The E63 I now own.

[Deleted member 149005]

^^I would run winter tyres.

slightly off topic....but you might not need your new car..

France to impose border checks to stop skiing abroad - BBC News

 

[Dammit]

Or the plan might me to drive straight to Switzerland.
What do you all think would be a fair price for the S- 35k?

 

[Dammit]

I’ve just been to see the S, it’s actually the car that popped up over the weekend and sold immediately- T5JAP. It’s in great condition, a few stone chips on the front end and minor curbing on the passenger side alloys, but nothing concerning as far as I could see.

Vendor would include six months warranty and get the alloys refurbed for the asking price, but is certain that he’ll get the asking price so is holding firm to that.

 

[Abb]

I know you are desperado for a wagon, but let someone else pay the asking price! I cant recall how much it was initially up for, but assuming the current vendor is a trader and purchased it from a private seller for considerably less a few days ago?

Was this not the one that was going to a dealership to have a service carried out and a health check?

 

[Dammit]

The advert isn’t on auto trader any longer, but it was up for 36 and a bit.

Presuming he paid asking (a big assumption, but it’s what he maintains) then he’s flipping it for around two grands profit (taking out the wheel refurb and warranty).

 

[st13phil]

The advert isn’t on auto trader any longer, but it was up for 36 and a bit.

Presuming he paid asking (a big assumption, but it’s what he maintains) then he’s flipping it for around two grands profit (taking out the wheel refurb and warranty).

Having bought and sold a couple of E63 Biturbo's I would be astonished if he didn't have more in it than that, but if he won't budge on price he won't budge and that's the end of it unless you're prepared to wait it out when he may be more amenable to an offer.

I tend to agree with Roger that it's a £34-35k car unless it was in the franchised dealer network with a 2-year MB Tier 1 warranty on it, but it is one of the last S212 E63S' as it has the later NTG5 COMAND system in it and although it's poverty spec (only option I can see is the Night Package) it has the advantage of a strong provenance and - in your own view is in "great condition" - so he may find someone to stump up the sticker price.

How much premium are you prepared to pay for lower miles and strong provenance?

 

[Dammit]

To view this from a different perspective- considering both of the cars I’m looking at currently, let’s say it’s 2024 and I’ve done ~8,000 miles per year. The E63 is on 66,000 miles and is a five owner car, the E63-S is on 49,000 miles and is a two owner car.

Will the price difference between them be the same, or will one have lost more than the other?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

To view this from a different perspective- considering both of the cars I’m looking at currently, let’s say it’s 2024 and I’ve done ~8,000 miles per year. The E63 is on 66,000 miles and is a five owner car, the E63-S is on 49,000 miles and is a two owner car.

Will the price difference between them be the same, or will one have lost more than the other?

Personally I would avoid a 5-owner car but some don't car. High performance cars change hands regularly, especially in the early years.

 

[st13phil]

To view this from a different perspective- considering both of the cars I’m looking at currently, let’s say it’s 2024 and I’ve done ~8,000 miles per year. The E63 is on 66,000 miles and is a five owner car, the E63-S is on 49,000 miles and is a two owner car.

Will the price difference between them be the same, or will one have lost more than the other?

All other things being equal (both with strong service history and both in similar condition) the E63S will be a more attractive proposition to potential buyers due to a combination of the model cachet, the provenance (2 owners), and lower mileage, but the absolute difference (in £'s) between the realisable price of the two cars will be much smaller as they will both have depreciated by similar %-age amounts. Bear in mind also that the current asking price of the E63S is on the strong end of reasonable, so it starts that particular race with a handicap.

Something else to bear in mind is that lots of changes to owner in the immediate past is a very different proposition to multiple changes in owner in the early years followed by the same owner for the last four. The first scenario would raise suspicions, whereas the second would imply that if someone has been happy to own and run it for four years, it's unlikely to be a wrong-un.

 

[Dammit]

All strong points. I'd also think that doubling the mileage of the S would have more of an impact than raising the mileage by a third on the non-S.

Where I am at the moment is the thought that I could potentially swap out of the non-S into for e.g. a better optioned S, should one turn up in the next 3 years AND I feel short changed in the non-S. I might be 100% content in the non-S and have 10k in my bank account because of it.

Sound logical? I'm trying to avoid falling into the small-boy driven Top-Trumps mentality of having to have the top model, with the most power and torque...

 

[st13phil]

I'm trying to avoid falling into the small-boy driven Top-Trumps mentality of having to have the top model, with the most power and torque...

