EFiftyFive

Last month, I paid $39.2K for an 03 E55 with 49,000 miles. Pristine condition. Not all the bells and whistle, e.g. Distronic, but I was more than pleased. Well, that is until I saw this thread about depreciation rates.

Blacksport350

Sadly the depreciation curve on the SLK55 is not following the E55 a I am looking to add one to the stable.

dmzz

It's sad. but it's the nature of expensive luxury cars. The market for a used luxury cars with high mileage is very small. Rich people who can afford it rather get a newer car, The not so rich people who can afford it are scared off due to the potential high maintenance cost. It only leaves a few educated enthusiast as potential buyer and as we all know this group of buyer will just low ball you to death!

sbarsap

Was this purchase from an MB dealer. For a CPO that is an excellent price.

thebenzbar

E55’s (whether w210 or w211) are taking big hits. Example of what I have seen sold at local MB dealerships: ‘02 E55 with 60k miles sold for $19k… and a ’04 E55 with 55k miles sold for $36k… both were respectively orig $70k+ and $80k+ cars not too long ago!

damascusE55AMG

i am going to be in the market for a W211 E55 AMG within the year... i would much rather buy one from a fellow automobile enthusiast like all of you versus one from an ebay dealer who bought an E55 at an auction from a lease turn-in. i'm a car nut and take great care of my vehicles, both mechanically and cosmetically. i know that most of you all do the same.

that said, it seems as though ebay, autotrader, cars.com, etc. etc. prices set the market.

look at this crazy example - a 2004 with low mileage, looks clean, BUT it was a MBUSA 'buy-back' due to an air conditioner problem, i've discovered. it's cheaper than a Honda Accord!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=007


[do me a favor - list your E55 on the classified section HERE before you turn it back in or list it on autotrader, etc.]

phreaknes

Holy crap that's the exact car and spec's I was looking for. I've been trolling this forum for a while and I was planning on getting one this summer. may have to go to the bank and see if I can move things forward a bit.

Karlson

You saw that thread, right?

https://mbworld.org/forums/archive/i.../t-104130.html

thats a lemon car, no wonder nobody wants to buy it

thebenzbar

Whoa the Carfax on that ebay car is scary!! ...repeated buyback/lemon hits throughout the years... the latest is this:

3/07/2008 Mercedes-Benz USA, Inc. Manufacturer recall/service bulletin issued
Recall # 2008020001 Voluntary emission
recall model 211; 219 amg. my03-06. check and
replace fuel filter module if neces

Click here or call 1-800-367-6372 to locate an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer near you to obtain more information about this recall
Not Reported Florida
Office of the Attorney General MANUFACTURER BUYBACK OR LEMON REPORTED

Blacksport350

Actually, the above bulletin effects most of our E55s.

thebenzbar

Yes you’re right I saw that but what I meant was what was in bold “Office of Attorney General… Lemon” Did someone report this car to the OAG?

Blacksport350

You're right, that is an interesting report!

damascusE55AMG

[QUOTE=thebenzbar;2811369]Whoa the Carfax on that ebay car is scary!!

is right! buyer beware for sure! i had some idea of the cars troubled history but not all of it, for sure. that's exactly why i really want to find an E55 from an enthusiast's forum such as this... you all are as passionate about your performance cars as i am.

kipper215

the demand for any car that consumes a lot of gas is dropping fast. it's not just MB. The demand for this car is very low and many owners want to get into something more economical. the higher gas prices go the less our cars will be with. plus income for a lot of folks is very shaky as well. if you're pimpin home loans or selling houses, chances are money is tight. i'm stuck in my car too. I love the car so I don't mine being upside down. eventually demand for the car will rise again, if gas prices go down and way down. if not you will see a lot of cars sitting on car lot's. I was at Irvine BMW and they had a ton of M5's new just sitting on the lot. soon the dealers will have to make changes if this keeps on going because it will many buyers are getting side lined because they can't get enough for there car as a trade-in. even toyota is reporting a slow down in sales.

sack5000

all a load of crap. this car is unique. There is plenty of demand for a car with 469 hp and 515 torque. Just because gas prices are high doesn't mean those people with craving for a fast car like this will give up and say well I can't afford it due to gas prices. It's like drugs, alcohol, weed, or cigaweed, the price is not the issue it is the craving. Go check out the prices on MB web for low mileage 05,06 cars with CPO. These cars are the nicest and the prices are still high enough to choke a mule. The drop in prices for older junk cars is understandable and you get what you pay for. High gas prices have very little to do with the price of this exotic. The older models are well just getting old. However, good deals are out there and if dealerships and others will fold on the price then that's a good thing for the smart buyer. Gas prices high, it's like saying if a pack of Marlboro's double and people will stop smoking, never happen. If the price of guns double, nobody owns a gun??

ProV1

it's good that you have an optimistic outlook.. just wait til gas hits $6/gal and please tell us how you feel then.. when it hits $8-10/gal we're in for a circus

jpohl402

I agree 100%! Most people I know have so much money a few dollars in gas isn't going to matter anyways, except they would buy the new cars.......

kipper215

I hate to break it to you, but it's not just the price of gas. there are many other things happening that is weakining the demand for there highline cars that are not exotic. just because a person may make a lot of money does not mean they are happy to pay higher gas prices. there is no choice in the matter. if you look at the CPO's that are sitting on the lot and the dealer just shuffles them around on the lot to provide the perception of moving inventory. I know because I copied the VIN off of a car and saw it for myself.
if smokes were 20 bucks a pack many people will stop smoking or cut back.

