Have not leased a car yet. I am seriously considering to lease my next car. I think residual value in leasing is better than the trade-in value in most cases.

Yes I understand that, but depreciation is based on what the value of the car was when you first owned it. If it was selling for $59 out the door, this is what you base your depreciation on (not talking about taxes here, just the amount an individual actually loses on a car). He never had a $65K asset.

CHEERS to that.. 1000% correct..

if the dealer discounted the car to 59k.. that was his asset.. if not lower... not 65. PERIOD.

Revstriker-
For the record- you have posted ELEVEN responses to just this thread of mine!! Since you have taken the time ( is this all you do?) to count the total posts I have made- I figured I would return the favor and mention this. I have already stated why I have posted what I have so far. I'll type slowly so you can get it- My car has significant bona fide defects that are documented and recorded. MBUSA has not stepped up to the plate and fixed it or offered anything like an assited trade- nothing. I decided to just get rid of this dog and was surprised by the drop in value ( Mercedes used to hold its value better than most cars) . You seem to take great offense to the problems I have reported and the commentary related thereto . You furthermore defend it's resale as if it was a personal affront to you. Are you for real?Whatever. Get over it.

roybenz, did your attorney drop the lemon law litigation? Curious to know how that came out, since you mentioned it earlier.

Roybenz, I've been reading this thread for a while now and I think all parties have said what they have to say and the posts on it are starting to look like a bad dream from which you are unable to wake up. Having said this, I have to agree with most people that the residual values you are seeing on your car is NORMAL. I think this is why most people are reacting so strongly to your post. Your car is doing as well as better than most new 3-year old cars. If you look at the depreciation schedule on Edmunds.com the values are exactly what they should be.

This is what happens when you buy a new car. During the first 2 years, you are going to loose a tremendous amount of value. It does not matter whether you buy a MB, BMW, Lexus or whatever. If you pay over $50K for a luxury car, be prepared to have the car loose about $1,000 to $750 a month for the first 2 years. This is NORMAL. If this is unacceptable to you either try to negotiate a good lease deal or don't buy a new car. People who drive new cars over $50K pay a huge premium for the benefit of driving a new car. If you still want to drive a nice car and are not comfortable with the depreciation, buy it when it is 2 or 3 years old but please don't complain about the residual values that are set by the market.

The issues with your car are a separate matter altogether.

Anyway, good luck with your next car purchase and remember to check the residual values before you buy your next car.

Actually under your user name it'll say how many total posts you have. If you are on the main thread listing page, and you click the number of replies (where it says, for example, 12 replies) it'll break down the 12 replies and tell you who has how many replies.

Computers are a wonderful thing.

You bought your car as an investment?
It doesn't matter if you bought a new mercedes or a new ford. If you didnt want a hit on your value may I suggest buying preowned?

Any car or truck when bought new will lose value as soon as you take it off the lot. Also since the new E550 has arrived your value tanked even further. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with owning your mercedes. I'ved owned several and had great ownership.

Oh I just got rid of a 2003 Surburban with 24xxx miles. I lost more then half of my value. Heh talk about having love for GM

Welcome to the real world... No car holds value anymore.. Especially when you pay top dollar for it in the first place.
If you gave 59K for that car this just means you paid extra for worthless options that have no resale value.. Hey just take it in the A** like a man and move forward. Hopefully you can deal in a better position next time.
BTW. I just traded my "04" 320 for 33K. straight up.. I was actually offered 27 from one dealer ( Non MB ).lol.
Bottom line is, when a car is traded, it's traded to be wholesaled out worse case. That being said, it doesn't take a person with a business degree to know that you can't pay wholesale prices for items you want to turn a profit on in the wholesale market. The same goes for retail. ANd here's a news flash Trade-ins are rarely treated as retail turnarounds even if they end up bringing some form of retail value, dealers can't have their inventory competing against itself....That's dumb business...

You think dealers take your car on trade because they are doing you a favor? or because they really give a sh&*& about the options you worshipped so when you bought it? Nooooooo.
They take your so you can take another peice of more costly retail inventory of of their hands and they sell your trade them for whatever profit they feel they can make.

That's why they are called car dealers.

The 2003 and 2004 E class has more cars for sale in the US than many other cars in it's class thanks to recent lease returns... This means that the market is very saturated with these vehicles.. Which means pricing is competitively low across the board. The automakers, nor the dealers have any relative control over how this turns out..

Just take a look at how many W211 are for sale privately within 300 miles of your State on Autotrader, then compare that number to let's say W209's, or some other body style that has a low turnaround. The cars with the small resale numbers usually bring more money not necessarily because they are worth more, but because there are fewer of them on the open market.

