JasonZ

Hey guys... looks like I might be trying to sell the E to move on up. I'll give a quick rundown and hopefully someone can give me an idea of what to start asking. The car is an 03 E500 Sport, 65k miles. Colors are Pewter Silver Metallic on Ash. Exterior of the car is in good/great shape. There are a few minor door dings, nothing out of the ordinary. Interior is in near excellent condition. The car has MB Star Warranty until 100k miles or 4/08 (the reason I bought the car in the first place). Give me some guidance fellas.

JasonZ

BTW... car has Bi-Xenon and Harman Kardon

dimex3

mile is pretty high...low 30s
if you can sell it for i would list it for $35000 if you sell it for $33000 thats good deal

DWP

Your location, which you don't state, has a major bearing on what you can expect to get. Generally speaking, you'll get higher prices for an E on the left and right coasts and less in the heartland, except for Chicago and Texas. The market for used cars is still mostly local, unless you have a really expensive or rare car. If you don''t like the free quotes from edmunds.com or kbb.com, you can get a short-term subscription to galves.com, which some say has more accurate used-car pricing.

hotwiredbenz

Just do a search on cars.com for vehicles similar to yours. Best way to determine true market value.

I think very low 30s would be realistic. Some are even going for below 30k. Like DWP said, location does make a difference.

DesiBaba

I don't want to rain on ur parade of trying to get most from your car. But the truth is buddy....our cars are like that heavy stone in the sea of cars that just never stops sinking by the sec. I been trying to sell my car for the longest time now, have it advertized as $31,500 with 55k. Barely any bites in past 3 months, even went as low as $28k nothing yet. Dealers are offering me anywhere from $24-26500 on trade. N u know the shocker of them all, if u look up a trade value on kbb for E, drum roll please........$19,500. R u freaking serious $19k for this beatiful JUNK. I'm pissed off! The dealer started the trade with $19k....i still can't get over this. Just today i looked up a dealer in Chicago, 03' E500 with 35k on it going for $28995 asking. This is insane. I'm coming to terms that i'm bound to loose anywhere from 5-6k on this car. Goodluck to all of us. Going to try trading in tom. with another dealer lets see how that goes.

JasonZ

As most of you are saying, thats exactly what I'm finding, and why I'm struggling with pricing. I'm in Fredericksburg, VA...... halfway between Richmond and DC. There are not to terribly many of these cars for sale around here, but they can be picked up at the sale (I work with a lot of wholesalers) for low low 20's... which is sickening to me. I'm gonna try $29,995.

Flash Gordon

One of the reasons that I bought mine in Sept 2002 was the good resale value of MB at the time. With all the eletronic issues that I had with the car and the now this damn low resale value, do you think I would buy another MB? Hell NO! I am going to keep on driving it until my extended warrant expires. Then I would like to take a look at Lexus and Infiniti. I don't think Bimmers and Audis are any better than MB in reliability and resale value. It just make me sick to learn these things

sklasse

You can list is for 25K, but most people with ask trade-in 19-20K...the mileage is out of warranty. ...maintenence is expensive and this model year is known to have reliablity issues, you wouldn't get anyone use reads this forum to touch it with a 3 yard stick.... Plus the hit from the O7 models. I would say take what you can and get out before the w212 comes out. You'll be seeing teens , and not in the likes of myspace by then. As a potential buyer, think about it ...you have so many new models about to come out or already out now ..there are a lot choices in the 20 -25K range. you know that in the w212, MB has their rep on the line and hopefully they will make sure its better than the w211 introduction, as they did with the w221.

LIONHEAD

I've been trying to sell my car also but it's been only a few weeks. To give you an idea what I've gone through, the dealer is only giving me $30,000. Car is an 2004 E500, Appearance Package, Pano Roof, HK, NAV, Lighting Package, Keyless Go, Heated Seats, Rear Sunshade and 19,500 miles. List is $64K and paid $62K. I've advertise for $38,000 and might have a buyer who's willing to pay $37K. Need to sell so I can order my BMW.

