need some eyes, the techs especially. the bid closes Thursday night and i've stared at these photos so long they stopped meaning anything.
the car: 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580 4MATIC, W223, 22,140 miles, Obsidian Black over Macchiato Beige, Driver Assistance package, 20 inch AMG wheels, no rear seat package. it's a bank repo parked at a lender yard outside Joliet, Illinois. the broker listing it is Lake Park Auto Connection, up in Minnesota between Fargo and Detroit Lakes. they don't own the cars. they're the authorized broker for the partner lenders. every bidder gets exactly one sealed number and nobody sees the others. highest number wins.
why i'm doing this at all. i drive a 2014 E350 with 141k on it, and my dad had a black 560SEL when i was a kid, so yes, this is the dumb childhood thing. dealer comps for a 2021 S580 with 20 to 30k miles run 68 to 74k between Sioux Falls, Omaha and the cities. i don't want to spend 70.
what i know: 64 photos plus a cold start video. no buyer's premium on top of the bid. they truck it for free up to 1,000 miles from Lake Park, and Joliet to Sioux Falls is about 560 anyway. clear title once the lender releases the lien.
what i don't know is what i'm missing in the pictures. i'll PM the album to anybody who asks. what would you look for?
got the album, went through all 64 on the couch. a few things.
photo 41, right rear. that tire is a Continental and the other three are Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. on a 4MATIC that isn't nothing. if the tread depth is off by more than about 2/32 from the rest, the transfer case lives with a constant slip. ask for a tread gauge shot on all four.
photo 12, the cluster during the cold start. there's a yellow message on the bottom line that the glare cuts off. could be tire pressure, could be a service reminder, could be something that matters. ask for a clean shot of the cluster running and one of the message list.
door jamb sticker says 03/21. early build. have them confirm open recalls by VIN, the early 223s had a few and any dealer does them free no matter where you bought it.
everything else looks right. gaps even, no overspray on the rubber, headliner clean, the Burmester grilles aren't scratched, so nobody was hauling lumber in it. there's one curb scuff on the left front wheel.
obligatory post. a 2021 G90 5.0 with those miles is 42 to 45k. you'd have 25 grand left over for gas and a vacation. ok, i'll stop.
marcus, right on both. i called the number on the listing yesterday morning and asked for tread shots and a cluster shot. had them by 3:30.
tread: three Michelins at 6/32 and the Continental at 9/32, so somebody replaced one after a flat and didn't care. the cluster message was a tire pressure warning, the yard had let all four sink to 30 psi. nothing else in the message list. one open recall on the VIN, a software item, dealer fix.
you'd have 25 grand left over for gas and a vacation
the 560SEL was black too, g90. no spreadsheet covers that. i'm bidding 61,750.
for calibration, since you posted a number. clean 2021 S580 4MATICs around 20k miles are bringing 57 to 60k in the lanes this month, before transport and before a dealer adds 8 to 10 for the window sticker. 61,750 delivered with no premium is a little over wholesale and well under retail. if the car matches the lake park listing, it's a sane bid.
repo flagships are more common than people think. a 1,900 a month payment on a car somebody couldn't really afford goes sideways fast.
won it. the email came at 9:52 last night and the invoice from lakeparkautoconnection.com this morning says 61,750.00 flat. nothing added on top. wired it when the bank opened.
paperwork so far: bill of sale from the lender, a lien release on the lender's letterhead, and a note that the Illinois title gets mailed once the release is processed. lake park quoted about 14 days for delivery.
did not sleep much.
congrats. my question would be open carrier or enclosed. an S580 on the top deck of a car hauler through September construction on I-90 is fine. bottom deck under a leaking pickup is a detail job.
it's here. day 13.
open carrier, top deck, a seven car rig out of Chicago. the driver wouldn't come down my street (fair, it's tight) so i met him in a grocery store lot across town. he gave me 20 minutes with a flashlight before i signed. the curb scuff marcus spotted was there. a second small one on the right rear rim was not in any photo.
first week notes. the odd tire: my tire shop said shave it to match or buy two. they trued it down to 6/32 for 35 bucks, which i didn't know was a thing. recall done at the dealer in an hour and a half, no charge.
what i didn't catch: the right rear door soft close won't pull the last quarter inch. marcus?
one door not finishing the soft close is usually the striker. T50 bit, loosen, nudge it in a millimeter, snug it. if the cinch motor groans while it tries, it's the latch, and that's around 600 installed.
also, a 2021 is due for Service B around now. check the booklet or the dealer history, a lot of first owners skip the 20k when the car is about to get repossessed.
different car, same outfit. i got a 2021 LS 500 AWD out of a lender yard in Colorado through the lake park auction a week after you, wrote it up here. my tires came in low too. i don't think those yards own a compressor.
you're about to learn what an S does on Airmatic in a Dakota winter. worth reading the newer thread on what the lake park warranty covers on air suspension. my 222 has cost me more than i'll admit to my wife.
housekeeping, since two people asked by email. no, the OP doesn't work for the broker in lake park. he's an insurance claims adjuster who wanted his dad's car. i checked before i let this thread run. also, PM the album links, please don't post them, the plates are visible in a couple.
update, eleven weeks and 3,260 miles.
the soft close was the striker. ten minutes with a T50, zero dollars.
the surprise. i took it to the Mercedes store here for the Service B (marcus was right again, the first owner skipped it) and the used car manager walked out while i was waiting and offered 66,500 on the spot. that's more than i paid delivered, two months ago. i said no thanks. off_lease, explain that one to me.
winter so far. first real snow was Nov 18 and i'm on 19 inch wheels with Pirelli Sottozero 3s, 2,380 mounted at a shop on Minnesota Ave. with 4MATIC it's a better snow car than the E350 ever was. Airmatic has been level every morning, coldest night so far was 3 above.
the one real annoyance was the title. the Illinois title took five weeks to arrive, so i made a trip to the county treasurer for a second temp permit before the first ran out. slow, not a disaster. if you buy through lake park from out of state, start that clock in your head the day you wire.
