I am looking to sell my 1996 E320 daily driver car I purchased about 8-9 months ago. I purchased it from a good friend and it is straight and true -- no body work ever. It is a Southern Californa car used only for driving to and from work its whole life (always parked indoors). Its a very nice clean example.

It is 1996 E320 Silver/Grey 106k miles with an OEM phone, Sunroof, and maybe a bose sound system (it had the bose casset in the glove box but it does not have bose written on the speakers -- not all cars in 1996 had the logo even if the car had the option).

I have spent more money making the car like new than most anyone would ever do and I want to know what you all think it is worth with this laundry list of new parts installed:

-- I purchased all new control arms not just new bushings so everything is new and perfect. --

Suspension Front:
New Lower control arms
New Upper control arms
New ball joints -- upper and lower (upper ball joints are connected to the upper control arms)
New tie rod ends
New Shocks

Rear Suspension:
New lower link
new links for all 5 suspension arms
new shocks

General:
Re-packed all bearings to be like new

Engine:
New Engine wiring harness
New Throttle body and actuator
New alternator
New Thermostat


Steering System:
New steering rack
New steering pump

Interior:
New Drivers seat pads (the horse hair pad under the leather that wears over time)

Tire:
New Bridgestone Potenza RE950 tires on clean OEM wheels

Exhaust:
New Catalitic Converters -- both units

Servicing:
Had the engine oil changed 3x in 10k miles
New coolant -- flushed and cleaned
New trans fluid and a full service
New diff fluid
New Brake Fluid


So needless to say this is likely the best kept car around. It was in great shape when I got the car but I planned on keeping it for 200k more miles but my plans have changed and I now want to sell the car.

I clearly have invested a huge amount of money in the car and want your opinions on what it is worth before I put it up for sale in my local paper and on ebay.

Thanks for reading!

And if you want to buy the car let me know. Youl will love it... it really does drive like new!

 

[url]http://www.kbb.com

It says about $8605

 

I have to think KBB does not factor in 10-12k in work done in the last 10k miles of the cars life. 8k Does buy a nice E320 but it will have a bunch of worn parts and a ton of stored error codes.

An perfect condition KBB car will need all new suspension and likely much much more. Rubber rots in 80-100k miles and then you really do need to replace it all. The car went from doing very well to basically brand new after all that work.

There has to be some value to a car that is in perfect condition. I am hoping for something in the 10-12k range.

I just wish I could keep this car but need something bigger to haul people around.

I just need to find someone who wants a perfect E320 because it is worth a little more than book value.

Any more thoughts fellow posters????

 

You can't factor in (too much) all the work you've done to it. That's over and above the kbb value. Sure, it needed to be done and you can ask a bit more (ask whatever you wish) and maybe somebody will pay for it.

Accept folks' replies and don't get bent if you get a lowball answer or something you don't like to hear.

Research them in SoCal by looking on the autotrader website, local paper, then compare them to yours and see what they're going for.

Good luck, it sure does look like a nice car.

 

Low miles is what gets you a slightly above book price, not replacing parts/doing maintenance that should be done anyway. Your miles are reasonable but especially low, but I have a 97 e420 with 48k miles.

 

It's tough to sell a used luxury car that is more than five years old. Once you hit that mark and about 80k miles the pool of potential buyers drops. I have no doubt that your car is in great shape and we all know what these cost to maintain. I would think that $9-10k would be pushing the highest attainable price but if you wait long enough there will sometimes be someone willing to pay slightly more.

You've got to consider all the other alternatives out there. There are 2000 E430s going for $14k. 98 5 series bimmers sell in the $10k range all the time I would take $9k for my E420 with 113k miles in a heartbeat. I've probably sunk the same kind of $$ into mine keeping it up to snuff.

That said, write a long detailed ad with all the positives on the car. Take a ton of pictures and email them to interested parties. This will show that you've got a special example. Good luck!

 

He's absolutely right, there are too many low cost options out there. I've seen 2001 e430's go for 15k or less with 70,000 miles on them. If you we're a buyer wouldn't you take one of those vs yours for 12k?

 

Good answer! My '01 E320 only has 3,200k miles on it. A typical '01 might have close to 60k miles on it. Took it to the local dealer recently, thinking I might trade it on a new E or '06 S-Class. He offered me only $800 more than a vehicle that might have had 50k or 60k miles on it.

So much for the excellent care and low miles on it... so I kept it and just changed out the OEM tires and wheels to AMG's for a sportier look. Dealer has called me back a couple of times, telling me he has a buyer for my trade. Great, so he can make a home-run at my expense? No thanks; she looks great sitting in my garage, just like the last five years...

