eddieo45

KBB says $8,859 - $11,034 [$9,947] for very good, $8,325 - $10,478 [$9,402] for good. I started out asking $12,000 on Cars.com and Craigslist and I'm now down to $11,000 OBO. The calendar and New England December weather isn't helping me, but not much I can do about that. A dealer offered me $8000 in trade towards a $40,000 SL550 I like, but I was certain I could do better. I have found this forum to be the most candid and helpful of all I've posted in so I look forward to your opinions and ideas.

From my ads:

$11,000 OBO

2009 was the final year for this very popular coupe, and this is as beautiful a CLK as you'll find anywhere. Black exterior, black/cappuccino brown Designo leather interior with black ash wood trim and AMG-style white gauges. Heated/cooled seats, with 10-way adjustable driver's seat. AMG exterior trim including dual chrome tailpipes and 18" staggered 5-twin-spoke alloy wheels. 7 speed automatic with paddle shifters. Keyless-Go with 2 working keys. Bluetooth module included. Factory carpeted mats and all-weather rubber mats included.

I'm the second owner and have all service records. Car runs awesome and tracks straight at all speeds. Oil last changed 11/24/18, TPMS "brain" and 3 of 4 sensors replaced 8/21/18, new starter 5/11/18, new rear Michelin Pilot Sport rear tires 4/7/18 (fronts in good shape, date unknown), new premium cross-drilled & slotted front rotors and low-dust semi-metallic pads front and rear 10/27/16.

Full Disclosure: Paint could use buff/clay treatment, RF wheel bad curb rash, some staining on front passenger seat, passenger seat power controls work but memory button broken, factory navigation works only intermittently. Badges removed from trunk but available for reattachment.

abqhudson

Based on my recent sale of a near perfect - needed nothing (no wear signs/scrapes/dings) - 2009 550 convertible with fewer miles, my guess is that you are still $1000. too high on asking price - - if you want to sell it in a month or two. ymmv.

degeja

did I miss the mileage?
when were shocks/struts/ transmission service done.
how much to fix the various items not shown.

Tae the trade.amount.

Rudeney

One thing you can do is to NOT highlight the flaws. I know you are just trying to be honest, but most buyers expect the description and photos to be much better than the car is in person. By pointing out all the flaws, you are setting expectations to be too low. Just show and talk about the strong points. If you do get a buyer on the hook, then feel free to point out the non-visible flaws (like the memory seat). Also, you can list on cargurus for free and it will tell you if your price is low/high.

eddieo45

sorry; mileage is 80,200. That's in a part of the ad outside of my copy/paste. I've never any issues with shocks/struts/ transmission and I have no idea "how much to fix the various items not shown." Taking the trade amount continues to be an option but if there's a customer out there between $8000 and abqhudson's $10,000 tip I'd be foolish not to try to find him. The $40,000 SL550 doesn't seem to be going anywhere either.....

yeah, in retrospect that was a dumb idea. I should have realized that when the first (and only) responder to the CL ad asked "Do you know has it been well maintained with previous owners? Do you have some history report to give me?" People barely read the good stuff in the ad; no sense muddying it up with negative stuff. I've removed that. A dealer friend down in DC suggested buying the SL now and waiting till spring to get the best price for my CLK. I'm not much of a gambler though.....

eddieo45

Cargurus said $10,599 would be a "good deal" and said "BE HONEST! Buyers respond well to up-front descriptions of dents and imperfections." (I stayed with $10,000 and no negatives in the description)

labguy

I noticed a couple small things not mentioned by others:
1. No where in the ad does it say it is a Mercedes Benz - maybe in the part that will not copy?
2. Clean out the trash and sunglasses, and clean up the floor mats and re-take pics.

Good luck!

Rudeney

I agree with Labguy about the cleanup - make it look as new and unused as possible, so no personal stuff and totally detail it. More than that, keep it clean so when someone wants to look at it, you'll have it ready. Cargurus is right about being honest, but that doesn't mean to point out all the flaws in minute detail. Just don't lie. A prospective buyer that comes to see it will look at the worn spots and curb rash, etc. and decide for himself if that's important Also, this is probably a bad time to try to sell a convertible in the northeast. Patience is key.

What SL model are you looking at? Being $40K, I assume it's an R231? I was in the same boat as you, itching to trade the CLk for an SL. My challenge was finding the "right" SL. It took me a year to find it. When I did, they offered me about $2K less on trade than I thought I could get if I sold it myself. Given that I was 200 miles away in ATL, I went ahead and let them have it so I didn't have to drive back and forth again and also didn't have to deal with selling it myself. My time does have "some" value!

C280 Sport

Get a professional detail job. Pay the $300 or whatever and make it perfect. After that take nice detailed pictures of it. Have all the books, records, and the keys. List it for $11,000 and see where it goes.

Rudeney

Good idea, C280_Sport! If you have both (or even more) keys, make a note of that. Savvy buyers know that MBZ keys are expensive.

C280 Sport

Yup. Like $400+ a key. Hell for my Dodge work van they got me for $250 at the dealer for a key.

Yidney

Just to totally be honest with you, if I was looking for a 550 coupe I'd be immediately turned off by claims like "as beautiful as you will find anywhere." If you are referring to the color combo, that is totally subjective and the person looking will decide for themselves if they like it, and you saying it's beautiful will not change their mind. But that sort of thing just makes me conclude a seller will say anything. If you mean it's condition, then no, it's not. You can find truly mint ones. But I agree with others that the car is not staged well for sale. It looks tired. Black cars look tired if not detailed. Buff the paint, clean the interior, and then take better photos in a park or nice neighborhood.

Rudeney

Good car photos are a challenge. For some reason, they look best when taken on an overcast day. I think it helps keep those bright "starbust" sun reflections in check. Also, be mindful of the reflections you see int he paint surface. Everyone wants a bright, shiny car, but that mirror-like finish can reflect things that make it look damaged or distracting. I once took some photos of a car in my driveway and then when I looked at them, the fence was reflected in the finish and it made it look like a zebra. And Yidney is right about finding a good backdrop (park, nice neighborhood). The best is a very fancy, large house with a brick paver driveway. YOu might even find a nice office building like that. But again be careful of the reflections in the building's windows.

gaazmon

Craigslist buyers can be pretty "interesting" in all honesty depending on what you're selling. They don't read the listing and just throw out the same repeated questions even if already addressed in the listing (they just copy paste). I would get the dumbest questions at times or just people with attitude so wouldn't even respond to those types. I've been trying to sell my 08 CLK550 for over a year now and it's been very difficult. I have 134k miles now and have advertised it for as low as $6k for it (CarGurus says a value of $8200 with $7100 estimated sale price and $3700 estimated trade in value). I haven't gotten anything for more than $4.5k offer wise. The demand and values are pretty wack out here in the LA area on these CLKs. I was only able to get 3 people to come out and look at it and none followed up. Imagine that two years ago I took it to CarMax out here with 30k miles less and they offered barely $3k for it. A BMW dealership that I was looking to get a 2013 640i coupe from at the same time offered even less for it like around $2600.

You might want to try Bringatrailer.com. They have more lower mileage better kept vehicles. I've never used it to sell on so have no experience with how it works the whole process. Autotrader was nothing but scammers minus 1 guy that contacted me.