E430tuner

The more and more I look I see E55's practically being given away. I test drove one and I couldnt wipe the grin on my face afterwards My E430 is holding better value than the E55 and its not even a limited production car Has the E55 had some major mechanical problems that has killed its resale?

Mr. Xristo

Maybe another case of the bubble breaking? Who knows, but your point it is surely interesting!!

amg55

IMO there are three large segments of the car market:

1) the under $30,000 market wherein people are buying vehicles for obligatory purposes, not desiring to spend too much more than is necessary to provide solid transportation.

2) the $30,000-$80,000 market in which people who have extra money to spend and a desire to throw it into a car will do so on a discretionary basis.

3) the over $80,000 market wherein people's financial status typically insulates them from moderate economic fluctuations and car buying decisions are based solely on taste, preference and whim.

The used car market under about $60,000 is a not so crude barometer of the public's sense of economic well being. As the job market gets tight, markets falter, and retirement plans get leaner, people spend less money on discretionary items...tops on the list is luxury cars, followed closely by luxury vacations, clothing, jewelry, etc.....all items which are either poor investments or simple money dumps.

What would a 3 year old E55 have been worth in 1999 (had it existed) in northern California? A lot more than $42,000.


******Anyone buying a new E55 or any other AMG product this year can expect (and better be prepared to accept) the same kind of precipitous drop in resale value through the end of 2004 at the least. There's no quick turnaround ahead for the economy. And that's what's going to keep resale values depressed.

Buy an AMG because you enjoy it and can afford it.
Don't buy it because there is any perceived value enhancement due to its limited production numbers. Right now it's almost the opposite situation.

E430tuner

Very well said....Are you sure you are not an analyst for
CNBC??

mikE55

There's nothing wrong with the E55, it's very reliable. It's just a sign of times for all high end luxury cars. The E430 is no different. A quick scan of eBay shows '00 E430's with "BUY IT NOW"s in the low ~$30Ks. While '00 E55's have "BUY IT NOW"s in the low ~$50Ks. The delta is roughly the same as MSRP new.

There's a niche category of enthusiasts that just want to have the "IT" car. With the new E55 just about available, the old E55 is no longer the "IT" car. Many who bought it when it was the car to have are now looking for their next "toy". Most people who could afford to pay $60K for a used car, can also easily pay $75K for a new one. So the new cars in $60K+ range all depreciate a little faster than those in the $30-$50K range in the first few years, because they're harder to move.

But anyone who "gives" an E55 away is a fool (IMO). That's why in the thread about the eBay auction with a bid around $30K, it never happened. The seller shut the auction down, rather than sell for too cheap.

cloud9eleet

I think everyone has covered it. The economy and the new model coming out is weighing heavy. Take for example my father-in and his S600 V12 Coupe. That was a 120k+ car new and now you can barely give it away for $25k, even though it is a 1996 model. The new CL's took a dump all over the previous model.

Also look at the market of other highend cars, Ferrari F355 for example is coming down in price with recent purchases in the mid 70's. About the only car that seems to be holding price somewhat well is the Dodge Viper, I assume this is due to the certificate program that Dodge put in place where only previous owners could own the first year run of the SRT-10.

My $.02.

E55 KEV

Demand is not extremely high for E55's that is the reason only 500 per year were produced for the US.

There is also a glut of used luxury cars on the market - Mostly from lease returns. People buying used cars are looking for bargains - that is the reason they are in the used car market.

V8 cars are harder to sell than V6 cars - the average buyer cares less about V8 power but concerned with gas mileage. In every model the smaller engined car sells more and is in higher demand. This is strange but is appears consumers would rather buy a gas guzzling SUV than a gas guzzling sedan - which has alway been stupid to me.

It was also stupid that cars had Federal Gas Guzzler and Luxury Tax while a 10mpg $60k SUV did not.

Consumers are also concerned about the extra insurance premium levied on performance cars.

Ted Baldwin

...........I am suprised that no one has mentioned that the reason might be because the W211 has a 476HP supercharged engine. Because the new CLK55 will not have much performance numbers better than the W208 CLK55, the old CLK55 still holds its value better than the w210 even though they are in the same price range and in the same economy.

Ted

E55 KEV

Ted, the only problem with that theory is you are assuming that any used W210 E55 buyer also has the ability or want to buy the W211 E55. I don't believe that anyone with the ability to buy a new W211 E55 for $80k (with options) is going to be considering a used W210 E55 for $40k?

The fact is - people buy used E55's because they don't want to or can't buy a new W211 E55.

