JWS3

Wow-talk about getting a shock. I was speaking with an MB salesman friend of mine today while picking up my '04 E500 after a service appt when the conversation turned to sales & resale values, etc.

Well, he looked up my car, which I bought about 10 months ago with all of 4800 miles on it for about $49K. Car is rather well equipped- HK, Xenon, Pano roof, trunk opener, CD changer, voice control & integrated phone plus more. List was around 66+ at the time. Present mileage is about 15K.

Both of us were floored- the "Galves" wholesale value, which is what pretty much all dealers in the NY/NJ/CT tri state area use, showed--and get this-- a trade value of only 38K +/-!!! This means that the car has lost 22K in total off of its invoice price of around $60K--in less than 2 years!

Here is the worst part- we did a little digging and learned that it lost 3K in the last 4 months alone!!! Most of us are aware that a car's value plummets when the wheels first hit the pavement, with the first year being the worst, but this is just ridiculous. As he is a friend, he confided that many customers are P*SSED at this and just as mad at the dropping of free maintenance. Says sales/business & service range from down to "so-so".

Gotta say-as much as I like German cars (this is my fifth), I don't know if I'll buy another. All cars depreciate, especially higher end ones, but this is outrageous. I checked values and history for some Japanese cars and confirmed my suspicions that they don't seem to fall off nearly so steep a cliff on average. Yes, they drop, but not like a stone like we here are seeing. Looks like I'll be keeping this car a looooong time!

Any comments/thoughts? Discuss?

Jim

StapleGun

Welcome to the "joys" of owning a premium German auto....

TPAbnz

I wouldn't broad-brush the entire E-Class line-up in such a manner.

I would guess that the CDI does somewhat, if not substantially better, than your negative pricing reports. However, I do not doubt what you were told.

lig

I have to agree. We just picked up a new Infiniti FX35 for the wifey. I'm confident it'll be better than the E was for depreciation.

The interior isn't as nice as M-B or Lexus though.

Mega features, a look my wife really like - rwd handling in normal driving - awd when needed - a cool DVD Nav setup - and an agressive exhaust note - wifey is v. happy with her new ride.

Barry45RPM

Bear in mind that most people keep a new car 39-48 months. At the end of the ownership period, the depreciation when spread out over all those months will look better to you. When you compare it to all other cars, you will see you did better than most.

The depreciation curve is steep at first but flattens out over time. If you look at too short a period of time, too close to the beginning of ownership, you will only see the steep portion of the graph & not see that it flattens out substantially over time. That salesman is an idiot, simply because he was "amazed" by the instant depreciation.

ima55r2

Look at the lease forum. After 24 months they have a 63% residual for an E500...just about where you are now.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Cars are not investments, but rather a tool.... And a person "in the know" would never "whole sale" their car to a dealer, but rather sell it to a private party..... That being said, get over it and drive your car...... be happy

Barry45RPM

2 thoughts about selling a Benz privately. With today's ease of forging cashiers checks on even the cheapest computers & printers, I'd want cash. & where are you gonna find someone with a Bag O' Money coming over to your house?

I'd also be quite wary about going for a test drive with strangers nowadays. Yeah, I'm a cynical New Yorker, but people get car jacked all the time for crappier cars.

When you trade in a car (in NY), the trade in dollar value is subtracted from the sales taxable amount, so you only pay tax on the remainder. The tax money saved can be real close to making up the difference between wholesale trade & retail price you might get from a customer in the street. Also figure in the cost of the ad, prepping the car to look good, and staying home several weekends to answer the phone calls (from local dealers), no shows & tire kickers.

I say trade it in.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Thats cool, dealerships have to make a living too... On the other hand I have sold dozens of cars and motorcycles privately and have NEVER had a problem.

Its my car, time, rules and let the buyer know this before hand..... Make sure they have the check in hand, let them "test drive" the car to the bank, both walk in and cash it.... easy $$$$$.....

B.T.W.... That tax break is a no go here in cali....

konigstiger

I sold my 91 Continental & Deville when I left NY back in 92 for a bag of cash to a kid out in Commack, he was a partner in a plumbing business - no joke!

StapleGun

I have NEVER had those problems...but then again, YOU do live in NY. Exercising caution is always a wise move no matter where you live or when dealing with strangers. I never buy brand new cars - it's a waste of money, I make depreciation work for me and subsequently get a bargain.

BudC

I haven't traded in a car since 1969.

DWP

Ask to see the prospective private buyer's driver license and make a copy of it (if you don't have an inkjet scanner/printer/copier, get one - decent ones go for $100). If the prospective buyer objects, tell them that for your own legal protection, you need proof of their valid license status before allowing them to drive the car, and that you will return the copy to them when you get back from the test drive.

shoes

The E Class depreciation is a pain, but you should have bought a VW Phaeton like me to experience world class depreciation. Come to think of it, the CL65 is right up there with big time depreciation.

klenbore

I've sold lots of cars to private individuals. My policy is to accompany the purchaser to his/her financial institution and have the check cut in my presence.

jimbo1mcm

Buy your car with all the options you want, buy an extended warranty, change the oil every 5000 and KEEP THE CAR FOR 5-7 YEARS!!!

jangy

Dude, bad attitude. Quit looking at what the next dude got and be happy with your own actions. If you are buying the Benz for "value", then you made a mistake. Simple as that. We pay to play / enjoy. Some pay more. Some pay less. Either way, enjoy your life and keep your attitude positive! I am grabbing no ankles, no matter what. I could care less what the E is worth now or ever. It is the car I like and I could get a new one if I wanted. Would it cost me lots? Sure, but that is why I wake up and work. Never be a biatch to the system. Dictate your own life.

TREZ63

This is exactly why I always lease cars like this. Firs its 100% (99%) business right off. Second I always end up losing as much money owning anyway if not more. Plus I would have to deal with some opportunist trying to buy it from me for a steal later on ...
Just lease and try to work out a good lease factor (whatever that number is called) The nice thing is that MB doesn't like to admit that their cars depreciate as much as they do so they actually have pretty good lease rates. I negotiated a sweet deal on the lease for my car from Laguna Niguel.

Next car though just might be a used purchase, I'm looking into an SL55 used, if the depreciation is even close on the AMG models I'll be a very happy man this time next year.

CE750

All cars take that kind of hit.. this is normal.. MB used to hold their value better in the 70's and 80's... but those days are long gone.

As for resale.. the CDI still tops the list along with the Mini.. but I'm not getting rid of it anytime soon..

Brav

first of all, its a lame comparisson... you are comparing retail vs trade in..

go trade the car back in the same day you got it, you will lose 10-15%

need to compare apples to apples. i dont think its any mystery that car values have been dropping.

LookingForAnE

We just purchased an 04 E320 4-Matic with 10K miles, private party, for $39K. Sticker was over $61K.

sklasse

well,

thank GOODNESS for depreciation, now I can afford a Benz !

by the of this end year ( when the 2007 models come out ) the price of the current e500 will drop by another 3-4K.. at this point,

I would probably find a really nice color combination, low mileage, well-maintained car with all the features I want for about 25-30K, and I'd probably end up keeping that car for several years ( ~5yrs) , so in the end
it would probably end up barely 500 a month in the long run. That is if I decide that E-class is the car I like and want as a longterm car.

However, since the w212 is coming out in another year or two and its going to be a big hit, I also thinking of waiting it out for that car.