Would anyone buy a e63 private sale?

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My c63 was purchased privately, as long as there’s no ‘moody’ wear and tear to the vehicle/interior in relation to mileage, all the service paperwork and maintenance is trustworthy, I don’t see the problem in a private sale
 
Yes I would buy an E63 via a private sale and if anything prefer this.

You do see some privately advertised cars at similar prices to dealer cars. This does not put me off, the main reason being that the Dealer is highly likely to have acquired the similarly priced car for significantly less, some of these cars are dogs. It’s then a case of which car being presented is in the best condition. Dealers do a reasonable job bodging imperfections cheaply to make the car “appear” to be in good condition, they will normally do the minimum prep and only do more if it’s flagged by a potential buyer! They also do not “know“ the car, on something like an AMG as a buyer I like to have a good understanding of the cars history, some dealers don’t even know which engine size is under the bonnet. Yes an MB Dealer may throw a 1 or if newer, a 2 year warranty with the car, which is good for piece of mind, but also means you ideally need to keep the car maintained in the dealer network (to me not essential on a car over 5 years old when there are better Indies who can do the maintenance).

Buying privately still has many risks, but as has been said, if you have a decent knowledge of the car and know what to look for, then you are in a good place. If the seller is an enthusiast or for example a frequent forum member, then on viewing the car you are speaking the same language. In the past I have bought “better” cars from enthusiasts than from the Dealerships, not always massively cheaper than what appears to be a comparably priced car from a Dealership, but highly likely I bought the better value car.

Don’t be put off buying privately, you can get it independently checked, but a warranty etc. Likewise there are still some great examples to be bought from a Dealership and sometimes this may be the only option if you want a certain specification.
 
I'm happy to buy privately from someone with OCD. Every bit of paperwork, preferably recorded on Excel with date and mileage. Profuse apologies because a bird crapped on the roof after he had detailed the car. Someone who would bore your ass off talking about wheelnut torque and how hard it is to get into the deepest crevices of the quads to polish them. Places nobody will ever see.
 
Well I would be unlikely to buy a E63 the same with a C63,but if it was a private buy I would need to see the owner and gauge just what sort of person he is and also of course the car,take a extreme for instance,he arrives late with the rear tyres smoking and music blaring with his cap on backwards,he would have a zero chance of selling me that car,if I find the car stone cold in the garage and the guy is a decent sort who allows me to inspect and look at the history and we go for a test run and in general conversation he explains the low mileage and what he has had done to the car,I would buy it if the price was right given members have already pointed out that with no warranty it is worth at least 4 grand less than a MB approved car
 
I'm happy to buy privately from someone with OCD. Every bit of paperwork, preferably recorded on Excel with date and mileage. Profuse apologies because a bird crapped on the roof after he had detailed the car. Someone who would bore your ass off talking about wheelnut torque and how hard it is to get into the deepest crevices of the quads to polish them. Places nobody will ever see.
Exactly my approach to buying too, I actively buy privately so I can find this sort of lunatic. My c63 did 5 years in the last owners ownership, 11k...serviced twice a year! No expense ever spared. To me I'd always take that owner over a dealer car with unknown history and hoping a warranty would cover it. It's way more fun buying privately too, my car would have cost me 6k more at a dealer for what?
 
Exactly my approach to buying too, I actively buy privately so I can find this sort of lunatic. My c63 did 5 years in the last owners ownership, 11k...serviced twice a year! No expense ever spared. To me I'd always take that owner over a dealer car with unknown history and hoping a warranty would cover it. It's way more fun buying privately too, my car would have cost me 6k more at a dealer for what?
I agree, but Lunatics a bit strong. :)
 
I think the main consideration is that one expensive repair can blow any savings in purchase price out of the water. That kind of pales into insignificance the savings made buying privately and/or likely depreciation over 1-2 years.

Not all dealer cars are good (I can vouch for that!)
Not all private sale cars are bad.

A lot of people these days aren’t interested in selling cars privately. I have sold plenty over the years but I’m not so sure I could be bothered with the hassle these days, especially at the £20/30k+ sort of price point. Too many risks.

But you’d be surprised at the amount of private sellers that seemingly have no idea about the various faults and issues than can crop up.

Being a nice person or OCD with detailing or living in a nice house doesn’t mean that something like the engine won’t go pop 6 months down the line (unlikely but has been known to happen with these) or more likely stuff like air suspension or electrical niggles etc, minor faults present before purchase that crop up later down the line etc. You may still have problems but the cars retailed by MB have to pass certain criteria and you do get a 2-year warranty, MOT failure cover, key cover and any outstanding service work covered that is due within 3 months/3k miles. You also have better protection should anything untoward happen post purchase (not sure many private sellers would let you pay a chunk via credit card for consumer protection?) - and at the very least you’re sure you’re buying something with clean title, HPI clear and free of finance or loans secured on it etc - or comeback if not.

As for preferring to buy privately - unless they are the only owner from new, how do you know who/where they bought the car from? There’s a good chance they bought it from a dealer anyway ;)

Even my 11k miler E63 which had full MB history had about £3k worth of faults rectified via warranty and prior to purchase - 1x Intelligent Lighting System xenon headlamp and rear air springs. Had I bought privately that could have come out of my own wallet.