Finally.. IF you want to get upset about your car's resale value, get mad at guys like yourself, and me even... If we learn how to keep a car longer than two or three years... then they will keep their value longer.I am ashamed to say that It's been like 10 years since I received a car title in the mail from paying off a car that I financed.But since leasing and all of the million other creative consumer market tools are here, it is too easy to change cars, houses, and anything else when we grow bored of them so,, here we are.....

Wanna do better next time? think about trying to get rid of your next car while you are shopping for it. It will make you buy smarter.I think we all need to buy smarter.

end of sermon.

The case goes on - even if I dump the car. It is still pursued for damages, but the Lemon Law Remedy of an ordered buy back or full trade for another is forfeited. I must agree to participate in the case until it ends. I was not willing to stay in this junker for the probable 2 more years it would take. MBUSA fights everything and appeals everything. Multiple professionals have reproted this along with an article in one of the car mags a few months ago. For the most part I keep it parked and drive one of my other cars. We'll take the hit and move to a better car. Just for the record. I have much better things to do thatn pursue lemon law actiosn. And furthermore I really did buy this car to enjoy it and become an enthusiast like I have done with my other cars. I have owned a Porsche 928GT , Porsche 928GTS, Porsche BOxster S, BMW 330XI, Lexus LS400, Lexus GX470, Multiple 280Z's even a Fiat X-1/9. I am a car enthusiast . This particular one is a bad one- a very unpleasant car to drive . MSUSA completely blows in the way they handle such situations. I simply did not get what the brochure and advertising promised. I got a defective one and they said tough Sh*t. That's it .
Anybody out there want to buy this one from me? What are my offers?
Even comes with it's own omni-vibrator. It'll numb your butt after only 15 minutes of driving. Step right up- make an offer . I agree enough about this already.

Maybe if you posted some of the issues you were having with the car that led to this Lemon Law situation, some of us might be able to understand your pain a little at least about the lemon thing... I looked at all of the previous posts and forgive me if I missed anything, but I didn;t see any issues or recuureing problems that you posted.. So I can't speak much about how this all evolved.... But it would be interesting to hear I think...

check archives under ' lemon law action filed'
briefly- the car has incessent vibration at all speeds that is numbing .It is not the tires- not the wheels - and more importantly it is not fixed. Benz recognized the vibration issue- said it was the tires- ( the MBUSA rep told me this on the phone after having the car for a day at the dealer) - he also said that I was 'costing MBUSA money needlessly because it was the tires and not the car". Now that tires have been eliminated as a possible cause- and the vibration is still very much there and constant- they now say - there is no problem- even though there was one- when they thought it wasn't their responsibility. So when it wasn't their fault - there was a problem- and now that it is their fault "ZEY SEE NUSSING". It is how a company handles it's problems that demonstrates what it is really about and how reliable it is. MBUSA has shown - at least in the case of this particular car- that it is not to be rellied upon. And to spend this much $$ on a car and not have faith that it will be backed by its manufacturer speaks volumes about it. DON'T BUY A BENZ- Unless, of course, you like to gamble. If you get a good one great- fabulous car-if you get a bad one- go fish.....

Dude, take another hit and pass it on. You are KILLING me with your antics!!

If the lemon laws didn't help (which they didn't), how on earth do you really think that a civil suit could possibly win? What is your grounds? I'll be the first to go testify for MBUSA's customer service. Please do tell more about your city class attorney, because i am sure one of you is lying and I'd really hate for it to be him. If it is you, then that is ok. You are disgruntled. Obviously think you are smart. And have found a captive audience, so why not go ahead and embelish? No biggie. But, if it is your lawyer lying to you and you really being this naive!!! Woaaah, I feel for YOU!

First of all. I choose to just get rid of the car- as many suggested in the post-a-thon - rather than wait for the lemon law action to be heard and taken through the appeal process which is most probable when dealing with MBUSA . The scheduled court date is in February 2007 and then the appeal would be another year. I am not willing to drive this junk for that long. So it wasn't that the lemon law didn't work . And the lemon law IS a civil suit. The rest of your babble I frankly could not make any sense of - so I'll leave your rant corrected as above. As for my intelligence -you may have been left wondering about mine- I am in less doubt about yours. and no need to call me a liar or my attorney.

OK... I'm not sure whether you come here only to vent or you are asking for advice.

If the first, then ignore this... if the latter, let's look at your options objectively:

Option 1: Keep the car, wait for the lawsuit to conclude.
Pros: If you win, you may get all $59K back (or at least a lot higher than what the dealer offered you) minus lawyer's fees (which I think could be around 20%-30% of settlement - $12K-18K?). So you may end up w/ only $41K-$47K?
Cons: You need to drive this POS & if you lose, you'll lose more money from the depreciation.
One derivation: Keep the car, don't drive it until the court has settled and buy another car. In terms of money is the same, but you don't have to torture yourself driving this POS.

