Why is this 240D going for so much $$?
 

8 days left and already 4 bids at $4100? isnt this alot? at this rate the car could be up to $8k!

it is perfect though. at least from the pictures.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2443344139&category=6329

There are obviously at least two bidders that either:

1. Know something we don't about the car.
2. Or, don't know what the cars are worth.
3. Or, are smoking somthing.:eek:

Then agaqin, it might be possible someone is shilling for the seller.;)

M.

Hasn't reached the reserve either!!!!

I highly doubt those are leather seats like it says..... I might have to check this one out if I go to Houston this weekend, just to see if it is gold plated or something.

It is an extremely nice car however.

Yes, it looks nearly perfect, no doubt it's a nice car... just a little high for what it is in my opinion.

The seller might have his cousin bidding on the car, or one of his buddies. Trying to suck someone in, of course.

What's it worth
 

This will be a bit of a monologue. I seem to be in the distinct minority on this forum. But I believe a a car is worth whatever the market will bear.

This one appears to be an almost showroom new 240D. I have come to see the attitudes of many on this list who seem to think that on the one hand these are amongst the best cars ever made and on the other that you should be able to run on down to your local mom and pop store and pick them up for a few hundred bucks when ever you feel like it (well not exactly but you get my drift) as being somewhat unrealistic.

For myself. I ached for brand new Mercedes when I was growing up. But my family were not of the plutocracy. Thus I had to make do with the occasional ride in a distant wealthy relatives 240D, 230E and 300D. And I finally joined the Mercedes club many years later only by virtue of old high mileage and somewhat worn vehicles that tended to leak like sieves and had few of their "luxury features" operable. If I were given the opportunity to own a "time capusle" of this sort I would jump at it if I could.

Perhaps ones perspective is different when comming from anohter country but for me 8 to 10 thousand is not too expensive for one of the most desireable cars ever made in near showroom condition. Half that is a steal. After all if such a car were not able to give lifelong reliable service then the members of this forum who talk of their high mileage examples with such affection would not have nothing to talke about now would they?

But to each his own. As I said perhaps it's because I'm a foreigner. Perhaps also because I appear as I've said before - to be stuck in a high price market - but I would far rather have been in a position to spend about 10 thousand or so on a pristine Classic Mercedes than wind up in the situation I'm in now with a brand new POS that cripples my ability to aquire my dream car for the forseeable future.

- Peter.

Peter- Don't think that you are alone in your perspective. I think much of the valuation for a vehicle is derived from its condition, but also on what it is worth to the buyer. I looked at many cars before I ended up with my 116 and they ranged anywhere from $1K to $8K with all manner of needs at every price range. I ended up somewhere in the middle with a decent car that needed some sprucing up. After falling in love with the car and deciding I wanted it to be "showroom new," I have invested close to $11K in it. I know I will probably never get my money back out of it, short of driving it until the wheels fall off, and I'm ok with that. Could someone find a car as nice as mine in exceptional condition for less money? Possibly, but I doubt it. What I have is a gorgeous example of a (to me) classic MB 116 sedan nicer than any I have seen. People constantly ask me about it and it is great fun to drive. Would I do it again? Probably. Unless I found one in the condition of this 240, original and all!! :p :p

Now I need a junker to drive so I don't mess up my nice car...LOL

Most people buy cars so that they car drive them. Most do not want to fix anything and if they have a desire for a MB, will find difficult to find one that is flawless. If one is truly flawless it is worth the money. You can spend a $2,000 on suspension, the same on the exterior, the same on the interior and twice that on mechanical, if you take it to a shop. In all $10k is easy to spend to restore a tired car.

Don

Peter:

Very funny comments about the newer stuff. I tend to agree that new tin doesn't compare with old MB iron.

I way overpaid for my TD at $5000 (200k miles) but I'm already at 254k. In addition, I've not taken it to a mechanic yet in 2.5 years. So I will recoup my cash yet by the time its over.

As for my other ones, I'm learning that patience and dd can turn up a deal from time to time.

Don

the needles on that thing are still orange!!:eek: Must have been a garage kept car all it's life....To someone i can see that being worth that much...
Ryan

Yeah, nice car...but here's its problem: it's an automatic.:(

the people selling cars usually have low feedback, usually because they just joined ebay to sell their car.

the bidders, though, are all different names with high feedback, so that would go against the idea that the sellers buddy is bidding on it to get the price up.

Ebay fraud/shady dealing considerations aside, I agree with pj67 from a few posts back- you are not going to consistently find 123 chassis gems that will last for hundreds of thousands of miles or that look showroom new for initial purchase prices of 1000-2000 "book value" dollars.

These cars are really worth what people will pay for them, and this I find to be very geographically-specific.

If you find a near new looking/driving 240D like the ebay example cited here, then it will not sell for your predetermined notion of what a 240D SHOULD sell for- if it did, then you should be able to start picking up beater, rot-box 240D's for about $75-100 bucks in the near future...

The fair market price of anything is the price from a willing seller to a willing buyer. QED.

P E H