2 Black Series at the House
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,621
Likes: 55
From: Naperville, IL/Chicago
2008 CLK63 Black Series 2012 C63 Black Series 2014 SLS Black Series
Damn guys you sure took that post out of context. My comment was that it was funny how when the BS came out someone was being told that you could not buy one even for MSRP, when now you can buy them for close to $90K with a few miles on them. I was not saying someone was stupid for paying MSRP or even more then MSRP I was indicating how that does "hurt" when your car takes a hit like that. My SL listed for over $100K 10 months ago and it is now worth $30K less, that "HURTS". I am going to try and get the BS for $90K or around $20K difference from my SL. Which should give me a more fun car at a great price. Kind of like owning Ford motor co. stock at $40 per share and buying more at $10 per share, price averaging. So guys lighten up and don't read such negative things into my posts. I am also a crazy car guy that knows that cars are not a great investment and I am not calling any of you stupid, if I did i would also be calling myself stupid.
It does not hurt me at all, I I doubt it hurts many of the other Black Series owners either. I fully expected the value of my car to go down, I was not one of the few people out there with blinders that thought the Black Series was going to be some sort of collectible car, if 25 years down the road it becomes a collectors icon then great, but I just get enjoyment out of owning and driving it TODAY. If you have to be concerned with a vehicle losing $30-$50k you probably can't afford the car to begin with. What kind of cars do you own, year, make and model? I will go to Edmunds or Blue Book and prove that your car probably lost a similar percentage of it's value in the first 12-15 months. Remeber, these Black Series have been out for 15 months, I took delivery of mine in early/mid September of 2007. Furthermore the fact that I do not intend on selling or trading my car in negates the "value" issue all together.
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 950
Likes: 3
From: Maui, Hawaii
CLS63, GLK350
Why do people say this? I know with the economy hurting that all vehicles have gone down in value, but to say losing $30-50K in value in one year and not being concerned is a sign that you are some poor guy that put his life savings into a car that he thought would go up in value is kind of a strange response. Like most people that buy $100K+ cars I paid cash and I knew it was not going up in value, but that still doesn't make me happy to see what others are paying now. Kind of like buying stock at its peak and then the market bottoms. Are you saying that when someone owned stock and lost 30-40% in the recent downturn that they should not of been into the market if they are unhappy with the results of the downturn???
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,621
Likes: 55
From: Naperville, IL/Chicago
2008 CLK63 Black Series 2012 C63 Black Series 2014 SLS Black Series
Why do people say this? I know with the economy hurting that all vehicles have gone down in value, but to say losing $30-50K in value in one year and not being concerned is a sign that you are some poor guy that put his life savings into a car that he thought would go up in value is kind of a strange response. Like most people that buy $100K+ cars I paid cash and I knew it was not going up in value, but that still doesn't make me happy to see what others are paying now. Kind of like buying stock at its peak and then the market bottoms. Are you saying that when someone owned stock and lost 30-40% in the recent downturn that they should not of been into the market if they are unhappy with the results of the downturn???
Nobody is happy with the stock market now days....
You can't compare cars with the stock market, you are even crazier than I initially thought
Let's take a look at the Dow Jones, since it's early days in the mid 70's to present it has averaged anuall gains of about 10.25%, the stock market as a whole is usually a pretty safe bet to even a novice investor with some common sense. Cars on the other hand are losers 99% of the time. I can think of about 5 cars from the past 20 years that have gone up in value after being 12 months old, here's my list, feel free to help me if I missed any. 1989 Corvette ZR1, Ferrari Enzo, 430 spyders were fetching 10%-20% over MSRP after being driven for a year, 2 year old Bugatti Veyrons still fetch over MSRP, back when the Lambo Diablo VT came out they were fetching big money even when 2 years old. That's about it, those are the cars I can think of that went up in value after 12 months of ownership.
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 613
Likes: 1
From: Sparks, NV
03 CLK 55 AMG, IMCO muffler/Magnaflow tips, KW V1 coilovers, 19" Petrol Metrix Wheels
SL2003 you are getting beat up pretty bad here but in theory i understand what you are saying. no one wants to lose their shirt as quickly as MB owners seem to be losing theirs on car purchases of late. my statement includes all MB models. as a brand MB has been taking quite a hit as of late. i would venture to say even more so than Audi and BMW. i am not talking about just this year. i am talking about over the last five years. All cars have taken a hit but in my mind MB has taken the biggest hit among german car manufacturers. brand new my 55 AMG was $70k. only four years later i paid almost half that. at some point most people trade a car in or sell if for the next best thing. no one wants to be upside down on a car. 
