Market cooling off?
 

As we all know the 123 market has been red hot.

Well, take a look at this:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=260031117238&ih=016&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

I really don't believe that mileage claim but it is a clean looking 123. What do you attribute the low hammer price to? Maybe the "minor" accidents?:D

Cheers,

Bill

I think it just has to do with fuel prices.

When diesel prices go up everyone panics and gets pissed off posting threads about wanting to buy a gasser. Then when the prices start lowering we get threads like the current one "Is the price of Diesel dropping in your area?"

As the price of diesel lowers we will see the W123's prices on ebay go up, as diesel raises we will see the W123's prices go down.

My thought too at first but what happened to the running on WVO? We've seen cars bring tremendous prices and everyone says its because when the price of diesel climbs the price of our cars climbs because you can run them on WVO.

No rhyme or reason to anything that has to do with oil these days.;)

Cheers,

Bill

ive only seen one w115 other than mine in my area (lex, ky) but i see A LOT of 123's and 126's- i just wonder where these people get their 123's serviced at here, no way id go to the dealer on one of these older benz - though when my car was slipping out of park, and i needed new shifter bushings, i went to the dealer, and suprisngly they had them in stock

Out in the real world (non-car fanatics) no-one is using WVO, most people don't even know the difference between BD, WVO, and SVO. It's just not enough people to affect the market. I do think some people are buying diesels because it gives them the "option" of using alternative fuels if things get really bad, but only a tiny percentage will ever use anything other than pump diesel, or maybe commercial BD. Forums like this are not a good cross-section of the average e-bay buyer.

Perhaps the busy car selling season is flagging now to some extent. Car sales of our type are not neccasarily seasonal to us. But may be to the majority of buyers. I buy by the examples condition as I fully realise a car of its good condition does not roll around everyday. Our cars are also very owner demanding and not a lot of people understand that. These cars do not grow on you but tend to consume you sometimes. Also there is some evidence that the economy is cooling to some extent right now. Is the bloom off the rose? Perhaps prices will start to accelerate next spring. But i also agree that station wagon seemed a little lower than usual. Because of the velocity of traffic in cogested areas perhaps a turbo is thought required in any purchase now. Might not be really wrong either. They get better milage as well. I wonder what type of person is the average buyer for these old diesels. It will be really bad if they become cult cars for example. As they get older now parts may become a little more difficult at some point. there are far fewer vendors of parts for 123s on ebay this year for example. Last but not least have buyers picked up that our cars may not do that well on the new fuel. Starting to hear complaints of poor milage for starters myself. Wait and see kind of thing i imagine.

Grey market car.........naturally aspirated...........

Do you really think N/A makes that much difference?

I always thought of the grey market cars as kind of a rarity and, while not being worth much more, different.

Cheers,

Bill

cold?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-Owner-Turbo-Diesel-Wagon-122K-Warranty-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ190031532846QQihZ009QQcategoryZ6330QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Did you notice the seller of this car has but only 3 feedbacks and keeps his auctions private? I feel as though he had his buddies run the price to $12k then wait for some fool to place a bid. That last bidder would legitamtily own the car.

Don't know that for sure but being a veteran ebay seller/buyer myself, I'd say thats a good educated guess and most likely why the car "sold" for that much.

Cheers,

Bill

I do think that it held the price down on this one.

Wow, I like the interior color! wish mine was like that.

what's the deal on Euro spec models getting turbos or not? I've only seen two (mine and Alfie's) and every other euro diesel I've seen was n/a. Was it only an option?

I don't think that's the market cooling off...

That car is from a rust state (my former home of MN), it's an 80 hp NA 617, it lacks the third seat, and grey market only seems a plus when you're getting something like a 5 speed 300D. Every wagon legitimately over 10k was a 7 seater full US spec 300TDT. Euro Benzes are usually not worth more than a US model unless we're talking something like a Euro 560SEL versus a US 380SEL, which is not even a fair comparison since those two models were never offered at the same time.

When it comes to 123s, I think US models are the way to go. We got the 4 spd 240 for the purist, and the "muscle" turbo variant of 300D which was rare, at best, in Europe.

cooled
 

it appears to me everything is going up and down with the pump price watching ebay daily for last 6 months i'm sure the 126's are 10% or more down since july

I think the market has cooled somewhat for most cars. The diesels are not as hot because fuel prices are becoming reasonable again and the big cars are still a difficult sell because of the cost to keep them filled up.

I took advantage of the high fuel costs when I bought my S320. Most people look at a massive 140 chassis car and think that it has a V8 or V12 under the hood. The 6cyl has about 230hp and gets 23.9mpg mixed city/highway driving. The 1999 model that I bought was a last production run where they eliminated many of the problems with the wiring and A/C system. And it drives like nothing else on the planet.

There are still deals to be had on big cars but the outrageous prices we have seen in the diesel market will continue to ebb and flow. I think a lot of the interest in hybrids and diesels was due to media coverage.

If your a car lover its still the perfect time to buy your dream car. Especially if your dream car has a reputation for high fuel consumption.