Eurosport

unfortunately,
an informed buyer that has done his research (as he should on any purchase) not only won't offer anything even close to 68k for that car, but they might just go for an 04, or 05 instead.
high end used is not as easy to move as it once was

Ted Baldwin

............This is from 6wks ago.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w215...000-miles.html

Ted

Vic55

So- what does that mean?? We are just here supporting a member on a sale. We all know based on the market that his price is high- ok but let him sell it for whatever he wants. There might be that "one-off" buyer looking for a 4 year old gem with an extended warranty and super low miles.

He obviously has the time to wait for the right buyer or his price would have dropped in the last 45 days. He may end up selling it for less and then will have to weigh out the time lost but thats his call.

crb49

That's what I'm talking about.

bltserv

Exactly. I am sure if a serious offer was made Gary would move
on his price. Everything is negotiable.

Vadim @ FD

Wow!!! This is busiest I have seen AMG CL forum to be in awhile.

We all have our opinions and that is great that we can express them freely. The key is not to get into personal stuff.

In the end every car's price is equal to the williness of a buyer to pay it.

Having seen Gary's CL55 and being in car business, I believe that he will find a buyer willing to pay near what he is asking for. The best we can do for him is to let him show his car to prospective buyers and not dictate a price to him. It is between him and the buyer. When purchase does happen, each side will believe it was a win/win situation for them.

The only conclusion that I can point out of this situation is one word - LEASE.
Let the bank deal with deprecaition, while you get into next generation model.

Eurosport

don't get me wrong
i wish you the best of luck with the sale,
you'll find out based on how fast it moves, if the price is right yourself
regards

crb49

Sing it Brutha'. Amen!

Fikse

agreed, a friend can't move his 2003 CL55 with 15k miles for 50k.... I was tempted by a 2005 S65 that was listed for 81k, and that was 3 months ago....

the kicker is that these are spiraling down, the longer you wait the more it drops in value....

It's nothing personal, 14 months ago I paid 75k for a 2005 CPO E55 with 4k miles, in this short time it's lost about 20k in value.... I don't care, the car is worth it....

if you want to get really woken up, ask a dealer how much they'll pay for the car....

blk03cl55

I dont know, but almost 1 year ago I traded in my CL55, only got 52K for it. It was in very good condition, and had around 18K miles if I remember correctly. I wish you luck, but the CL market is a tough market.

BENZITCH

But isn't it true that all of the past flagship Mercedes coupes' didn't hold their value very well? And that as they age, the values rise above the counterpart sedan, of the same age?

I can't wait till the CL AMG's(W215,W216) are 10 years old, so than I can afford to acquire one.
Bruce
BENZITCH

vixapphire

i'll second that emotion. i'm having a horrible time trying to sell my e55 wagon, and it's a gorgeous very low mile 2005 specimen. it's very frustrating.

tgood

Ted I know your not attacking Gary or his car, but your just annoying. That's why there is a range on used cars. There is always a high and low price point. I too saw this CL recently and was stunned at how meticulous it was. He's clearly not in a desperate situation to get rid of it, I too would list it at a higher price point.. Why not? And you know, Let him do it.

Let me ask..

Not taking into consideration what they go for on ebay, which are probably from auctions. If you bought this car at MSRP when it came out, would you try and sell it at a high or low price point?

Eurosport

your car is gorgeous, i love those wagons and sooooo rare! such a sleeper

Eurosport

i tell you what, i'd try to sell it as fast as i could because the price will drop even more on it. soon 04 lease returns will flood the market, cl63 will come out, more people will want to upgrade to it, flooding the market even more, so what happens to the value of that 03 cl55? yes drops even more.
it's sad, unfortunate, and it's painful, but it's the reality of high end used amg, they depreciate faster than other comparables like porsche, bmw.
which of course begs the question: are they overpriced to begin with? or is it just a supply demand thing.

vixapphire

Right about now, Ted should appear in a wild-haired wig a la Mugatu and shout, "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!"

