C55 - Anyone in Bristol!?

[AlanD]

OK, well in the name of even handedness in the C32 vs. C55 stakes, is there anyone in the Bristol area that's seen the C55 advertised here:

2004 MERCEDES C55 AMG AUTO SALOON - FULL BLACK LEATHER | eBay UK

Getting some details and doing some research at the moment ...!

 

[crockers]

Sounds nice - but he is a dealer who works from home. Not sure if that bears any problems - but if you put that area into google maps street view you will see. That road is Lark Rise. Will he be able to provide all dealers back-up ?

 

[AlanD]

Sounds nice - but he is a dealer who works from home. Not sure if that bears any problems - but if you put that area into google maps street view you will see. That road is Lark Rise. Will he be able to provide all dealers back-up ?

Yeah, website looked homebrew along with the mobile contact number! Same as a private sale really and any warranty would be an insurance product rather than anthing to do with him. What did you mean by all dealers backup?

 

[JohnDeere8530]

looks a nice car. Ask for info on MB service history (and check on it) as having one is paramount with a car like this/age. However it looks bonafide to me.

As others said, assume there is no warranty with it as does not sound like a proper dealer. However ask if he is trade, then ask for a warranty, say 3 months on major components? Get whatever you agree to written on the bill of sale, it might come in handy at some stage ! However do not rely on this, really you have to assume a private sale here.

If you view the car, sound disinterested say you looking for a 63 or somthing similar (and dont tell him you are making a special journey etc from out of the area to see it) turn up, end up offering him £10k on a take it or leave it basis but be polite but take control of the situation at the same time. If he leaves it and you really like it you can always ring him up at a later stage and offer more. I always think buying a car and getting a good price is all down to a mixture of spotting a genuine motor and psychology, nothing else !!

Nice looking motor though

 

[Will]

Isn't it pretty cheap at £10,995 anyway though!

Looks like a nice car, and probably worth a look at that sort of money

Will

 

[JohnDeere8530]

Isn't it pretty cheap at £10,995 anyway though!

Looks like a nice car, and probably worth a look at that sort of money

Will

there is no such thing as a bargain, especially from a (sort of) dealer, who will know what it is worth. I imagine older cars with big petrol engines are worth little and move slowly nowadays. You have high fuel prices to blame for this, as the buyer of an older car will be more sensitive to fuel prices hikes than someone buying a new 55 or 63.

Bargain hard and don't let on you have fallen for it, otherwise you wont stand a chance of getting him to lower the price !!!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Isn't it pretty cheap at £10,995 anyway though!

Looks like a nice car, and probably worth a look at that sort of money

Will

There's never been a better time to buy a big lump, prices are falling through the floor on petrols.

A trader friend of mine saw a 2005 RR Sport V8 Supercharged with 100k on the clock go through the block at £10,500. if you can contend with the terrible mpg then it is a fantastic motor for that money.

With regards to that C55, it seems a genuine enough advert and the car looks nice. They will be really compressing the prices of the C32 within the next 3 months, expect to see more below £6k than above.

I can't wait to find a reason to buy a C32....

 

[Will]

there is no such thing as a bargain, especially from a (sort of) dealer, who will know what it is worth. I imagine older petrol cars with big engines are worth little and move slowly nowadays with high fuel prices as the buyer of such a vehicle will be very sensitive to fuel prices compared to someone buying a new 55 or 63.

Bargain hard !!!

I know exactly what you're thinking, but it's not always that simple.

Getting money off is a psychological thing for some buyers, but it doesn't guarantee a good deal.

Some dealers/sellers pitch cars at a high price to enable room for lower offers, some work on a no-nonsense smaller profit, quicker sale basis. Some won't even entertain offers if they know it's cheap enough and has sufficient interest.

I've paid full price for some cars and have paid under half price for others over the years, there's no hard and fast rules to a good deal.

The amount knocked off is irrelevant, it's the value that matters

He could have priced it at £11,995 - if you knocked a grand off that would it be a good deal?

 

[Will]

There's never been a better time to buy a big lump, prices are falling through the floor on petrols.

A trader friend of mine saw a 2005 RR Sport V8 Supercharged with 100k on the clock go through the block at £10,500. if you can contend with the terrible mpg then it is a fantastic motor for that money.

With regards to that C55, it seems a genuine enough advert and the car looks nice. They will be really compressing the prices of the C32 within the next 3 months, expect to see more below £6k than above.

I can't wait to find a reason to buy a C32....

Yep.

Play the game. I've probably always been a bit against-the-grain car wise over the years.

If you're not doing many miles, cheap petrol cars offer the best value for money.

 

[JohnDeere8530]

soo true, most shy away from big petrol engined cars, but for those who do about 6k miles/yr or less they are far more cost effective than buying an equivalent diesel/smaller engined version. I know what I would rather have when doing a limited mileage

 

[Will]

By far the biggest cost to most people car-wise is depreciation.

My CLK55 does around 20mpg overall, 25-30mpg on a long run and 15-20 locally.

