TMC M5

This suggestion might be too late in the game ..but maybe you could let MBUSA take your car back at lease end and then buy a used E55 for under $30K and put all your mods on it.

Tom

bobgodd

Me thinks the jangster is going to try a different route after this car

Marcus Frost

Jangy,

Your car with those mods is not worth $30k, period. The car STOCK would be worth $30k... and roughly adding the price of these mods it's a good 6-$7k worth without labor... why would you get rid of the car if you are only REALISTICALLY like $3k off?

$30k stock + $7k in mods = $37k

MBUSA wants $40k

You are going to go through the hassle of dumping the car, taking all the mods off, shipping them, email, paypal fees, stock parts, all that **** for a few thousand dollars?

Doesn't make sense to me... but hey... just my thought process...

-m

LZH

I was thinkin the same - what gives, Jangy ?

RenntechE55

call dibs on the rear drag wheels, if not taken. thank you

jangy

I'm not sure I understand but here is my take. As you mentioned, the car is worth $30k stock. MBUSA wants $40k, so we are $10k off not $3k. I've paid for the mods so that money is gone. if I pay $40 for the car (with or without mods), I'm looking at about $800/month and that is the problem. i need my payments to be no more than $600/month (self imposed budget). That is what is making me think that I will turn it back in. Then, being Jangy, yes I want to sell the parts because I want other enthusiasts to have them. Some parts I need to turn it back in. Others yes I could just turn it in and you are right about not making much. I'm not trying to gouge fellow members, I thought I was helping.

I hope that helps explain it. Again, I never argued that my car is not worth it. I just do not want an $800/month payment right now.

jangy

I hope my reply to Marcus answered it for you. Honestly, the difference is $200/month but I came at this differently. Unlike most people having financial tightness right now, I can't blame the economy. A year ago (just before crap hit) I started a new company and have a dream for it. Now, a year later and some really really rough times things are coming around. It could blow up or fizzle out, so I am at a point where I need to take the next step and I want to. From a kharma perspective, I set $500/month as a limit for myself on a car. I had decided before that I need to sacrifice my "toy" and be fully responsible or things won't go well. Now, the time has come and I need to cut bait or get out of the boat.

Nothing gives. Look at the prices I set. I'm not looking to "profit". I've even had plenty of offers of more money for the parts that some have put dibs on but I want to do right by the members here. That is also why no negotiating. I am also not asking for any money yet to hold a part and I'm sre some will flake but that is fine. I'm just scared and excited and want to do things the right way. I don't believe in short cuts and just have an odd feeling about driving an AMG when I am trying to start my own american dream.

jangy

I couldn't find any 55k for $30K that has a warranty. I don't want to downgrade too much. I like mine. If I am lucky enough to get another 55k someday, i don't mind getting new mods. For me, the journey was a blast and what it is all about. Getting another one and slapping on my mods would be nice because i could then take it to another level, but I just don't see a 55k in my near future.

jangy

Yeah, a used Jeep WJ for about $10k until I decide to get another toy.

jangy

I looked it over today and yes, you were first.

jangy

Man, I am all depressed now.

I'll look over all the posts and PMs this weekend and update everyone. I have to give any close ones to whomever posts in the thread vs PMs. I'm just getting too many PMs between here and mymb and don't want to shaft anyone.

I do not want any money yet. I will know within 2 weeks if it is going to happen or not. If it is, then I will begin dismantling then. If you have dibs on certain things, I am ready to sell:

If you got dibs on the Plates, rear rims, VRP HEM, Vorsteiner Lip, and chrome look covers for the seat adjusment knobs and are ready then PM me now to get em.

zoink

Jangy... sorry for false alarm

Anyways, I think you misunderstood Marcus' logic... At the end of the day, you'd either with an E55 (either the one you have right now or buy a new one) or without an E55. If with an E55, you need to put all mods back on (to keep things apple to apple). If you buy another E55, you'd better keep your mods and transfer all mods - at least you just need to pay for labor and minimal parts, if at all.

That said...

Scenario #1:
Keep the E55, you'd be out $40K. You have the car since new so you know the history... you kept saying you love your current car...

Scenario #2:
Let go your E55 & buy a new one couple months/years later, you'd be out how much for having someone take off all of your mods? Let's say $2K. And you'd get $7K from all the stuff you're selling... so net net, you got $5K. Let's say you later buy another E55 for $25K (months or years from now and your chance to have one w/ warranty would be even slimmer).... you'd be putting like $15-20K for all of your mods? Let's say $15K... This means, at the end of the day, you'd end up w/ $35K and no E55 for couple months / years.

Scenario #3:
With a new E55 now and you put all mods back together, you'd be out $30K (let's assume you could find one) + $2K to uninstall stuff from your current E55 + $2K to install them to the new E55 + $1K tune (you can't transfer tune, can you?) = $35K.

So for you to let go your current E55 and buy another one now or later, it would be $5K difference AT MAXIMUM and you have to go through all the hassles + shipping + most importantly, you don't know the full history of the new E55 you're buying (it's gotta be used, right? ).

If I were you, I'd keep the E55... try to haggle $1-2K further w/ MBUSA.

Just out of my curiosity.... since you put a lot of mods already, why bother getting a CPO or one w/ warranty?

jangy

I have a 100K warranty now and use it all the time. Honestly, I am not worried about the drivetrain since i would mod whatever I broke. i want the electronic toys to be fixed when they break and that doesn't get flagged for power mods.