BTW...I'm in Chicagoland area.

lkchris

Keep it until it's worthless.

Then you'll have gotten your full $55K out of it.

That'll show 'em.

barrafp

If I was anywhere near you and you had that on sale earlier, I might have considered it.

Steve Bland

JasonZ,

I feel your pain on the trade in issue, but also a little better based on the values people are quoting. I got an 07 E550 a couple a weeks ago, and traded in my 05 E500. The dealer started with the KBB numbers of around $29k or so, but at the end of the day I got $35k. It had 37k on it, black/stone interior, no real options - 6 disc, window shades, sunroof..

Good luck

-Steve
07 E550 Iridium Sliver/Black, premium 1.

vettdvr

That's my plan. Cost / mile goes down as miles go up.

PT Barnum "a fool and his money are soon parted"

Flash Gordon

How much discount did you get for the car or any? A higher trade-in generally reduces your discount off the MSRP.

Steve Bland

Flash,

I paid list, including the $1300 gas guzzler tax! Finance lady was right with her mumbo jumbo that they were basically stepping up on the trade in which is the same as discounting the sticker. Oh well, wife likes the car, I am happy too! Next step, 320 more miles then Rockingham for the Quarter!

-Steve

Rock72

i'm going to take my car to carmax this weekend and see what they say. mine is:

2003 E320 (silver exterior / charcoal interior)
25k miles (25k and 2 years left on standard warranty)
keyless go
COMAND
bi-xenon
pano sunroof
cd changer
heated seats
front headlight washers

i paid about $55k...after taxes and everything it was around $60k.

i am in southern california.

i'm thinking private sale i can get around $35k. if the dealer offers $30k, i'll probably take it.

Rock.

hotwiredbenz

Good luck with carmax. I tried them for a previous vehicle. They told me about 14k less than what every other dealer was offering for my trade-in.

When the carmax rep first told me their offer, I was sure it had to be a mistake.

ProV1

i've owned many bmw's and my family/friends own MBs. unless you're in certain locales along the coasts, dealer will offer you slightly below edmunds "avg" tradein, regardless of how pristine your car is.

bottom line, if you are concerned about resale value, do NOT buy german.

Benz-O-Rama

Keep us up to date on what Carmax offers. I'm guessing they'll offer around 27K

Good Luck!!

Barry45RPM

I stopped in to a Infiniti dealer just for fun & while I was inside their used car guy looked over my car & offered 27-30. No way. The car stickered at 69K & has 32,000 miles (I recall) now.

Thats really a pretty big hit. Where's the MB residual value?

TPAbnz

It will be closer to 25K.

Folks, wipe your tears away; luxury cars of any marque are not investments. Enjoy them while you drive a depreciating asset.

If one wants to wholesale their car rather than place an ad for retail sale, convenience is the paramount concern. Accept the financial consequences!

Rock72

ok, i'll keep you all posted. the curiosity is starting to kill me...maybe i'll go tomorrow on my lunch break. carmax is just down the road from my office.

RVD.

stevenW211

Which model of BMW you will order?? I am looking at New X5 next year ......

Good luck!!

LIONHEAD

With 3 sedans a 1 SUV, I think I want a coupe again. 95% sure I'll be ordering an '07 650i Coupe. It's not that fast but quick enough for me and nice enough inside. Heck, it felt slower than my friends new 335i TT Coupe. 5% maybe a 997 Carrera or strip down Carrera S, Viper SRT10 GTS or Z06. Maybe I'm getting old at age 32 but leaning heavily on the BMW as speed isn't really a priority anymore.

The new X5 should be nice. Dealer said it should arrive sometime next month. I also checked out the new ML63 and liked it but it was fully loaded and stickered at $96,000.

BTW....I'm planning to go to Carmax also just to see what my car is worth. I'll report back also.