California Dreamin' E500
 

If you have to sell your baby don't give it away - I love it when I see the Dealerships still askin hi bucks and offerin little room to negotiate.

I found this one on Auto Trader one vehicle below a private seller selling a 2003 E500 with 620 on the clock for $50K.

http://www.autobase.com/cgi/info.exe?bc=444771&dealer=rusnak


Tom

1994 E500, that is...
 

OMFG!!!

THAT IS THE EXACT INTERIOR I COVET!!!

;)

Couldnt agree more! But then again I am biased... :-)

I have 57K on my E500. The car is 040 black with matching lower cladding and black interior. 0404 was not offered up until the end of the US production run (after 7/94) and is virtually impossible to find. I have not seen another 040 E500 and only other 500E.

Also, mine was initially leased by a Chiacgo Bull, BJ Armstrong and then bought by a member of the Texas oil baron family, Marshall. Car just came off Starmark.

I would not ask less than $42-44K if I sold it. Sure, this value scoffs at KBB, but then again, KBB valuation does not incorporate supply/ demand characteristics.

Just my 1.95 cents.... :)

Thanks for sharing!

fyi- This car has been for sale in the Los Angeles area for 1.5 years believe it or not. I've referred no fewer than 8 serious cash offer buyers to Ed and there has been absolutely no room to bargain on the price!

If anyone is interested and would like a little more info on the car's background, PM me.

I bought mine from this dealer MB Fact Auth Sales/Service Dealer- - Starmark certified. Both mine and this one are creme of the crop (this one is not Starmark though- but can be Starmarked for like $1500 more to the buyer).


Scott-
I have a line on a complete E500 Black Leather OEM interior (absolutely complete: entire front and back seats, arm rests, door inserts, pillars, etc.). If you're seriously interested PM me. Mostly likely around $8k.

Best regards
-fad

Fad,
Chambers MB in Boston has a 94 E500 in pearl black. 35K miles, Starmarked, $36K.
$50K might be asking a bit much for a pearl black car, since most of them were made in this colour. But who knows?
Incidentally, Barry Bentley, of Bentley Systems also had 1993 500E for sale recently. About 35K miles and priced at $35K.
Regards
farrukh

Too much!
 

Silver/Black
04/1992
1 year full warranty
42'000 miles
+/- 18k $

http://www.autopool.ch/search/detail.asp?id=869346&language=fra&mediacode=&sc=CHF

Silver/?
11/1993
50'000 miles
+/- 19K $

http://www.autopool.ch/search/detail.asp?id=994796&language=fra&mediacode=&sc=CHF

Import! Import! ;)

Eh?
You are basing your argument on Franco Swiss vehicles? So you buy at $20K and then spend $10K to convert, putting you at $30K invested.
Dont know if youve noticed, but the market does not value very well imported vehicles, when compared to US spec cars. So, while the value proposition is good, in terms of low mileage car, probable resale is also lower than comparable US spec.
Additionally, the market will pay for a super rare, totally documented vehicle.
Incidentally, I have looked at importing an E55T from Germany.

Well of course if it costs 10k to convert them the deal is less interesting, but at the end the 500E is still some 18K cheaper than the California car, with the few Euro extras...

Never imagined it would cost this much to convert, or that the market value would be badly affected by the origin of the car.

Is it all taxes, vehicle modifications, both?

Manu,
I am actually British, although I have been based in the US for the last nine years.
From what I have seen, the larger engined MBs depreciate relatively quickly in the UK, when compared to the US. I suspect it is because of the cost of petrol. One gallon of petrol, on average will cost $1.50 in the US and $6 in the UK. Assume that if you can afford to run a 5 litre car in the UK, you can probably afford to buy it new.
Also insurance costs are astronomical in the UK, compared to the US.
On the subject of higher valuation for US spec cars in the US, dealers often hesitate to service Euro cars, because of minor differences. I suspect that this drives down the resale value in addition to other factors.
Best
farrukh

ps. Did you ever see an E55 or E55T 4matic?

