how come Mercedes do not hold their values?
- Thread starter SRT41320
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This. My brother in law used to work at Benz. Said they are awesome cars, but $700 for just a fuel pump? Fuck that.
No different than BMW,Audi and so on. Once they are out of warranty the price to repair them is fucking stupid.
I did a CV and down pipe on a guys A8 because the axle broke taking out the cat. Fucking dude was in $900 just for the axle and cat. And that was all after market parts. I felt like I was raping him.
Depends on the model. A8's, 7 series, and S-classes depreciate a lot. The high performance models hold their value well.
It's really a misconception that they break more often or that they are a lot more expensive to fix. The thing that most don't consider is that the drivetrains on these cars are generally much more durable than your average domestic car. Transmissions are generally expensive ZF units that are capable of handling much more power than the car puts out, suspension designs are generally better and then there's the rest of the stuff on the car which is generally a notch above as well.
What does break and what can cost some money is all the extras. Air suspension, navigation, window shades, HVAC systems, etc. I wouldn't say they're a lot more expensive than American cars but yeah, they're more money and sometimes needlessly complex to fix.
But if you're turning a wrench on your current car there's no reason you can't turn a wrench on a Mercedes or a BMW. I'm rocking a 2007 A8L right now with every conceivable option that stickered for $110,000 6 years ago and probably sold at auction a couple weeks ago for $10,000. So if you're willing to take the chance you can get a LOT of car for your money.
Why they really lose value so fast is two fold:
1. The type of people that buy those cars generally want the latest and greatest. Your average Accord buyer might go out and get one that's a couple years old. Your average S class buyer is going to get a brand new one and when the new body style comes out they're going to get a brand new one of those. They can afford the newest and the best which is why they bought that car in the first place so they don't need to get a last generation car. This is why the flagship cars (A8, S550, 7 series) depreciate the most.
2. The average American doesn't know how to turn a wrench and the prospect of paying for repairs on a 5 year old BMW is daunting. If you don't know how to turn a wrench these are very expensive cars to own.
What does break and what can cost some money is all the extras. Air suspension, navigation, window shades, HVAC systems, etc. I wouldn't say they're a lot more expensive than American cars but yeah, they're more money and sometimes needlessly complex to fix.
But if you're turning a wrench on your current car there's no reason you can't turn a wrench on a Mercedes or a BMW. I'm rocking a 2007 A8L right now with every conceivable option that stickered for $110,000 6 years ago and probably sold at auction a couple weeks ago for $10,000. So if you're willing to take the chance you can get a LOT of car for your money.
Why they really lose value so fast is two fold:
1. The type of people that buy those cars generally want the latest and greatest. Your average Accord buyer might go out and get one that's a couple years old. Your average S class buyer is going to get a brand new one and when the new body style comes out they're going to get a brand new one of those. They can afford the newest and the best which is why they bought that car in the first place so they don't need to get a last generation car. This is why the flagship cars (A8, S550, 7 series) depreciate the most.
2. The average American doesn't know how to turn a wrench and the prospect of paying for repairs on a 5 year old BMW is daunting. If you don't know how to turn a wrench these are very expensive cars to own.
Yeah some of the AMG cars are insanity and the old air suspensions were garbage. Don't know about the new stuff. I know that I put probably $1000 into my A8 the couple years I had it and that same stuff at the dealer would have been probably over $5000.
I think you nailed it... everybody wants the latest and greatest!
and as for AMG - I watched Barker beat the shit out of his old MB (clk coupe?) eventually it blew up, but much later then we all expected - I think some of the AMG cars are better than others... but same goes for the model car that engine is in.
Yeah the older TTv6 ones were complete garbage! I was looking at the newer S4 V8 cars... not bad IMO plus that engine is in a couple different models which would make me feel better
I was looking at supercharged E55 AMG's (04) a while back. They were pricey even with high mileage. I know BMW M3's and M5's hold their value pretty well. The big body models (S55 or S8), seem to take a big hit.
You can get s/c e55's for high teens low 20's... that seems relatively cheap to me.
You said high mileage ones in your original post? I was saying high mileage ones were low 20s high teens now ?
I was wrong.
67k miles... 19k
2004 Mercedes E55
95k miles 18,500
2006 MERCEDES E55 AMG
59k miles 24,800
2004 Mercedes Benz E55 AMG Silver
67k miles... 19k
2004 Mercedes E55
95k miles 18,500
2006 MERCEDES E55 AMG
59k miles 24,800
2004 Mercedes Benz E55 AMG Silver
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