For a lot of people, buying a Mercedes-Benz can be an intimidating prospect, especially if you want to look at used cars for sale in your area. Then you’re worried about getting ‘taken for a ride’ on the price. That’s why we’ve listed a handful of ways to help you ensure you get the best used Mercedes-Benz car deal available. As long as you keep this checklist in mind, you should drive away with a second hand luxury car to suit your needs as well as your budget.

1. What’s Most Important to You?

You need to work out exactly what you need from your “new” used Mercedes car. Is it vital how economical the model is to run? Or is it comfort that’s important to you on that daily commute?

Do your own research first so that you have a clear checklist to stick to, and don’t stray from it. Although sales assistants can be useful, they could, for example, suggest a diesel car as being more fuel efficient, when in fact this is only for those who regularly do long journeys where they achieve the speeds at which the engine is at its most efficient. As these are typically more expensive, this could end up costing you more.

2. Try to Get the Timing Right

Whether you go to an independent seller,or a marketplace like AutoTrader, there are cheaper times during a year to buy. If you’re going down to a dealership, they’ll usually have targets based on quarterly sales, so the end of March, June, September and December make good buying times. Plus, they’ll be more open to negotiation and willing to offer better finance packages.

If you’re looking at independent sellers, be reminded that they don’t have targets, but you can still try to predict when other buyers will be less active. Try to avoid weekends, or the start of the month after payday, and instead look to buy during peak holiday periods when people will be spending their money on other things.

3. Work Out Extra Costs and Protect Yourself

It’s important to factor in added extras; for example, independent sellers look to move on their car when it’s coming to the end of its road tax and MOT periods, so make sure you always find out how much time is left on those, as well as when the car last had a full service, which is usually more expensive the older the car. Plus, you should always look to protect yourself, especially with private sellers. Some top tips for this include:

• Keep copies of the original advert in case they try to backtrack on their description.
• Be wary of any seller that doesn’t want to meet at their home, as it could be a sign that they don’t want you to know where they live.
• Thousands of people buy used cars on eBay, but PayPal’s purchase protection doesn’t apply to cars.
• Pay for all or part of the car on credit.

Do you have any more tips for people buying used Mercedes cars?