Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum. I hope it's not inappropriate to ask the following, but can anyone give me some ideas as to where to find a nice 2013-2015 G550, Black exterior, Black interior, from a PRIVATE SELLER for $50,000 or less, or KBB value, which is around $50,000 (you wouldn't know it by looking a dealer prices for these vehicles).

I am of course trying the usual, such as AutoTrader, Craigslist, EBay, etc. I found some auction sites, but the ones I visited required a dealer license.

Any tips (online versus hard copy classified, looking in other countries?) and thinking outside the box would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I don't want to discourage you but the quick answer is you are not likely to find a "nice" one at the $50K price point. You are, at a minimum, $15K under the market. You may find a high miler that has been ridden hard and put away wet but I don't think that falls into the "nice" category. Good luck with your search.

 

Thanks for the reply. I realize it will be difficult. If by "under the market" you mean the current climate or you mean KBB. Apparently KBB for a 2013 can dip as low as $45,000. But I don't really want to go back and forth about that please.

Please try to offer practical suggestions, as I asked above. Thank you.

 

pdeacon is correct, KBB doesnt have the grip on G valuations. You need to up your budget to $60k to find a well cared for low mileage 2013-2015 G550. There are in few on autotrader with higher mileage close to $50k

 

"Back and Forth".... you asked a legitimate question... and you're getting straight talk answers.. welcome to the forum !

 

I did not ask a legitimate question about valuation. That's why I am a bit frustrated. Please reread my original post.

While I am new here and am a guest, I still would like to try to get my real 'question' answered. How can I find the unicorn I am looking for? We all agree that it will be hard to find. Impossible? No, I can find one within 8 months or so time?Perhaps. But HOW, that is my question please. Potentially unrealistic but 'out of the box' answers I am looking for include those similar to the following: 1) Enlist the help of 30 friends/family members to each place 2-3 "Wanted" ads on Craigslist across the country, updating them every couple of days and staying within the rules of Craigslist, 2) Offer a $300 finder's fee in those ads, 3) rent a cheap billboard advertising for the car, 4) etc., 5) etc., 6)etc.

I assume most of the people on this board are very high achievers and creative thinkers or else they might not have the means to own such a nice vehicle as a Mercedes Benz. Help me out please. What would have happened if all Bill Gates heard in his garage as a youngster is "You are never going to succeed; you are wasting your time. Nobody needs a box like that."

Thank you. I am really trying to not be abrasive while effectively communicating my message. Hope I did not offend anyone. If you can't help, that's OK.

Can you see what direction I was trying to get the thread to go? Instead, we just wasted an hour of time and 4 or so replies going off in the unintended direction. Again, my question was not at all about valuation. Please read carefully, and try to respond to the post, not (solely) to what you would like to say about it. That only 'hijacks" the thread and is very inefficient and frustrating.

Thank you.

 

Find a smaller used car dealer and see if they are willing to purchase a G550 for you from Manheim auctions. Sometimes they will do it for a ~$500 fee (vs. a full markup)

Would be the best way to get a deal. But you would have be ready to pay cash at the auction (otherwise, again the dealer is going to want to charge you the usual full markup.)

Looking at Manheim sales for the last few months, you can get a 2013 G550 for close to $50k with around 70k-80k miles, depending on condition.

As for only buying from a private seller, setup an alert from one of those sites that search across all of Craigslist. Or maybe try to find one in Canada. This one is $76k CAD which is around $57 USD: https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...ationFlag=true No idea if you can import it easily into the US, or if it even is possible.

 

OK, great, thank you, jghuman. Those are exactly the kinds of tips I am looking for. I appreciate it. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

For reference, I just purchased a 2014 550 black/black from a MB dealer CPO for low $70s. 27k miles..