turnne1, no you're not looking in the wrong areas, and it is true the prices of late turbodiesels are elevated because they're quite rare. But now that they're being shipped to the US they won't be as rare and I predict they won't hold on to their value as much. More common cars such as the late 90's E-class are easily found for $10-$15K, often less than a new Civic. All I'm saying is that it really doesn't make much sense to buy a new Civic.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

You do not have to wait for twenty years, the most is ten years for them depreciate to $5000.00

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2004 BMW 325 xiT Wagon 40miles
1999 BMW 528i
1995 e320GTO Wagon 137K
GTO means Grocery Transport Only
I LOVE MERCEDES BUT I PREFER HAVING SEX WITH BMW.

I agree with that...but 10K FOR A LATE 90'S E320 gasser?...I still question where you can find that....15K yes...but not 10K

ten years?....my thought is that a 1995 E300 is worth way more than 5K right now, at 9 years old...you are saying in another year they will be worth 5K?...hard to believe


Warren
1992 300SD 176K(for sale)
Columbus Ohio

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Yes, when you mass produce something, it loses it's value quicker. All of the new gasser Mercedes being produced right now are flooding the market. They're EVERYWHERE.

Mercedes only plans to introduce 3K CDI's into the US to get their feet wet with diesel. If diesel sales are good, then MB will bring back the S-Class diesels, C-Class diesels, and soon enough, A-Class diesels and offer more engine choices.

Once mass production hits, you can get a CDI for a reasonable amount of money in a relatively short time for depreciation.

Think, Lincoln/Cadillac depreciation.

However, the most common vehicle out there is the SUV. The commonwealth's opinion on frugality is still ignorant.

and generally an SUV resale value is better than a sedan from the same maker at the same price point as when they were new vehicles

so does this explain why the 80's diesel benz vehicles are very reasonable...since they were the mass produced benz of the 80's

where as the 90's cars seem to be a lot more valuable..even considering the age difference?


Warren
1992 300SD 176K(for sale)
Columbus Ohio

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Turnne1, why are you selling your '92 300SD with only 176K miles on it?

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

Back in the early '80's a diesel S would set you back 60K-65k and a 300 would be 32k... Thats when MB had small dealerships and just a handful of cars on hand... Many dealerships also sold other brands too, now they are stand alone.. This floods the market and the cars them selves are cheaper..

Factor in inflation and you will find that the current models are way cheaper when new. Add the mass production MB has now and we will be able to buy a 10yr old MB for peanuts soon..
diesel may be a little more if they become popular...

Because the cars are cheaper overall, in the future I may just stick with VW. At least we know they are cheap cars....

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79 240D my current toy
42 years a Diesel addict

240D sold
250SE sold
220D sold
280C sold
280S sold
300D (2) sold
300CD sold
300DT sold
300SD sold
380SL sold

All it is, is supply and demand.

Who wants a 20 year old diesel that gets fuel economy only on par with most V6 engines with much higher output? Most people I've run across are mechanically illiterate. They only look at numbers. They ask such questions as;

WHAT KIND OF HP DOES IT HAVE(even though its the TORQUE that gets you to speed)?

WHAT DOES IT GET FOR FUEL ECONOMY?(it may get 25 mpg, but that's with 93 octane, and the EPA posts very optimistic numbers as of late)?

WHAT'S THE GOVERNMENT SAFETY RATING(what a joke. As if the government does anything that is even CLOSE to real life)?

HOW OFTEN DO I HAVE TO HAVE IT SERVICED(the longer the better, the longer the more sludge builds up)?

HOW CAN I FINANCE?(IMHO, if you cannot afford to pay for the car with CASH, then you might as well walk).

Mine is 1995 e320 wagon in above average condition and 3 dealers in the bay area offered 6K for it several weeks ago. 6K for nine years old MB, I wonder how much will they offer me for the car next year. So I decided to keep it as a grocery transport. Perhaps at 3K miles a year usage it will hopefully not give me much headache .

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2004 BMW 325 xiT Wagon 40miles
1999 BMW 528i
1995 e320GTO Wagon 137K
GTO means Grocery Transport Only
I LOVE MERCEDES BUT I PREFER HAVING SEX WITH BMW.

those trade in numbers can be VERY misleading

back in 1995 I had a 85 300SD in pristine condition with 200K miles....I was offered $2500 by the dealership on trade(the same MB dealer that I had bought the car from)

needless to say I sold it myself and got about 3 times what they offered

unless you have acar that they want to seel on their lot they will lowball you in a big way

think about it...what would they offer (trade in) for an 85 300SD with 200K miles to day...$700 or so probably

I don't think that is a realistic figure of what is being paid....judging by what the themembers here are saying


Warren
1992 300Sd 176K(for sale)
Columbus Ohio

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a few reasons actually

1. I want something with more safety features
2. I want a new car...fresher is you will

while I think my car is in very good condition...its not new by any means

3.I actully was looking for a 1996 e300 when I bought my current 1992 S class...I kinda like the handling of the E(210) versus the S...but I prefer the ride and amenities of the S(140)

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the sticker on my 1985 300SD was 40K and some change...I think that the 123's of that area were in the low 30s(someone correct me if I am wrong there)

BUT....when you look at transaction prices I think they were often much lower as I think the dealermarkup in a Benz was VERY high at that time...so tyere was a lot of negociation room

I bet when the 124 came out and the updated 126 in 1986 some of the older 126's and 123's got heavilly discounted from sticker to move them...same thing happened I know when the new E class was coming out...the 210 was heavilly discounted in order to move the older body style

I know also for a fact that S class cars...both early and late 90's(126 and 140) were sometimes discounted more than 10K off the window sticker

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You're not kidding about the mark-up on those cars back then. I have a book from '82 that showed the mark-up at about $5K for the W123's and over $7K on the W126's.
I have the original sticker from my '85 300D and it cost $32,230 and it had no extra cost options. I'm glad I waited almost 20 years and paid only $2500 for it.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I went by the local MB dealer yesterday and checked out the new E320 CDI. Quite a fine unit from what I can tell. I started it up (with no waiting for pre-glow!) and it chattered away much like a tdi VW. I would have liked to take a test drive but I got there right at closing....maybe another day.

Has anyone driven (or bought?) one of these yet? Is it indeed faster than the gas model? How do the transmission shift points feel? Real world fuel economy? I'm not in the market yet, but I'm trying to get my mother-in-law into one and out of her S320.

By the way, I pick up materials from the Savannah, GA port and every time I go by there are dozens of ML320 CDI's in the yard waiting to be shipped to Europe. Seems a shame to build what would be an ideal vehicle for "we-love-our-SUV's" America right here in Alabama and then pack it up and send it away without it even being offered here. Maybe this new E-class diesel and high fuel prices will help get that model offered here as well......

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‘84 300TD “Mountain Goat”
'62 300d Adenauer-350 Chevy - "Max"
'15 VW Passat TDI
'16 Dodge Ram 3500 - Cummins w/6-speed
'68 Mustang fastback
'55 T-bird
‘63 Studebaker Hawk

The plan is if the E320 CDI sells in America, the next iteration is the ML320 CDI.

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85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)