C63 Depreciation Slowing?
 

I have an '11 C63 and thought of trading it in to get an M3 convertible. The wife wants a convertible and I wouldn't mind trying an M3 for a while. About a year ago, the trade-in value was about $50K, and the current trade-in value I'm being quoted is also about $50K - no change in a year! - but the $50K is in line with similar cars currently listed for sale between about $54K to $58K on cars.com.

So what's going on here? Has demand for the C63 recently increased, causing the depreciation to slow? Maybe the C63BS makes the C63 look like a bargain, so suddenly lots of people want a C63? Maybe people want to grab the big NA V8 before it's too late?

If the depreciation rate will stay slow for another year or so, I'm thinking of getting the M3 but hanging on to he C63 also. Might as well drive it if it's not costing me much at this point. And I (and the wife) do love the C63, so the thought of parting with it pains me.

I don't think there's a huge used inventory yet for the 2011 & 2012's. These cars are still under warantee.

Sure you want the M3 convertible right now especially considering they just remade the sedan version into a new model? The convertible is probably just a year or so away.
And if you like the current style, prices will surely go down once the new model is out.

The new M3 should be out late this year, but I'm guessing that the convertible version may take another year.

It's always a guessing game whether to wait for new models. They tend to be faster and more comfy, but also more refined and lacking visceral rawness that many of us appreciate. Plus, the push for greater fuel efficiency is making engines smaller, adding turbos, and often moving peak torque higher in the rev range, compared to which the current C63 engine is very appealing.

The M3 convertible we're looking at now only has about 4K miles, driven by an old guy who used it gently, and the price is good, so that's part of why we're tempted to grab it.

There is 16+ used c63s for sale here and none are moving. Most are all out of warranty. I think most are asking way too much.

Ditto. $58k for a 2011 seems way high especially given the redesign. One of the reasons leasing is attractive - there are a lot of cars on the used market, highly competitive. Not sure how realistic your $50k trade # is, need to look at NADA/KBB/etc but I dont think depreciation is slowing down anytime soon, especially with the new model coming out. It seems the C's depreciate better than the higher end AMG's but still awful.

+1 on this. I am in the market, and have been looking at new as well as uses 2010/2011s. I am seeing low mile (around 30K) go for mid-$40s, and 2011s go for low $50s.

I traded in my 2010(17,000 miles) back in July and got 46K for it. The same dealer listed it at 51K.

I should add that our '11 C63 has about 14K miles and still more than 2 years of warranty.

I think the offer a year ago was simply too low. It was worth more than $50k then. $50k now is about right or a little high even. Take it.

Nothing wrong with the value now, but a year ago your (and my) 2011 lost a lot of value as it drove out of the dealer's lot and since are slowly recovering...
During the following year we'll see some more reduction in value but less steep.

With the car being a little less than 2 years old now with a trade-in value of about $50K, what do you estimate the trade-in value will be a year from now?

Definitely high. There are a couple 2012 listed on cars.com in the mid to upper 50's.

55-65% of the msrp

Its not depreciation slowing but hidden inflation. Since 2008 the US gov has printed billions of dollars with nothing to back them up. Hence assets that normally depreciated are not depreciating as quickly because the cost of the replacement asset is inflating due real decreases in the value of the dollar.

Why would inflation on C63s be higher than the general US inflation rate, which has been relatively low over the past two years? And it doesn't seem that the sticker prices on new C63s have increased much over the past few years.

I think a more plausible explanation is supply and demand, plus I agree with the comment that the trade-in I was offered last year was too low.

For comparison, I think M3s depreciate less than usual because a lot of guys want them, and some have to stretch to afford them, so $10K or $20K off a new one will be enough to put it within reach, even if that means getting one a few years old with significant miles. It may be a similar story with the C63.