Laudable, but difficult to achieve

Where I am at the moment is the thought that I could potentially swap out of the non-S into for e.g. a better optioned S, should one turn up in the next 3 years AND I feel short changed in the non-S. I might be 100% content in the non-S and have 10k in my bank account because of it.

Personally, I would aim to buy what you think is going to be a keeper now, for the simple reason that you will take a bath on getting rid of it in (say) 12-months - 2 years. There is typically a £5-7k spread between trade-in offers and retail on these cars at this price point which will instantly crystallise the moment you purchase, then you add depreciation...

I haven't owned an S-model, but did move from a pre-facelift PPP car that was very heavily optioned (more than £24k of options at retail when new) to a less optioned facelift car and I was very happy with both. While the PPP car would almost certainly have (just) beaten the facelift car in a straight drag race, I never felt that the lower-powered facelift car was lacking performance on the road. The key thing was that both cars had the factory options that I really wanted: the full Driving Assistance Package, and heated and ventilated Dynamic Multi-Contour seats. On the facelift car I retrofitted a reversing camera and added a Quaife diff as it was originally missing those, so for just over £2k on top I had another car I was very happy with.

In short, I'd be surprised if you were dissatisfied with a non-S car that has the options you want on it or could reasonably add to it. For my preferred options, retrofitting the Driving Assistance Package and Dynamic Multi-Contour seats would have been ludicrously expensive so I sought out a car that had them. Things like a CF Engine Cover, Garage Door Opener, Fire Extinguisher and Illuminated Door Sills that were on the PPP car were great for bragging down the pub, but didn't actually improve my ownership experience.

 

[merc85]

Get the Car you want now, You'll never be 100% satisfied with it and always wishing you'd got the one you really wanted.

 

[Dammit]

Ok, an update on the Wakefield car - it's been to MB, had their full health check and it's green across the board. They've MOT'd it as well, and changed the Avon for Pirelli.

 

[Will]

Regards that E63 ‘S’, whether or not it’s a late example, it’s still a 212 E63.

The ‘S’ badge adds a certain amount of desirability and value, but in my opinion it doesn’t fundamentally change the car or make it worth thousands extra. It’s not some homologation special, limited edition or a black series, nor is it a classic (and won’t be in 2024 either). I think it was more of a thing for the LHD market (ie 4WD) whereas in the UK it didn’t change the car significantly enough to warrant the price tag, IMHO - either when new or for some of these used examples.

The low mileage/ownership is attractive, the low spec is a pity. Might not bother you so much but when you’re trying to get the best price and/or appeal to the widest audience having better spec helps resale if nothing else. There’s non-S cars out there with much better spec which maybe appeal to more buyers than a relatively basic ‘S’ model anyway.

It’s a nice enough car but I wouldn’t pay that asking price. I think you could do better for the money, and if you’re seriously thinking about resale values in 2024 I wouldn’t pay £39k for that one. To me it’s probably worth low to mid £30s, maybe £32-33k or something but then I wouldn’t want that one anyway.

IMHO, £25-30k should be enough for a nice 212 63 wagon, unless it’s unicorn spec and/or very low mileage. Don’t be put off some of the slightly earlier cars - eg that one that sold on eBay, a 63 plate would have been £17.5k cheaper than the 2016 silver one, and was better specced. In 2024 all of these cars will have lost a good chunk more of cash anyway, I would focus on getting the best car for your money today, especially as you’re planning on running a fair few miles though it.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Sound logical? I'm trying to avoid falling into the small-boy driven Top-Trumps mentality of having to have the top model, with the most power and torque...

If it wasn’t top trumps - at least in some way - you’d be buying a 4 pot diesel instead...

If I had the budget available for an S then I’d buy one, 100% and it would be the same with the W213; I’d be buying an Edition 1 if they were in budget.

 

[Dammit]

**Prolonged screaming**

 

[Dammit]

Sales manager from Harratts says the maximum he'll come down is by £490, so that would put the car at bang on £28,000.

I do wish that he'd be willing to move a little more but from our conversation today I think he's dug his heels in.

That's within my budget, and I think the £10,900 difference to the S is pretty compelling.

 

[Will]

Easy for me to say when it’s not my money but I’d find the extra £11k and buy something like this over that £39k S212.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202008272995469

Same miles, better spec, better performance, nicer interior and tech, four wheel drive (perhaps useful for those skiing trips?)

Should still be under manufacturer’s warranty too?

 

[Dammit]

Original budget was "up to" £30,000. The S caused me to re-consider that, but I think my more sensible side has now won out.

I can't push the budget by £20,000.

 

[AMGeed]

Regarding the S213, it really needs a test drive as I've read of at least two owners of both the 212 and 213 and both preferred the 212.