Option 2: Sell the car, take the hit and move on
Pros: Less frustration, less time taken, no distraction
Cons: Well, the depreciation, which I think is normal but you think is too much (may be you usually bought japanese cars? )

So there are two options.... the only question you need to answer:
Is my frustration, distraction, effort and time over 1-year period worth more or less than $7K-$13K? Or $1K-$7K (if you sell privately for $40K)?

If the answer is yes, pick Option 1. If the answer is no, pick Option 2.

For me... 1-year frustration vs. <1 paycheck, I'd pick #2, thank you.

Zionk, Thank you for the thoughtful response. Also appreciated is the civility and lack of personal interjection. You are correct except for one point. There is never any cost to the consumer for lemon law actions. If the plaintiff prevails all costs are paid by the car company in addition to the award. If you lose , the lawyers get zip as they take these cases on contingency . My choice is to not wait. The dilemma is to hope to win and get the whole purchase price back minus a cents/mile depreciation factor ( usually between 10 and 20 cents) or- to just take the hit- dump the car and move on . Even though I will do the latter due to expediency , I still must agree to participate at any hearings related to the case since the lawyers have already spent time , filed etc. Should there be any monetary award, I will get that with no fee deducted. If they could have had this trial quickly I would never have caved. But at the prospect of around 2 years and no guaranteed outcome- I'd rather get back to enjoying my cars and driving .
Cheers.

dude if you have a legitimate lemon and the car has been at mb for x amount of days, they havent been able to fix it after 3 visits for the same problem and all that other nonsense it wont take 2 years to work this all out.

my friend whos also a member on here, fazooley, had a 2004 e500 that the brakes failed on us while we were driving back from dinner and we nearly crashed. the car went to mb, they said they fixed it but fazooley was like nahh no way im getting in that car, its not safe. he refused to pick it up from the dealer and just kept driving the loaner c class for a week or two. mb realized he was serious and bought the e500 back and got him into a cls500 for the same price (this was when the cls first hit the dealers). took a couple of weeks but not 2 years.

Zionk, Upon review . I will continue to pursue this case. The hearing date is scheduled for Mid-Feb 2007. If I wait another 6 months for this it will keep my lemon law full recovery option open . Even though all involved state that MBUSA appeals almost all verdicts against them, if the ruling is in my favor- it locks in the full lemon law recovery option. Even if MBUSA appeals a fruling in my favor- I can tstill sell the car at this point and still have every potential for full recovery. If I sell the car now, I forfeit this. It is only my wife and me in our house now. We own 3 cars . We'll park this one for the most part and continue with this action. Futhermore, by Mid Feb - '07 new car model prices will have moved off of 'Sell at sticker only' pricing. So, taking the emotion out of the equation- this is the course we will follow. I would like to thank those who have responded to this post. I never intended to offend.
This is a public forum where such issues are appropriate to raise . I would like to point out that this has had almost 1900 views more than almost any other post in the past few months for whatever this stat is worth. I will post the ruling on the suit when I get it. For a perspective to those who have non-problematic versions of this car- Imagine pulling the wheel weights off of a couple of wheels and driving with the resultant vibration at all speeds always -every mile you drive from here on in. This is my every mile experience with this car . My bet- is that none of you would put up with it either. After over 40 days in the shop to try to correct it - it is not my lack of trying or giving them an opportunity and pleading with them to fix it that is the case. Cheers to all.

Perhaps this thread may be of some help:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ration+bushing

I had the same problem and dealer said this was a "known issue." They replaced the referenced bushings and the problem was resolved.

when you buy a benz you have to understand it will be expensive to own, maint, and depreciation could be alot... look at me I bought a 55K ml500 in 03, and now its worth just half of that.. do you see *****ing starting threads...

ROYBENZ, sorry you haven't enjoyed your car which is clear from every daggon post you've made since you joined MBWorld. Hope you get rid of the car soon as the $$$ can't be worth the #$%! unhappiness you seem to be venting.

Just unload it and move on so that you can get onto to another car forum and post positive comments about your next car.

Sorry you feel bad about the loss in value of your car.
If the is an up side those of you that can afford a new MB every 3 years make it possible for 1st timers like me to drive a great car. I am sooo happy we just bought our 1st MB
2003 e320 it had 46000 miles on it looks brand new paid $27000.
We drove from Grand Canyon AZ to Houston TX last weekend to buy it.