Marcus Frost

Jangy,

You still aren't doing the math right. Forget what a stock car is worth, your car is not stock. MBUSA is valuing your CURRENT car at $40k. Your car TODAY, THE WAY IT SITS, is worth $37k. The money in mods is not down the drain, because the mods still have value - whether you keep them on your car and were to sell it with your car (to get to the $37k value) or pull them off and sell them (as you are attempting to do) You have to go through a LOT of work and sell a bunch of parts off it to get it down the $30k and still I don't think your car stock is worth $30k stock - it's worth a few grand more than that.

It's like if you were to remodel the kitchen in your house. Money is invested, and is no longer "liquid" - but the value of the house has gone up. Sure, you could rip the kitchen back apart and put a crappy one back in to recoup the cash invested but you're just blurring the lines over where the value lies (in cash or in the value of the house) and in the end totally putting way more effort into things with little to no gain.

YOUR CAR TODAY, if you were to sell it, would fetch ~$37k. MBUSA is offering $40k. Suck up the $3k difference, don't sell anything, and keep the freaking car. I know I would. The only reason you shouldn't is because 1.) you really don't want to or 2.) you really can't.

Don't waste energy arguing with me, read my post, and think about it. I'm not trying to be an *******, I'm just throwing some cold water on a fellow forum member and enthusiast to make sure they don't decide to do something they will regret. You WILL BE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE parting out the car and trading it back in... you are going to lose MORE money that way than if you were to just keep it! TRUST me on this one jangy.

-m

jangy

I know you aren't being mean and I do need to think of it.

kipper215

Jangy, can you tell me where you got your tails from?

thanks

jangy

They were painted at Chapparones in San Diego. They do excellent work.

Busta Riles

I think you should just return the car so i can have the steering wheel.

Do you have any good pics of it yet? What is the overall condition of it?

E55-0817

Jangy,

Don't forget I got dibs on your wheels! :-)

Quadcammer

Your post makes no sense.

THIS VEHICLE IS A LEASE RETURN. MB will ask Jangy to PAY $40k to buy out the lease, so the vehicle will be HIS.

Right now, if he gives the vehicle back, he walks away with zero dollars and no car.

If he buys it out, he has just paid $40k for the car, and is out $40k.

If he buys it for $40k from MB, and sells it for $37k, he just lost 3k, and lets not forget that mods don't really add value. He's mentioned several times that he doesn't want to pay $40k for the car because of his business uncertainty.


So his choices are pay $40k and have a benz, or pay nothing, and get nothing.


His current strategy of parting out the car will earn him about $5k in cash, and he walks away with no car and no payments to make.

kipper215

Thanks for the info

kipper215

I would have to say that is an excellent move. Ask what the trade-in is, just to get a smack in the face to remind you how crazy 40K is in this market. better to part out and wait til the dust settles. If you truly love the 55 you'll pick one up at a fair price. then you can look for one that has all the options you want that you didn't have in the last car.

Marcus Frost

My post makes no sense? Maybe you should re-read it.

Mods will add value to the car, maybe only 40-50 cents on the dollar, but they do. His car w/ mods is not worth $30k. He can remove the mods, sell them, and put stock parts back on, but that has a cost as well.

I think the bottom line is what Jangy just said, it's a self-imposed "can't"

The $3k difference between what MBUSA wants to pay and what Jangy's car is worth with mods is a set of headers installed. It's not a lot of coin, and in my mind would definitely not be worth losing my car over, but that's just me.

I've contributed what I needed to, I'm not looking at getting into a pissing match.

-m

transferred

Marcus, I think what Oliver is trying to say is that Jangy has admitted to only wanting to spend $10k on his car hence is buying a used Jeep...yes your advice makes sense if the money was there but in this situation spending 30-40k is neither wise nor possible.

-Rob

jangy

Guys, I feel bad enough as is. Don't get into a pissing match when you are each making different and valid points.

The truth is that you are both pretty spot on. As Marcus mentioned, I have put this limit on myelf. My budget isn't $10k, but rather $30k. I was just thinking about the Jeep because then i would have money left to look for a "toy" and I always want a second car (that is a truck). Either way, I will likely get a Jeep, too.

Marcus is basically telling me to rethink my strategy. Basically that the difference that i am seeing as big may not be that big at all. Again, we are talking about $200 a month difference when I have been paying $1200 all along. MB contacted my house again today, so maybe as the time draws nearer, they will play. Who knows. In all honesty, my heart is in this car. i still have so much that I wanted to do (and learn). Intake, larger TB, more efficient IC, etc. I've made good contacts and friends and really enjoyed this "world" until a few months ago (when MHP came along). Since then, I've kind of started to get over it, but that actually led me to a new set of friends and mods, so the world still spins.

I guess i am just seeing everything around me and getting scared. What i didn't really consider before was that I can still sell it even if I do buy it out (granted at a loss). But, if things were to go sour and I really needed money, then I could still sell it to get out from under the $800/month payment.

Anyhow, I think I may have started a little whirl wind too soon with the parting thread. I was just so sure that there was no way for it to happen. i still don't, but I think I have a little more fight in me. All dibs stay, but I want to let the drama rest for a few weeks until I am positive.

Marcus, thanks for looking out and giving your view. Thanks also to everyone else for the well wishes.