on another note people who tend to make a lot of money have a higher standard of living, so it cost more for them to pay their bills every month. so if the house they bought for 900K is now worth 750K, buying a gas guzzler is the last thing on their mind. Price is always relevent. Gas will go pass 5 bucks this year, i'd like to see what you cut back on to keep drive. my car is well equipped, w/ low miles, and very expensive rims, and the dealer will only give me auction price for it not KBB. I'm not looking to get rid of my car, but what is happening in the market is real. If it wasn't then you would not see an E55 for a lot less than 40K

thebenzbar

Plenty of interesting and good points in the past few threads… so I'll chime in. True, the gas prices (and stumbling economy) affects the majority of us. But keep in mind, my guesstimate is that more than 50% of AMG owners have other cars as their daily driver. Therefore the AMG is likely a weekend toy, or even as a spare 2nd and/or 3rd car to enjoy and cherish. The economy and gas prices is so volatile nowadays… so hopefully the rise in prices will eventually fall back down after the summer months pass by. And like what I said before, it's a good time to "buy" an AMG car now, especially the older models (W202, W210, W208, W220, and even the W203's) due to their values decreasing more than the usual pace for AMG cars. It's granted that newer 2005 to 2007 AMG models are still somewhat priced high, but the 2004 and older models have taken big hits or pretty much bottoming out…. And it's clearly seen in the E-class and S-class models, as opposed to the C-class since the E and S models had a much higher pricepoint when they were new.

And it's also true that dealers will always lowball us AMG owners and offer bottom line wholesale values, after all they're out to make the most buck they can get! No matter how unique or rare how AMG cars are, those dealers don't care… unless they're selling it of course (that's when they preach this and that… about how rare & desirable an AMG is) but when they're buying it (whether at Manheim, or your trade-in) then they will use every excuse in the book to justify their lowball offer!

Update: Let's keep our eyes on the auctions, ebay, autotrader, cars.com, etc... and we can trend how bad the hits are in resale values. It's ashame but it is what it is. Hopefully the tables will turn and AMG's (especially the rarer models) can continue in increasing or at least maintaining their values once more...

sdsilverm3

Sounds like you're trying to keep an optimstic outlook since you are a current owner. Unfortunately you might be a little bit out of touch with reality at the moment. Unless your gas is being paid by someone else 10-14 MPG is something that will make most people reconsider their "needs". Most AMG's nowadays aren't that unique.

If other manufacturers with much more reasonable gas consumption such as Infiniti and Honda are willing to give their cars away with ridiculous deals (less than 1% APR and 0.00035 MF) and much wiggle room, what makes you think impractical gas guzzlers like the E55 are exempt? Face it, everyone is taking a hit and AMG's are no exception. People who have the desire to own these cars no matter the operating costs are the minority.

I don't smoke so to hell with Marlboro prices. I wouldn't touch them even if they gave them away for free. I do, however, use a car for transportation and I do pay for gas as many members here also do. If gas was $2.00/gallon right now, no doubt MANY would be at the dealer negotiating a deal on a new M5 or C63, and probably with no success on knocking a single cent off list price. Again, gas prices plays a big role.

str8ridin

I would venture to guess that the demographic of M5 buyers use the car as a second car and do not incur too many miles per month.

That being said, what you're saying is that the demographic that buys an M5 would not buy the car is gas costs for them will be about $100 more per month? Their cable bill is higher than that.

I, for one, fill up twice a month. Instead of paying $50 per fill up, I pay $75 now. So, my gas costs went up $50 per month. I'm not going to let $50/month change my lifestyle. And I don’t think it is going to sway the majority of the AMG or ///M demographic.

IMO, people aren’t buying high end cars because of gas prices. They aren't buying high end cars because unemployment is high, the economy is unstable with job futures uncertain and we are still sifting through the fall-out of the sub-prime mess.

Gas prices are just a small part.

On a good positive note, I've seen a few E55's are selling at dealers for near blue-book prices the month here in Seattle.

sdsilverm3

You're right about gas not being the only factor that is playing a part in the slow market right now. The M6 probably is a second car but the M5 is a sedan and I'd venture to guess that some people drive their M5's more often than just weekends based on the mileage of used M5's currently on the market. Though gas prices does not affect you, it does affect others (IMO, the majority) who do see the rising gas costs as a hinderance in their lifestyle especially if gas prices and crude continue to rise.

Though us enthusiasts love to drive cars like the M5 and E55, everyone has a price point and we draw the line somewhere as to what is considered necessary versus impractical. The impracticality factor plays larger than you would think sometimes.

kipper215

there is some truth to what you are saying, for the buyer of a new car. It changes when we are talking about the buyer of a used car. The used car is thousands of dollars less, creating an opening for even more potential buyers that may not be that strong finanically.

I try to drive my car twice a week, but it realy hard because I love to drive the car. in one month my gas bill was $600 because I had to do some driving. I had to fillup every third day of driving and my bmw is almost as bad as the amg on gas. l am blessed that I can afford the gas and still maintain my lifestyle, but I know there are others out there feeling the pinch. I think once the economy gets back on track the demand will increase. I think the 55 will be the car to have in the near future when competing with the new cts-v and the other high HP monsters coming to the table. With guys like VRP on our side i think a few of these owners will be surprised. We have a big head start on tuning and mods, not to mention a time and tested tranny.

So I think keeping the 55 is a good choice because after driving this car there is no where else to go but up.

MBAMGPWR

I cannot wait until July 2009 when my lease is up on my CLK and I can purchase another E55. I've owned some awesome cars over the years, but the E55 is my favorite car out of them all (C5 Corvette, C6 Z06, C32 AMG, Viper GTS, CLK320, CLK550, SL500, etc.). I am looking forward to rejoining and moding the crap out of a W211 E55 in a year or so.

Wish4_e55Wagon

I would venture to say there are many e55 owners who really can't afford the car and need to sell. And gas will be the straw that breaks the camel's back for some. I see '05s dipping into the high $30's on Craiglists.