My 03' CL55 has 40,000 miles on it and with only 10k left on the warranty I'm considering trading it in for a 06' CL600. The dealer has two CL600's an 05' and a 06' (he wants $12k less for the 05'), and no they haven't quoted me for either vehicle yet. My CL55's in for it's schedule tune-up, so while it's there over night they're checking my payoff (it just came in while I'm typing this at $88,000) and trade in value (this is where they'll try to hose me down..lol) and then we'll get down to the netty gritty. So a couple of questions:

1. Would you hold off and wait for the model change (whenever and whatever that is) and buy an extended warranty after the 50k miles and run the five year lease out?

2. Should I consider the 05' over the 06' for the price difference. They both have all the options (parktronic, distronic, remote truck, Brillant Silver with charcol interior)? I know the 06' has the heated steering wheel but I think that's the only difference in options.

Any thoughts?

Breeze
PUREAMG

 

If the 06 is available, then the 05 is already a year old. So its book value, will reflect this difference. You may be saving 12K now, but the car may really be WORTH 12K less. Possibly more.

Dealers are not willing to lose money on a vehicle. When they discount, they discount down to their cost, and usually they get rid of the vehicle. If you are an astute shopper, you can get that deal on the 06.

Just as an example the 05 may have an invoice of $123,000. The 06 may have an invoice of $124,000. They retail at $133,000. So when they give you a 12K discount on the 05, they are essentially saying take this car for our cost. But.... if you push them hard, I can almost guarantee you that you can get very close to that price with the 06. Now you have a car that is a year newer, whose book value will be significantly higher as a used vehicle (even when there is no real difference in the actual car), and you paid close to the same price.

I have researched this a lot because I have been in your shoes a lot. And I can tell you that you are almost always better off buying the newer model. Tell them you have NO INTEREST in the '05 right away, and start bargaining on the 06. They will not budge as much now on the 06, simply to make the 05 look more attractive to you. But if you shop around the country (which you should for a car of this caliber), I can guarantee that you will get your 06 for right about the same price as the "deeply discounted" 05. This is just fact. If dealers were willing to take huge losses on older cars that would be a different story, but they just don't work that way. They don't need to, because some other guy will come along and take that "easy" discount instead of the hard-to-get, shop-around, spend-a-lot-of-time discount.

Do I make sense?

As for holding off for the new model... well thats something to consider seriously. It depends on how long you want to wait, and how much you care about depreciation. When the new model comes, ALL older body style CL's will take a hit. Not on that day, but about 6 months later as the cars become available and more known. Understand that this car, as with any expensive luxury car, is purchased very often not completely for its quality but for its panache.... this holds true for any high-end item. When the new model comes, that panache no longer exists for the old model. It may be an '06, but now its just "old" in most people's eyes.

You are buying the MB model that is bound to take the greatest hit.... and it will... when the new one comes out. But there will surely be delays, as there always are... then the dealers will try to mark it up, like they do on the CLS... by the time you can get one at any sort of discount, it may be 6 months to a full year after introduction. But on a $135,000 car, that discount may be thousands. Consider how long you want to wait....

What would help me make the decision is how many miles I would drive between now and my expected time of delivery on the new style CL. If that is a lot, and your CL55 will have like 90K, forget it... get rid of the 55 now... it will be unsalable with that kinda milage. If you won't be doing a whole lot more, and you can hold off, then probably the best financial move is to hold off for the new body style.

The least long-term depreciation is always on the first year of a new body style, and the most is on the last year of the old....

 

Good advice AMG. There are always problems with new MB designs. I had major problems with an 03 E-55 when they changed that design. I would pay attention to the reports of the new S Class redsign since the CL is basically an S and will be out sooner. The CLS and the M have had some problems in their new year, there have been some horror stories. But maybe MB is getting their act together. They should with all the competition.

It's expensive to own these cars. Your CL-55 should have a lot more fun left on it. I am just going to keep my new CL-500 until I am satisfied that the new CL is really what I want which is 50k miles down the road. Or until it becomes unreliable.