I didn't even know there was a 4-matic E55. Do they have a badge or something? Never saw one. Would be nice though...

I checked out that 1994 E500. It's a pretty nice car.
Few things I didn't like when I saw it.

1. 235/60/R16 snow tires (they were so big and ugly)
2. Slightly worn out left bolster of the driver's seat and pretty well used back seats.
3. Cracked shifter surround wood, and cracked rear seat bench center wood panel.
4. Vinyl covering the door map pockets peeling off.
5. Winter driven.. obviously.

asking price sounds just about right though don't you think?
The cigar lighter showed some usage but not sure if it was smoked in. No more leather smell though.

As further evidence of delusional prices asked for a wonderful but aging car, I submit the following recently observed sales and ads:

1994 E500, around 45kmi, silver/palomino, some Renntech mods mentioned, recently mentioned in the "Consensus market value" thread, sold lately in the "mid twenties" according to the salesman at the dealer in DC.

'92, white, under 30k mi, sold for $27k according to the salesman I talked to.

'94 E500, 47.3k mi, blk/parchment, recently advertised for $30k on cars.com. Don't know anything else about it.

'92, metallic gray, 50k, beautiful car in the pictures, sold for $24,100.00 in a no reserve auction on eBay. It was a one owner car in LA, according to the seller. Seller posted what appeared to be a clean carfax with the auction.

I've seen E55's with low to moderate mileage advertised in the high 40's, low 50's.

Contrast these with Rusnak's fantasy price, or a seller in Hemming's who wants $55k ("firm," no less) for his 16k mi '92.

I wondered aloud about 500e book values a few months ago in another thread, and have answered my own questions. In this environment, cars that actually sell seem to go for book or less (at least the ones I've been able to observe).

I understand that guys who already have a 500e love their cars, and they remember all too well what they paid for them some time ago. But unless the capital markets become exceptionally frothy again in the near term, sellers may have to come to grips with the change if they want to sell any time soon.

Again, I understand that this is a special car (I hope to find the right one in the next year or two) and I guess I 'd feel differently about values if I had one I'd owned for some time. :)

Yes, they do and we have a few of them in Switzerland :)
I saw one during the summer...

Manu, where are you from in Switzerland? I am from Lausanne, the French part...

delusional valuing
 

One is delusional in asking an "inflated" price for an item he/she wants to sell if in fact he/she really has to sell it.

Example:
Auto dealerships are in the business of selling automobiles. Therefore, if they wish to sell any automobile on their showroom floor/lot, it has to be priced according to what the market (an able, willing and ready buyer) is willing to pay for it. If Rusnack still has a vehicle 1.5 years after acquiring it, they have an alternative motive for keeping the vehicle at the price that they are asking for it.

I purchased my E500 two years ago for $48500 with 27K on the clock and have added $5000 in tasteful subtle modifications. In the past two months, I have turned down 4 unsolicited offers of $30K, $24K, $40K and $56K. The last two offers were from the same gentleman. After he offered $40K and I told him it was not for sale at that price, he asked if it were for sale at any price. I told him what I paid for it and the cost of the mods and repairs to date and he immediately offered that price. I turned him down and told him since it was not for sale because it doesn't need to be sold, he would have to offer me a delusional price to get me to part with it. If I had to sell the car tomorrow and could not find that gentleman, I would have to settle for what the market would bear that day which I would guess would be $24 - $30K

Tom

Tom,
I agree with your argument.
It is quite evident that the market is valuing the 036 series anywhere from early twenties to early thirties. However, the 500 conniseour is likely to pay more for a rare car in pristine condition, with a documented history.
Finding the conniseour is best done when one is not in a hurry to sell... :)
Regards
farrukh

Ps. Sure the capital markets reflect economic conditions but some fundamental tenets still remain; in my case, there just are no 040 black E500s for sale in this country as far as I can tell. Someone would be willing to pay for this supply/ demand imbalance....