Dealer invoice on two used E55's for those interested
03-23-2003, 03:12 PM
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'95 F355, '97 E36 M3, 04 E55
Dealer invoice on two used E55's for those interested
For anyone who's shopping for an E55, I've found what the dealer paid for two E55's. My information comes from a dealer I know who looked up the cars for me on Manheim's website.
1 - 2001 silver/black E55, vin# WDBJF74JX1B275362, Starmarked, at Penske Motorcars Mercedes Benz in West Covina.
They were asking $61K, currently asking $53.9K, they paid $48,750 at auction in Florida.
You can also figure about $200-$300 in auction and wholesaler fees and maybe $500 to transport it to California.
So they're in the car for about $49,200 + whatever it costs them to Starmark it, and any reconditioning they did at the dealership.
I looked at this car and it MAY have been hit, although the dealer swears it wasn't. It had a theft-recovery title in New York and I wasn't sure the hood opened properly. Otherwise, the car is beautiful and drives great.
2 - Silver/two-tone '99 E55, 17K miles, for sale at National Auto Plaza in Utah.
Dealer asking price on Autotrader: $34,600.
Dealer paid at Manheim Riverside two weeks ago: $29,500.
Again, figure they're into the car for about $30,100 after fees.
The sales manager admitted to me this car was rear ended, because it has been resprayed on the trunk and bumper. He also told me as of last night that the car's warning lights are "lit up like a Christmas tree" and that it's at a local Benz dealership being inspected. If the problems aren't fixed under warranty he's sending the car back to auction.
Proceed with caution.
1 - 2001 silver/black E55, vin# WDBJF74JX1B275362, Starmarked, at Penske Motorcars Mercedes Benz in West Covina.
They were asking $61K, currently asking $53.9K, they paid $48,750 at auction in Florida.
You can also figure about $200-$300 in auction and wholesaler fees and maybe $500 to transport it to California.
So they're in the car for about $49,200 + whatever it costs them to Starmark it, and any reconditioning they did at the dealership.
I looked at this car and it MAY have been hit, although the dealer swears it wasn't. It had a theft-recovery title in New York and I wasn't sure the hood opened properly. Otherwise, the car is beautiful and drives great.
2 - Silver/two-tone '99 E55, 17K miles, for sale at National Auto Plaza in Utah.
Dealer asking price on Autotrader: $34,600.
Dealer paid at Manheim Riverside two weeks ago: $29,500.
Again, figure they're into the car for about $30,100 after fees.
The sales manager admitted to me this car was rear ended, because it has been resprayed on the trunk and bumper. He also told me as of last night that the car's warning lights are "lit up like a Christmas tree" and that it's at a local Benz dealership being inspected. If the problems aren't fixed under warranty he's sending the car back to auction.
Proceed with caution.
03-23-2003, 05:07 PM
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MB
Wowww....
you even know how much the dealer paid for the car. :-)
How did you know all that? Just curious.
Maybe when Im shopping for used cars, you are the one I will be looking first. hahahahah :-)
I might be looking for the used CL55 or the E55 in a year or so. But, not now...
you even know how much the dealer paid for the car. :-)
How did you know all that? Just curious.
Maybe when Im shopping for used cars, you are the one I will be looking first. hahahahah :-)
I might be looking for the used CL55 or the E55 in a year or so. But, not now...
03-23-2003, 10:56 PM
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'95 F355, '97 E36 M3, 04 E55
Hi,
Manheim is a company which owns 84 dealer-ownly wholesale car auctions in locations throughout the United States. Only licensed car dealers can purchase cars there, and only licensed dealers can access the Manheim website (www.manheim.com), which is a treasure-trove of data.
Dealers can get current market reports for different cars, based on recent selling prices. They can also look up individual sales of a particular car model (such as the E55) to see the actual price it brought at auction, the color of the car, and the mileage at the time sold.
When I'm looking at a car I run a carfax report (www.carfax.com.
If a car is sold at a dealer-auction, the carfax report will say so, including the date sold and the approximate location in the country.
Since E55's are a relatively rare car, it's not difficult to match up a particular car with an auction sale.
The car for sale at National Auto Plaza was easy to find - the salesman outright told me which auction it was purchased at and on what day.
The car at Penske was a tad more difficult because I didn't know which auction it was purchased at, so my dealer friend/acquaintance had to do a bit more searching, but eventually he found it.
I haven't seen the inside of Manheim's website myself, so I don't know the exact extent of the search capabilities.
If you're truly adventurous, hook up with a dealer and get him to keep an eye out for a car you want. Manheim's site lists upcoming cars, and even some details about them. Then he can call you when one is coming up. You set a maximum bid price, and agree ahead of time on a mark-up for his time and effort (I'd say $500 is about right). Of course you get very little time to inspect the car, and you're stuck with what you buy. But you really do get to buy at wholesale prices.
Manheim is a company which owns 84 dealer-ownly wholesale car auctions in locations throughout the United States. Only licensed car dealers can purchase cars there, and only licensed dealers can access the Manheim website (www.manheim.com), which is a treasure-trove of data.
Dealers can get current market reports for different cars, based on recent selling prices. They can also look up individual sales of a particular car model (such as the E55) to see the actual price it brought at auction, the color of the car, and the mileage at the time sold.
When I'm looking at a car I run a carfax report (www.carfax.com.
If a car is sold at a dealer-auction, the carfax report will say so, including the date sold and the approximate location in the country.
Since E55's are a relatively rare car, it's not difficult to match up a particular car with an auction sale.
The car for sale at National Auto Plaza was easy to find - the salesman outright told me which auction it was purchased at and on what day.
The car at Penske was a tad more difficult because I didn't know which auction it was purchased at, so my dealer friend/acquaintance had to do a bit more searching, but eventually he found it.
I haven't seen the inside of Manheim's website myself, so I don't know the exact extent of the search capabilities.
If you're truly adventurous, hook up with a dealer and get him to keep an eye out for a car you want. Manheim's site lists upcoming cars, and even some details about them. Then he can call you when one is coming up. You set a maximum bid price, and agree ahead of time on a mark-up for his time and effort (I'd say $500 is about right). Of course you get very little time to inspect the car, and you're stuck with what you buy. But you really do get to buy at wholesale prices.
03-24-2003, 01:44 AM
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'95 F355, '97 E36 M3, 04 E55
No there is definitely not. Manheim's customers (dealers) would be really upset if people could see what they're paying for cars.
It's not that hard to get the info you need though, just find a cooperative dealer who is not competing for your kind of business (like maybe some cheesy buy-here-pay-here used car lot).
I paid the dealer who is looking this info up for me $50.
There's a company called Fox Imports (www.foximports.com) that specializes in finding cars for people from auctions. They claim they'll give you a guest account for Manheim so you can scan the information yourself and then have them purchase a car for you. However I e-mailed them and they never wrote back to me.
It's not that hard to get the info you need though, just find a cooperative dealer who is not competing for your kind of business (like maybe some cheesy buy-here-pay-here used car lot).
I paid the dealer who is looking this info up for me $50.
There's a company called Fox Imports (www.foximports.com) that specializes in finding cars for people from auctions. They claim they'll give you a guest account for Manheim so you can scan the information yourself and then have them purchase a car for you. However I e-mailed them and they never wrote back to me.
03-24-2003, 12:51 PM
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Ionstram-
I dont know if your still talking with this dealer, but would it be possible to ask them what 2000 CLK430 Cabrios are going for with ~25-30K on them.
Thanks
I dont know if your still talking with this dealer, but would it be possible to ask them what 2000 CLK430 Cabrios are going for with ~25-30K on them.
Thanks