I would include all cars in your search, and judge each one on its own merit - but like for like example and price it would have to be a dealer car all day long just for that warranty. I think I’d want a private sale car to be priced £2-4k less and even then you’re not guaranteed any saving, as you would be selling the car with no warranty in a year’s time (whereas you can transfer the warranty to the new owner - which could be a nice selling point for you) and even a small repair or two could eat into that saving.
 
I'd say yes - considering selling privately carries its risks as well no-one has mentioned!

Warranty on E63 is ~ £1700 a year with no excess, Unless its risen significantly since 2019..

Full AMG dealer history is a must upto 5 years old I'd say - Servicing with said dealer also gives a years auto recovery / emergency assist each time.

Mine had the 'biggie' last October - so next one is cheapest!

Similar mileage / age to mine I noticed are asking higher prices than 6 months ago strangely - maybe people are thinking life's too short! :D

If I got 10% less than a dealer I'd think that was fair...
 
Warranty on E63 is ~ £1700 a year with no excess, Unless its risen significantly since 2019..

It has risen significantly Paul😦
In fact, its gone up £275 in the last 6 weeks for an E63!


12 MONTHS COVER
Mercedes-Benz Extended Warranty
Excess: £0
£2875.00 one-off
Select this product
 
So if you want the warranty, a main dealer car has the equivalent of £5750 worth of the warranty alone, excluding any other benefits.

Would be interesting to compare the prices of cars the OP is interested in, bar the odd exceptions I would be surprised if they’re anywhere near that much more expensive than others advertised elsewhere :)
 
Not that I can afford a car that price. But it does not give me much faith in a car when you have to pay up to £5000 on a warranty. I would rather buy a good classic and put this money into maintaining it in perfect condition. But that's just me.
 
The warranty cost is also relative to car age
A 2016 model was £1700 per year 6 weeks ago.
 
LOL still time to grab a bargain for mine then...

Better off if older making the saving and keeping it in your bank...??!!

All warranties are a gamble.

You might feel happy if you don’t need it and have little or only minor issues.

You might wish you had one if you have a £10k+ engine failure.

Have a read on the forums, it’s not common but certainly not unheard of either.

On the other hand, even £1700 doesn’t really go that far for what can seem relatively small faults - electronic issues, gearbox issues, smaller mechanical faults etc - once you add in labour costs and parts at a main dealer.

There’s no right or wrong choice, you make the decision that best suits your attitude to risk.
 
Warranties are insurance products. Unless there’s a legal requirement then people o my insure something if they would be unable to recover financially - or recover quickly, and without unnecessary hardship - in the event of some risk is realised.

If you they afford to repair the car without hardship then you don’t need to insure against the event that it develops a fault, or what many people worry about is a catastrophic and expensive failure.

Like all forms of insurance it may feel like a waste in the event that you don’t claim, but that’s actually the best outcome, the event that the insured party is worried about has not been realised in that period.

Also like all forms of insurance, it should be expected that the insured has more periods without claims than with claims, but when they eventually make a claim it’a usually significant in value.

Therefore if you can afford to take the risk of paying for repairs as and when they’re required then it will be much more cost effective. Until there’s a very big repair that is and at some point there will be.

The thing about risk is that once it has manifested, then the likelihood of it every repeating actually increases - the fact that it has happened means that it could, and probably will happen again.

At best the likelihood of a repeat risk event is the same as it was before the first event occurred - once in 100 year events are just as likely to occur on consecutive days as they are 200 years apart.
 
All warranties are a gamble.

You might feel happy if you don’t need it and have little or only minor issues.

You might wish you had one if you have a £10k+ engine failure.

Have a read on the forums, it’s not common but certainly not unheard of either.

On the other hand, even £1700 doesn’t really go that far for what can seem relatively small faults - electronic issues, gearbox issues, smaller mechanical faults etc - once you add in labour costs and parts at a main dealer.

There’s no right or wrong choice, you make the decision that best suits your attitude to risk.
Bargain, compared to 64 Reg Warranty of £2750!

£1700...

Guess the key is save £4000 private and pay £1700 warranty (if someone bought mine rather than a 64 Reg!)...if I was selling LOL


Cheapest Service next !!:p
 
But don’t forget, you can’t put a warranty on a privately bought car to cover pre-existing conditions (issues from before the warranty has started)

If you buy a dud, you’re on your own - the warranty may not be much good to you there.

If you buy a car from a dealer, either they or the warranty company will be liable for faults.

This is often overlooked when people compare the margins.
 
But don’t forget, you can’t put a warranty on a privately bought car to cover pre-existing conditions (issues from before the warranty has started)

You can, Mercedes will if you have dealer history and following a healthy check over and diagnostic scan

Third party warranty companies also do the same, although one to mention was Motoreasy when I inquired about this, their health check and inspection would be carried out by Halfords
 
You can, Mercedes will if you have dealer history and following a healthy check over and diagnostic scan

Third party warranty companies also do the same, although one to mention was Motoreasy when I inquired about this, their health check and inspection would be carried out by Halfords
I think you're saying the same thing as will. If the health check identifies existing faults/issues then the warranty won't cover them. I think there might be a 30 day period in which you can't claim too.
 

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