Hey Scotty, I know your thoughts about Mercedes but I wanted to ask you anyway. A local dealer has a 2007 CLS550 V8 with 97k miles for $13000. It’s got a clean service record with no accidents. I test drove it, overall it felt solid but I’m not a mechanic. Repair pal.com says the annual maintenance is around $1200. I am perfectly fine paying that for this vehicle, is that an accurate estimate? Thanks for your advice
Pass on it, especially if it’s going to be a daily driver. How much of a gambling man are you? If you don’t plan to do all the work on the vehicle yourself, know where to source parts, don’t have a fancy dealer level scan tool, and intimately familiar with those vehicles then even more reason to skip over it.
So the dealer said they couldn’t sell me a warranty, which wasn’t very confidence inspiring. Hypothetically if I got one with a warranty would that work?
A local dealer
Dealership definitely no.
2007 CLS550 V8
Are you sure you want a V8 given these gas prices?! And even if you want V8 there are much better options out there.
It’s got a clean service record with no accidents.
I won't trust these records without having my own mechanic check the car and say this is true.
Repair pal.com says the annual maintenance is around $1200.
It's a Mercedes and as Scotty calls them endless money pits. That car at that age is definitely going to need repairs too and it's just not maintenance so I would expect a lot more than that.
I currently drive a 2014 Kia Soul I bought from a dealer and it’s worth what I originally paid. It’s pretty fairly reliable with only minor things like alignments and a headlamp bulb I replaced myself. There are “deals” at the dealer lol, you just have to search a bit.
I buy from the dealership too but only for new cars; my comment was about buying used from a dealership which is also the general consensus on this forum. You asked for an opinion about this car and I stated the reasons for why you should avoid it, but if you still want to take the risk up to you.
Hypothetically if I got one with a warranty would that work?
Most warranty companies are ripoff artists that will do everything possible to weasel out of paying claims.
There's really no getting around that a 15-year-old Benz is going to be a money pit. Unless you are prepared to spend many thousands of dollars on unscheduled repairs on top of maintenance costs during your ownership you'd be much better off with a Lexus if you want a luxury model. However it's your wallet and your choice.
The problem is I’d have to get a top of the line 2018 Lexus to have the same feel I had in that car. I guess I’ll wait til those are $15000? (Picturing Scotty,s horse picture laugh right now)