First time possible MB buyer. 2002 S430 47,600 miles $31,500 more details inside - Benzworld.org

akshatp · 12-08-2006, 05:21 PM

My cousin is upgrading to a newer S class, and is going to trade in his 2002 S430.

Its got all the bells and whistles: AMG sport package, Keyless go, DVD NAV, 6 disc CD, etc.

The dealer is giving him $30,000 trade in value. KBB lists it at 31,400 trade and 41,000 retail. The car itself is in excellent shape. No accidents, no dings, garage kept etc.

He said if I want to buy it he would sell it to me for $31,500 (taking into consideration the tax he would save by trading it in)

Is this a good deal? If not, why not? I need to tell him by tomorrow morning.

BTW its Black/Black

Panther · 12-08-2006, 07:24 PM

Make sure you get an extended warranty with your deal. It is very expensive to keep these cars running right.

akshatp · 12-08-2006, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panther

Make sure you get an extended warranty with your deal. It is very expensive to keep these cars running right.

Any ideas where or from which company to get such an extended warranty?

BlackCab996 · 12-08-2006, 11:39 PM

I bought an extremely clean 2001 S500 with 42,000 miles for $27,000 miles - I think my deal was better than normal, but I think you can get that price down some more.

Mark_K · 12-09-2006, 04:21 AM

you and your cousin should work out a deal with the dealer to have your cousin trade it in then you can buy it from the dealer and get it certified by MB.

Maybe you can get it for 33,000 certified from the dealer.

Oh and I would checkon that DVD Nav. I thought they came out in 2003. I have a 2002 s430 with cd Nav.

My04230k · 12-09-2006, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_K

you and your cousin should work out a deal with the dealer to have your cousin trade it in then you can buy it from the dealer and get it certified by MB.

Maybe you can get it for 33,000 certified from the dealer.

Oh and I would checkon that DVD Nav. I thought they came out in 2003. I have a 2002 s430 with cd Nav.

Actually the DVD Nav came out in 2004.on the S.
good luck trying to get that car at that price certified..
I looked at a certified 2003 S430 here and it was 49K!! yeah right.....
I bought a clean 2004 for 10K less the same day from a Non MB dealer.
(Sometimes) certified is just a 10 letter word.

Skylaw · 12-10-2006, 07:24 AM

MY04230k is correct. To certify the car as a "Starmark" the dealer would immediately replace brake pads, rotors, and tires, and would check for any non-OE mods to the car and return it to original. He would also inspect and replace (if required) other operating components. In other words, he could sink a good bit of money into the car - so you wouldn't get it for your relative's price.

Third party warrantees are your best bet - probably around $3K. I suggest that you do a search of this forum and MB World as well for other users' warranty experience. There are some positive recommendations as well as cautions.

You might also search for problems in the pre-2003 S-Class. I don't mean to put you off on the car - but a warrantee is your best protection against Airmatic system failures, a frequent problem. Another problem has been the instrument clusters, but MB just extended the original warrantee on the cluster to 10 years, for all (not just original) owners of 2000 and later S-Class cars.

MY04230k is also correct on the nav system. The U.S. spec '02 S-Class was equipped with a CD-based "D" nav system, and COMAND 2.5 operating with a D2B fiber optic bus. If you get the car and as you have questions arise about its systems and modifications to it, you may want to remember those terms to ease your research.

The '03 came out with a wide-screen COMAND that was D2B based and a nav system that used CDs; it can be adapted to the earlier models, but it's not just a simple swap. Search the forum for "Sunman" and COMAND - you'll find good information. One of his recent posts is at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...-change-2.html

The '04s and later use DVD based COMAND navigation on a MOST fiber optic bus; retrofitting a D2B car with MOST fiber optics can be done, but is VERY expensive and also involves changing out all of the equipment connected to the D2B bus - COMAND, nav system, CD, and a host of other stuff.

ProV1x · 12-10-2006, 07:37 AM

sounds like BS that dealer wil give him $30k for that car. he'd be lucky to get $24k for it at the dealer

akshatp · 12-14-2006, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProV1x

sounds like BS that dealer wil give him $30k for that car. he'd be lucky to get $24k for it at the dealer

Unless my cousin went to the dealer the day before and told the salesperson to lie to me, it isnt BS; I was there with him.

Anyway, i passed on the car for now, and he traded it in (for $30,000) and got the new GL. Ill keep driving my 740 at least through the winter.

Thanks for all of the advice folks. Ill be back when I get my MB

hawk20 · 12-14-2006, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshatp

Unless my cousin went to the dealer the day before and told the salesperson to lie to me, it isnt BS; I was there with him.

Anyway, i passed on the car for now, and he traded it in (for $30,000) and got the new GL. Ill keep driving my 740 at least through the winter.

Thanks for all of the advice folks. Ill be back when I get my MB

Keep us posted and good luck. It was probably a good deal you were offered but if you can wait and get a 2004 S class, there were so many improvements all round including the interior and including galvanising all steel panels. Vastly improved reliability is generally agreed too. I'm loving mine. Great, great car.