E430 purchase
 

I am looking at a 2000 E430 4matic with 57,000 miles to purchase for my wife. Does anyone know of any specific problems I should be aware of with this vehicle? I do not have a problem paying for routine maintainence but do not want to be suprised by a large bill for a known problem in 20,000 miles. The dealer is asking for $19,999 is this close to what they really are going for in today's market. It is at a MB dealer and is a "certified preowned" car.
Thanks for anyones help on this decision.

A little "high" price, make sure that they have performed all of the recalls & all of the scheduled maintenance has been done..including spark plug replacement.

Check kbb.com for the retail value of this car being sold by a dealer.

We just purchased a 2001 E430 Sport with 55K in pristine condition and paid 20K. We are very pleased. This was below Kelly Blue Book. You can check the value on that website. I think the asking price for you car is fair. Most dealers negotiate. Sparkplugs recommended change is 100K. Coolant change is every 3 years.

Buying a Certified Pre-Owned MB from a dealer is almost as good as buying a new car. There are different levels of coverage available, so make sure to ask the salesperson for the details. Also, not all systems are covered for the entire warranty. Again, ask the salesperson for an explanation. IMHO, MB CPO buyers can have the peace of mind a factory warranty offers, without the cost of buying new. The downside to CPO is that the dealer usually doesn't have much room to negotiate the price.

Spark plug change isn't 100K mikes, IT is 5 years or 100K miles whichever comes FIRST & that car is WELL over 5 years old. Make sure that you don't wait as time is as important as mileage OR MB wouldn't have put that into the formula!

Every day people ignore that fact & wind up having to replace wires & coils due to waiting!