Advice needed

Found a 2000 SL with 8000 miles - the car looks great, and they're asking $65,000.
My questions are.
a. Is the price fair, in your opinion?
b. Will prices (and the value of the car) fall dramatically once the new model hits the showroom floor?
I think the car is a real "find." So, should I jump at it, or wait until March and look for another
low mileage beauty.
Any advice appreciated!

This is a bit of a tough question. There are two on ebay right now that are 2001 models with similar mileage with "buy it now" prices of 66,750, so that would lead me to think that 65,000 for a 2000 model would be a tad high. But you can't really tell; the 2000 that you are looking at may be a nicer car. If you plan to buy it to keep a while, the price really isn't as important if it's fairly close. After all, someone paid about 90,000 for it originally...

I can tell you that prices are usually low this time of year on sports cars in general and convertibles in particular. Then again, I bought my '97 SL600 almost exactly a year ago, expecting that prices would go up in the spring as they pretty much always have---but this year they didn't. Lots of theories on why, but bottom line is, in retrospect, I paid a lot too much for it in today's market. No matter; I love it more every time I drive it and plan to keep it for a very long time.

The best advice I can give you is: if you really, really like the car, grind the seller down all you can, then drive off in it with an ear-to-ear smile! If you don't really like the car a lot, don't buy it thinking that it will be a good investment---they hardly ever are.

Hope this helps,

Travis in Lubbock, Texas


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=599702691


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=599702800

I forgot to address your second question: will prices on the 129's fall dramatically when the 230's hit?

My guess is probably not much, or any way probably not much more---I think that they have already been affected. I'm expecting that there will be a short supply of 230's for a while and this will keep interest in the 129's up for a "soft landing."

After all, no matter how nice the 230 is, the 129 is still a helluva car. There is, after all, an extremely strong following for the 107's to this day, and always will be. The day will come, say ten years from now, when the 2000 model that you're looking at will be at its lowest value. But I would think that if you keep it nice, the least it will ever be worth is around 20,000. That means you can drive one of the classiest cars in the world for ten years for 45,000; doesn't sound like a bad deal to me.

And there's one more possibility, though I don't see how anyone could possibly predict it---the 129 may turn out to be a "classic" much like the 63-67 Corvettes. When the "new" body style came out in '68, it was a hit. But within a few years, the '67 became the most desired Corvette of all, and remains so to this day, with the others of the 63-67 series right up there. The 68-up isn't close.

Travis

[DALE DORIA]

I also believe that the 230 may not be as well received as the present 129. The 230 is quite similar looking to the CLK. I have questioned my dealer as to the value of the 129 once the 230 arrives. He was non-committal..however, he did say that there is a strong following to the " two top " car. I am quite anxious to see the 230 in person.....and then I will be able to make a fair assessment. However, if the 230 is not a "hot" car. then it would stand to reason that the 129 would be that much more desirable. at least for the time being.

Yeah, I don't see any way to even make a near guess until the 230's are "on the ground." From the pictures I've seen, I don't think I'm going to like them as well, but I'm the wrong guy to ask about a new version of anything...it always, or nearly always, takes me a couple of years to like the new one.

I guess what I was trying to say is that no matter how nice the 230 is, the 129 is always going to be a fantastic car. If the 230 is nicer than a 129, it's going to have to be phenomenal!

Travis

[DALE DORIA]

A-Men !