Ok guys I think it's finally time to let go of my 2007 S550 with 129,000 miles. Im having a hard time figuring out what a fair market value is because of the amount of money I put into the vehicle both maintenance and cosmetic. I just got back from the dealer today I had to replace the transmission so that was a $4,000 bill which kinda got me thinking its time to move on if I can get the right price. So to start its a white with tan leather, which helps as its' one of the more desirable color combos. I am the 2nd owner with clean carfax no accidents or body work. Has the upgraded leather option, rear reclining seats which are also heat and cool, full shades (not sure if they all have that) but also a rare option is the ABC active body control feature which makes the ride quality different than regular air ride. Has iPod integration kit with wireless tune2air setup. So as far as maintenance goes I have well over $20,000 in receipts for all the stuff that's been maintained. It always goes to the Mercedes dealer. It now has a newer (used) transmission, brand new valve body, brand new torque converter. Also just replaced pulsation dampener. The list goes on for any recommended maintenance, absolutely nothing is wrong with the vehicle and its condition is 9 out of 10 for both inside and out. The tires have less than 4,000 miles on them with plenty of tread. Tires are Continental AWS Ok so now with this car having always proper maintenance I also did a lot of costly cosmetic things. It has been upgraded to the 2010+ S63 look. But a lot of people will put cheap eBay or non oem conversion parts all mine are OEM. I did a write up on this site showing all OEM part numbers, but it has OEM S63 Front bumper, rear bumper, mirrors and wheels. The S63 OEM 20" wheels were over $5500 alone. So I'm asking with all this into consideration what would be a fair price for this vehicle. The higher miles 129,000 makes it tough to value with all the new stuff and repair work. Please let me know your thoughts. See pics below. I only had 1 picture with the new OEM mirrors. Located in NY.

 

cars gorgeous, unfortunately you put more in then you will get out. I would have tapped out before throwing another 4k into the trans. W the high miles and the undesireable abc... Id say somewhere around 9-14k range.... Your best bet is to take all of your upgrades off return the car to stock and sell of all of those items.

 

Price depends on how fast you want to sell it. I disagree about taking off all of the upgrades, too much trouble.

 

Unfortunately all of the work you've done to maintain the car has added zero value. And the AMG body switch adds very little if anything. It is a very nicely optioned car, but at this age and those miles, that really isn't adding any value to it either. White with black interior is the nice color combo. Peanut butter colored interior is the least popular of that vintage, with gray coming in next, followed by black and then the Designo combos. Trade in is likely $7-9k. You might be able to find a private buyer willing to go $12-14k on your car when you present all of the receipts for everything you've done to it.

 

 

Miles are to high and cars to old, def not wrth swapping bumpers if you dont have the old ones, wheels maybe if you have something to put on there. over 100k really bring your buyer pool down alot. Id say trade is 7-8k.

 

Yes seems about right. I think I’ll probably wind up waiting til spring to get to the higher side of the value. With winter in NY seems like it’s a bad idea to sell right now. Probably just park it til April/May. Can’t really say any of it was a waste of money. I enjoyed this car so much, had a lot of fun doing the swap and got to drive it 75,000 miles of fun.

 

dont feel to bad, I bought my w221 cpo put 15k miles on it and took more of a bath than your going to take! .Also swapped the wheels to 20" s63 reps and traded the car in w them. Wheels rarely add any value on the sell side, but are never really cheap to add. Im also in Nyc, and Bmws and benzes do sell quikly here, Best bet is to put it on autotrader and cars.com and see what type of bites you get.

 

Car looks very nice, not a usual combo, you can see that there was a lot of time and love invested. But, why do you all say that 129.000 Miles is a lot? Converted to Km is about 207.605km although this is a Gasoline engine for some European countries this is an almost NEW car. I just bought an 2006 S 320CDI (Diesel) with 222.000km (around 138.000Miles) and am planning to keep this for a while. Maybe putting some ads on the international sites will make you more money, try to find out how much you spend sending it somewhere to Europe. If you want i can help you out posting in the country i live in. Just for a referrer here is an add from one of the Portuguese sites (here they are called S500 but it's a 5.5L engine) : h***s://www.olx.pt/anuncio/mercedes-benz-s-500-longo-IDzAcWN.html#f16e29d900 Sorry for the link, no harm intended just helping out.....