I've only done a few thousand miles in it in two years though. Fuel costs negligible.

But - the original owners of this car lost £50,000+ in the first seven or so years of it's life.

Fuel costs pale into insignificance against that sort of cash IMHO!

If you buy sensibly, you can run some quite unusually good cars for not a lot of cash

 

[Deleted member 37751]

If you buy sensibly, you can run some quite unusually good cars for not a lot of cash

Like a 5 year old C55.....

 

[JohnDeere8530]

By far the biggest cost to most people car-wise is depreciation.

My CLK55 does around 20mpg overall, 25-30mpg on a long run and 15-20 locally.

I've only done a few thousand miles in it in two years though. Fuel costs negligible.

But - the original owners of this car lost £50,000+ in the first seven or so years of it's life.

Fuel costs pale into insignificance against that sort of cash IMHO!

If you buy sensibly, you can run some quite unusually good cars for not a lot of cash

definitely agree, for some, high fuel prices are the key to an otherwise unobtainable exotic car like you 55 !!! Fantastic car with a 1yr old Mondeo's running costs

 

[buccal]

there is no such thing as a bargain, especially from a (sort of) dealer, who will know what it is worth. I imagine older cars with big petrol engines are worth little and move slowly nowadays. You have high fuel prices to blame for this, as the buyer of an older car will be more sensitive to fuel prices hikes than someone buying a new 55 or 63.

Bargain hard and don't let on you have fallen for it, otherwise you wont stand a chance of getting him to lower the price !!!

Sensible point but there aren't many C55's around and decent one's go quickly regardless of fuel costs, impending financial doom etc etc

I'm not so sure the buyers of older AMG's are that sensitive to fuel costs.
Many of us own them because we wan't to and its commonly a second or third (or in Wills case a fourth) car. Often owners have spent a very long time waiting/looking for the right car.

If its a good one someone will buy it.

 

[Will]

Sensible point but there aren't many C55's around and decent one's go quickly regardless of fuel costs, impending financial doom etc etc

I'm not so sure the buyers of older AMG's are that sensitive to fuel costs.
Many of us own them because we wan't to and its commonly a second or third (or in Wills case a fourth) car. Often owners have spent a very long time waiting/looking for the right car.

If its a good one someone will buy it.

100% agree

No-one buys an AMG or other large-engined petrol car because they need one, or because they worry about the fuel costs - you wouldn't be in the market for one otherwise.

 

[AlanD]

The amount knocked off is irrelevant, it's the value that matters

He could have priced it at £11,995 - if you knocked a grand off that would it be a good deal?

Indeed .. it's what will get ppl through the door vs. what will make them feel good about the sale. I knew a chap who "gave £20 back for luck" on selling each car .. just to put a smile on the face of each new owner. Works.

For me, it's about what I can afford. The Dec 03 C32 was affordable, but needed maybe £1000 spent on it this year between tax and servicing. This C55 is 9k miles till an A service and taxed + MOT till next Feb. Warranty is offered, but separate cost.

So for £9.5k this year on a C32 vs. maybe £10k then the C55 is certainly atttractive. He can play mind games all he likes - I don't have £11k to give him! :bannana:

 

[JohnDeere8530]

100% agree

No-one buys an AMG or other large-engined petrol car because they need one, or because they worry about the fuel costs - you wouldn't be in the market for one otherwise.

sort of true, but, depreciation on these models speak for themselves. I bet the depreciation percentage wise and in hard cash is far more /annum on say a something or other 500 , 55, 63 etc than their 3.0ltr diesel counterparts even though they are more desirable to some and in relative short supply. The majority of the population is very sensitive to price, those who are not simply buy new.

This is why a good secondhand large engined car makes such a good choice to the enthusiast/low mileage user. There are bargains to be had especially at times like this

 

[Will]

Indeed .. it's what will get ppl through the door vs. what will make them feel good about the sale. I knew a chap who "gave £20 back for luck" on selling each car .. just to put a smile on the face of each new owner. Works.

For me, it's about what I can afford. The Dec 03 C32 was affordable, but needed maybe £1000 spent on it this year between tax and servicing. This C55 is 9k miles till an A service and taxed + MOT till next Feb. Warranty is offered, but separate cost.

So for £9.5k this year on a C32 vs. maybe £10k then the C55 is certainly atttractive. He can play mind games all he likes - I don't have £11k to give him! :bannana:

Sounds like a sensible viewpoint

If it helps you to decide, I personally think that a C55 is a better proposition than a C32. Similar performance, but I reckon the '55 is a much better package.

Should hold it's value better, and as there's so little in terms of cost between them...

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I knew a chap who "gave £20 back for luck" on selling each car .. just to put a smile on the face of each new owner. Works.

:

I give the buyer £20 for luck with every car or van that I sell.

Not had any complaints so far.....

 

[AlanD]

Damn .. adds a fair bit more to my insurance for a C55! The remainder of the policy (8 months remaining) goes up by £264 for the C32, but £490 for the C55!