jms_w

Wondering if that's unreasonable or not. It has 102K and is a rare (at least I think it's rare) blue green metallic. Paint is flawless, new tires, brakes, and battery, garaged. Thanks.

WhiteTrash

wow - that's a great deal. wish you were closer to LA.
I'm in the market for a big sedan as a second car.

dtkw

The 560SEL I am driving now used to be my mom's. I will never sell it for obvious reason. My mom is no longer with us and this is her last car.

jms_w

I am sorry to hear that. These cars are almost a classic. They don't make them like they used to.

jms_w

Sold!! A neighbor is buying it for $4850 today. I'm sure I could've gotten $5K for it but why haggle over $150 at the risk of losing the sale. Thanks everyone for your help.

trey682

Dude,

You sold that too cheap! Could have gotten closer to 8k I think if you would have sat on it for a couple weeks.

braverichard

Very true. Low mileage W126s seem to be fetching insane prices these days. This one is just a hair over 100K and would fetch probably about $10K on eBay based on current prices. Plus, it is a six cylinder so it is the second most fuel efficient W126 for its model year (after the diesel) and that's another selling point for it.

jms_w

I looked at autotrader, kbb, and edmunds and I got right between their retail and private sale prices. Maybe it depends on the area. I'm in Northern VA. I did notice that the west coast has a better market for this car.

braverichard

Actually the prices I stated were based on how much similar cars have been selling for on eBay lately. I constantly monitor the sales of various, different types of MBs on eBay so as to get a very good idea of their market values. A car like your mom's would have sold well on eBay.

Why did you sell the car?

jms_w

My mom was afraid of the cost of future repairs. My dad really wanted a snow car he could drive since he got stuck last winter in his car which has the sport package. I found out about the $3500 dealer incentive for remaining '05 E320W4's and was able to find them a deal on one for $3500 under invoice. Of course, selection was limited so her car only has heated seats, Logic 7, and sunroof. I didn't know you could get more than retail for a car on eBay. According the kbb, which every buyer seems to reference, the car lists at ~$4100 private sale, ~$5500 retail. Oh well, what's done is done. An older couple in the neighborhood bought it and they told me they would take good care of it. They at least garage it. If you have examples on eBay, I wouldn't mind seeing one. I know that her color was very rare and I too thought I could get more but kbb says otherwise. Had I only known...

braverichard

I couldn't find the three auctions from my eBay search (they stop showing up after a while) that would have perfectly illustrated what I stated earlier , but I did find some that would give you some idea of what it could have sold for. One of those auctions was for a 1990 300SEL with 98K miles, prestine condition with tan interior and black exterior and it sold for $10,600.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...544950418&rd=1

This one was a diesel. Diesels are selling very well these days not just because they are rarer than their gasoline counterparts but because of the nice gas and diesel prices these days and people think those cars get the 30mpg they are rumored to get - I own a diesel and I know a whole lot about W126 diesels and you'd be lucky to get 25mpg. Anyway, check out the selling price. Your mom's car would have fetched at least $3000 less than that car did.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...545350785&rd=1

This 560SEL is not only some years older than your mom's car, but has higher mileage and according to current market prices, is actually worth less than your mom's car due to the lower demand for those gas guzzlers.

jms_w

Thanks! What an eye-opener! I wish you had responded earlier. It's been 3 weeks since I sold the car. Lessons learned: try selling car on eBay first.

braverichard

Too bad you lost some thousands in that sale. However you sold it within 24 hours of posting the initial message - hardly enough time for everyone who can help you out to respond.

The key to selling these cars is to check for what they are selling for in the real world. You see, KBB, Nada, Black Book, that's all crap. They mean nothing when it comes to these cars. Last time I checked, a 1984 500SEL with 155K miles wasn't even worth $1,000. Sure, I just helped a friend sell one with even more miles (168K) a few weeks ago for $4,000. What sells these cars is condition and proof of maintenance/service via records that are well kept. Furthermore, the best means of proving that the mileage on the odometer is accurate is using service records which show the mileage consistently increasing. The most crazy example of how ineffective those "book values" are when applied to these cars was a 1983 300D with a "book" value of less than $2,000 which sold for $9,000!!

Condition sells these cars. People are realizing that even if present day Mercedes-Benzes are built just as well (something most people disagree with but I believe is almost true), the present day cars can't be worked on in your driveway or home garage as you need a computer for everything. Furthermore, the mere complexity of the features on today's cars are off-putting for some people. Lastly, a 1970 Benz that was well maintained and has no rust will easily last for another 30 years and everyone knows that. Nothing proves it more than the fact that overall on earth, 60% of all Benzes made after 1945 are still on the road, that's much more than any other automaker. My trip to Syria opened my eyes. I was picked up from the airport by a 1948 Mercedes diesel Taxi. I looked like junk but ran like a top! With over 1.5 million post-1972 cars on the road in the USA, MB has the largest share of the category of cars that old even though during those years MB's sales were just 2% of the total car sales!

x15jq

My mom has a 1991 300 SE that just turned over 59k. It is in mint condition all original paint black with grey interior. No rips or anything on the leather. What do you a think a car like this is worth, we are thinking of selling. All maintinence up to date, the only aftermarket item on the car are amg monoblock 17 X 7.5 with micehlin pilot sport tire. THank you

braverichard

I'd say no less than $12-14K. The key is to not be in a great hurry when selling. I don't mean that it will take six months to sell, but it may take more than a month till the exact buyer shows up. Furthermore, on eBay prices tend to be manipulated badly (for sellers like you anyway) by people who price their cars too low to sell them quickly. As a result listing your prestine, low mileage car may be best done when there aren't such cars listed on eBay with low asking prices.

Monitor this auction for interest sake: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MakeTrack=true

Of course as you can see there aren't serious bidders yet. Unless they are waiting for the last minute which is usually when things get interesting!

benz rider

you got beat on that sale. sorry.

jms_w

Actually, I got jacked! Totally my fault for being impatient. Don't worry, I'm reminded everytime to this day whenever I see a W126. Remember that you're responding to a nearly 6-year-old thread, well, as am I!

mutleybird

.

mutleybird

royzell

Personally, I think he did OK. There are likely location variables, but in BC, the Pacific Northwest older MB's are not going for big $. I think premium gas is part of it, and people afraid of repair costs ( except enthusiasts of course).
Nice car though!