 

Well a 430 is a nice car and I know fist hand having had a 1998 E430 for 3 years back in the day but the big factor is that this car is in perfect like new mechanical condition.

I don't see many cars with not a single peice of old rubber floating around. I mean rubber in these cars does get old and dry out and or crack. Maybe most cars feel ok and dont seem to need work but once you go and do all the work you are honestly quiet amazed by how different the car feels and just how worn the car really was.

Unless the other cars in the market have equal lists of repaired or replaced items this car should pull a higher figure. Any 10 year old car or anything over 100k miles needs a complete suspension overhaul. Might the 100k car work fine? Sure but its sure not what it was back in 1996.

I do agree 12k might be high for a selling price but you dont price your car at the final selling price. You need some space to lower your price once you find an interested party.

The parts the I fixed were not things any car on auto trader will have had done and they make the car more valuable because the items you will be fixing after you buy that other car have already been repaired. Cars might seem mint in condition but a fine toothed comb could likely expose many items that need fixing.

Im not some used car lot pushing a car as being in mint condition with a wash and a whiping down of the seats but instead I have the car thats been given about 10k i repairs to make it as nice as possible.

To get back to the question I would take my E320 over a E430 some used car bought at a wholesale auction and likely my car over a E430 sold by a private party who had not performed like work on their used car. Cars can work fine but feel a bit worn and I guess I went through the car and fixed all the items that felt a bit worn but still worked. I just home someone is willing to pay 2-3k extra to have a really nice car because it drives better than any on the used market.

 

just curious why you'd want to sell the car and take such a huge bath on all the upgrades and mods you've made on it? sounds like you'd be better off keeping it... but then again, we MB owners as a group do like to part with our hard earned money.

 

The market will tell you what its worth. Certainly is not going to bring what you think. The items you consider uogrades are really normal maint and cannot be considered. Sounds like a nice average car.

 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...rs=&cardist=54

1998 Mercedes-Benz E320 35000 miles

$12,000

Its the miles!!!!!

Listen carefully, Your post title asks "whats it worth , please advise" everyone is saying the same thing, but you don't like the answer and become defensive. Its not the best example around, you may as well keep it and get your monies worth out of it.

 

KBB excellent condition report comes up as $9,330 for me.

There are tons of E320s at every conceivable price level, so $12-$13k is not unrealistic. I think if it is truly a car that is in tip top condition, it should sell for more than book. Book takes into account problems that POs have neglected. If the car has not been neglected at all, then it should go for a premium. I would try to get 12K for it for a reasonably quick sale, you may find the 13k buyer but I would expect that to take some time.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...or=&x=148&y=13

 

put your VIN through this VIN-decoder, it will tell you if you have Bose.

http://www.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/?lng=eng

 

Look, no one will be able to convince this guy. He has a 10 yr old 100,000 plus mile car that he caught up on the normal maint with. He most likely paid too much for it and most likely can't afford to own even that. He wants every cent back probably including the gas he has put into it. At best its an average 96 and hes got lots of competition out there. What he will find out is that 80 percent of the buyers for that type of car do not have the money and can't get financed and if the buyer can get financed the finance company will not put forth the amount he wants to get for the car. Let him find out for himself and maybe he will get lucky and stumble upon an idiot that will think like he does. Why he asked the question here is beyond me. I think he just wants someone to tell him he is correct.

 

makes you wonder about all the other problems that could pop up if the car needed this much repair in 9 months time? BUt then again, I'll admit that my 97 E320 has made a skeptic out of me...

If I were in the market and lived in this area, I'd offer you maybe $1k over kbb for the car knowing that a 10 year old car is like playing russian roullette with 2 bullets in the gun... The first bullet is the head gasket, the second is the transmission.

 

Good point, a seller MUST take into account the demographics. Anyone looking at an older car is most likely a bottom feeder anyhow or someone with bad credit, neither of which being good attributes. If he has enough time to sit on the car, he should be able to recoup his costs, to a point.

 

If you pay for an ad in autotrader and price this thing at 12,500 you'll never even get a nibble. Remember the maytag repairman ads? That will be you, waiting by the phone.

I really do not mean to come off as harsh, but the 10yrs old, over 100k used sedan market is not a retail customer. The people who can afford your car easily and pay cash (no ones writing 5 yr loans on 10 year old cars) is going to buy a 15-20 model thats younger and has less miles. It's not your fault, but that's the way it is. Get ready to meet a lot of deadbeats too, I've sold cars this old before.