BGA23

In my seach for a CLK BS I've noticed a lot of cars around 18-months old that have already had two owners. I find it a bit unusual that the cars have changed hands twice already in such a short period of time. Anyone have any ideas as to why this is the case?

DFW01E55

I think that toys are traded more quickly.

The car is just not for everyone and over time I think people move their sights to another 3rd or 4th car that gives them something different.

sechsgang

Good question...guess I got lucky with the one I found...that said, there IS one for sale locally to me for 84 thats a one owner w 4.5k miles...not too bad...

cigarette1

It probably has something to do with people wanting to cut their losses due to the huge depreciation.

What's wrong with a two owner car? Does it become toxic?

G

alexander stemer

People may find the BS to be a bit too extreme. If your local roads are rough, the car can be taxing (lowering pressures helps). But, if you are not a track junkie, the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Personally, I feel that to enjoy the BS, you need a skill set that allows you to really use the car in corners. If you are just cruising, it probably is the wrong car for you. AS

transferred

To me, I guess it does. I prefer to buy new but bought my W220 from a friend. It was the first used car I'd bought but I would buy another, especially from a friend. Were I buying from an unknown party I would only be interested if they were the first and only owner. Guess I'd just feel better knowing they'd paid top dollar so treated it well...though I realize it would be better for a car to have had two careful owners than one careless one so you never really know...just thinking out loud

-Rob

LOVEMYBS

I'm the third owner of my car in less than a year. The first owner sold it to a friend who decided he wanted a GT-R so he traded it to a Nissan dealer. The original owner tried to buy the car back from the Nissan dealer but they couldn't reach an agreeable price so the car sat on the dealers showroom floor for many weeks. That's when I bought it. The original owner found another identical car in CA and bought it. How do I know all this? I pulled in behind his car at the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center car show in MD last month. What are the odds of two identical BS cars at the same very small car show with both owners present? It is a small world!

user z478747

2nd owner here. We bought ours from the guy who owns Foreign Cars Italia. He bought the car new from a dealer in OH, drove it for 235 miles and sold it to my wife and I almost 2 years ago. I don't think it unusual at all when I see limited production high end sportscars show up quickly on the used car market. It's the nature of this type buyer/car...... We also bought the SL last summer used (1 previous owner) with 420 miles on it for about 1/3 it's original MSRP and the E55 a couple months ago at 30k miles with a one owner history. All 3 are top notch used cars. I would be more hesitant about buying a used car with several owners and more miles.

Any used car has to be thoroughly checked out.....

transferred

The above is right on.

Eitan1

The BS is not a car for the average mortal. I think that a lot of people buy the car based on its looks and performance numbers, and then quickly realize that they neither have to skills nor the physical attributes to harness the raw power and ability of the car, so they go and buy and SL and call it a day.

Riley Martin

I think that's somewhat true, but I'd be more inclined to say that the Black just doesn't ride nice & smooth like any other Benz they've had before, so they unload it.

forhamilton

^^Completely agree with you. The BS has a harsh ride compared to other MB's. I personally love it, but then again I bought it with eyes wide open.

alexander stemer

I've mentioned this before, but will rephrase it. When you take the car to the track, you wind up bleeding the tire pressure as presssure builds up pretty fast. The hot pressures that work are pretty close to the numbers listed on the door jamb. But obviously, when you let the tires cool, the pressures are significantly lower. Leaving the tires at those lower pressures dramatically improves the ride. I have not seen dramatic wear increase, and street handling is fine. Some may want to try this. It makes a big difference in usability. (I'm at about 22,000 miles now) AS

SMP

Some people just bought the car either for the way it looks, or just to have the latest toy. They soon realized that it wasn't your typical Benz, but rather a purpose built low production vehicle. Right out of the box the BS's handling is very lively, compared to most high performance cars loaded with all kind of drivers-aids. Perfect example would be the idiot proof 997 TT. But take the all-wheel drive away alongside some other luxury's and you got yourself a GT2, which is exciting to drive. But than again, not for everyone and the production numbers speak for itself.

In a couple of years, when the factory warranty expires on the BS, the same thing will happen all over again. No matter how cheap the car was bought used, it will be still an expensive car to maintain.

Dr_jitsu

Interesting thread.....so it can be said that the black is the MB equivalent of the GT2.

