Decision time for my ML

[Aterrasse]

Dear All

My Agility agreement is about to come to an end and the big decision time has now arrived:

1. shall I keep the car and pay the ballon payment (only £13k which I can finance myself); or
2. renew my contract and get a new car.

I have been scratching my head with this and my wife has not helped very much with this. She loves the car but I cannot see the point of buying a car which is bound to age and get more expensive to run as the years go by.

For your information, the car is a 08 reg and has a mere 25,000 on the clock.

Your precious thoughts on and your good/bad experiences on the subject would greatly enlighten me !

Cheers

Alex

 

[trapperjohn]

I suppose you have been through the list of what is on the radar for replacement.

Perhaps - Discs - Pads. Tyres might need looking at.

Got to be a huge service bill coming up if you stay in the dealer net work.

No doubt your MB dealer will try to charm you into another motor - Why not see what he has.

Which ever way you go. Enjoy the hunt.

 

[Aterrasse]

I suppose you have been through the list of what is on the radar for replacement.

Perhaps - Discs - Pads. Tyres might need looking at.

Got to be a huge service bill coming up if you stay in the dealer net work.

No doubt your MB dealer will try to charm you into another motor - Why not see what he has.

Which ever way you go. Enjoy the hunt.

Hi John

As you say, discs, pads and tyres are on the go and will need careful attention in the months to come.

I have been looking at the e-estate (W211 and W212) as a possible replacement...

Alex

 

[trapperjohn]

211's and 12's are good Estates but I have I feeling your wife will be very used to the shorter ML and the ladies do seem to love that high-up driving position.

I dont know if you have young children or not but its just so easy to "bob them in" to an ML compared to an estate.

Seems like you have a bit of a "head scratcher" on you hands. 13k to pay off the bubble - tyres, brakes and a service and then into the unknown.

What engine do you have.

 

[LTD]

Could you buy the same car, in the same condition for £13k ?

If not, the no brainer is to buy it and keep it for as long as you feel.

A new car will probably lose the £13k in depreciation in the next three years anyway ...

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Why not buy the ML for £13k, keep it for three more months and see how you get on.

If you're not keen, simply sell it on.

Which engine/model is it?

 

[Aterrasse]

Hi guys. The model is the 320 and the engine model is the 3.0L, a very good piece of engineering which has never let me down in three years of ownership.

I have three kinds and I have to say the ML is a perfect fit for the kind of family I have. I am slightly concerned that the E-estate may be a bit cramped as Trapperjohn pointed out.

Alex

 

[acej]

I personally wouldn't be to worried about spiralling costs it's only 4 years old and 25k miles is low so £13k would be cheap and if I was in the market for one at that price it seems a bargain.

Did the dealer say you you would get some trade in value if you chopped it in?

 

[trapperjohn]

For me then stick with the ML.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

With that mileage and if your ML is a Sport, it's worth about £18k minimum as a trade in.

 

[Aterrasse]

I personally wouldn't be to worried about spiralling costs it's only 4 years old and 25k miles is low so £13k would be cheap and if I was in the market for one at that price it seems a bargain.

Did the dealer say you you would get some trade in value if you chopped it in?

I went to BMW and got a quote for a 525 d estate. The trade-in was £12,000. Needless to say that I told him to get l... ! Mercedes offered me around £18,000 a while back when the car had 20,000 miles on the clock.

My car is not the Sport version because I was keen on having it full leather with my three kids. The car is still in very good condition in and out though.

Alex

 

[Geoff A]

I'd be surprised if you don't get your £13k back in two or three months' time if you decided to move it on.

 

[Peter DLM]

If MB offer you £17k for it on a new shape ML, then bite their hands off!

I've sat in the new ML and it is very very lush indeed.

 

[Mercy1]

Hi Aterrasse, I have been in your position many times over the years. Three year finance period is up, your car is still in great condition but value relentlessly evaporating to next to nothing...what to do?!!
You have enjoyed the good side of this sort of deal and have always told yourself that you can pay off the balloon and still have a great car.
But it's not as simple as that, is it?
You don't sound like the sort of person who would go out and buy a 3/4year old car for 13,000 quid. You sound like a new car driver to me!??
If you keep this car it will really be worth very little in a couple of years and the gap between it and the price of a new one will widen alarmingly.
If you trade in for around 15,000 and possibly put a bit more in to increase the deposit, you have the basis for a new contract which should keep you in the nearly-new style that you have grown accustomed to!!??
Other people will say that it's better value to keep the car, and it probably is, but is it what you want? In my case, it hasn't been and off I have gone into another expensive contract...That's what new cars do - cost you a packet!
Only you can decide whether the cost is worth it - but if it was me I would go for the new one, and there are good offers on the E estate, surely big enough for any family...

 

[gIzzE]

Start advertising it now for £20k, clear the £13k and pocket the £7k.

Don't make the mistake many do and leave it till the end of the agreement where you might be pushed into a silly trade in price.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Start advertising it now for £20k, clear the £13k and pocket the £7k.

Don't make the mistake many do and leave it till the end of the agreement where you might be pushed into a silly trade in price.

^^^ Great advice.

If you're not likely to keep it for a significant chunk of time, I would suggest changing it now, and not waiting.

The price to change gets bigger, as suggested, and it does make it more difficult to justify. We've had our ML around eight years now (C-class seven years), and the cost difference is ten-fold now.

 

[Aterrasse]

Good points gIzzE and Bobby. The temptation of getting a new car is great but not at any price. Your analyses seem to make a lot of sense to me especially in this market where costs of running a car increases everyday and the car market itself has changed to such an extent that keeping a car for life should no longer be regarded as a viable option.

On the other hand, it is true, as others have noted, a ML for £13k that is pretty cheap.

My contract runs out mid-next month, I must decide

Alex

 

[Colin_b]

I guess you know the history of the ML, so you'll know if its OK or not.

A 4 year old ML with decent history sounds goodly cheap with proper history.

I'd be minded to keep it at that price, and put the payments you'll save into the brakes, etc. Give it six months, and you'll still be in profit making, and not have been pressurised..

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

What colour is it?

 

[Aterrasse]

I guess you know the history of the ML, so you'll know if its OK or not.

A 4 year old ML with decent history sounds goodly cheap with proper history.

I'd be minded to keep it at that price, and put the payments you'll save into the brakes, etc. Give it six months, and you'll still be in profit making, and not have been pressurised..

It has full MB dealer history, all by myself and therefore covered under MB recovery scheme. I got it with merely 3,000 miles on the clock back in 2009. It was a demo vehicle from MB Peterborough (nice guys there, BTW). Just front tyres and front discs need changing in the next two months.

Alex