Hello, new here. Looking to buy a Sl, and have looked at a few low mileage examples, but for some reason, none of them looked or drove like mileage represented. Are these cars prone to odometer tampering, or am I expecting too much in a used car?

 

The mileage not representing the condition of the car IS the first indication that tampering has occured. But of course, there really ARE slobs in the world that can trash a car in 15k miles.

Two ways to avoid being the victim of fraudulent misrepresentation are to run a CARFAX report on the car, another is to have a legal authority run the DMV record. If the numbers can't make sense, something is wrong.

I wouldn't even recommend buying a car in poor condition. If the body and carpets etc. are in poor condition, you can only imagine the neglect the engine has endured, such as long terms between oil changes, amatuer repairs, discount parts, etc. I hate when people buy these cars and later have problems, which make them unhappy with their Mercedes. It would be my wish that you could find someone wanting to trade-out of a well treated good car.

Charles