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Like you said.......They are brutally expensive to maintain and repair. So anyone looking at this is probably saying its 10 years old how long before the AWD system goes out and im out another 3 to 4 K to repair it.
Like you said.......They are brutally expensive to maintain and repair. So anyone looking at this is probably saying its 10 years old how long before the AWD system goes out and im out another 3 to 4 K to repair it.
Precisely. FWIW I had the entire AWD system replaced under warranty. it was actually a little weird from new on tight radius turns, but I always just thought it was a quirk of the AWD setup. So the whole system is only about 2 years old. Extended warranty for the win!
No idea what that repair cost, but it couldn't have been cheap. That's when you leave it unlocked with the keys in the ignition and a bottle of wine on the seat!
I have to say, outside of Porsche, the high-priced German cars are brutal when it comes to depreciation. Not to mention the service and repair costs when they go into the shop. Awhile back I was shopping for a used car for my son, and we were wandering through the Lexus dealer looking at the used cars. lo and behold, there was a Mercedes CLS AMG on the lot that looked brand spanking new and had 30k miles on it. This car was 5 model years old if my memory serves me correctly and the car cost $185k new. The sales person said they gave the guy $45k on a trade, and if we wanted to make an offer in that range they would likely accept it.
Wow. Mercedes V12 AMG in new condition for 25% of it's purchase price. Sounds good until that first visit to the service department. like Audi, these are wonderful cars, but repairing them out of warranty is not for the faint of pocketbook.
in Texas, auto sales tax is 6.25%
so $12K trade-in is a $750 tax savings in Texas
unless WA sales tax is 16.66%, not sure you're getting a $2K savings on a $12K trade in to dealer
I would try CarMax to see if u can get $2K more at $14K...
I'm trading in my 2008 Audi S8 V10 that cost $125K new and I'm getting 12K for it. Still looks largely like new!
People ask 20-25K on eBay but if you look at "Completed Auctions" for ones that actually sold, you see 14K, 16K.
No, this isn't a sales proposition hidden as a rant, in my state we pretty much have to trade through the dealer to get the sales tax credit, and it's not worth it on a smaller amount like this for the difference. And I'm not really the kind of guy that wants to be private-partying my car through Craigslist anyway!
But that's 88% depreciation in 10 years - I wouldn't mind if the car didn't look like a new car!
I wish I owned a farm. I would really rather park cars like this in a barn and put a blanket over them and let my grandchildren discover them than trade them in for a pittance, but I just don't have room to keep them all!
I'd also just donate it or give it to a relative, but then a couple of months later the inevitable phone call that the all-wheel-drive system has gone out or something. Brutally expensive to maintain and repair these cars, even if you can buy them cheap initially.
Don't worry about it - is my advice. You spent "$125,000.00 on a car" 10-years ago. If I had your million$, I'd burn mine.
German high end cars are the ultimateway to **** money down the drain. To much money to fix these days. I had a 50k mile 12 7 series we traded for mid teens a month ago. The 4yr warranty on it was 28k.
Depends on which one you buy, how you buy it, what you use it for, and how many miles you drive, and lastly, how long you keep it.
They're not ALL "To much money to fix these days."
My buddy with a 10 year old Mercedes SL550 which was over 100k new has now become a maintenance nightmare. His trans is currently out and the car undriveable. $7k plus just to repair it. He can't wait to get rid of it, he says he is buying a corvette! I told him Mercedes 10 year old cars are #1 on the most expensive used car repair list. I'm not positive but i think Audi was #2.
I have a quote for 3yr warranty(service agreement) extension after my CPO runs out on my '13 650 for $4100. Still a lot of money, but not $28K
You bought it used. IIRC, CPOed Mercedes Benz' have an unlimited mileage warranty. If you drive a lot of miles, that's a great buy. You should probably buy the $4,100 policy.
My buddy with a 10 year old Mercedes SL550 which was over 100k new has now become a maintenance nightmare. His trans is currently out and the car undriveable. $7k plus just to repair it. He can't wait to get rid of it, he says he is buying a corvette! I told him Mercedes 10 year old cars are #1 on the most expensive used car repair list. I'm not positive but i think Audi was #2.
Your buddy bought a $100,000.00 disaster. Definitely not an MB model to buy new or used. These high rollers that spend $100,000.00++:on new German MBs and Audi luxury models must enjoy losing that $100,000.00, is all I can say about those purchases.
My 83 300SD Mercedes Benz turbo diesel sedan cost me $11,950.00 with 93K, miles on it. I bought it when 8 years old then drove it to 305K miles in the next 8 years. Sold it for $4,950.00. It averaged 26 mpg. You do the math. I did most all the easy repairs and maintenance myself. Cheapest car I'll ever drive & own.
I usually keep cars 10 years or more too... When I traded my 2004 Z06 for my 2014 Stingray, dealer gave me $25,000 which is not bad since the list price on the Z06 back then was only $52K, and it paid for half the new Stingray since the base price when I ordered mine was $51,000.
Not that it matters much, but considering inflation - you only got 18.8k in 2004 money.
Last edited by shiv.nandak; 05-16-2018 at 03:06 PM.
I have owned 3 Mercedes and 2 of the three were maintenance nightmares. The first - 1 300D 5-cylinder Diesel was previously owned by my dad, and it was incredibly well built, but was so slow it couldn't get out of its own way. The other 2 I owned were complete disasters, even from new.
