I think that Hagerty had the value on this car pegged pretty well. They insisted on insuring it for $5000. I figured it was worth maybe $4000. Considering the low mileage (126k), limited ownership, Florida car and provenance in the form of original sales records, etc., I think these were pretty realistic values considering that someone who wanted a really nice example of the car without paying Classic Center prices would gladly pay in this range. Had it sold for $4000 I would have been pleased as punch.
This whole thing just devolved into someone who didn’t know what they were doing making some very, very bad choices. The blame has to fall at the feet of the buyer, as this guy had clearly no prior knowledge of these cars and what they were worth. I firmly believe that he figured he could get in at the tail end of the auction, snag the car for a reasonable price, then flip it. After having numerous discussions with him he clearly had done absolutely no due diligence as far as the car or the market for them. Add that to exuberant bidding, a la “I’m not going to let someone beat me out of this”, and you’ve got a real formula for being upside down, as he now is. There is no way the market will support a price that would allow him to profit from the sale of the car, especially due to his inability to work on it himself - he is not a mechanic and farms pretty much everything but the simplest work out to an indie. Lesson learned, hopefully. As someone who prefers to buy at the top of the market due to the thought process of “buy the best example you can afford as it will be cheaper in the long run” I have no problem with the prices we’re seeing. There will always be bottom feeders, but for those of us who don’t want to drive a beater or aren’t willing to compromise for a really nice car, you have to pay top dollar. That being said, you do it after having done your due diligence so you understand what you’re buying and how to get the best possible deal. -D > On Jun 22, 2017, at 4:07 PM, Randy Bennell via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Now come on. You folks seem to think that you should be able to buy a "like > new" Mercedes with full service records from day one, for $500. > Those days are gone. Look at the prices for other brands of old cars. People > are paying pretty good money for older cars in good shape that were not even > desirable cars when they were new. > Prices for older Mercedes are usually lower than for other cars because > people are afraid of the costs to repair them if they have problems. They > know they can get parts for a GM for pretty reasonable prices and just about > anyone can repair them. That is not really the case with Mercedes and that > scares people away. An old Camaro or Mustang will bring a better price than a > Mercedes SL. > > RB > > On 22/06/2017 2:59 PM, Ed Booher via Mercedes wrote: >> So many people think these cars are built from gold pressed platinum just >> because they have a three pointed star. I'm always walking up on old Benz >> with for sale signs in the window, only to see new car prices on the card >> for rusted out hulks. It's horrifying to be honest. You can buy a Rolls >> Royce Silver Spirit in good shape for 10 - 15K. Too many Americans just >> don't understand that Mercedes is the GM of Germany. They have very "Chevy >> Level" cars for entry ownership to the "Dictator Level" cars for the >> "Cadillac Feel." I love old Mercedes, but that doesn't mean they are worth >> the asking price on most of them. Anyway, rant off. >> > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
