him why he is selling it he says he only got the car as part of a deal with 2 ferraris that he bought at same time. i dont know if thats weird or not? He cant be making any profit on it as its so cheap unless its dodgy and has been in an unrecorded accident and he bought it cheap..?
3. The car has only had 1 MOT in its whole life of nearly 8 years. Why is this? its not been recorded as exported but when ive asked why its only got one recorded mot he says it was being used in Monaco for a while so maybe thats why? Having said that it surely should have had at least 3 uk mots? Recent mot passed in feburary with just brake pads wearing thin.
Im wondering wether the car has maybe had an accident and been off the road for a while. Its hard to tell but i really want to look at it, however i dont want to be spending that sort of money on something which isnt sound. Will probably send a click mechanic to do a comprehensive check on the vehicle (if seller will let me) before making the 4 hour trip to look at it...Any advice appreciated guys....
t goes wrong within 3 or 6 months etc. Ive spoken over whatsapp with the seller he seems genuine but theres a couple of things i find a little odd about the cars history. 1. He gave me the reg so i could do a hpi check. The check came back with a mileage warning, it was registered as having 43300 miles beginning of december but then registered again end of feb this year as having 43000. So its lost 300 miles off the clock in 3 months. is this just a dealer rounding it down to nearest 1000 or is it a sign its been clocked?
When i asked the seller about the discrepancy he just said its the first hes heard of that. He said he did a basic hpi check when he bought it and it came back fine....
2. The car has had 3 owners, first owner from new had it for 7 years, 2nd owner only had it 4 months , and now the seller im dealing with has owned it 3 weeks. When i asked him why he is selling it he says he only got the car as part of a deal with 2 ferraris that he bought at same time. i dont know if thats weird or not? He cant be making any profit on it as its so cheap unless its dodgy and has been in an unrecorded accident and he bought it cheap..?
3. The car has only had 1 MOT in its whole life of nearly 8 years. Why is this? its not been recorded as exported but when ive asked why its only got one recorded mot he says it was being used in Monaco for a while so maybe thats why? Having said that it surely should have had at least 3 uk mots? Recent mot passed in feburary with just brake pads wearing thin.
Im wondering wether the car has maybe had an accident and been off the road for a while. Its hard to tell but i really want to look at it, however i dont want to be spending that sort of money on something which isnt sound. Will probably send a click mechanic to do a comprehensive check on the vehicle (if seller will let me) before making the 4 hour trip to look at it...Any advice appreciated guys....
JaySwitch said:
When i asked him why he is selling it he says he only got the car as part of a deal with 2 ferraris that he bought at same time.
This sounds like a dealer pretending to be private.On that basis alone I would consider walking away - and there are a fair few others flags. Is there Service history?
Edited by OverSteery on Saturday 6th May 17:12
You say you’ve seen the service history. When and where were these carried out and at what mileages?
To be honest there’s already a few mysteries too many for my liking.
I doubt there’s a massive demand for these so personally I’d be doing a bit more looking around, ideally for something with a more straightforward background.
To be honest there’s already a few mysteries too many for my liking.
I doubt there’s a massive demand for these so personally I’d be doing a bit more looking around, ideally for something with a more straightforward background.
swisstoni said:
You say you’ve seen the service history. When and where were these carried out and at what mileages?
To be honest there’s already a few mysteries too many for my liking.
I doubt there’s a massive demand for these so personally I’d be doing a bit more looking around, ideally for something with a more straightforward background.
He sent me a photo of the service book. Had 3 full services done starting at 20k miles then at 30k then at 42k, all at mercedes in Caterham. Unfortunately thats now shutdown so i cant check that out with them. To be honest there’s already a few mysteries too many for my liking.
I doubt there’s a massive demand for these so personally I’d be doing a bit more looking around, ideally for something with a more straightforward background.
JaySwitch said:
He sent me a photo of the service book. Had 3 full services done starting at 20k miles then at 30k then at 42k, all at mercedes in Caterham. Unfortunately thats now shutdown so i cant check that out with them.
Caterham was part of Mercedes-Benz Retail Group, which has a dozen plus other sites, so I would expect they have central systems they can check.Assuming this is a W222 2015 car you should be aware that until early 2015 Mercedes used cylinder liners that are easily scored. They changed the material in 2015. Please make sure that your car has the later cylinder liners, otherwise the engine will expire after approximately 70.000 miles (your mileage will vary).
FourWheelDrift said:
Spend a little bit more (£35k) and buy one of the legitimate dealer cars on there instead and don't worry or stress about it.
I Absolutely 100% agree with this. If you're spending that kind of money, the premium of buying from a legit Dealer along with the full checks, warranty and potential goodwill repairs if you use them for servicing are worth it, plus they'll happily hand over all service records etc to you. Dealers also can work the figures to give you a bit of a discount
I am saving like mad for an M4C, and will only use an approved dealer car, because the peace of mind versus paying 2 or 3 grand over private prices is well worth it (IMO).
Anyway, @JaySwitch welcome to Pistonheads
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