RANT:My Love and Hate of German cars.

[Dan]

Dan- Glad you found something that`s right for *you*. It`s not always what one would expect and I think it`s great that you didn`t stay locked into a "it`s gotta be [whatever] or I won`t like it" mindset. Also glad the salesman was OK, that must`ve been a pleasant surprise.

And I`m not all that surprised that the Benzes were so ratty..now that people don`t really buy such cars very often (due to leasing) I figure there`s little incentive to take good care of them. And cars like that aren`t built to be trouble-free for ages the way they once were, they`re no longer seen as big lifetime purchases that need to last for generations of users.

It was funny, we took out a 2016 E Class, which was in nice shape, they had another 2013. He asked if I had watched some youtube channel, then I asked him if he watched Hoovies Garage, when he said Hoovie was his hero, I knew I could count on him for having driven everything on the lot and to have some good opinions. I told him that I was looking at an S and wanted something big that rode like a cloud. He said a Genesis might be good if I was up for Hyundai or the LS. I`ve always liked the LS so I drove that... and fell in love with it. Have it on hold, hopefully I get a good price for the Volt and we can swap.

I think you are right about leases, almost every single S class I`ve run a carfax on (over two dozen) has had a 1 year lease on it. Almost half those cars came from south Florida too. The last one that made me throw the towel in was a 2010 with....

39k miles
priced at full KBB retail
Peeling paint on front bumper, crappy repaint job
Two big dings on the back bumper (bigger than my hand)
Leaking RR airspring, car was sagging when I got there
Curb rash on 3 of 4 wheels
Interior reeked of cheap cologne
Ratty interior with tons of scratches and stretched out leather
RR quarter was repainted
Service indicator showing service past due by 4900 miles

And this was on the front lot of a big Mercedes dealership!!!

Biggest issue for me what the the condition of the car was inconsistent with mileage. It felt like a car with 100k miles. The VMI report (MB service history) was inconsistent too, last service was 2 years ago at 41k miles and the odometer now shows 39k.

Not even sure why I entertained a price, but they went back and forth a few times and knocked $1500 off.

 

[Bill D]

That’s just horrifying shape for a car of that mileage!

 

[Dan]

That’s just horrifying shape for a car of that mileage!

Exactly, what is worse, is it was on the front lot of an MB dealer. What the heck were they thinking! Wait I know, a sucker will be along soon, and they`ll buy it. Maintenance only 4900 miles past due, the owner must have been....err.... busy!

 

[Bill D]

My dad bought a E class with 30k miles a few years ago and it was no where near how you described. Interior was just fine. It didn’t even need claying after a decon wash. Just shows you how vastly different people can take care of their cars.

 

[Dan]

My dad bought a E class with 30k miles a few years ago and it was no where near how you described. Interior was just fine. It didn’t even need claying after a decon wash. Just shows you how vastly different people can take care of their cars.

You know, the E`s I`ve seen were generally in better shape than the S`s of the same vintage. My ML was the same year (2010) as the last S I drove and it was night and day.

 

[Bill D]

Its just incredible how condition can vary. I guess those who drove the car as a lease just didn’t care. It wasn’t their property so why should they? They just turn it in at the end of the Lease and be rid of it.

 

[mobiledynamics]

Off topic or on topic....re: dye job.
I`ve had good ~condition~ leather resprayed when I`ve had upholstery done - so that it blends with the rest of the panels
IME, with a worn seat with cracked coating, (outer bolster) etc - the recoat looks great post refurbish, but over time (fairly quick), due to the already cracked/worn/micro linear wearing underneath, that seems to telegraph through the new coat.

Can anyone confirm if you have seen opposite, where you`ve had it resprayed and no telegraphing whatsover.
This may be different perception lets say on a black leather vs a lighter color, which may show the telegraphing of said cracks more, just due to the very nature of light/dark.

Due to said experience with re-dye and the telegraphing, I generally would opt for the latter and go for a recover. I know we`re talking 2 different budget points though. In my experience, I would only respray good leather...but not ones with coating cracks. YMMV

 

[Accumulator]

The only recoloring I ever had done wasn`t to my liking so I had a new panel put in. Eh, generally I just live with the cracking, even when it`s so bad that most any Autopian would want it rectified...just don`t care as long as the leather doesn`t actually fail, which hasn`t happened to me yet.

 

[Dan]

Good point, I can`t recall reading a story about re-dyed leather ending well. My S4 had a bolster re-dyed and it failed quickly. I re-did the job and it outlasted the dealer job but I sold the car in a period I wouldn`t call extended. TBH the work is easy and I could live with doing it every few years.

 

[Dan]

Well.... Things have taken another twist. I got low-balled on my Volt and that cooled my jets. I took some time to go over the LS and the interior was rough and I could hear Accumulator saying bad move.

