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What month in general does the price change for used cars?
I hope I’m asking this correctly. I believe there is a point in which Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds and others that car dealers use to see adjusting for prices. My stupid question of the day.
Actually a very interesting question. Maybe influenced by the model year change?
From my shopping experience it seems once an S-class original warranty expires the car takes a big drop in price. So, 49 mos after the in-service date, or by miles if that comes first.
Tom, I was thinking in that direction. So looking at a 2020 or a 2019 W222 I would hate to make a deal now if the prices normally drop in - say September or later in the fall?
Used car pricing can be all over the place. Pricing usually isn't set by date - except at the end of the month. Depends on how long they've had the car, maybe they asked too much to start, odd color combination, options, local market, etc. The local market thing isn't a big factor nowadays as folks buy cars from anywhere. If it's a hot model (color, options, etc.) you have to move quick. I've bought cars from multiple states away sight unseen and had them ship it to me. And I've found many dealers will only discount so much before wholesaling it. It's just a commodity.
Used car pricing can be all over the place. Pricing usually isn't set by date - except at the end of the month. Depends on how long they've had the car, maybe they asked too much to start, odd color combination, options, local market, etc. The local market thing isn't a big factor nowadays as folks buy cars from anywhere. If it's a hot model (color, options, etc.) you have to move quick. I've bought cars from multiple states away sight unseen and had them ship it to me. And I've found many dealers will only discount so much before wholesaling it. It's just a commodity.
I didn’t say this correctly. I didn’t mean so much a month as a typical time of the year as example - the fall or new model year sales make the used cars a year older therefore worth less. However you raised an interesting point I need to know. What is a “Hot model” in terms of color and options? Just coming from a visit at the hospital this morning, it looks like a sea of Black, Silver and White cars. Are these the Hot colors in S series as well?
How do you buy a car sight unseen? You would have to rely on trust in the dealer, that every detail is covered because these are not $20,000 Honda Civics. How can you gauge a correct price range, by some internet app?
I recognize these are a lot of questions, but I would really appreciate someone helping me.
I didn’t say this correctly. I didn’t mean so much a month as a typical time of the year as example - the fall or new model year sales make the used cars a year older therefore worth less. However you raised an interesting point I need to know. What is a “Hot model” in terms of color and options? Just coming from a visit at the hospital this morning, it looks like a sea of Black, Silver and White cars. Are these the Hot colors in S series as well?
How do you buy a car sight unseen? You would have to rely on trust in the dealer, that every detail is covered because these are not $20,000 Honda Civics. How can you gauge a correct price range, by some internet app?
I recognize these are a lot of questions, but I would really appreciate someone helping me.
Thanks for your time,
Rich
Hope your hospital visit went well.
Track what's for sale and what you want. I use cars.com. cargurus is good too. If they sell fast it's hot.
Buying sight unseen I do trust the dealer, yes, a leap of faith, no other option vs a flight or long drive. I probably wouldn't do this with a no-name type dealer. All have been ok, they usually have a small paint ding or two that's hard to see in pictures. My current S Class had the wrong back seat leather, it's all in the Just Delivered thread here. Took some time but it was fixed.
Used car price reductions are based on two things. Normally near the end of the month everybody is trying to make sales goals. You will have much more help from your salesperson and sales manager to get a better price near the end of a month. Other time is based on how long that actual car has been sitting on the lot. No smart car person is paying cash for their inventory so they're using lines of credit, so they're paying interest on that car. The longer the car is on the lot, the more it cost the dealer, that money is being tied up versus helping them make money on another car. Normally dealers don't like to keep cars more than 90 days, at that point they will sell for less, and many will send the car to the auction to cut their losses. They can't stop their salespeople from getting down on a car that's been sitting around and passed over by every customer. However, the exception comes with dealerships that sell high end used cars. They will hold a car for 6-9 months before giving up on it. But they will always have less flexibility because they know somebody will be willing to pay a premium for a nice used car. They're waiting for the right buyer.
And initial prices are based on blue book vales, AND how much they paid for a car. As a consumer, it's easy to think the amount they paid for it doesn't matter. But in their mind it's the most important number. It doesn't have to be yours, but it will factor into how flexible they will be in negotiations.
Unfortuntely, it's very hard to predict unless you have access to data.
In general, new model year releases in the US come out in August. Around this time is when you start to see movement in prices to get "last year's" cars off the lot, and you also see where the initial influx of early adopters start to come back with their lease returns and they're also looking for the new one.
But the reality is that you need to have access to what the wholesale/auction market is doing. That's really what's driving the prices. How many cars are available, what they're selling for, what their price trends are showing, etc, is what will tell you what you should be expecting. Also, if you had data like how many lease returns are expected and when (and this is normally driven by the lease deals or lease specials that were complete 36 or 48 months ago), then you could start to forecast which months will have a high rate of cars coming back from lease and when the price should drop.
But unless you're a dealer or finance company with access to the above data, you pretty much can't predict the market.
I’m always keeping an eye on the used market. These days for 222 cars. Few years ago prices were sky high. Today much more affordable. I kept an eye on an low miles S65 at a dealership in Washington for over a year. They paid too much for a depreciating asset. Fifty cents in a bet says that one went to the auction. Owner of the dealership drove it quite a while.
I’m always keeping an eye on the used market. These days for 222 cars. Few years ago prices were sky high. Today much more affordable. I kept an eye on an low miles S65 at a dealership in Washington for over a year. They paid too much for a depreciating asset. Fifty cents in a bet says that one went to the auction. Owner of the dealership drove it quite a while.
