Done the deal, new car is...

[del320]

Congrats on the new jalopy, mate!

...each experience I've had with them has been a good one.

"Stealers" often appear fair game on this Forum, but I have avoided such debate.

I've been 'locked' into Edinburgh's Eastern-Western Group for twenty-odd years with a succession of SAABs, B*Ws and two MBs.
They've only had two (used) sales out of me - the rest servicing and parts. They've been generous with courtesy cars (A,C,E) and taxis as and when required - but, I suppose at £95 ph or whatever...

Nobody is perfect, but overall they and their staff have been pretty good and a couple of long-past snafus were promptly remedied. The Service Manager always massages my ego with complimentary remarks ("The boys said they've never worked on a cleaner engine...Don't make 'em like that any more...etc, etc").

S'pose that adds another tenner to the bill

I'll give them 8+/10!

 

[Brett]

Is your old S class back on the original dealers forecourt?

No - he sent it straight to auction. It was presented at Plough Lane in Wimbledon last Friday. Don't know whether it sold, and if so, how much it went for.

Will get some photos taken of the new car once the rain stops...so next month sometime then...

 

[Brett]

I've been 'locked' into Edinburgh's Eastern-Western Group for twenty-odd years.....

Nobody is perfect, but overall they and their staff have been pretty good ...

As you say, they're not perfect but they have been very good to me so far. As long as they continue in that vein, they will get my business.

 

[Brett]

Good luck with your car. I very nearly bought one, the E320 is a serious estate car. Her indoors wanted a ML, so that's what we've just got. It's new so should be OK. Anyway she drives it & I just have fun!!!!!......Enjoy your new wagon.

PS Like you I very nearly left MB!!

The wife is going to drive it tomorrow for the first time...that should be enlightening!

 

[glojo]

No - he sent it straight to auction. It was presented at Plough Lane in Wimbledon last Friday. Don't know whether it sold, and if so, how much it went for.

Will get some photos taken of the new car once the rain stops...so next month sometime then...

Thank you for the reply. The dealer put it into auction because he no doubt accepts it has a problem. If this was an 'open' auction then the buyer must surely be suspicious of such a prestigous car going through the auction room??

I must confess to feeling sorry for the unwary buyer who will eventually buy the car from some dealers forecourt.

Regards,
John

 

[Brett]

Thank you for the reply. The dealer put it into auction because he no doubt accepts it has a problem. If this was an 'open' auction then the buyer must surely be suspicious of such a prestigous car going through the auction room??

I must confess to feeling sorry for the unwary buyer who will eventually buy the car from some dealers forecourt.

Regards,
John

Me too - my wife thinks I should write to DC(UK) and suggest they buy it and scrap it. My local service guy thinks that the previous owner got rid of it before the warranty ran out because of all the problems it had. The only thing about that particular auction is that it was mainly prestigious cars that particular day, so it may not stand out.

 

[Dieselman]

Thank you for the reply. The dealer put it into auction because he no doubt accepts it has a problem. If this was an 'open' auction then the buyer must surely be suspicious of such a prestigous car going through the auction room??

I must confess to feeling sorry for the unwary buyer who will eventually buy the car from some dealers forecourt.

Regards,
John

All the major auction houses run "Top car" days. There are many MB and BMW sold this way.
There are also lease company disposals including DC leasing auctions.
An S-Class going through auction is not an unusual event.

The description would be interesting though, if declared "warranted" then as well as mileage and condition being as stated then there should be no undeclared major faults with the car.

 

[glojo]

All the major auction houses run "Top car" days. There are many MB and BMW sold this way.
There are also lease company disposals including DC leasing auctions.
An S-Class going through auction is not an unusual event.

The description would be interesting though, if declared "warranted" then as well as mileage and condition being as stated then there should be no undeclared major faults with the car.

Thanks for the update,
I am out of touch with modern auctions. My experience has been where car manufacturers 'loan' vehicles out for 12 months or so to either senior executives within their company or celebrities, film makers Royalty etc. these vehicles then go to a closed auction where dealers of that manufacturer are invited to attend. The vehicles all retain the full remaining manufacturers warranty are purchased by dealers and sold on their forecourt with the full dealership support.

Do the leasing companies you describe keep the vehicles for a set time, or a set mileage? Do they also still come with the manufacturers warranty, or does their mileage nullify this?

Has anyone any idea of the prices they fetch? (I am still as nosey as ever)

What sort of warranty is offered by these open auctions and how old are the vehicles. A twelve month old S-class will not be a cheap car, buying it 'as seen' is to me a risk I would not take.

Brett's car had niggly problems, but problems that could not be cured. Imagine buying that car for just a few thousand pounds below book price! (if you are that 'lucky')

Regards,
John

 

[Brett]

John,

The main reason I got shot of it was that it was out of manufacturers warranty and into the Used Approved warranty. I was not confident that the problems could be fixed in a timely and satisfactory manner, and my servicing contact warned me that "not everything is covered by the extended warranty, unlike the manufacturer's warranty".

As the car was going to auction, it would have been offered with no warranty cover, so caveat emptor. I suspect it would have been sold for up to £10k below the dealer sticker price for exactly that reason. So maybe someone out there got a relative "bargain" even if they do need to spend £5k to get it perfect again.

Incidentally, is there something I should know about the E-Class brakes? I nearly put myself through the windscreen this morning when I had to pull up a little sharper than normal! Maybe it is just that it is a lighter car than the previous one, but it was a bit of a surprise.

 

[glojo]

Incidentally, is there something I should know about the E-Class brakes? I nearly put myself through the windscreen this morning when I had to pull up a little sharper than normal! Maybe it is just that it is a lighter car than the previous one, but it was a bit of a surprise.

Thanks for the update. For some reason or other I was under the impression your S-class was newer than it really is. (my fault entirely)

The brakes are something else!!!

There are numerous articles wrote about all the electronic gizzmo's the vehicle has. One of which recognizes the way you apply the footbrake. The time between foot coming off throttle and being applied to the brake, plus the speed you press the brake pedal.

The car recognizes these rapid applications and applies the brakes firmer than you or I could ever do. That is just one plus. There is also the way the brakes periodically apply themselves during wet weather just to keep the disc's dry. They obviously do not slow the vehicle, they merely create enough friction to dry the disc.

Have you tried SBC Hold? An excellent idea that should be standard on all automatic vehicles.

SBC Stop is something we (wife) only used once to see how it works. I cannot see it ever being used properly though.

Good luck with the car and enjoy the read.

 

[Brett]

Have you tried SBC Hold? An excellent idea that should be standard on all automatic vehicles.

SBC Stop is something we (wife) only used once to see how it works. I cannot see it ever being used properly though.

Good luck with the car and enjoy the read.

I haven't even got to that part in the manual! Sounds interesting - more bedtime reading tonight. The wife will be delighted!