A few years ago I bought a Porsche Carrera, and the Porsche Dealer was attached to a Mercedes Dealer. We signed the paperwork in the Mercedes area; as the salesman and I were waiting for the paperwork to be completed, I was looking at some new $100k+ Mercedes in the showroom, and the salesman said to me, "If you even CONSIDER one of these you need to have your head examined..." That pretty much says it all.
I have owned 3 Mercedes and 2 of the three were maintenance nightmares. The first - 1 300D 5-cylinder Diesel was previously owned by my dad, and it was incredibly well built, but was so slow it couldn't get out of its own way. The other 2 I owned were complete disasters, even from new.
A few years ago I bought a Porsche Carrera, and the Porsche Dealer was attached to a Mercedes Dealer. We signed the paperwork in the Mercedes area; as the salesman and I were waiting for the paperwork to be completed, I was looking at some new $100k+ Mercedes in the showroom, and the salesman said to me, "If you even CONSIDER one of these you need to have your head examined..." That pretty much says it all.
Not knocking your Porsche purchase, but:
Mercedes Salesman probably says the exact same thing about your Porsche...
Buying new Mercedes-Benz' is like being slaughtered on the showroom floor. Ya gotta like throwing A LOT of $$$ away. I'll never buy another new one. Swore that off 19 years ago. Used, is the only way to go.
Don't worry about it - is my advice. You spent "$125,000.00 on a car" 10-years ago. If I had your million$, I'd burn mine.
My millions? That's a stretch. Sure, I've been very fortunate, but you know what? I'd trade it all for a little more.
Spending $125K on a car in 2007 doesn't make anyone rich, it just means they had good credit 8 years ago and not much more!
I've only ever bought one new car like that - a 2003 CL600 V12 AMG BiTurbo that had a stupid MSRP. They were second stickering but I got it for MSRP so bought it. Depreciated like a rock and though I loved some parts of the car, it wasn't my favorite, but I was stuck with it! So I learned that lesson early on. Sort of a variation of "Buyer's Remorse".
I've never heard anyone regard a lease as a bargain. Last time I considered a lease, it was for a new four runner. Want to say that at the end of the 3 or 4 year lease, I was within $5k of paying for the entire car once I totaled all the payments. Maybe stuff has changed since that was a while ago.
As for the trade ins....I bought a VW Passat back in 06....it was a used 03 I found at carmax for about $19k. Thing imploded almost immediately, so was lucky I had the carmax warranty that covered everything since the car was almost always in the shop. Want to say it had 45k miles on it when I got it, and 60k miles when I traded it in...2 years later and 15k miles... -$12,800 Ended up getting all of $6200 for it. I'll never buy another VW....what a total crap car.
NOW, I'd like to introduce you boys to the best vehicle investment I've ever made....AKA..."Uncle Jesse"! Bought this as a backup to the VW for $500 (yes, OTD ) He was a 1984 Ford Ranger Pickup with god only knows how many miles on it....no A/C...no panels on the interior doors (so you could get out), but I absolutely loved that clunker. Got 10,000 miles out of it before the distributor blew, had it fixed, but never ran like it did before, so I sold it.
1.5 years, 10k miles, Cost of ownership: Made $100....owning a truck that was so run down the GF (and wife now) at the time refused to ride anywhere or be seen in...priceless
Alas...this is the only surviving picture I have of the one, the only, "Uncle Jesse"
So true about leases...LOLOLO some people should really take Econ101 and learn about finance in High School. The only car you can afford is what you can pay for in CASH! That car for 125K is INSANE PERIOD. It is worth about 5K in my honest opionion but worth much more to you. I would keep it an run it into the ground for another 10 years if I was you and then donate or sell for scrap. Probably the reason I have 5 cars now. Buy them and hold them as it's not worth 10K to sell them.
in Texas, auto sales tax is 6.25%
so $12K trade-in is a $750 tax savings in Texas
unless WA sales tax is 16.66%, not sure you're getting a $2K savings on a $12K trade in to dealer
I would try CarMax to see if u can get $2K more at $14K...
This.
The dealer has no motivation to give you more trade since you already ordered a new car. Might do better at carmax and you don't have to deal with selling it.
The dealer has no motivation to give you more trade since you already ordered a new car. Might do better at carmax and you don't have to deal with selling it.
The stealership gave me $11,000 for my 2013 Kia Optima TGDI Limited in a beautiful blue color with 43,000 miles on it. The 2017 Vette Base I bought was on their lot for almost 4 months. It was used with 2,200 mile on it. I went back to get my tags 2 weeks later and the sales guy I dealt with said it sold 2 day prior for 17,500. My Optima was one of 2 blue ones for sale with in like 200 miles. It was like the third lowest miles for that year out of 25 that were for sale in the area. I owed $17,000 on the car but I am happy I took the beating and got my Vette, very very happy.
05-14-2018, 11:16 AM
Ya gotta like throwing A LOT of $$$ away. I'll never buy another new one. Swore that off 19 years ago. Used, is the only way to go.
) He was a 1984 Ford Ranger Pickup with god only knows how many miles on it....no A/C...no panels on the interior doors (so you could get out), but I absolutely loved that clunker. Got 10,000 miles out of it before the distributor blew, had it fixed, but never ran like it did before, so I sold it.
