patrick_y

W211 E55s now range between $10,000 for a higher mileage 2003 model in mediocre condition to $24,000 for a 51,000 mile 2006 model in fantastic condition being sold at an official Mercedes-Benz dealership local to me in San Francisco Bay Area. There may be more or less expensive models, but those were the ones I could find transacted in California this past week.

1. What are your estimations of the depreciation on your E55 in the next two years? Share your thoughts.

2. What would you pay for this car? Dealer maintained, accident free, overall excellent condition 2006 E55 with BiXenon, Parktronic, KeylessGo, Heated/Cooled Seats, COMAND Navigation DVD, Power Rear Sunshade, 6 Disc CD Changer, and Electronic Trunk Closer. Estimated Original Retail with options $91,000 (approx). Car is stock, doesn't even have window tint. Car has 60,000 miles and is about 8 years 6 months old (approx. May 2006 first registered). Car is metallic black with charcoal interior. Former CPO car, but CPO warranty has recently expired. Sold by a trustworthy private party.

3. The aforementioned car in bullet 2, what do you think it will be worth in two years with 20,000 more miles?

4. Bonus question. What are the stats on your car (year, mileage, etc.)? At what price would you realistically start thinking about selling your car for?

Sugar_Mouth

I bought a '06 with 61k on it loaded minus pano roof in excellent shape with all records for 23k back in July.

I don't see a lot happening from what you have posted above. In other words, we are close to bottom for clean low mileage E55s. It may drop a bit but I can not see a low mileage '05-'06 going for $15k in the next few years for example.

WANTED!!

You may want to recheck KBB then, as an 05 is going for a lot less than that.

kponti

I'm expecting 2003 to 2006 to be around the $15k mark in the next couple of years of not sooner.

p30amg08

As a newer technology comes out these prices will drop in value obviously as they will need more work especially with the major components going bad not with mileage but with time these cars could be had for ten to fifteen thousand dollars at the most in the next year or so depending on the mileage and condition obviously

SheriffDep

I understand you are talking about the 55's but here are numbers for a 07' 63. Fully loaded E63 2007 are auctioning for around 17-23 pending mileage. For example a 2007 E63 with 65k miles is worth around 22k. My 2008 63 with 70k miles is worth about 25 wholesale. Value is whatever the person buying thinks its worth.

I sold a 07 63 with 78k miles with a 2 year warranty left on it for 25k last June. IT was fully maintained by dealer too.

E55 should stay above 10k unless more than 125k miles. The 63 the same just due to being AMG. But once they hit 125k plus, then values will continue to go lower to a point of it not being worth repairing something. Also no one would likely buy one even for 8-9k if it had 175k miles on it, just due to one fault of engine or tranny or supercharger the whole car is toast value wise. So, modern will want the E55 and that should keep those prices up.

That Merc dealer with the 24k price, likely has less than 14k in the car. NO WAY a dealer pays more than wholesale, period. Then they try and sell it up due to past dealer history CPO etc... ALL crap, I would buy one of you guys car in a heartbeat over a stealer.

patrick_y

I agree, we are getting to the bottom of the barrel for good condition low mileage 2005/2006 E55s.

Few years? How do you define few? Few is 4-5 years. I would expect the car to drop to less than $15K, even if you were only to put on 5000-10,000 miles a year. Let's say 4 years and 30,000 miles later, your car will be 12 years old and probably around 90,000 miles. I can't imagine that to still be worth $15K, even in great condition. Then again, I may be wrong.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Your car sounds like a beaut! How many miles do you have on it now?

patrick_y

I agree, that dealer's car was a bit on the high side. It wasn't eligible to be a CPO. It looked like a nice one. I estimate they were in it for around $17,000. No way would they dream to make $10K on a $14K car. Edmund's trade-in value (which is lower than KBB's trade in value) shows it as a car that's worth around $17K in trade in, about $19K in private party, and $22K at a dealer. For a franchised Mercedes-Benz dealer being at $24K isn't too bad but somewhat bad.

patrick_y

There are already plenty at the $15K mark between 03 and 06 cars. Harder to find an 06 at that price point though.

Not sure what you meant by the post.

