S600 harder to sell than an S550?
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From: Suburban Washington DC
1995 S280 5-speed
S600 harder to sell than an S550?
Looked at an 11 S600 with under 70K miles at a dealer auction and being sold by a large dealer that sells mostly mid priced cars. Think it might go fairly cheap considering the time of year and type of auction. I'd buy to flip but would enjoy it a month or two. Are these S600's much harder to sell than the V8's? No factory warranty and complicated systems would keep buyers away? Or is that just a myth perpetuated by a few owners that have had expensive troubles while the majority haven't? I see NADA retail at $39K. Am I safe under $30,000 assuming nothing major is wrong with it?
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
Depends on the buyer....I had an S550 and saw an S600 from a private owner who babied it down in FL. I called them the same day, asked every question I could think to ask, told them I was a serious buyer, went to the bank and text them a pic of the cash and told them I will be on a plane tomorrow morning and bought it and drove it back well over 1200 miles with not 1 issue. I sold the S600 instantly (which i regret). I'll be buying another when spring comes around. I've always said since forever ago...if you don't have a warranty for any car that is close to or well over 100k, then obviously you can expect repairs to be pricey if you can't do it yourself or have an indy who does the work a lot cheaper than the dealer. There is a market for people looking for these and they will or should know the expense that comes with the repairs.
Yes, the rims are hideous but they can be changed very easily. You should check it out, get it inspected at a dealer, run the vin for service history, etc. if you don't know about the S600's and what to look for. I hate to put it this way but anything near 100k or over is not for people with empty pockets. I hear the same thing about the 3 range rovers I've purchased....nothing but issues, always in the shop, etc....I don't think so...and I drive my cars up and down the east coast all the time with no issues, they don't sit in the garage.
Yes, the rims are hideous but they can be changed very easily. You should check it out, get it inspected at a dealer, run the vin for service history, etc. if you don't know about the S600's and what to look for. I hate to put it this way but anything near 100k or over is not for people with empty pockets. I hear the same thing about the 3 range rovers I've purchased....nothing but issues, always in the shop, etc....I don't think so...and I drive my cars up and down the east coast all the time with no issues, they don't sit in the garage.
Last edited by WHPH28; Dec 19, 2017 at 09:24 AM.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: May 2002
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From: Suburban Washington DC
1995 S280 5-speed
Didn't sell in the auction lane but ended up making a deal with the dealer afterwards for a good amount under my price limit. It's clean inside and out. Does need rear tires and front brakes on first look. Will bring it back next week and see what else it needs.
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
Congrats! Ties/brakes are no big deal....fingers crossed everything else checks out for you. They are great cars. Looking forward to seeing pics once you take possession of it.
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From: Chicago burbs
2015 S550
I think it's a combination of mileage and age, mostly age that makes the older S-classes extremely expensive to maintain. Seals, gaskets, bushings, belts, seals, and mounts all dry out and need replacing, even on very low mileage older cars. And on an older S600, that can get extremely pricey. Mine is currently at the dealer getting a turbo coolant leak repaired (requires pulling the motor), new ABC Pump, lower control arm ball joints, left side thrust arm bushing, and sway bar links. This is going to add around $8k to the $16k my warranty company has already shelled out over the last 3 years. And my car only has 48k miles and has never been abused....EVER!
If you cannot obtain warranty coverage for it, plan to take whatever profit you can and run. If you have deep pockets and plan to keep it a while, enjoy the car. It is a bargain for under $30k and will reward you with one of the best rides in autodom.
If you cannot obtain warranty coverage for it, plan to take whatever profit you can and run. If you have deep pockets and plan to keep it a while, enjoy the car. It is a bargain for under $30k and will reward you with one of the best rides in autodom.
