aeroman

So most of you know I wrecked my 2008 E63 a few months ago and had the saga with the insurance company but that finally worked out. Now, I have been trying to find a suitable replacement. I am looking all over North America to find one. I have called all over to talk to the owners and their maintenance advisers at the stealer. A few of the owners I have talked to seem normal and communicate at the level I would expect most that can afford these cars to be at. The MAJORITY of the owners are holy cow what a Douche bag was that??? I find myself more worried about the owner than the car itself. Even some of the service adviser have expressed joy that the owner is selling the car and they would no longer have to deal with the person.

And the lying about past maintenance and repair work. Then get the records from Mercedes and find out oh its had rear main seal replaced, head gasket, manifold gasket, rebuild, etc. Or they say its got 100% of the options available and come to find out it does not (usually missing distronic). When confronted they play dumb or say oh yah I forgot about that.

So what is it? Are all the cool owners here and the douchebags out there? or are we fooling ourselves and we are also douchebags and just don't know it.

typhoon43

I believe you're speaking of the "Young Baller Theorum", which states that the declining price of our vehicles is inversely proportional to the level of maturity and douche-ness of the new owner.

It happens.

aeroman

Yup. BUT.....some of these guys bought the cars new or when they were still 70K+ cars. I have talked to owners as young as 27 (who bought his new) and guys in their 60s. I am starting to think the type of person that is drawn to these cars has maturity and douchebag issues.

viren.89

The general tendency is to make the item look good so it attracts viewers thinking that the viewer would be a first time buyer and does not know about the car.

You on the other hand - is a smart buyer who digs deep in the background hence you are able to pull out the skeletons.

People just think that once they sell the car - that's it - they are free. They do not care much about how it will affect the new owner.

I wish you good luck in finding the right car. You are finding all these skeletons that means you are taking the right steps, keep doing that.

BlownV8

They are probably less of a douchebag than the 911 owners are to the 928 owners but that is another topic all together. In reality, it is probably a regional thing. People in the Northeast and Southern California are generally not as polite as those in the Southeast with Miami being an exception. You have a mix of people down there so you really never know what you will get.

HeissRod

Yes?

nycphotography

Lesse here... NE = money. SoCal = money. Miami = money.

So the people with money in the money focused areas tend to be douches? Yup. You've cracked the code.

BlownV8

Lots of money across the country and there are wealthier parts of FLorida than Miami where people are OK. Those are just the hotbeds of douchebags. It's a culture thing and not one of wealth.

3BNick

It could always be worse. We could be BMW or Audi douches.

biggking

Im 21, and a douche bag who drives an E55.

Enigma94

With any higher end car you are going to get people who buy the car just for the snobby aspect of them being able to say they drive a ------ then you will have the other part of buyers/owners who purchased the car because of the nuts and bolts and could care less what emblem is on the front and back of the car and how other people view them for driving said car.

The douches are the first example and I'm sure most of us fall into the latter part.

JoshBlond

yeah I'm 22. And probably one of those douches that drives a sexy 63

unagi1

Well, these cars tend to inspire anti-social tendencies in their owners, so over time yes we develop douchebaggery techniques

more_amg

All great points here! I don't post a lot but this topic got me going!
This is way bigger issue in our Great country, unfortunately.
It is lack of honesty! Everywhere, absolutely everywhere!
My Dad told that 30-40 years ago, if somebody gave you his word, you can be sure its true. Now, "giving words" is like spitting on the street!
What do you expect from private party trying to unload the car?! Every bank, credit card, your credit union, dealerships, stores, list goes on and on , are trying to screw you every second!
On top there are also cultural and educational issues - you've got the picture!
Wait another ten - fifteen years. You'll see how things will change.

biggking

All I can say is, when it comes to used cars, scumbags come in all colors, sizes and sneaky tactics. It's great that you did your HW and checked things out prior to making any purchase. In most cases whenever you rush things and don't do your HW you get screwed.

StarvingArtist

I ran into the same thing with both my 55's. I bought long distance, and had more than a few skeletons fall out in my driveway. Still worth it though! Even you spend a couple grand fixing it up it's a lot of car for the money.

KMS11

Auto enthusiasts tend to be the cool owners and 50+ year old guys who aren't enthusiasts, just wealthy dick heads tend to lie through their teeth.

When I was looking for my E55, I met one CEO owner at his company, huge place. Obviously very successful. We go for a ride around the block, car sounds like it has a bad tire or perhaps wheel bearing. I ask about it. His response, "I had the car checked at *Stealership*, everything is in tip top shape." I glance over, my face contorted in skepticism. He kept his straight. Back at his office, he hands me the folder full of records. Plain as day, "Customer complained about noise from wheel/tires. Advised to replace wheel bearing, customer declined". Seriously dude?

wes459

Would others driving slow on the highway make me a d-bag...or them?!

berti_00

Would the real douchebag please stand up

hyperion667

moosejaw

most douchebags reside in miami.
Its the burden of having to sell your car every 8 months to get the newest and latest fad.

Haven't you heard that leases reign supreme in Miami with most spending half their income on leasing or owning a car? Equity doesnt matter nor does the interest rate. Its the ability to pull up to Club Bawler with the escort from Backpage to sit around in a cheap sofa and drink overpriced bottles of Greygoose.

Miami is the cheapest place to lease a car right now. Case in point....I'm seeing the brand new IS250 go out the door for $250/month with zero down

Le55

Noticed a similar phenomena in the new body GTO world that we dubbed FPFQ

Falling price = falling quality of owners

As the cars depreciate they become available to a larger audience and one thing I have learned from travelling, most Americans are self-important, mouth-breathing, window lickers.

unagi1

This reminds me of when I was shopping for my E55, had a convo with the seller and asked him clearly if there was anything wrong with the car, or whether he smoked in it (he mentioned cigars). Said nope. Get there and the car smells like an ashtray, the interior plastic and alcantara is yellow from the smoke and the COMAND screen didn't work because the guy was too cheap ($1200) to replace it. Seller bought the car at MSRP, still had $30k on the loan and wanted to get rid of it for $20k because his wife was yelling at him about the car

I smoke cigars from time to time, but what I don't want to do is drive around in an ashtray / humidor. No thanks.

BlownV8

You absolutely nailed that one!

hyperion667

I'm very selective in my douchbaggery ways and only use it in times of panic