Merc money pits

[Alex225]

I'm not sure if I'm the only one but I'm always looking on Autotrader at what cars are around and it always amazes me what you can get for not much money.

CL600, CLS55, E55, ML63, S65....I could go on and all for under £15k.

All of those types of cars offer a hell of a lot of car and performance for the money but as the Dr Pepper ad says, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

Any tales, good, bad? Just intrigued really.

 

[CLSMark]

I'm driving a car that was 49k 6ish years ago. I paid 10k a month ago

MB's seem to have the worst depreciation of all German cars.

It is worrying..



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[Alex225]

There's definitely some insane depreciation on some cars.

Look at some of the S Class models, £50-60k and now £10k without having driven to the moon and back.

Price for my other half's SL350 was £64k in 2006 and cost her £12k. Lots of lovely car for the money but some potential bills as well of course.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

No different to other brands ....generally....

I'm not sure if I'm the only one but I'm always looking on Autotrader at what cars are around and it always amazes me what you can get for not much money.

CL600, CLS55, E55, ML63, S65....I could go on and all for under £15k.

All of those types of cars offer a hell of a lot of car and performance for the money but as the Dr Pepper ad says, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

Any tales, good, bad? Just intrigued really.

Mercedes isn't really worse than other brands. I've run mainly 10 year old cars since 2000 when nice big companies stopped buying me brand new ones, and I haven't burnt my fingers yet. (Although I am a pernickety chap)

The big difference with Mercedes is that there's a lot of Garage Queens at the top end. Cars that don't get driven and which live most of their lives in the dark.

Look at a "Comparo" from Autocar, Evo, Car and Driver, or Road and Track from back in the day, and most cars will depreciate more or less at the same rate. e.g BMW M5 vs CLS vs Caddy etc (OK, Caddy more than most in the UK, but you get what I mean)

2006 BMW M5 vs. Cadillac STS-V, M-B CLS55 AMG Comparison Tests - Page 2 - Car and Driver

Having said that, everyone says V12's are a pain in the Harris to maintain - Mercedes, Jaaaag, or Bentley...

 

[Alex225]

Oh I'm sure, it wasn't so much a dig at Mercedes specifically, I've no doubt a lot of high priced cars with sky high running costs will still eventually drop in price.

Just intrigued to hear about owners of some of these cars, good stories, bad etc.

I'd totally consider one of these kinds of cars as I love the mid-00's CL etc.

 

[merc85]

Oh I'm sure, it wasn't so much a dig at Mercedes specifically, I've no doubt a lot of high priced cars with sky high running costs will still eventually drop in price.

Just intrigued to hear about owners of some of these cars, good stories, bad etc.

I'd totally consider one of these kinds of cars as I love the mid-00's CL etc.

See my Project thread Alex lol

 

[wu56Shoozz]

I don't think they are any better or worse when it comes to a money pit.. but what I have discovered is a reliability factor in a Mercedes.. I mean I was a VW guy through and through.. but the bills were massive sometimes and a regular basis. my Merc is 10 years old and all still work, electric seats, aircon, cruise, windows unlike my VW's my Passat lunched its radiator every 3+ years and that was using genuine VW anti freeze.. then there was the clutches (2 off) a gearbox.. and the list goes on so far and nearly a year into my Merc and its discs and pads all round and two rear springs after that all is good..depreciation heavy yes, maybe so but repairs no dearer than any other..

 

[c63chris]

My SL63 has every option ticked and has lost so much in depreciation. Relative bargain when I bought it. That said ownership has been fine. Tax is a lot obviously. Insurance fine on limited miles and so far very reliable. Apart from the boot which randomly refuses to power close and my local delete can't seem to a permanent fix. Not the end of the world.


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[Liquid silver]

I bought my 2012 CL63 bi turbo 6 weeks ago. List price with all the options and one owner from new was £125k. With 21k on the clock I paid 39k, someone took a massive hit.

 

[RSTurbo50]

The C63 is still commanding strong money even at ten years old..

 

[Deleted member 37751]

They seem like money pits because of the low purchase price which most people completely disregard until they need spare parts, then they get a wake up call that an original OTR price car of £80k still has £80k car running cost regardless of how old it is and how much the owner paid for it.

 

[Alex225]

I probably chose money pit as the wrong turn of phrase really.

But there's certainly some interesting cars on here that have obviously cost an awful lot new and been picked up for a bargain.

When I work out depreciation on my CLS63, it's over £3 per mile let alone fuel, servicing etc.

 

[Smart320]

I remember buying an 18 month old JagXJR V8 in 2000, paid £ 33,500, with 33000 mls on the clock , sold it 18 months later +5000 miles . The same Jag dealer bought it in for £17,000 , so depreciated at £1000 a month ( approx £3 mile ) cost me nothing else except a service and a new set of tyres as it was under warranty. Thought it was a brilliant car, only sold it as was moving to Jersey, depreciation was reasonable given the cost of a new one was around £56k+ at the time.

 

[DRIVER200]

Yep. I always calculate the big D by what it would cost via a PCP type plan including initial deposit and mileage over the normal 9000-10000 miles per year and usually -assuming you buy well in the first place- there isn't much in it when compared to a £ deal. Having said that had a VW Tiguan and then an Audi Q5 which worked out around £70 per week depreciation when I sold them on but they were both around 2.5 years old so still under initial warranty and both sold back to original dealer!!