jmeyers

More than a few of us, I expect, have been owners of E55's and are now replacing our first versions with the new model. I thought it would be useful for current owners of the W210 model to get a sense of what these vehicles are getting their owners in resale.

I had a 2001 E55 with 30,100 miles. It was a Designo Edition (Espresso) and had virtually every option available that year, was in perfect mechanical shape and excellent physical appearance.

I did not want to go through a frustrating process of trying to sell it on my own (had neither the patience nor time to do so), and so I sold it to a local dealer in the San Francisco Bay area.

I took the high bid of $43,000. The lowest was $39,000, and more than half of the dealers here (there are nine of them) had no interest in the car -- due either to having one or more W210 E55's in unsold inventory or to believing a Designo-versioned car would be too hard to sell.

What are the experiences of others?

pocholin

It is kind of sad to see that our cars loose so much value so quick, the worst is that is isn't proportional to a cheaper vehicle, specially if you drive it and put a good amount of miles.
My 99 model with 81k miles is worth $23k at best offer, that is really bad.

I'm starting to doubt the real value of investing money on an AMG vehicle even if you don't drive it, which then raises a question, why do you want a car if you are not going to drive it. I understand that with miles there is a depreciation to consider, but what I'm arguing is that the AMGs loose too much value per mile driven. My 96 Impala SS lost a lot less value than this AMG.

Ohh well, next time if I buy another AMG I'll make sure depreciation is not a concern and just take my losses now.

Dr Chill

The W211 is the best and wisest investment I've ever made. I reap the rewards on a daily basis. One cannot put a value on hearing my wife and kids screaming when I hammer the throttle on the way from 70-130mph in about 6 seconds. It just doesn't get any better than this.

pocholin

You are right on that, I should've taken that in account as well.

EDWARD CONROY

We had reasons to get rid of our C32 after only a year. I didn't want to set myself up for that type of financial drubbing again so it was important we get a car we totally loved and wanted to keep, which we did. But as God is my witness, if I ever buy another new car I will take the time to get a good price for this one privately, then go from dealer to dealer squeezing the last dime out of them that I can on a quote.

03E55AMG

That is the exact reason that I tell everyone overwhelmed by my 03 W211 mileage, I have 22,000 miles and counting, but I tell you this I have enjoyed EVERY mile of it. I don't believe in investing a BUNCH of money into a car that you won't enjoy. But of course to each its own.

Benz

Buy used so you can rape the guy on the price just like the dealership did when they sold it to him

The E55 AMG loses so much feaking vaule its insane. My friend had a 02 E55 that he got screwed on when he sold it. The guy who bought it got a good deal tho....This is why never buy new

Walden

a dealer i know recieved a trade-in of an 2000 E55, tectrite grey on black...fully loaded with navigation and xenon, 70K miles.
the guy bought a CL55 and traded this E55 in. the dealer says he gave the guy $30,500 for the trade it.

is that accurate? that seems high to me. i would think he got the E55 for like $28-28.5

any comments?

amg55

Biggest mistake you can make when it comes to depreciation is to buy the LAST year of a long (7 year) body style run.
Happens with every brand, regardless of desirability.

pocholin

I also agree on that as well, I should've bought the C32 instead of the E55, I did have that choice.

bzliteyear

i agree w/ most of the comments on the board, althogh i have a few thoughts.
1) last yr of long cycle is not always bad as stated by the last post. i point to the E320 cabriolet from circa 1994ish...i still see many available for $30k+, and they've already been replaced by CLK cabriolets. clearly they're not worth it to most people, but i still think it's an interesting data point. in fact, they've held up much better than the 500SLs since the new SLs as well.
2) AMG "used" to be one thing when they were made as limited edition cars. now that it's been folded into Mercedes, their goal will be to maximize profit by selling as many units as possible. Additionally, i think all this talk about future MBs and Bimmers w/ V10's and 500hp+ may also dampen some of the future worth of the current models w/ a mere 349 hp...maybe.

Benz

Awesome point....I agree with you 100%.

amg55

I agree with your basic points that: increased supply of AMG's will diminish resale value, and (as with all things) improved technology/horsepower/styling of E55 competitors (M5 etc) will diminish W211 reslae value.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the 1995 E320 cab (last year of that body style prior to the W210), but Edmunds lists the true market value (trade-in) of that car at $17,600.....
while there's a classified for the same vehicle on AutoSpies asking $45,000!!
There will always be a handful of meticulously maintained cars which will be sold to collectors at a premium price. But I doubt that the E320 cab has maintained 60% of its resale value over 8 years.
The best value retention as of last year was reported to be the Porsche TT, which held 67% at 3 years.

zam2000

Well, it's kind of crow in in the market where AMG sedan compete: you have Benz E55, Audi RS6, BMW M5.

I heard the next range of luxury/perfomance sedan market is even worse in term of depreciation: S55, S500, S600, A8, Jarguar, BMW 7 serie (saw a 2003 745Li at dealer near my house for $52K, holly smoke !!!).

If you don't want to be raped w/ depreciation, then save lot of money, and go for cars like 911 turbo, GT3, or 360 Mondena. I've seen used ones go for more than MSRP !!!.

allenjdmb

because the blame lies with your friends at Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, and just about every other moderately high end brand. Their greed is what's killing your resale. As you will find in every one of my other posts in the last 6 months, the problem is that there is TOO MUCH PRODUCT in the marketplace. Although the problem seems really awful with AMG models, it is even worse thru out the entire product line. How would you like to own an 01.02 CL55, (reasonalby selling in the 80's from a 110k MSRP) or an 02 SL 500 (high 50's from 90+k MSRP)? How about an 02 S500, which has lost 30ish thousand dollars of its MSRP in the marketplace? or the owner of an 01 Porsche Turbo that has lost 35k in value, probably in less than 15k miles of use? Don't blame your dealer--he is being forced to take more merchandise from the factory that he DOES NOT want or need--and what do you think that does to the prices of our used cars? THE ONLY player in this sorry scenario that's benefitting is the manufacturer--they are the only ones with any real magin left in the process. But this mad desire for more and more units MUST stop. It erodes real and percieved value, enjoyment, and ultimately will cost them customers. But hey, let's don't fool ourselves into thinking that they care.
They don't.
Tell your dealer to let your manufacturer know how dissapointed you are that the car you thought was special is now just one of many. Remember how the W210 E 55 was going to be a 4-500 unit model? Yeah, right...Do you really want to own a car that everyone else drives?
Sorry,through now. Flame away.

E55AMG99

People need to stop thinking that a car is an investment. Very few are. 99.9% are depreciating assets.

BTW, everyone still benefits. The dealers are making money, don't think they' are not. They'll ***** all day about inventory but in the end, they make millions on service an other items. Without the cars they sell at small margin, there is nothing to service and no profits. The car buyer benefits too if he is patient and buys used or at the end of the model run. If you have to have it now and be the fist kid on the block to have the new toy, you lose.
I liked the E55 in '99 because it kicked A$$ and very few cars could beat it and nothing in its price range. Look at it like a business deal. I paid sticker and today it is worth about 45-50% of that. That equates to less than $1000 per month in depreciation. Leases were $13-1400 per month so in the end, I'll be coming out ahead.

If you want to play, you got to pay. Get over it.

Archi

I agree w/ E55AMG99 completely. You dont invest money in a new car. You buy because you want it and if your worrying about the amount of money your losing on the deal, you shouldnt have bought it in the first place. Although I bought 2 Mini Cooper S before they were available in Texas and made a killing