powrcat

2004 SL500 Luxury package Bi-Xenon. Paid almost 100K brand new. 11 months later still mint 11k miles...$77,500 TRADE IN in South Florida. Mercedes sales guy: "you'll basically be able to make payments and sell it ANYTIME for almost retail" HAHAHHHAHHAHAHA. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE IS THE SEQUEL!
Never again people...Good Luck

internet_mafia

Well I hope you didn;t expect to get $100k pack when you sold it. The dealer is going to make a profit on anything they do, so they are going to pay you less than what the car is really worth in order for them to see some kind of profit. Also, if they give you close to what you paid for it, then what kind of price do you think they would be able to resell the car for? (keep in mind that the car is USED, not NEW)

powrcat

25 percent drop in value in 11 months for a supposedly "high end, value retaining, luxury sports car" is disgusting. I'm now enjoying the hell out my new 2005 400hp Corvette that is half the price. THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES ON PEOPLE!

Wolfman

Hmm. This is a surprise to you?

It is certainly not news that the biggest depreciation hit will occur in the first year on any brand car in that price range (that is with the exception of cars that can still have a significant wait list). Certainly not a specific Mercedes issue.

The other unfortunate side effect is that the very cool, but pricey options will have little impact on the resale value and are mostly a write-off. The worst offender are the designo packages that add absolutely no value to the car.

Wolfman

speed

Marketing 101 Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it! Simple. This rule covers everthing you own. I do not care if you have the most beautiful fantastic "whatever", it is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. Here is an example. Brand new Lamborghini Murcielago. Buyers are willing to buy it new and pay about $285 K plus sales tax (if applicable) to own this car. Three months later, if they want to sell it, they may be shocked to find that they stand to loose $50K even if the car has only 2000 miles on it. This is for a car that right now is in short supply! An SL500 is more readily available so I would expect the law of supply and demand to furthur depress the trade in price on that car in its first year.
There are very few cars that you can buy today that represent an "investment". For the most part they will all depreciate. Rapidly in the first year than a little slower in subsequent years. Buy it to enjoy it and do not have expectations on making/saving money when you sell it. If you want to "invest" in cars than you need to research the market carefully. However this is a completely different type of purchase and requires different stratergy.

internet_mafia

If you are in and out of cars as frequent as this, then you should lease, not buy! Oh, you will be in for a shock if you think your corvette is going to hold any better value.

powrcat

Actually I had no choice but to sell the SL. It was part of a divorce settlement. You may have remembered my classified ad a few weeks back. My point is that the SL depreciates as much, if not MORE than any other car...PERIOD. In almost every conversation with people about the SL being such an expensive car, the point of "yeah but that sucker will retain its value more than any car i know of" is simply an IGNORANT statement. If you need to get out of your SL within the first 2 yearts be prepared to lose ALOT of money.

JackStraw

It is a matter of supply and demand. The cars retained value for a longer period of time nearer the model's introduction when fewer were available. Internet_mafia makes a good point, the dealer still wants to make a healthy profit on a used SL (say $6,000 give or take). If you sold it privately you could do better, probably by that margin.

tomd

Sounds likes the dealer was just trying to rip you off. I just traded my loaded 2003 SL ($91k discounted) for a new 2005 SL. They gave me $79K off the Discounted price of the 05 SL. And they have it on their lot at $84K

allenjdmb

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....blame your friends at DC/MBUSA. Just too damn many cars in the marketplace. You would think that spending $100 ish k on a toy car would guarantee some exclusivity in the marketplace, but don't tell DC MB. All they care about is more units. They're the only ones left in the process that's making real money, so it's in their best interest to do nothing but sell more units. And with the automobile marketplace in the tank, and cheap money available, what would you do? Pay only a few K less per month on a (probably subsidized) lease or purchase, when you can choose your color and options and get a new warranty too? The manufacturers have put so much pressure on the financing arms to sell new units that the cost of financing or leasing slightly used ones has suffered tremendously. And don't think it's just MB or the SL. How'd you like to face the depreciation on a 2001/2 Porsche Turbo for example? Or how about 50% depreciation on a 2002 SL? I note from my industry contacts that I can probably buy a new 997 for somewhere near 6-8k off MSRP today....that's close to 8-9% depreciation before it's even titled! I have seen small market dealers in the last 90 days offering cars to other dealers, outside thier zone, (which is a violation of their franchise agreement I might add), at inside the holdback price, BEFORE the car comes off the truck. They simply do not want them on the ground. Too many cars, not enough buyers. You just don't have any idea how tough it is outside the giant Metro markets for dealers to sell this stuff... I agreee, stinks, and it is killing the values of our cars. Thanks a whole lot DC. OK, finished now.

vraa

Not my thoughts, but my words phrased from someone elses thoughts who said something interesting a few days ago.

"Depreciation, appreciation. Screw it all, no one buys a car as an investment anywho."