To Sell -- Or Not To Sell ?
 

It turns out, I am moving to London, England for a while... [ yes, i'm excited ! ]

I bought my c350 brand new and I love it. I don't think i can part with it. So much so, i'm actually considering letting it depreciate while in storage, so I can continue where I left off when i return in two years.

The only problem with that is, it doesn't make $$$ sense. I could in theory buy a newer model in the future ...

What would you guys do ?

- car is paid off in full.
- i customized it to the point where i absolutely am in love with it. [ led mods, lowered spring, grill, side markers, new set of expensive tires all season ]

Letting it sit in storage for extended periods of time won't be very good for it. It needs to be driven occasionally.

As much as it hurts, I think the best thing to do is to sell it now.

British regulations would not allow you to ship it and register it as a used car?

I'm with SportStick. I'd consider doing what he recommends. Two years is a longgggg time. I'd want to be with something I love so much over such an extended period of time. Otherwise, there'd be heartache. :[ Ship it to England! (if possible that is. The depreciation value will amount to the shipping costs roughly. :P)

Yeah, but how much fun will it be trying to drive a car designed for right hand driving in a country that drives on the left?

Yikes. Good point. Hmm. Get one of those really long trigger pull clamp things for toll booths and stuff I guess? :rolf:

I suppose it would take some getting used to. But it's definitely possible. Look at the R34 kit car folk who roam my area. Or what's left of them at least. Stupid emissions crackdown impounded a lot of the R34's in the LA metro area. Sigh. I digress.

It's all up to C350_Vancouver's dedication I suppose :]

But just think of your car saying, "If you really loved me, you'd take me with you, and do whatever it takes to make me happy." That could either be the heartwarmer, or the absolute nagging statement from a needy girlfriend/wife. You choose :D

I had a chance to do the opposite....test drove several right hand drive cars here in the U.S. Quite exciting and fun! The looks from other drivers were great!

I would say to either ship it or sell it.

What if you're gone longer than 2 years? Say it turns into 4 years?

Although you are going to take a depreciation hit on selling it, I'd think that you'd still be better off getting what you can out of it and moving to the next deal.

I was living in Singapore and was making arrangements to move back to the States in 2001. Among some of the arrangements was buying a 2001 Millenia S...turns out I got an offer I simply couldn't refuse and ended up moving to Hong Kong. I decided to keep the car for two reasons...other than the fact I had just bought it and loved it... I had a great freind with a great space open in his garage and I had to come back to the states 3or 4 times a year and could drive it then. I asked him to drive it a couple times a month to keep everything in order and the car had no issues 21/2 years later when I came back.
Anyhow, if you really love the car, have a good place to keep it and could use it when/if you come back to visit, it may be worthwhile to keep it.

How much milage is on it? What about the warrentee? In my case I am 47K miles and faced to extend the warrentee for $5K now (Plus I know brakes are due soon). I am seriously considering bailing out.
RP

Tough call. I guess my first thought would be to sell it and buy a newer model once you get back to the states. The one thing I wouldn't want to do would be to eat the deprecation while I was unable to enjoy the car. That would probably depress me more than just selling it.

Good luck, let us know what you decide to do. :y

It's a 350, not a Ferrari. Sell it, invest the funds buy yourself something better when you return in 2 years if you feel a car is where you want to throw your money at.

Ultimately do you what makes you feel happy. If a depreciating car in your garage makes you happy, you have to do that.

I made a decision :)

- Shipping to UK is more hassles than worth.
- Selling it was not fetching the price i had in mind, [ interest rates are 0.9% finance for Canada MB ]
- I only have about 15k miles on it.


The decision was to ship the car to Toronto by rail and let my parents drive it for 2 years. I'm sure they'll rack up the milage as they commute long distances. But, they'll enjoy it... and that has some value..

^^^^^ couldn't agree more.

That has ALOT of value! Good for you!! Outstanding choice! :y

Good call... :y