How have E320 cabrio sportlines altered in value?

[fuseman]

I recently bought a good condition '94 Sportline Cabrio with 116k miles and good history etc. I paid just short of £10k for it which seems OK as there are many being advertised for more than this and it is tipped as a good investment.

However I wasn't following prices over the last year or so. I'm interested in knowing what they were selling for a year or two ago - have they actually gone up in price or just levelled out?

I'm not looking to sell it - it is something I intend enjoying regardless of value but can anyone tell me what the market has been up to now? I imagine future values will be dependent on general economic sentiments since the value of an older car like this is difficult to predict.

Any info on past price ranges would be appreciated out of curiosity.

 

[kikkthecat]

Nice car and it's good to see you're going to enjoy it regardless of value as putting a value on one is a hard thing to do.
I had an E220 cabriolet and ran it for 30 months before selling it for about the same as I paid.
However it is my experience that owners almost always believe the cabriolet to be worth more than it actually is and this is probably due to a few specialist dealers asking big bucks for exceptional ones. Whether they get the asking price I'm not sure but it seems to make people believe their car has a similar value. For a good E320 Cabriolet £10k seems about right to me but when selling the trick is getting someone else to see it the same way. It's one of those rare cars that seem to be neither going up or down in value.
There is one in our classified section See here
And he is asking £13000

But when it was put on
ebay
it didn't sell as the top bid was only £6600

That's a big difference between what the seller expects and what the bidding public will pay so all I can say to you is enjoy the car and although I dont belive it will ever fund your retirement with any luck you should be enjoying no depreciation .

 

[The G.F.P]

i have been following ebay/autotrader ect for 3 years looking for the ultimate e320 convertible

P redg
sportline
under 100k
fsh
met blue or blue/black
2 electric seats
cream leather in superb condition
car in superb condition

ive recently found one and it never reached more than £7k on ebay in 3 attempts and they said they would sell me it for £12k

actually the ultimate e320 convertible is the amg e36 but no chance of finding one of the 15 ish RDH for sale

in the current financial climate a car is only worth as much as somone will pay so where as 2 years ago it would go for £15k ish now most wont pay over £8k ish

id have one tommorow if i sold the twin turbo coupe as i cant have 3 w124's

it amazes me that when your buying the car brand new for around £60k you dont pick electric seats as id not buy one without them

 

[Ade B]

Advertised prices seem to have stayed fairly constant at £10-£12k for decent cars. I imagine at the moment there are not many people around wanting to part with that kind of cash for a Sunday car.

I remember the classic boom of the mid eighties and the subsequent collapse once the big investors stopped playing. My feeling is we have been through a smaller boom and there will be an adjustment in the market where only the best examples with history and decent spec will command top prices.

My CE is probably worth 1/2 what I paid for it at the moment. Big thirsty car with high(ish) maintenance costs.. who wants one of those now

All the more reason to hang on to it and enjoy.


Ade

 

[grober]

A well kept car will still fetch good money since they have very few competitors except the newer CLK. Even at £10-15K they are a bargain ( 1/2-1/3 price of a new CLK cabriolet) provided they are original, have reasonable mileage and are immaculate in appearance. Once the bodywork/trim/hood becomes tatty they immediately drop out of this bracket into a "grey area" which is sub £10k with sound cars which need at bit of fettling/money spent to get back to good condition. There's then the sub £5k basket cases which will never be right having degraded to a point where there's no point in spending money other than to keep em on the road. The difficult cars to value are the ones on the borderlines of these 3 groups. Inevitably owners tend to place their cars in a category above the one their car resides in.

 

[fuseman]

i have been following ebay/autotrader ect for 3 years looking for the ultimate e320 convertible

P redg
sportline
under 100k
fsh
met blue or blue/black
2 electric seats
cream leather in superb condition
car in superb condition

ive recently found one and it never reached more than £7k on ebay in 3 attempts and they said they would sell me it for £12k

actually the ultimate e320 convertible is the amg e36 but no chance of finding one of the 15 ish RDH for sale

in the current financial climate a car is only worth as much as somone will pay so where as 2 years ago it would go for £15k ish now most wont pay over £8k ish

id have one tommorow if i sold the twin turbo coupe as i cant have 3 w124's

it amazes me that when your buying the car brand new for around £60k you dont pick electric seats as id not buy one without them

I don't think e-bay is a very good place to sell a car unless you're desperate - and even then you might do better at an auction. I've always found that Autotrader together with a bit of patience and a realistic price gets you closest to Parkers Private sale values. Of course with an older MB there isn't as much to guide you. I agree with you about the electric seats - the one I bought has it on the driver's side but not the passenger - I had to compromise there.

I think I also agree about colour - mine is imperial non-metallic red which is growing on me although I know it wouldn't be top choice for many people. Actually car colours go in cycles - currently black and dark blue are in, silver is out but I saw a gorgeous ivory BMW 3-series with cream leather recently in the states and I wonder if white or near white will come back into fashion.