I think I want one and the prices sure look good.

c32AMG-DTM

+1... it is an interesting thread.

Reasonable people may disagree on these topics, of course, but I think the CLK63BS lends itself more directly as a GT3 equivalent from MB, not GT2. High output N/A motor, dual-purpose street/track capability, similar original MSRP, etc. The BS has more power, and torque, and weight - which seems pretty consisent when comparing AMG vs. BMW or Porsche.

IMHO, MB/AMG doesn't really have a good head-to-head comparison vehicle to the GT2. Closest in design implementation would probably be the SL65BS, but it's a 50% higher MSRP. The new SLS would probably be the closest for price/performance to the GT2 (stock vs. stock), but they're very different vehicles. YMMV, however.

Dr_jitsu

I also had never thought of it as similar to a GT2, but it does have a bit of "widowmaker" quality (which I like).

allenjdmb

attention. I really think the reason you see so many of these cars (not just the Black, but other unique merchandise) is because of the speculation in them new. There is always someone who has to have the latest and greatest, and when folks see an unusual or rare new Benz (like this one), or the newest Ferrari, or Porsche Turbo, they are going to call their dealer and say "gimme one you've got coming". MB dealers are not going to hand the MSO's to new customers, they can't get all the holdback and credit they need without getting them "punched". No punch (retail delivery/titlework with a real person), no $$. The car then often ends up getting sold with 200 or 1000 miles on it to the second owner, after First Guy has some fun and realizes that he's rarely (if ever) going to make a profit off a big city car dealer. Or, the dealer sells it for him off their preowned lot, at whatever price the market will bear, without hacking off the manufacturer (in this case, MBNA). I agree, you just need to do some homework. It wouldn't stop me if it was the car I wanted.

user z478747

.....I'm confused by these statements. No $ for selling it to a new customer? Why not? If a dealer sells the car and presumably gets paid for it; wouldn't they get all the holdback and other associated $, so what does it matter who they sell it to? Why would it hack of MB if the car comes back to the preowned lot IF it has been paid for by the first owner? Am I missing something here?

allenjdmb

on thier monthly statement. But when audit time comes around, and it will--they have really turned up the heat on this in the last couple years or so--they want to make sure the car absolutely ends up in the hands of an end user (and in the USA). This is why so many of the popular cars you see all have "no export" disclaimers on the ad, and most dealers make you sign one. You are aware that MB can make chargebacks to a dealer's account at any time, right? The last audit I heard about in our metro area cost about $130,000 at the last visit. (this includes warranty and parts claims as well). To answer your other question here, yes, you are missing something. New Jersey is not (always) stupid. They know that hot cars are going to retail customers and re-appearing on pre-owned lots at stupid numbers. They claim they don't want this to happen. Remember how hot the 129 SL was when it came out? (and the r230). Dealers were selling all they could get at MSRP, reselling them to others, including dealers, and then putting them back for sale on the pre-owned lots, titled, at inflated numbers. They want to avoid that. It's another reason for them to be so particular on CSI, with phone numbers, addresses, etc.
I happen to agree with you--it's tough for me to think that they can tell me what I can do with my car that I just bought and got a title for. But that's not their thinking. They have finally realized there is too much product on the ground, now that the fox is already in the henhouse.

user z478747

Guess I don't fully understand on what basis they make charge backs to a dealer and why a manufacturer should/would care if a car sells quickly then ends up on the pre-owned lot unless like you suggest dealers were/are selling them the 1st time to a bogus buyer only to capture the higher resale for themselves? To me, that sounds pretty unethical (consider the source I guess.....ethical and car dealer??? Not!).

I've never been asked to sign a "no export" statement and have bought several hot sellers over the past few years. In fact, the Cayenne GTS we bought, we sold to an exporter who sold it in Russia. At the time we did that the local dealer was selling some of their inventory to buyers in Europe...

allenjdmb

those things are de rigeur in our area. Our dealer just got a $5000 chargeback on a C63 that got exported, and lost 2 cars on allocation as well. I represent a few big city car dealers, and the courts have found those things to be valid, although I'm sure that once someone has enough fortitude and money, we'll see a reversal.
GTS is a great truck BTW. Lots of big $$ cars are ending up in Russia these days. And yes, there are some ethical car dealers out there. It's a shame you have to seek them out isn't it?