milleian

I am considering selling my 2016 C450 and purchasing something with a lower cost of ownership. As the title states, how did you end up selling your Mercedes? How long did it take to sell the car? What were the differences if you price out both options? I understand a trade in will get you significantly less. One (small) bonus is in WA the difference on the trade in is not taxed. Any advice would be appreciated!

Mr. J

You're going to take depreciation hit if you sell. You will not save money this way unless you take a major downgrade.

To sell, get a trade in appraisal from at least 2 different dealers and Carmax. Get 3 dealer appraisals if the estimates have a spread greater than 10%. List the car on Autotrader, Craigslist, Nextdoor, MBworld, Bimmerpost, and maybe a few others. Your PP listing price should be about 20% above the dealer trade in value. Give or take 5% depending on how hard they want to screw you. Be prepared to deal with 5 scammers and 3 wheeler dealers for each actual prospective buyer who contacts you.

AZFTW

Great advice here - you'll get less with Carmax but maybe not as much as you think and you won't have to deal with showing the car to multiple people. I would personally not deal with websites like this or Bimmerpost but that's just because I wouldn't want to deal with kids / scammers who have no interest in buying the car.

milleian

Appreciate the informative response. I have the CPO warranty which is in effect right now. I also picked up the extended 2 year factory warranty. Car is completely covered for unlimited miles, 2023. Do people even care about that sense of security? Would that increase the value of the car or just cancel it and be done with it?

superswiss

Go to the KBB website and price out both trade-in and private party sale for you specific car and mileage. Then see if the difference of the private party value is bigger than what you are likely gonna get in sales tax credit if you were to trade it in. My hunch is, that it is not and you are probably best off trading it in and take the sales tax credit. In reality you won't get much more than KBB value depending on the actual condition of the car. Savvy buyers do their research, too, and the KBB value is pretty much where it is. You may find somebody who is willing to pay more for getting the warranties, but as with options, usually those things have very little value when selling the car. Extended warranties are a huge money making business and generally not worth it and they come with a list of exclusions, but if somebody can pick up a used car with one then why not. I would not pay anything for an extended warranty, though.

milleian

That makes sense. I have access to the blackbook and for the most part it’s similar to what kbb says. Worst that happens is I walk.

Mr. J

The warranty definitely adds value for the private party buyer if transferable. Some people are phobic about German cars out of warranty and I don't blame them for that belief. The MB ELW can be canceled and refunded at a prorated amount too. Since it''s already covered under CPO, you should cancel the ELW and just pocket it if you are serious about selling it.

SDRider

Never mind... Reply was to the wrong thread.

rroberts

In June 2018 I had a private party willing to pay $13,200 for my '07 SLK55, but his wife make him back out at the last minute. Others expressed interest but nobody was serious and I was coming to the commit point on my new C63s. The dealer offered me $8,500 for the '07 SLK55 as a trade-in so I went to Carmax and got $12,500 (in and out in <20 minutes and they gave me a ride home).

I got my revenge on the dealer, to some extent. They were giving me the 'how much of the total do you want to finance' question with a gleam in their greedy little eyes until I pulled out a $75k cashiers check and some cash. The finance manager looked like he literally wanted to cry.

AMGiggity

Just keep the car and enjoy driving it. You have warranty for 2-3 more years so not much of maintenance outside of gas/oil/rubber. You have to go real cheap to make this downsizing economically logical.

DrivingForce

Carvana is a much better option than Carmax. Vroom is another option. I got much better offers from Carvana than Carmax in the past and they come pick up the car. Never got nickled and dime for any minor wear items.

BTW do you have any information on your car??? Where do you live? I'm in the market for a C450. Edit--I see you are in WA, unfortunately I am on the other coast so I doubt we could make this work

Mangustos

Hi there! Selling my 2016 C450 was a relatively straightforward process. I listed the car on several online marketplaces, and it sold within a week. I did make sure to price it competitively, and it sold for a price that was in line with the market value. I got contacted by some guy that offers "cash for trucks," and they bought it on the same day. If you're considering both selling your car and trading it in, it's essential to do your research and compare the two options. I found that the trade-in value I was offered was significantly lower than what I could get by selling it myself.