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 449
Likes: 1
CLK 63 AMG Black
I think it hurts only if you want to sell it after one year. Since I am not selling, it doesn't matter to me at all. My 2002ttX50 Porsche was exactly the same in terms of depreciation. I paid $143,000 (full sticker) after waiting one year. It lost about $40,000 of its value in 12 months (although I was offered $10,000 by the dealer to not take the new cas as they had an eager over-sticker buyer). Today (with 55,000 miles) it probably could not fetch $40,000. Still, it doesn't matter to me, as I am not selling.
If you drive any of these cars over 100,000 miles, the values will drop into the $20,000-$30,000 range. It really doesn't matter what the shape of the depreciation curve is, the end of the gam is predictable and unchanged.
As far as being sad that someone got a better deal, why would that make me sad? I am glad that one more person gets to appreciate these great cars. Germans have a noun for happiness about somebody's tragedy. That is Scahdenfreude. I don't feel it either way- sad that somebody got a better deal, or happy that somebody got a worse one.
So, in summary, I think all who expected to use their cars expected substantial depreciation. If you can get one really cheap, I am happy for you. AS
If you drive any of these cars over 100,000 miles, the values will drop into the $20,000-$30,000 range. It really doesn't matter what the shape of the depreciation curve is, the end of the gam is predictable and unchanged.
As far as being sad that someone got a better deal, why would that make me sad? I am glad that one more person gets to appreciate these great cars. Germans have a noun for happiness about somebody's tragedy. That is Scahdenfreude. I don't feel it either way- sad that somebody got a better deal, or happy that somebody got a worse one.
So, in summary, I think all who expected to use their cars expected substantial depreciation. If you can get one really cheap, I am happy for you. AS
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 950
Likes: 3
From: Maui, Hawaii
CLS63, GLK350
Nobody is happy with the stock market now days....
You can't compare cars with the stock market, you are even crazier than I initially thought Let's take a look at the Dow Jones, since it's early days in the mid 70's to present it has averaged anuall gains of about 10.25%, the stock market as a whole is usually a pretty safe bet to even a novice investor with some common sense. Cars on the other hand are losers 99% of the time. I can think of about 5 cars from the past 20 years that have gone up in value after being 12 months old, here's my list, feel free to help me if I missed any. 1989 Corvette ZR1, Ferrari Enzo, 430 spyders were fetching 10%-20% over MSRP after being driven for a year, 2 year old Bugatti Veyrons still fetch over MSRP, back when the Lambo Diablo VT came out they were fetching big money even when 2 years old. That's about it, those are the cars I can think of that went up in value after 12 months of ownership.
You can't compare cars with the stock market, you are even crazier than I initially thought
Let's take a look at the Dow Jones, since it's early days in the mid 70's to present it has averaged anuall gains of about 10.25%, the stock market as a whole is usually a pretty safe bet to even a novice investor with some common sense. Cars on the other hand are losers 99% of the time. I can think of about 5 cars from the past 20 years that have gone up in value after being 12 months old, here's my list, feel free to help me if I missed any. 1989 Corvette ZR1, Ferrari Enzo, 430 spyders were fetching 10%-20% over MSRP after being driven for a year, 2 year old Bugatti Veyrons still fetch over MSRP, back when the Lambo Diablo VT came out they were fetching big money even when 2 years old. That's about it, those are the cars I can think of that went up in value after 12 months of ownership.
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 950
Likes: 3
From: Maui, Hawaii
CLS63, GLK350
SL2003 you are getting beat up pretty bad here but in theory i understand what you are saying. no one wants to lose their shirt as quickly as MB owners seem to be losing theirs on car purchases of late. my statement includes all MB models. as a brand MB has been taking quite a hit as of late. i would venture to say even more so than Audi and BMW. i am not talking about just this year. i am talking about over the last five years. All cars have taken a hit but in my mind MB has taken the biggest hit among german car manufacturers. brand new my 55 AMG was $70k. only four years later i paid almost half that. at some point most people trade a car in or sell if for the next best thing. no one wants to be upside down on a car.