I spoke to two guys who definately sold E320 Sportlines recently - one was said to be in very good nick on 84k miles and I think went for £13k the other had done 125k and I think was nearer £10k. I think the dealers asking £18k+ are probably kidding themselves.

From the answers I've got to my original post I get the impression that good cars on these lines have never dropped much below £10k. I suspect mine has too big a mileage to ever be worth much more than I paid but if I can get the enjoyment with no depreciation that would be good enough.

Martin
94 E320 Sportline Cabrio
03 S2000
07 Fiat Multijet diesel!

 

[Mark300SL]

6 years ago I paid really good money for a 300SL with interesting spec and history - I too was under the impression I wouldnt lose a lot of money on it - well I was wrong
Now you can buy good late R129 SL320/500s with all the toys for under £12k and on a good day under £10K - that will hit the prices of E320's as much as my SL

Our own Jaymanek has this one for sale for under £10k!
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/509011.htm

I looked at that one at his recent GTG and it is a nice vehicle

£10k buys a lot of nice cars right now - I have seen quite a few CLK55's for under £10k and some really nice 129s

 

[jaymanek]

Yes im afraid values are falling and some beautiful cars are fetching metro money.

Thanks for pointing the SL advert out Mark... the formatting had gone really funny... fixed it now!

 

[DSLiverpool]

Nice SL Jay - if I hadnt jumped already I would have been tempted even without the greenhouse.

Surely at £10k it will fly .................

 

[SL300-24]

I think E320 cabrios will not fall the way R129's have because there are nowhere near as many around. I owned both at the same time 3 years ago, and needed to sell one. I could have sold the cabrio easily but struggled with the SL because prices were falling every month, glad I did as I sold the cabrio a year later for the same asking price when I re-advertised it. 10k will buy you a nice cabrio at the moment.

 

[Will]

I think that's a fair point. The R129 was made for so long (~89/90 - 01/02?) and seems to have sold very well, plus they were so well made that there's a huge number of them around still.

Anyone know the sales figures for 124 cabs and R129s?

Will

 

[jaymanek]

The difference is that R129's are commonly known as the Mercedes Roadster.. they have mass appeal.

unfortunately the W124 cab only really ever sold to a much more niche audience... i.e. us mercedes geeks.
to everyone else its an E class with its roof chopped off...

dont get me wrong, ive always loved the E class cab but its not a mass priduced car in relation to the R129..

so of course there are positives and negatives... R129, desirable but loads about so values go down.
W124 cab, not many at all but then not that desirable either..

 

[fuseman]

I think that's a fair point. The R129 was made for so long (~89/90 - 01/02?) and seems to have sold very well, plus they were so well made that there's a huge number of them around still.

Anyone know the sales figures for 124 cabs and R129s?

Will

The figure always quoted for RHD 124 cabs in the UK is only 89 E320s (or at least this refers to the Sportline version) . I don't know where it came from but just about everyone who advertises one quotes it.

 

[janner]

The real difference is the W124 is a full four seat convertible.

 

[Smiley]

I dont think that the e class cabriolets have slipped much in price; maybe £1000 or so. The one on here is mine - you are right that the top bid on ebay was £6600 - but this was raised immediately after the auction by email to a much higher number by the high bidder. Still not quite close enough to the £13,000 (ish) to buy it though.
I am very happy to keep it rather than sell it for a pittance - as one day they will be worth more than today just because of supply and demand - there are just not that many genuine sub 100k mile e320 sportlines left. And if they dont go up well so what I will have had a nice car to use.
There are always too many nice SLs for sale - I had a super nice green black SL500 R129 a few years ago and that was actually quite difficult to sell even then - heaven knows what it would be like now.
Btw I found out that there is more rear legroom in a e320 cab than in a CLK320 - did not know that before.

 

[BTB 500]

Btw I found out that there is more rear legroom in a e320 cab than in a CLK320

I should hope so ... E class is bigger than C class (what they are based on).

 

[Smiley]

I should hope so ... E class is bigger than C class (what they are based on).

Of course!
I had always just thought of the CLK as the replacement for the E class covertible.

 

[tali]

I think that's a fair point. The R129 was made for so long (~89/90 - 01/02?) and seems to have sold very well, plus they were so well made that there's a huge number of them around still.

Anyone know the sales figures for 124 cabs and R129s?

Will

789 E220
557 E320
14 E36
And yes 89 Sportlines

 

[Will]

789 E220
557 E320
14 E36
And yes 89 Sportlines

All things considered, a fairly rare car then.

I tend to notice quite a few of them about though, eg there's one on the next road to me

Will

 

[Ade B]

My neighbour has an E320 cab sportline. Not sure if its genuine, its got lowered springs, sportline gear knob and some badges.

Its a bit neglected and is in need of bodywork and the interior could do with some tlc, although mercifully he's recently got it going again after sitting for over a year. I keep telling him how rare it is.

Our shared driveway has a distinct 124 slant.

Ade