And then what appeared to be the Unicorn appeared in CarMax inventory. A clean unpainted S550 with only 55k on it. It is now being transferred to my store. Very excited!

 

[Bill D]

Ah! Maybe you’re better off with an S after all! Keep us posted

 

[Rocker1911]

The only recoloring I ever had done wasn`t to my liking so I had a new panel put in. Eh, generally I just live with the cracking, even when it`s so bad that most any Autopian would want it rectified...just don`t care as long as the leather doesn`t actually fail, which hasn`t happened to me yet.

Dan,

Sorry to ask, but rather than go though all 200 somthing posts, what year S4? anything done to it?

Reason I ask, is that I got a 2012 S4 a few months back

 

[Dan]

Ah! Maybe you’re better off with an S after all! Keep us posted

Perhaps, I`m hedging my bets with an extended warrantly. Carmax is offering to go 5 years and up to 125k for $5k. Two airsprings and one other thing and I`ll be at 5k easy peasy. Here is a pic.

 

[Dan]

Dan,

Sorry to ask, but rather than go though all 200 somthing posts, what year S4? anything done to it?

Reason I ask, is that I got a 2012 S4 a few months back

Was a 2007 with the V8. The new V6 is all around better except for sound. Mine was bone stock, I had a B5, the TT V6 and that was completely modded up.

 

[Bill D]

That is a legendary S! I hope you find it has no problems. Good luck!

 

[Accumulator]

Well.... Things have taken another twist. I got low-balled on my Volt and that cooled my jets. I took some time to go over the LS and the interior was rough and I could hear Accumulator saying bad move.

When something like that feels wrong, I`d figure that it *is* wrong, so I like that "could hear Accumulator.."

And then what appeared to be the Unicorn appeared in CarMax inventory. A clean unpainted S550 with only 55k on it. It is now being transferred to my store. Very excited!

That sounds better, assuming there`s no, uhm....story.

And MB is usually pretty good about parts staying available (driver`s door window switches for a LS400? Good luck with that, unless they`ve found some more..). I *would* make sure it doesn`t have some of those high-tech "features" that can`t be fixed when they go bad (I`ve heard some real horror stories about 6-figure Benzes with "little"/"minor" in-warranty issues that can`t be resolved, ditto for some Audis).

 

[Dan]

When something like that feels wrong, I`d figure that it *is* wrong, so I like that "could hear Accumulator.."


That sounds better, assuming there`s no, uhm....story.

And MB is usually pretty good about parts staying available (driver`s door window switches for a LS400? Good luck with that, unless they`ve found some more..). I *would* make sure it doesn`t have some of those high-tech "features" that can`t be fixed when they go bad (I`ve heard some real horror stories about 6-figure Benzes with "little"/"minor" in-warranty issues that can`t be resolved, ditto for some Audis).

Yeah, hoping there is no story. We had the "buyer" at the remote store walk the car and it came back with zero paintwork, which is pretty important to me. I also pulled the carfax, looks like it was dealer serviced all its life. Waiting for a Mercedes VMI on it as well.

With the LS`s it was amazing to see how many of those were serviced at Jiffy Lube/Valvoline/etc.

Another interesting thing in my journey was selling the Volt. I gave Carvana a shot, they give you an offer based on your appraisal of the car, then if you agree to the price, they come to your house, inspect the car and then take it away. It was a cool process and I got $2800 more than Carmax`s offer.

 

[Rocker1911]

Was a 2007 with the V8. The new V6 is all around better except for sound. Mine was bone stock, I had a B5, the TT V6 and that was completely modded up.

Thats awesome!

I had a B7 A4 prior to getting a B8 S4. B6 and B7 S4`s sound great!

those B5`s are bad @$$ too!

I was looking hard at a B7 RS4 instead of a B8 S4, but ultimately the B8 S4 won out

I am going to start making some cosmetic changes very soon on it, as well as performance mods in the spring (starting with intake, exhaust, and stage 1 tune)

 

[Accumulator]

Dan- Ah, that Carvana deal sounds great. ?How to dispose? can be a headache if you`re not gonna DIY it (and I wouldn`t).

Hope that inspection was nice and thorough..."no paintwork" is, uhm...well, just one of those things you don`t put too much trust in 2nd hand, ya know?

 

[Dan]

Dan- Ah, that Carvana deal sounds great. ?How to dispose? can be a headache if you`re not gonna DIY it (and I wouldn`t).

Hope that inspection was nice and thorough..."no paintwork" is, uhm...well, just one of those things you don`t put too much trust in 2nd hand, ya know?

Agreed, especially when the party selling it is making that determination. That said, having worked at, and bought several cars there, they do not systematically hide paintwork on cars, and the buyers are trained as well as anyone at any dealership to spot it.

The ultimate test, as always is when the PTG comes out. The numbers do not lie. Funny to see the looks on their faces when that comes out. The Mercedes dealer was especially fun in that regard.