To many owners?

[Sy1000r]

Looking at buying a c63 as another job change means I'm only 4 miles from work now and want to go back to petrol the car iv seen is a 2011 c63 with 29000miles my worry is its had 4 owners,how long do people keep these things?would 4 owners bother you? Thanks sy

 

[supermonkeyman]

It would probably bother me, also when you come to sell the car, it can put some buyers off too. 2 owners, with you being the 3rd seems more reasonable. The first usually being a lease car then someone else owning it for 2-3 years seems good to me.

 

[Mrhanky]

Looking at buying a c63 as another job change means I'm only 4 miles from work now and want to go back to petrol the car iv seen is a 2011 c63 with 29000miles my worry is its had 4 owners,how long do people keep these things?would 4 owners bother you? Thanks sy

It's certainly not a plus but it would not inherently put me off. I would let the condition and history do the talking.

 

[Sy1000r]

It's got fsh although the last one has been done by a merc specialist,carbon pack and lsd(which they had know idea)

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

AMGs tend to change hands fairly often. Generally the people who buy them or lease them from new really like cars, and can afford to change to the latest and greatest, so they do. The same is true of other similar marques, like Porsche.

 

[TheFoX]

Also remember that sometimes people buy with their hearts and not their heads, then find that they cannot afford to run such a beast, or that it is just too powerful for them.

 

[taleff]

Yes 4 owners in such a short period does not feel good.
See if you can find out who sold and serviced it or contact any previous owners.
That may shed some light on what has happened.
Is it to cheap, has it been crashed badly or drowned in a flood. insurance
write off?
Good luck, you may need it.
Cheers

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Looking at buying a c63 as another job change means I'm only 4 miles from work now and want to go back to petrol the car iv seen is a 2011 c63 with 29000miles my worry is its had 4 owners,how long do people keep these things?would 4 owners bother you? Thanks sy

Generally I would say no, four is not too many owners. However for you specifically, I would say that yes, four IS too many owners.

Because you've asked the question, it suggests to me that the number of owners will play on your mind if you buy that particular car.

There are plenty to choose from, buy one with fewer owners

 

[219]

Looking at buying a c63 as another job change means I'm only 4 miles from work now and want to go back to petrol the car iv seen is a 2011 c63 with 29000miles my worry is its had 4 owners,how long do people keep these things?would 4 owners bother you? Thanks sy

My SL , similarly , had 13 previous keepers , with me being no 14 , but at 23 years old I thought it not out of place ; had it not worked out I'd have sold it on , but as it is the car is now a keeper .

The other side of the coin was my 190E , of which I'm the 4th owner ( original owner to three years old , then a long term keeper for the next 17 years , the owner previous to me for one year , and I view the car as a keeper ) .

As others have said , condition is everything , and with more upmarket cars people often change on a whim - doesn't mean anything wrong with the car .

If I was only 4 miles from work , I'd probably cycle on dry days , and keep the car for fun at the weekend - in some places the bike journey would be quicker !

 

[kid-jensen]

Everything has it's price.

The number of owners would just be another bargaining point..

Just don't pay top-dollar and you should be covered for most forseeable problems.

 

[rockits]

I think ideally 4 is one or two too many but it wouldn't put me off the car if it was what I wanted. More importantly it should be used as leverage or a bargaining tool as it always will need to be cheaper than a 1/2 owner car. You know many will do the same come resell time.

It often doesn't mean the car should be any better or worse but often they are worse. People often don't spend when they know their selling it and often pay less when the know their selling it if they do. An owner intending to keep it will often spend & the right money if they were keeping.

Not always the case & each car & history can be different but it is a decent rule of thumb.

 

[Sy1000r]

It's up at 28,000 all but one service carried out by MB the other by a Mercedes specialist in ne London,the last owner had it a month or so but couldn't make payment as was waiting to sell his house!

 

[Yugguy]

I dunno. New owners of a car like that might be more conscientious? Any car I buy I like to sort out all the little bits and bobs. As long as it's serviced that's the main thing.

 

[Sy1000r]

Got a speck sheet from MB yesterday but they couldn't tell me anything about the service history which I found strange
Is there away of find service history without going back to the garage?and previous owners

 

[flat6buster]

It's up at 28,000 all but one service carried out by MB the other by a Mercedes specialist in ne London,the last owner had it a month or so but couldn't make payment as was waiting to sell his house!

Worst car i ever bought was from a Mercedes dealer where the previous owner had it a month. I suspect he swapped it on the 30 day 1000 mile guarantee.

 

[zipdip]

Well lots of people buy performance cars and find that they just do not like driving them,many believe but for the luck of the draw they could be F1 champion,and so nurture that dream by buying cars like this only to find they are not so good in stop start traffic,many sports cars have a number of drivers,most I ever saw was on a Ferrari which was 5 years old and had 9 owners.

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

Looking at buying a c63 as another job change means I'm only 4 miles from work now and want to go back to petrol the car iv seen is a 2011 c63 with 29000miles my worry is its had 4 owners,how long do people keep these things?would 4 owners bother you? Thanks sy

Hi. The V5 will show the details of the last owner/keeper. Send a letter and ask if he knows any more history of the car.
I bought a car 4 years old with 36k miles and 3 former keepers.
I sent a letter to the former keeper.......The first keeper was the Mercedes dealer. The second owner was the chaps wife who unfortunately passed away. The chap re-registered it in his own name....still 3 former owners but I felt better about it.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I sent a letter to the former keeper.......The first keeper was the Mercedes dealer. The second owner was the chaps wife who unfortunately passed away. The chap re-registered it in his own name....still 3 former owners but I felt better about it.

Another scenario: It's not uncommon for cars to be registered to a company, and then the person who drove it buys it and so it shows as another owner but it's actually the same keeper. This is especially common for smaller businesses.

My in-laws had a car which passed to son, and back, to daughter, and back ...adding four unecessary changes of ownership!

 

[flowrider]

4 owners means 4 people having a good old thrash and then selling on.

 

[gIzzE]

This is a V8 performance car.

I would expect 4 or 5 owners at 5 years old, it is the norm.

This isn't a diesel that potters up and down the motorway, very different buyers.


I might keep my diesel estates 2-3 years, but I tend to keep my M cars 12 months tops and then try something else.

Even the PCP deals on these are now favoured towards 2 years and swap from new.

Loads of 12 months old ones with 2 owners already.


It is the norm, buy on condition.