Hey Chuck - How the hell did you ever find that 928 with so few original miles ???? Must be a good story there....

 

.......and complaining about how expensive the SL65 BS is!

It showed up on eBay 4 years ago. My wife and as much of a car nut as me and we were hauling one of our other 928s back from the 928 OC Convention and she said "wouldn't it be cool to have the first year and the last year 928?" The frog is a 78 (first year) model and one of the others we had at the time was a 95 (last year).

The frog was originally bought by a gentleman in NH as an investment along with a MBZ SL and a couple other European cars. He kept them all in a heated/cooled garage where he started them regularly and basically just babied them. In ~2002 he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer and decided to sell to devote his energy to battling his cancer. I actually spoke to him and his was wife and he was very happy to know that his baby ended up with me, I promised him I would care for it as he did.

Another guy from NH bought the SL and the 928 also as an investment but didn't store them with the same loving care. A family of squirrels moved in and stored their winter stash up under the console and at the base of the dash. Thankfully, they didn't chew any wires (I inspected each and every wire under the dash and in the fuse panel). I spent ~$6k in nuts and bolts to replace the corroded finish of the stuff under the car.

I feel lucky to own this piece of Porsche history. I am currently prepping it for PCA Parade next month in Charlotte.

 

[QUOTE=chuck z;2836362
I feel lucky to own this piece of Porsche history. I am currently prepping it for PCA Parade next month in Charlotte.[/QUOTE]


By prepping he means stripping every bolt, panel and piece off the frame and cleaning, repainting and/or replating every item with a part number from the Porsche parts manual (and a few pieces that actually get shipped as a sub-assembly but that he know he can (and should) take apart).

Good luck with Kermit at Parade, knock um dead!!!!

 

Hey stranger! You know me too well. As you know, that's already been done... Come see us sometime if you can stand that 65 to get dusted that is.

 

A new low and I don't necessarily mean in terms of the price. BIN @ $108,999! and it's right here in Charlotte if anyone would like me to look at it for them I'd be happy to. Send me a pm.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08CLK...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Hell at this rate just PM me next year and I'll give it to whoever wants it. Just pay for the gas and tolls for me to drive it to you . By then my mods will be worth more than the car
I'
I'm honestly stunned that a car with only 350 made has dropped over 30k in less than a year!!!!!
U do realize that if the dealer is selling for 108 the owner must have gotten less than 100 from the dealer. Which is just insane to me.
I'm gonna cry myself to sleep.

 

To repeat what others have already stated earlier on in this thread, the luxo car market is bad right now, some dealerships are discounting BS's down to $120k ( not where I live, all gone for sticker or above). SO if a new one can be had for $120k a used one, even a clean very low mileage used one is going to have to be listed considerably lower than the new one. If I were walking into a dealership today and they had a new one for $120k and a used one for $108K I would cought up the extra $12k for the one with no miles. These cars get beat pretty hard. I know how hard I beat mine...even in the first 1000 miles, but you could never tell by looking at her.

For the last time, 99.9% OF ALL NEW CARS DEPRECIATE....PERIOD! The only cars produced in the last 5 years that I can think of that went up in value from MSRP would be the DTM CLK, Ferrari Enzo and Bugatti Veyron. I believe the total production numbers for all three of those cars combined is something like 1500 units if I'm not mistaken.

 

Wow! You're an angry young man today.

 

Personally, I don't find the depreciation surprising. At a minimum, I would have expected 20% annually, and in view of economic uncertainty, the future of gasoline prices, and a general decline in consumer spending, 30% doesn't seem as bad as it could get.
I think the point is that many of us bought the cars, independent of consideration of resale value. I intend to keep it so long that I expect 75% depreciation. It really doesn't seem as severe as my 2002 996ttX50 Porsche that stickered and sold at $143,000, but one year later might not have brought $100,000, and now is valued at about $43,000 (with 50,000 miles).

I recently sold my 1994 BMW CSI, which cost $104,000 new, and only 100 were imported. The $104,000 was real money in 1994, but resale values rapidly dropped 40%. I sold the car 13 years later for $28,000 with 166,000 miles on the odometer. So, it depreciated 70%, and was more rare that the BS.

Basically, if one is most concerned about depreciation, the only car to buy is a Ferrari, but you need to leave it in your garage with no miles on it. High miles Ferraris are really rare, and depreciate rapidly.

Values going forward are always uncertain ( JT, please don't mock the statement), but the satisfaction of ownership today is priceless. In the end, most of us will find BS ownership to be "worth it".

During the gas crisis of the 70's, I bought a true Can Am Lola T163 for $18,000. I think the original owner of the car would have been surprised at the depreciation, but it was a funny time. Obviously, I sold it for a lot more, after years of vintage racing. People who pick up a BS at today's depressed prices are fortunate, and are making a good choice. AS

 

You know what, now that you mention it maybe I do get the final word on everything. I just spent 30 minutes researching new vs used car prices on everything ranging from a $17,000 Chevy Cobalt up to a $100,000 M-B S550 and you know what???? they all depreciated between 21% to 32% in the first year of ownership, go over to Edmunds and research it yourself. Also, you might have noticed the gas guzzler tax is pretty hefty, and that factors into the $139k MSRP, that's a tax, it is not part of the value of the car therefore you have to take that out of the value once you trade it. Furthermore BS's are nearly a year old, I got mine in early September last year, about 9 months ago, hell I think there are some 2009 SL's already out and all the other 2009's will be hitting the states in a matter of weeks.

Don't make smart a$$ remarks when someone is responding to your stupid post reply to begin with. Now you can go cry yourself to sleep, like a little 6 year old girl. If you can't afford to pay you can't afford to play.

 

.....so, how bout this weather?

In case anyone cares, I went and looked at this car today and it appeared to be in very good condition. On the surface it looks like a really good deal for someone looking for a Black BS.

 

Funny how people get so defensive when someone here actually knows what they're talking about and has taken the time to research it and speak to a subject with intelligence...

That black car is a steal...sure, most of it's mileage has probably been ripping around but that wouldn't worry me at all....these cars are WAY over engineered for the street. If it had that many TRACK miles it still wouldn't worry me that much as it's got a full warranty. Either way you look at it, it's a steal....except for being black, just not my choice for this car. Red, silver and white I think are the best colors...I had a hard time deciding between white and silver.

 

First off I dont own a BS, and I can't afford one. I think its pretty safe to say that you either have to be 1. a mercedes fan or 2. a fan of performance to pull the trigger on the BS. You're buying the "Best" CLK out there (excluding the DTM). When someone walks into a dealership, he's going to see a CLK BS next to a SL550 or CL550 and they're probally not going to choose the BS. He'll ask himself, why pay more for the best CLK out there when I can get the big benz. Most people dont care about driving fast. They just want a luxury car that will draw attention.
I agree with JRcart, you have to pay to play. There were 350 black series CLK's produced. That is a very limited production. After a few months, there were still a quite a few still on the market. That should have been an indication that the car would take the mercedes-style drop in value. When you compare the depreciation to a $15k chevy cobalt. 20% of the cobalt= 3,000, but 20% of the CLK is roughly 30,000. Percentage wise, same drop, but you lost alot more $ with the BS.
At the end of the day, you guys got great cars. I'm sure you can all afford it, so drive it hard and get your money's worth.

 

I looked at one today, at Santa Barbara Auto Group.
Black one for 115k 1250 miles on it. It was parked right next to a Black SL63AMG man what a couple of hot cars.