Carac

I plan on selling my Black Series to the dealer that has my SLS order coming in March. Basically an early trade-in, which will save me the insurance, payments, tax, etc for the 3-4 months the car sits in the garage during the winter. KBB says that a Black Series with 17000 miles, stock, perfect interior should trade in for $83k. That seems a little optimistic given the market. Regardless, I would love to get that since its just about what I paid for the car in August 2010. The front tires have about 75% tread left, rears about 50%. And the car has been CPO'd to 100k miles and the warranty is still good until next October (and I assume my dealer could extend this to that new +2year/135k CPO).

I don't really have the time or energy to deal with trying to sell it private party and its about 2-3 weeks from going on a battery tender for the winter months so it will be a waste for that period of time. Just asking what everyone here would expect if they were selling to their dealer. I know there's also some play with the price of the SLS if they can't come up to where I want on the trade-in.

Thanks in advance.

jrcart

wait, wait, wait...Are they working this as a trade-in or are you just selling them the car? What state do you live in? If you are expecting your SLS to be delivered in 3 months it will probably be cheaper for you to hold on to the car and trade it so you can take advantage of the trade tax credit. Most all states have a trade tax credit which requires you to only pay the sales tax on the price of the new car less the trade in value.

Example your SLS costs $225,000 and they give you $75,000 trad-in you only pay the sales tax on the amount of $150,000. With average sales taxes in the 6-8% range you will be leaving about $6000 on the table by not trading the car in. I am not sure what your current monthly payments are but I can't imaging all your monthly expenses on the car exceeding $2000. Just something to think about.

and they are not going to give you $83k for your car, they will come back at like $65k...trust me.

..Congrats on the SLS

Carac

I wish, but not in Virginia. You pay tax (3%) on the sales price, regardless of trade-in...and on top of that, any cars you own on Jan. 1st, you have to pay personal property tax of 4.75%, every year. It was over $2k for the CLK last year. Virginia is unfriendly to car collectors.

jrcart

WOW...I would just move then ...and lease everything

Nachtsturm

Or register them to another state.

KBB is pie in the sky, nada guides is much better. I know statefarm uses Nadaguides for values when doing payouts.

Edmunds.com is usually pretty accurate, except when it comes to niche vehicles.

Carac

Just got a call offering a low/mid 70's range, going in tomorrow to finalize/negotiate the SLS price to thin the gap between their offer and the $76-77k-ish I would like.

jrcart

Low to mid 70s on a trade is generous IMO, I would jump on it and not get greedy. I have seen the wholesale numbers for these things and they are ranging from mid 60's to high 60's. Congrats, what color SLS did you order?

Carac

Imola Grey over solid red, same color combo as WTDoom's UK friend in the photo below, same double 5-spoke rims as well, aluminum trim. I like the classic aluminum over red interior similar to the 300SL. And I liked the paint and rims on the one I drove at Road Atlanta for the Driving Academy. Build date is mid-February so late March/early April delivery. And because I know you were looking to get a Alubeam C63 Black, the car behind the Imola Grey one in the photo is Alubeam, for comparison. I saw an Alubeam SLS in Raleigh a few months back, thought it looked great, just wasn't the color for me.

I knew I was going to negotiate the price of the SLS down a little, this just gives me the opportunity and context to smooth the conversation. I plan on doing all the numbers now. So when the car comes, I just show up with the down payment and financing check then walk out with the car, no haggling. WTDoom negotiated something like 10% off and a service deal, wish I was that good at the walking away/holding out tactic. Also disappointed at the fine-print of the MB Club of America's $1000 coupon on a new car purchase: "SLS excluded."

I'll miss the Black Series but I hate that don't have the time to take it to the track. Most of the 11000 miles I put on it are interstate cruising to see friends/relatives and the occasional twisty rural 2-lanes that surround my home. The wait until spring going to feel longer than usual this year.





The rest of his gallery here

Pistolero

I was just offered $65k trade in value on my car with 22k miles. Decided to keep it instead.

jrcart

Very nice, and love the red interior. Be sure to let us know when the new baby arrives and share some pics

Carac

My offer is seeming fair-er and fair-er, thanks for the feedback.

rage2

I got mid 70s trade-in in August for my car, CPO'd and 12k miles. The car hasn't moved and is now listed at $73k, under trade-in value. Jump on the opportunity when you can, the cars are trading hands in the mid-low 70s right now, and it'll get worse by spring.

The C63 BS announcement put a lot of CLK BS on the market, so prices have tanked a bit in the last few months.

LOVEMYBS

I'm curious, what dealership in VA are you working with? I have several to choose from and they don't seem interested in my BS.

Carac

Charlottesville. Sold it to them today. They wouldn't budge on the SLS sticker price but came up on the trade-in. Pleased since I can now just walk in come April with the checks, no haggling. Bought two cars from them in the past year, best customer service of any dealer I've worked with. Said they were expecting a C63 black series that wasn't spoken for as far as I know. Very unlikely they will mark it up. Anyway, they bought the BS no problem. Weird that you can't find one to bite, seems a lot of dealers are looking for good used cars with the economy skewing people to buy used.

LOVEMYBS

I've had "offers" that range from $68-71K but I don't want to leave $10K on the table for their profit. Oh well, perhaps I'll try eBay or some other website early next year. I'm also considering a two car trade for a 2012 P-Turbo S.

Carac

Yeah, I would have walked away from those "offers" as well. Interested to see how the 991 Turbo turns out.

LOVEMYBS

My P-dealer says there won't be a turbo for 1.5-2 years. I don't know if he's blowing smoke up my--- so I'm going to ask a few more dealers if that's true. Anyway, love your new pending SLS, congratulations! I noticed in the pictures you attached the two cars have different rims. Is there a reason?

Carac

There are three rims to chose from on the SLS, I personally like the look of the split five spoke. The rims on the other one give a more "elegant/delicate" look compared to (what I think) is a more "thick/powerful" look.

LOVEMYBS

I agree 100% and if given a choice I would not choose rim #2. In fact, it would be a show stopper for me. It just doesn't work.

sechsgang

Agreed.