That would be appropriate to the Twilight-Zone level of delusion on this thread. Yeah, the luxury of time to wait for the "right" buyer... that's the ticket. Especially when these AMG cars are dropping by thousands each week in market value. Unless he plans on holding out until 2060, by which time his CL55 will be a certifiable classic automobile and may then have appreciated to somewhere in the neighborhood of $68k, our fine seller should take the Amen chorus with a grain of salt and tune into Ted's frequency for a few moments, and proceed accordingly with the pricing of his car.

That is, if he is serious about selling, rather than just talking about selling, his car. It's a buzz-harsher of a secondhand market out there; proceed accordingly and be prepared to bathe!

As for me, I sold the e55. My ***** are chafed and my sphincter is shredded, but I'll get over it...

Stiggs

Cars tank in value......end of story. Everyone stop *****ing about it. I know it took me along time to realize my car is worth ****. I guess as long as you enjoy it thats all that matters. I love watching those big 65 AMG's spiral downward. Its a buyers market Baby!

bltserv

Thread Bump.

Just ran into Gary "03CL55AMG" at Cars and Coffee in Irvine.
He still has his CL55 on the market. It is so pristine.
He has lowered the price a bit more. Its just a matter of finding
the right person who can appreciate the car and its condition.

Gary.
I hope that cute "Oriental Girl" follows up. She was hot.
I like her line. "What makes you think I cant afford it myself"
when I told her to "get your boyfriend to get his checkbook out".
Classic moment. Love a woman that says. "I get what I want".
Lets hope she sells her BMW.

Keep going to that show. I think its the best way to market your car !

03CL55AMG

BLTSERV-Thanks for your input and comments. No doubt it is in pristine condition. I'll let you know if that gal follows through...she was quite interested. I have turned down some low-ball offers for the simple reason that I am not willing to give it away for an auction price. I can afford to keep the car and I have three other cars to drive and this one is my "garage queen" As you know, 12,000 miles and a Mercedes warranty through 2010 are hard to come by for a 2003 CL55 AMG. By the way, your silver SL AMG looked pretty awesome today...I think you need to have a matching CL 55 AMG in the same color next to it in your garage....yeah, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

03CL55AMG

SOLD!!!!
A car collector from Los Angeles saw it parked at Cars and Coffee in Irvine, California last Saturday. He picked up one of my flyers on the windshield and really liked the car. We talked and I took him for a little blast down the freeway. After we returned, he wanted to know my bottom line. My flyer said $66,000 obo. Told him $62K and we shook hands. Today, Monday, he bought the car and it is a done deal. I was able to get a good price for the following 4 reasons:1) Car only had 12,800 miles 2) Flawless Condition 3) Mercedes Warranty through May, 2010 4) My location in Southern California and showing the car in a very affluent area. Pretty funny to me how I sold it with a handmade flyer at a coffee meet, but could not sell it on E-Bay, Autotrader.com and various Mercedes forums and other ads. Turned down many offers in the range of $50-60K. You get what you pay for!

crb49

Congratulations CL, Now what are you going to do with your name????

bltserv

Well I just had to post a congratulations to 03CL55AMG on here.

When he first posted his car on here for sale all he received in response
were the naysayers and pesimists in response to his ad.
The comparisons to "lemoned cars" on E-bay. "Sell it now before it goes
down even more". "Its like a used ladies handbag" Still get a chuckle
out of that analogy. So much for the bears of the used AMG market.
Most of whom do not even own a AMG.

Well the fact that he was patient and persistant and also had a pristine
AMG got him a premium price after all.

Way to go !!!! See you at Coffee and Cars in your new SUV soon !!!

vixapphire

well, 62k ain't 68k, which only proves those of us that thought 68k was outsize pricing correct, after all.

nice to feel that weight lift off when it's out of the stable, though, isn't it? on to the next one, then...

congrats on the sale.

Klint

Damn, you AMG guys are the most price sensitive guys out there!

i'm susprised you chaps can even enjoy your car(s) without the fear of depreciation biting you in the ****!

This is the second thread (out of 3!) i've flicked through in the last 5 minutes that's has depreciation pasted all over it.

BlownV8

Not since Enron have people seen depreciating assests like our CL's. I think everyone's a bit surprised and some get like a deer in headlights after they try to trade their 2 year old $185,000 CL65 and are offered low 70's on trade.