Hi John, it's still there. I've seen it in person and driven in once. It truly is an amazing S65, at MB Seattle. That's the dealership I've had my car serviced at many times. That car was there before I bought my S550 in late 2022, which is when I drove it. The sales person didn't even know the car was rear wheel drive. I told him I wanted AWD and he thought the S65 was AWD just like an S63. That's a rant for another day. You're right; they paid way too much for that car and want too much for it now. It must be dealer owned outright, otherwise I can't imagine why they would keep it that long.
That chart above does not make sense since prices increase every year -
How is that for a USED car?
For a used car price decrease as it gets older....
That chart seems to be the avg price of all MB used cars it scoured the internet for which is well not really helpful
this is due to NEWER cars are added everyday and these new cars started with a higher MSRP and would also have a higher lease residual Value so hence higher used car price.
but one cannot compare a 2021 to a 2022 to decipher the used car market.
I Would want a chart on one make, model, year car; and then that is probable worthless as they depreciate all the time
Any research into used car market has to AVOID the COVID years since it was/is an extreme outside influence on used and new car markets, jobs, driving habits, salaries etc. to mess up the used car market.
If I remember right prices increased by large margins on everything USED - Cars and houses due to Covid economic issues.
I notice that they only charge a dealer documentary negotiable service fee of up to $200 may be added to the sale price or capitalized cost. All offers expire at close of business on the day any offer is made. A dealer near me wants $795 for document prep fees - most title companies don’t charge that much to buy a house, and they have a dozen or more documents to handle.
I notice that they only charge a dealer documentary negotiable service fee of up to $200 may be added to the sale price or capitalized cost. All offers expire at close of business on the day any offer is made. A dealer near me wants $795 for document prep fees - most title companies don’t charge that much to buy a house, and they have a dozen or more documents to handle.
Wow!
The last time I bought a used car (Lexus RX350 my wifie wanted for a utility vehicle), the offer included $500 for documents. I handed the paper back and said, "I'm not paying $500 for paperwork." They came back shortly, and had cut the car price by $500, but left the paper work charge in. Maybe the paper work dependent has to show a profit??
Hi John, it's still there. I've seen it in person and driven in once. It truly is an amazing S65, at MB Seattle. That's the dealership I've had my car serviced at many times. That car was there before I bought my S550 in late 2022, which is when I drove it. The sales person didn't even know the car was rear wheel drive. I told him I wanted AWD and he thought the S65 was AWD just like an S63. That's a rant for another day. You're right; they paid way too much for that car and want too much for it now. It must be dealer owned outright, otherwise I can't imagine why they would keep it that long.
That is one beautiful S65, and one of the last ones of that generation seeing as it's 2019 (not counting the special 2020 final editions). But, $121k is steep in today's market, that's more like a $100k car in my opinion, if that.
Wow, something about a dark blue S-Class that's hard to resist!
Interesting discussion about those 'doc' fees and the like. When I encounter a bunch of that, I just add them up and then reduce my offer for the car by the same amount. It is correct, these are considered 'mandatory' by the dealership and a salesman cannot waive them, but they can always reduce the purchase price of the car.
I’m always keeping an eye on the used market. These days for 222 cars. Few years ago prices were sky high. Today much more affordable. I kept an eye on an low miles S65 at a dealership in Washington for over a year. They paid too much for a depreciating asset. Fifty cents in a bet says that one went to the auction. Owner of the dealership drove it quite a while.
They should have asked me first, I would have gladly driven it across country from Seattle to my hometown...LOL
That might be one of the highest equipped cars they ever built, only missing the executive plus rear seats. For me, that car is optioned perfectly, just needs AWD and a price reduction.
Last edited by carlosinseattle; Aug 2, 2024 at 12:04 PM.
I hope I’m asking this correctly. I believe there is a point in which Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds and others that car dealers use to see adjusting for prices. My stupid question of the day.
Thanks guys!
As someone who has been trading his cars every 12 months on average for the past 7-8 years, I came to the following conclusions:
1. Most dealers don’t keep their cars long enough to adjust for “seasonal” shifts anyway (unless it’s a rare high-end car). Most dealers would send the car to an auction if it doesn’t sell within 60 days, so don’t worry about waiting for the price of certain car to drop (dealership would rather send it to auction than passing it to a customer.
2. Oct through Feb is the right time to buy a car (since you asked about seasonality). May - July is absolutely the worst time to buy if you care about price adjustments (that’s when I sell my cars though). We just sold our X5 and X7 last month and upgraded both of them to the newer models, and I got good dollars for the older ones. I also sold my W222 last year for top dollars around that timeframe.
They should have asked me first, I would have gladly driven it across country from Seattle to my hometown...LOL
That might be one of the highest equipped cars they ever built, only missing the executive plus rear seats. For me, that car is optioned perfectly, just needs AWD and a price reduction.
So you would ‘take one for the team’ driving it across the country. I would too. Problem being that where one may not end up hooked with a test drive or two... That trip across the country would well and truly have that car get under your skin such that it would be a ‘round trip.’
Yes; that car is lovely. But a quickly depreciating asset. Yikes. Now $125K. Seems like Park Place started at over $180k.
So you would ‘take one for the team’ driving it across the country. I would too. Problem being that where one may not end up hooked with a test drive or two... That trip across the country would well and truly have that car get under your skin such that it would be a ‘round trip.’
Yes; that car is lovely. But a quickly depreciating asset. Yikes. Now $125K. Seems like Park Place started at over $180k.
That S65 with its spec is just as good as any W222 would ever get… absolutely gorgeous. It’s not priced to sell though!!!! 120K? Wow… They are just hunting for someone who just doesn’t care about money but want that color, that color, same specs.
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