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
Yup, that's why the repairs are expensive. My RR I purchased last year was 101k but has every single option...more things to go wrong but no issues, thus far and I love them for all occasions. I bought a Jaguar XJL down in FL from the the dealer last year too and the water pump went after 30k miles. Replaced for free of course, but I drove it down to FL right after and bought the vette. Cars are the worst thing to invest in because of depreciation but they are fun. :-)
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Wholesale is $29k for this car. So... you got it really on or around the money. There is no flipping of that thing. An s600 with 70k miles is pretty much a boat anchor. Drive it a bit and sell it for $25 in few months and enjoy the experience
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From: Newyork
s550 Diamond white amg pano
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
I wouldn't buy any car to flip....unless it was in demand, rare and I could get it for half price. The value of a car and anything actually is in the eye of the beholder.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: May 2002
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From: Suburban Washington DC
1995 S280 5-speed
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2014
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
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W221 S600, W220 S55 AMG Kompressor, W124 300E, W140 S320, W210 E3204M W164 ML320 Bluetec
I would not buy an S600 to flip - there is so much fear of the expense of repair the used market for them is low. This fear is warrantied for a car that has not been maintained, but repairs are expensive, but can be few and far between on a maintained car. And in many cases, a car with a few miles on the clock will be a better one with very low mileage.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 540
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From: Suburban Washington DC
1995 S280 5-speed
MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
If it's inspected and clean, it sells just as well as any other used benz, the market is small, but there are buyers. The car is depreciated hugely because of this, same reason I bought my older CL600 for so cheap compared to new pricing. There are more things to fail on the V12, but the cost is not that far off. When it's working, it's a far superior car.
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
I mean it makes sense...for the most part the higher the class of the car the more expensive the repairs...someone will buy it. It's not like flipping a house to make money on...a car is just that, a car...a majority depreciate. The engine bay is tight vs the S550 but it's not unbearable.
The answer is - if you have money to spend on repairs and don't mind it - it's a car for you. If not, it's not the car for you but it's not a reason to be negative towards it. It's an amazing machine in it's own right.
Last edited by WHPH28; Dec 22, 2017 at 10:10 AM.
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From: Maryland
Depends on the weather
Take a look at a few of my old post. I did just about everything myself - minus painting the body kit. A majority of owners would never attempt any of this but if it was put together, it can be taken apart...like they say, it's not rocket science lol.
I don't care what anyone says...this was a bad @$$ car lol. I can't wait to do it again.
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...-months-2.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ust-video.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...pics-year.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ordered-4.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...rs-turbos.html
I don't care what anyone says...this was a bad @$$ car lol. I can't wait to do it again.
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...-months-2.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ust-video.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...pics-year.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ordered-4.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...rs-turbos.html
Last edited by WHPH28; Dec 22, 2017 at 09:33 AM.
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From: Chicago burbs
2015 S550
From the interior, to the ride, to all of the additional features the S600 has, it is worlds better and nicer than a W221 S550. Just like the W222 S600/S650 is worlds better and nicer than a W222 S550/S560. People who disagree have never been inside or driven both cars back to back.
Last edited by DaveW68; Dec 22, 2017 at 10:04 AM.
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From: Newyork
s550 Diamond white amg pano
wait that car has abc??? eeks. I know benz mechanics that wont touch a car w abc.
600 is a cool car def enjoy it. Im sure the interior is amazing. But the stuff that breaks on them is retarded and most people know this and wont touch it. Dave is in a unique situation where Im sure he bought the car cheap and was able to put an aftermkt warty. Its a must on any ofthese cars. Dave whats your total so far? exceeded what you pay for the car yet?
and btw the s550 was a relatively realiable car( not the 07-09's) But the facelift had very few dealer returns, Mine was great and maint wise over my 3 year warty I upgraded the rims/tires,added dustless pads, a battery and maybe another 1k from dealer for small crap not covered under my cpo warty. My warty was coming up in 3 mos,That was my time to bounce.
600 is a cool car def enjoy it. Im sure the interior is amazing. But the stuff that breaks on them is retarded and most people know this and wont touch it. Dave is in a unique situation where Im sure he bought the car cheap and was able to put an aftermkt warty. Its a must on any ofthese cars. Dave whats your total so far? exceeded what you pay for the car yet?
and btw the s550 was a relatively realiable car( not the 07-09's) But the facelift had very few dealer returns, Mine was great and maint wise over my 3 year warty I upgraded the rims/tires,added dustless pads, a battery and maybe another 1k from dealer for small crap not covered under my cpo warty. My warty was coming up in 3 mos,That was my time to bounce.
Last edited by 1bad540; Dec 22, 2017 at 12:55 PM.