So basically the main reason used E55's do not sell quickly is "DEMAND". I also speculate that the demand for the W211 E55 will be very close to that of the old once the initial 'hoopla' is gone.

BMW sells up to 2500 M5's per year because the demand is there and the W210 E55 only sells 500 due to very low demand.

Richandall

There are very few marques that don't take a hammering on resale - low mileage porsches & ferraris and that's about it. Mercedes isn't one - except possibly the SL for a couple of years after the launch. After that, its down the slippery slope for the SL until the classic collectors get interested (in the well kept examples) about twenty years on. By which time you've spent enough on maintenance to buy it three times over imho.

It's one of those car dealer myths that mercs offer "cast iron residuals" - unless you're dealing in classics and even then you have to get the right one.

Buy 'em new if you can and one previous owner if you have to, treat 'em well, and sell 'em before they break you...

JamE55

Not major mechanical problem but the coming out of the W211 55 so a lot of people are wanting to upgrade to that.

Ted Baldwin

[B]So basically the main reason used E55's do not sell quickly is "DEMAND".


..............How is this different from what I said? Because of the upgraded engine more people looking for cars are interested in the W211E55 as opposed to the W210E55. To get more people to buy the W210, the price has to come down because the demand is less. This does not only apply to current W210E55 owners. It applies to everyone looking for a performance MB. With the W209 CLK55 priced at $75K and the projected W211E55 price being aboiu $80K, the truth is that even at that price, the new E55 is a bargain. With The CLK55, you here many people prefer the used CLK55 to the W209CLK55. The demand the W208CLK55 appears higher than that for its replacement. This is not so for E55.



Ted

E55 KEV

Ted, I still don't believe that any one with the ability, the pockets and the 'coin' to buy a spanking brand new W211 E55 will be slumming around the used W210 E55 market looking for bargains. If anything the waiting list and the potential $20k markup for the W211 E55 will make the W210 E55 have much more demand and retain higher prices, not lower the price.

Again, a person capable of buying a new W211 will not be interested in a used W210 - why would they?

New car models do not compete with the old and the sold.

Now the better argument could be that there are 'appears' to be more used E55's on the market due to owners moving upscale to SL55, CL55 and S55 models. But who really know - we are only speculating.

E55 KEV

I would have thought that more E55 are on the used market but not so. Data from www.autotrader.com for today Feb 05, 2003:

49 E55's (2001-2002) for sell listed throughout the country.

91 CLK55's (2001-2002) for sell listed throughout the country. (includes the convertible)

This high number of CLK55's being dumped is for some reason - maybe the speculation that more like the W208 over the W209 is to much a personal opinion and not a fact.

Richandall

Number of used cars listed on M-B (UK) official site on Feb 5:

E55 AMG: 10 vehicles
(from '98 with 60K miles at £23K to pre-facelift Y2K with 20K miles at £36K)

CLK55 AMG: 10 vehicles
(from Y2K with 42K miles at £30K to '02 with 2K miles at £65K)

The W210 AMG model cost from £56K otr and the CLK55 from £57K otr. This includes 17.5% VAT. You can spend another £8 - 10K upping the spec.

£1.00 = $1.65 approx

Btw I 'm told by my friendly M-B sales manager that used AMG models tend to stick in the showrooms for a month or more, are rare (he sees maybe one a year in the affluent provincial town of Norwich) and yet always go at or very near the asking price because customers who want one, really want one.

- Rich

E55 KEV

Hey Richandall, use the same years, say 2000 thru 2002 to get a more accurate number - because no CLK55's were built prior to 2000.

Richandall

Well, if I could...

Thing is, right now there are no used E55's advertised by M-B UK past Y2K registration and as you rightly say, no CLK55's before then.

I guess the interesting thing (to me) is so few were sold here there are only ten available in showrooms up & down the country after five years production. And all over two years old. Meanwhile, in half that period the same number CLK55's are being traded in, all under two years old. Does that mean we tend to keep E55's longer?

Incidentally, AMG had such a backlog of RHD E series bodyshells they didn't start moving the facelifted version through UK showrooms until early 2001. According to the paperwork my official 2001 UK registered vehicle was manufactured in Stuttgart ten months earlier and spent that time at Affalterbach (!) before being imported to the UK. So a bit of a backlog then - don't suppose we'll see W211 E55's in UK showrooms for a bit...

- Rich

hmrdwn

Some fool has a 2000 E55 with 20k miles listed in the Washington Post classified for.........$67k. LMAO!

There is another listed right on top of it, same color --slvr/blck, with 27k miles for $54k. That sounds about right, maybe a little high.

I bet the first guy does not get a single call.