Beco

 

From my point of view I feel many Americans get new cars more often than many other countries and that is why 100,000 miles is a "high" number. Less things to worry about with a warranty in place and a fixed payment, so no surprises. I understand why many replace their cars more often but I am an investor at heart and always will be. I don't mind at all owning a car out of warranty with a few miles on it and not the newest, latest and greatest. For each is own really.
I have my 2007 S65 AMG with about 75,000 miles and I LOVE HER! If it breaks down or needs some love then so be it. I knew going into this car with eyes wide open.
This all being said I am a real estate investor where I buy the worst houses available and renovate them and have for 10 years. So I am very use to dealing with that sinking feeling when stuff sucks.
Life goes on.
Johan

 

An 11 year old S550 with 129k miles is an "almost new" car? Do almost new cars typically have thousands and thousands of dollars in repairs and have things wear out and break down? Because if that's true, we've all purchased "almost new" pieces of crap.

 

I'm currently driving a 2007 with almost 190,000 miles. It's not new, but the prior owner took very good care of it which you have to if you drive a vehicle almost 18,000 miles a year.

 

$7000 trade in, 8000 wholesale, 9000-10000 street price.

abc is a ding on those cars. upgrades are worth zero unless you find the rare buyer that will want the car the way you made it.

you might be better off taking off the amg wheels and selling them separately for $2000-2500 if you want them gone.

good luck

 

One thing we have here is a tax system that is overcharging the cars. Here in Portugal the taxes make the cars expensive and unless you want to by a cheap piece of plastic that lasts about 80.000miles you have to go to the used market. Even there if you buy a car until 2007 you have an "old" taxation system for usage of the roads and is affordable with high liter engines, if you buy something after 2007 you pay one and half of the minimal wages (around 580€) and that with the acquisition and maintenance is very hard to keep up with. Imported cars are registered as new cars so pay a lot of road tax. Then we have the (expensive) toll roads that are everywhere if you want to get somewhere with a minimum of acceptable roads !! It doesn't stop here, fuel is one of the most expensive things and almost 80% is just for taxes for the government. This is one of the reasons that cheap, fuel efficiency cars (that fall apart after a little time) are so loved here. Just for you to get an idea: Diesel per liter is 1.37€, gasoline 95octanes is currently about 1.60€ a liter...... Please convert and think about it. This os one of the reasons that a MB (or other high end cars) S class is very expensive to drive here. But i am one of the few that loves these kind of cars, even with their quirks.

I hope you understand that it is not easy to compare Europe, Portugal in this case, with the USA.......

Beco

 

Actually not a bad idea exporting it to another country. I have some experience as I import mini trucks into the country and if I can find a buyer it would be no issue for me to export the vehicle. I wonder what country would pay the most for the vehicle? Maybe Russia. Interesting...

 

 

I think you should go around to college campuses in the US to dispute the tenets of Socialism with the liberal college professors who try to brainwash their students into believing that Socialism works and Capitalism is evil. Then you can go to Hollywood and explain it to those nitwits and the pundits on CNN, MSNBC, etc.

 

Says the guy that uses principles of socialism to maintain his benz.

 

Actually if you can take 5 min of your time and check things out maybe, but maybe, you will have some respect for other countries !!!!! If you think that i will be offended by people that think (wrongly) that they are the best in the world you're very wrong !!!! I was just trying to help the OP out with finding the best way to get him the value for his vehicle. Since i responded to you explaining why there are others that don't can afford buying a new car top of the line every year and some of us, poor people, have to make a lot of sacrifices to have somethings in life they really want i was expecting a different kind of response. I am very sorry to have offended your way of thinking, it was not my intention to be disrespectful......

This is one of the reasons i don't like to be an active member in the forums, i HATE getting into discussions or arguments. My apologies to the OP for the (too) long off-topic, also for the moderators as this will stop before going out of hand.

As for DaveW68, if you ever want to give me a lone for a NEW MB S-Class on a very long term and no interest say something, i will never buy a new car in my life just because i can't afford it !!!!!

Beco

 

 

S-Class?
China.

 

Holy crap!! I'm actually on your side and was sympathizing with your plight. I hate to see people getting screwed over and over-taxed due to socialistic policies that just don't work....and never have. Your previous explanation was proof positive that you guys are getting the shaft by your govt. Unfortunately, we were right on your heels when we had Obama and his cohorts screwing us all over and doing their best to make us a socialist nation too. Fortunately we now have a successful businessman that is trying to undo the damage done by the previous administration.

 

I agree. These numbers seem to be in the ball park.

 

I'd say $12k if you're lucky on a private sale. You're probably going to be in the $8k on trade in.

 

I'm looking at a 2006 s550 amg with 95 K on it,, seems perfect in and out - question though, whats the life expectancy of this engine in miles -200K, 300K, more??
Private seller, what do you think its worth, SW USA car,, no snow, all MB dealer service records, always garaged
thanks for any help new to MB 1 yr ago bought an s350 with 60K on it but missing some gizmos I'd like to have.