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Is it possible to drive a long way to see a car and not buy it ?

“Nobody went broke by offering a low price and driving away if it isn’t accepted”

(Variation in an old stockbroking motto)

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He's sticking to £8K; I think it's worth it; I'm taking the train. If it's not as described I can get a train back, but I'm pretty confident it will be genuine. More anon...
 
He's sticking to £8K; I think it's worth it; I'm taking the train. If it's not as described I can get a train back, but I'm pretty confident it will be genuine. More anon...

Good luck, I hope it’s worth it ;)
 
He's sticking to £8K; .

Well, if the asking price is now £8k, your mission is to ask him to accept £7k. (If, and only if, the car is as described)

And if it's not as perfect as described, negotiate down because of the individual issues.

Who else is going to be as daft as to go to Grimsby in this weather, in February?



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Is it possible to drive a long way to see a car and not buy it ?

“Nobody went broke by offering a low price and driving away if it isn’t accepted”

(Variation in an old stockbroking motto)

Well, fate took a hand, or rather one of my dogs' innards did, and I've just come back from the vets. I'm only down by the cost of a rail ticket, so no great harm done, but no trip to Grimsby today either.

Probably a good thing overall, because I'm going north in a couple of weeks to see family, so if it's still unsold, I could easily make a detour down the M18 and M180 to test-drive it. If it is still there, I expect the firm price will have become rather less firm, too (bit like my dog's innards, really...:D).

HOWEVER:

Looked at logically, I would have today bought a car that is less visually appealing, bigger, much slower and rather thirstier than the E63, not well-specified by comparison (no xenons, no memory seats, no built-in dog guard, no leather, no reversing camera, and not an AMG), and needing a ramp for the dogs. The dashboard and instruments are less attractive too. I'd also have paid almost a third more than the real-world 'going rate' (eBay is cruel, but undeniably real-world).

On the plus side, it is rare and unusual (I like), with more interior space (which I would like, but don't actually need and would rarely use for passengers), a much better head unit than a COMAND and a higher, more commanding driving position (which I would definitely both like), with 50% lower mileage than the E63 (but that's only on 91K anyway), no 'AMG Premium' on spares prices, and... errm, that's about it.

I'm still drawn to it, but... If I do manage a test drive, I think it will be as described, but it will have to be really good if I'm to pay £7K (definitely no more) and come away in it.
 
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I hope your dog is ok, on the upside it may be a portent as how crap (see what I did there) the car actually was for you intended purpose, Every cloud has a silver lining!
 
Thank you; he'll be fine. The car would in fact be pretty good as a dog van, and I could easily live with the negatives in isolation; the $64,000 question is, could I live with them after having the E63? For £7K, if it drives really well, maybe I could.

Perhaps Fate will take a hand and somebody will buy it in the next couple of weeks; if not, I'll give it a test drive and see what I think. I'm still drawn to it...
 
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The $64,000 question is, could I live with them after having the E63?.

I must confess that my c220 is my first MB experience so I only have my current point of reference, However it does look like a very nice vehicle, it woud seem that MB do make rather exceedingly good cars (probably some better than others).
 
Actually, there's one positive I forgot; the R500 has 4Matic, so on the one or two snowy days we get here in the South most winters, that gives it a slight edge. I say slight because if I can't get out of my drive, I don't usually have to anyway, and in the last six years, driving various e-class AMGs, I've not missed a single day at the office due to snow. It would give definitely give the R a slight edge until I get one or two cars sold, though, because at least one of my four would have to be parked on the grass, and it should be easier to drive off damp grass than the others, which are all 2WD.
 
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At the company I used to work for, the FD ran an R320CDI for a while. I drove it a few times; I didn't really get on with it. A big, heavy bugger - progress with the V6 diesel was leisurely if not outright slow. Obviously designed for the yanks, and much better suited to their roads - it's a wide thing indeed. Not much fun in a UK multi-storey car park, that's for sure.

A big V8 and 385BHP sounds attractive, but after being watered down by the weight of the beast, it's not going to be a sports car. If you want to cross continents 6 up in comfort, then great - but I can't really see much use for it otherwise.

Cheers,

Gaz
 
A big V8 and 385BHP sounds attractive, but after being watered down by the weight of the beast, it's not going to be a sports car.

For sure, but as mentioned the 0-60 is under 6 secs which is hardly slow. As far as handling goes it will be better than the ML it shares a platform with (due to the lower CG).
 
I already have a sports car - the SLK. The R500L is only three inches wider, seven inches higher and ten inches longer than my E63 estate, and back in the eighties I had an American estate that was six inches longer and three inches wider still.

It would make a very good dog van, and while it's a big, heavy bugger for sure, it's no 320 CDI; the quoted 0-60 is the same as my M113 SL500, and two and a half seconds quicker than the 320.

Thank you BTB 500 for the info on the ML. A couple of years ago Terry Gates loaned me his ML270 for a weekend while my 55K was in for some work, and the handling on that was good enough for me (I wasn't thrashing it), though the performance was leisurely at best.

The numbers don't frighten me; it's all about how it drives. I well recall a test drive of a 4WD Audi GT Coupe over twenty years ago, and the steering was horrible. Other than that, the only 4WDs I've driven have been Land Rovers, and they don't handle, go or steer, really, so there's no comparison to be made there.

Of course, if some (other?) mug gives him £8K for it, that's it; I'll never see another for sale with the 5.5 engine.
 
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Fair enough. If he buys it, good luck to him; it's actually worth only £6.2K. It would solve my dilemma, though.
 
Rarity value alone will keep it above bottom book price when up for sale. Decent miles, spec and condition means it will always find a buyer. Distinctive and you’re unlikely to see another on the road...

I’d push the button at £7.5k, but if you eventually get it for £7k then happy days.....
 
Decent miles, spec and condition means it will always find a buyer.

Eventually.. .

In January it was worth £6,200. That's the most a buyer was willing to pay then.
 
Eventually.. .

In January it was worth £6,200. That's the most a buyer was willing to pay then.
Lol. You thought it was ‘worth’ £8k on Tuesday. There’s no such thing as the ‘correct’ value of such a car. Depends on who’s looking at the time. But like an auction, it only takes 2 people who want it to create a market. I wonder if the vendor is lurking on here?!
 
Lol. You thought it was ‘worth’ £8k on Tuesday. There’s no such thing as the ‘correct’ value of such a car. Depends on who’s looking at the time. But like an auction, it only takes 2 people who want it to create a market. I wonder if the vendor is lurking on here?!

Who mentioned a 'correct' value? As I've said many times before, a car (and anything else, for that matter) is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Someone was willing to pay £6200 back in January, so that is what it was worth then. Simples.

If the vendor is lurking on here, he knows what it is worth now - £7001, because that is £1 more than I'm prepared to pay for it. If a third party were prepared to pay more, it would be worth more. Simples.
 
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Sold, I think. It is no longer on eBay "because there was an error in the listing", and I think we all have a fair idea what that usually means.



 

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