........Many on this forum have indicated that they will like to sell their C36. I am looking to buy a 1997 C36. $8K cash. Very firm! Yes, I know it is an AMG and rare, and limited production etc. Realize that no bank will finance a 1997 car. Therefore, you can only sell to a cash buyer, and no cash buyer will dish out the $13K cash you want for the car. For that price, the person can buy a W210 E55 or a 2002 CLK55. I am specifically interested in a 1997 C36. If anyone is serious about selling, let me know. The longer you wait, CLK55's and W210 E55's will get cheaper and even more attractive by comparison to the cash buyer, compared to the C36. If you don't want to sell, by all means keep the car. If you want to seell, you are not going to get a higher price.

Ted

 

Ive never seen an E55 for that low

good luck, noone will sell a good condition c36 for that low, especially not the 97 model

 

..........for your education, here is a 2001 W210 E55 for $13K. Like I said, if you don't plan to sell, then keep your car. If you are planning to sell, but looking for a higher price, you are not very informed.......as indicated by your lack of info that you can buy a W210 E55 for $13K.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-...=p4506.c0.m245

Ted

 

thats the only one I saw for that low but then again Ive seen c36s for 3-4 k, there must be a good reason behind that price

good luck

heres a c36 I found on craigslist

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/ctd/874214005.html

 

8k is a fair price for a C36. Of course, you can get a C43 for that as well, so consider 8k for a C36 a generous offer.

 

......the rarity of the C36 is a bit overstated. You have to also factor in the number of people that above all else want to buy a C36 as opposed to any other car. Just statng the number of units produced, does not define rarity. Afterall, there wre only 75 R63's produced, but no one wants them.


.........I am looking for a 1997 C36 because I alreay have a C43 an a W210 E55. The C36 is a very nice car, but not more desirable than the C43 or E55. A litlle persective is needed on the part of C36 sellers.

Ted

 

and anyone who actually tries to sell one will get that perspective fast...

with any car in the current market i would expect to pay 20% and more less than what other similar used ones are listed for... (see the 40k mile, G35x with all options we bought for 17k in January, the 120k mile 1999 Tahoe LS i got for 3k and in very very good condition for 3150 in May and the 112k mile 2002 Explorer XLT 4.6L with all XLT available options i just helped my brother pick up for 4100... if you look at list prices around here all those are INSANE prices, but they reflect the real world with this market)

You might say my experience is different because of the rarity of the car, but honestly like Ted said- who wants a C36 above all else? the buyer will just shift to something less rare. in fact i think the rarity works against it as there are fewer people who know about it or have had friend's who owned one. A car this cheap and rare is a scary combination for most buyers.... ie, what is wrong with it.

 

Why a 97. Personally, I would rather go for a 95.

 

97 has a 5 speed tranny, 96 and 95 had 4 speed I believe, also the 97 model was bumped in HP a bit and head gasket\harnes issue was resolved I heard

 

And we all know how reliable that 5 speed tranny is

I love my old 4 speed low tech tranny. It is always in the right gear and has plenty of much to move in freeway speeds.

I thought only the 95s had the 4 piston AMG brakes on the front which have better pedal feel compared to the floating calipers.

 

the head gasket issue was not resolved in any of those i6 motors until around 2000 when the upgraded head gasket was released... i know of several 97 c36's that have had to do the head gasket job...

 

the right version of that 5 speed is beyond reliable... look at the other cars it is in.

 

Correct,

Head gasket is an issue on all of them. The 4speed is virtually bulletproof and can handle rediculous amounts of power, The 5speed is more fragile and is electronically controlled (not from vacuum/manifold pressure like the 4spd, which is why 4spd is more reliable).

The 4spd is not as sluggish if you make a few changes such as changing your driveline fluids and also changing your crank pulley among other things.

Also the 95-97 actually have slightly more aggressive gearing in 1st gear (even with the differential disadvantage of 3.07 or 2.82), and the 5speed is NOT more aggressively geared as most people think, the reason they put the higher diff ratio in the 5spd cars is because of the newer 5spd tranny with has taller tranny rations. If you add up all the numbers and do the calculations you will see the gearing is almost identical, and gear 4 on the 4spds is basically an avg (half way in between) gears 4 & 5 on the 5spds, so the hwy cruising on 5spd is slightly lower on the rpms (but honestly not much). Gears 1-3 are virtually the same except that gear 1 on the 4spds is just a tad bit more aggressive (but nothing worth writing about).

The reason I would not get the 95 is simply b/c it has the outdated interior and it is most prone to wiring harness & headgasket failures. Also it has the older true AMG brakes (which do have 5mm larger rotors than their later counterparts so they are technically better, but again the cost of repair is astronomical so thats not necessarily a plus).

The 96 has the updated interior, less prone to wiring harness failure (but head gaskets are still an issue). IMO 96 was the best year b/c it was a blend of the best of both worlds, but again its totally up to you. Each year C36 is totally unique & different and I guess thats what makes the C36 so great, even each individual year was unique & special.

hope that helps.

 

well, after having a 96 c280 and a 97 c280, i can testify that the 5 spd makes the car much faster, according to the butt dyno, that is. i didnt much care for the 96, it had alot more problems than the 97 did...