Perhaps if you mentioned what you thought an 03 would go for and an 06 would go for, that'd help.

rockthemullet

Who cares? Unless you're picking up vintage collectibles, cars are not investments. Buy what you want and have fun.. if its book value is less than what it's worth to you then hang onto it longer

hayseed

iTrader: (2)

would it make sense to look at similar cars that are older and age and see what they are selling for to gauge depreciation -- not the same car obviously by say comparing a 2003 BMW 540 M5 compared to a 2000 540 M5..... mileage and condition would make significant difference -

kponti

In excellent condition with full service receipts etc etc and low mileage 2003 to 2006 will be found around $13k to $15K in the next year or two when the W212 E63s start flooding the market. I am expecting the 2007-2009 E63s to be kinda close to those numbers too since they are mostly slower and have more problems

GregMB

I've got a 2006 E55 with 55,000 on it currently. In two years it will have about 65,000 miles total......

That will make it a good "low mileage" E55 at that time.

Not sure how that translates into $$$ but the only reason I'd sell it is to make the jump into either a 2012 or 2013 E63 (twin turbo), and those aren't depreciating as fast as I'd hoped. I'm going to end up kicking in a LOT of extra cash to make a move like that.

-G

kompressede

I'm in the same boat as Greg - I have 53k on mine, I still plan to put more money in the car because I enjoy it when I use it, and when the time comes to replace it I'm thinking of a TT, all wheel drive AMG.

OP, if your shopping for one, I think its up to you how much you want to spend, because I'm sure while your out there looking at these cars, you'll see some are not taken care of and the asking price is $15K or better, and some are well cared for and they will ask $25K + or -.

Don't worry about depreciation if you like the car. I guarantee you they will continue to go down in value. ( they are NOT an investment)

On the other hand I wonder, how do the Audi RS6, or RS4 seem to hold their value better then the AMG's???

Sir-Boost-a-Lot

iTrader: (1)

You all make some good points.

Kponti I agree with you on the 07-09 cars. They'll eventually be worth less than a clean E55 because the demand for these cars is enthusiast driven, and enthusiasts aren't interested in the 07-09s.

However I think what will drive the price down eventually is the eventual drop in price of V2 Cadillacs. That's what's closest to the E55s in performance and next up the ladder in terms of price and recent vintage.

I'd also really like an AWD TT E class though. Especially the 15 S. Those are sexy mulheres

Sugar_Mouth

A few meaning 3 and for years '05-'06. You can still get $12k-$15k for clean '98-'02 W210 E55s. I have 63k on mine now, it's a second car.

I am not holding my breath however, luxury German cars are not the best retainers in value.

patrick_y

Thanks Greg for the reply.

As someone who lives in the state of NH, assuming your car is with you in NH, I would be expecting you to get the AWD E63 soon due to the weather in NH.

patrick_y

I'm equally surprised about the RS6 and RS4 holding their values.

The RS4 has a lot of problems with valve gunk (direct injection woes) and the engine's valves can't close completely consistently.

But Audi's are gaining in popularity. I like to predict things, and I predict in the future, the RS6 will become a collectible. There weren't a lot made. Kind of like an E30 BMW M3.

patrick_y

I'm equally surprised about the RS6 and RS4 holding their values.

The RS4 has a lot of problems with valve gunk (direct injection woes) and the engine's valves can't close completely consistently.

But Audi's are gaining in popularity. I like to predict things, and I predict in the future, the RS6 will become a collectible. There weren't a lot made. Kind of like an E30 BMW M3.

GregMB

AWD really isn't necessary.

I swap a quality set of winter tires and have never had a problem getting anywhere during the winter months.

I lived in San Jose, CA for almost 15 years and I do miss the weather though...

I will want to be into a newer AMG way before the new AWD E63S has depreciated into my price range. The '12 & '13 versions can be tuned to something like 850HP and I suspect that will probably be adequate for me.


-G

Hammer Down

I could care less how my car is worth because I don't plan on selling it. I've had it since it was new and it's been a great car. I just hit 22,000 miles the other day. I look at it this way instead of buying a 67 or 68 RS/SS or a 69 or 70 Mach 1 and rebuild it........When I could just keep my beast.

Sugar_Mouth

That a boy!

Sugar_Mouth

Yep! I don't buy for resale. Love the W211!

CharlyE500

I didn't buy my car new but bought it when it was 3 years old only and wasn't cheap back then. Never look back and will not sell my car unless the engine goes bad. 3 days ago saw a 2014 E63S in freeway but not impress at all. The engine might be great but W212 looks cheap IMO.

Sugar_Mouth

Ya I don't care for the W212 either. I do like the new front end but it looks out of place and simply bolted on the older sides, rear.