When and if to sell my W208 CLK 320?

[wemorgan]

My 1998 CLK320 has now done 96k miles. There is rust on both rear wheel arches and the bonnet has rather a lot of stone chips, but mechanically it is in good condition, so I guess the value is near to £3k. Is this right? There is a link to photos in my sig.

Will the number of potential buyers rapidly fall away once the mileage goes over 100k?

I've asked similar questions before and the general concensus from members is that condition is more improtant than mileage. But I suspect a high street vox-pop would show that buyers do heavily consider the mileage of a car when buying. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[kwakdonut]

If you are having thoughts about selling your car, then my advice is TO SELL IT!

Obviously you are starting to 'fall out of love' with it and are concerned by the nearing 100k mileage point....

£3k seems so little for a car that would have cost oodles when new! Thinking back I paid £800 in 1988 for a rusty Mk2 Ford Escort and that seemed like an absolute fortune back then!

 

[wemorgan]

I typically only keep my cars for 1-2 years, as I enjoy trying out different cars. It is sad to see a car go, but then it's exciting to find a new one too Deep down I'm a diesel man, who's had a brief affair with a V6 petrol.

I paid £4k for my CLK just over a year ago, so in the present climate of high fuel prices I think £3k is realistic for a petrol V6.

 

[kwakdonut]

So you would have lost little in value in relative terms then?! I totally agree with you about being sad to see a car go - when I sold my 270 earlier this year (for purely financial reasons) I was actually quite upset - a lovely car and my first MB.

I have been car-less for over 2 months now and keep going to Auto Trader etc to dream.... actually, our financial position has improved drastically and I now feel I sold the car prematurely.

Not to worry, it's only a car, there are plenty more out there...

 

[MD5]

I don't think the 4k short of 100k will fool many people that it's round the corner! Not much you can do about the mileage, but you may find the rusty bits could put people off.

 

[wemorgan]

I don't think the 4k short of 100k will fool many people that it's round the corner! Not much you can do about the mileage, but you may find the rusty bits could put people off.

True, I don't think 96k would fool people, but if it goes >100k it may just slip off people's radar, especially with Autotrader searches being able filter by mileage.

If I sell the car I was planning on a DIY fix for the rust. For a £3k car I can't see the merit in paying a garage to do it.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Out of interest, what mileage did the car show when you bought it?

 

[kwakdonut]

If I sell the car I was planning on a DIY fix for the rust.

Good plan - I would do that too

 

[wemorgan]

Out of interest, what mileage did the car show when you bought it?

It had 89k.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

For the money you are seeking, the mileage wouldn't put me off looking at the car.

I would be more interested to learn that it had been looked after properly.

And... (for new to MB purchasers) what the car has that other £3k cars don't. ie emphasise all the little "extras".

Oh and if you aren't good at bodywork repairs, I would leave the car as it is. A less than perfect finish is less appealling than a bit of rust on an 11 year old car.

 

[Rose Chap]

Cars do an average of 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year so 100K on a 11 year old CLK is still very good. I'd expect most reasonably clued up buyers to be fine with the 100K thing, after all a 3.2 V6 should not have been over-stressed and I'm sure people know that Mercedes mechanicals are pretty solid.

What would worry me more as a buyer would be the rust. CLKs are not uncommon and if you were a buyer would you buy one with rust or without?

It may be worth getting a company like ChipsAway or your local body shop to see if they could do a cheapish fix to the affected area. Whilst this may not be quite as long lasting as a full respray, from a selling perspective it will allow your car to reach the value it deserves.

 

[wemorgan]

It may be worth getting a company like ChipsAway or your local body shop to see if they could do a cheapish fix to the affected area. Whilst this may not be quite as long lasting as a full respray, from a selling perspective it will allow your car to reach the value it deserves.

I think you're right, there's no harm in getting a quote from my local body shop. If it's near £200 I'd be very tempted, as the finish would clearly be better than I could achieve and I'd hope it would add at least that to the value.

 

[flango]

I think you're right, there's no harm in getting a quote from my local body shop. If it's near £200 I'd be very tempted, as the finish would clearly be better than I could achieve and I'd hope it would add at least that to the value.

Trade price for my CLK, both rear arches and full boot spray and prep'd properly so the rust wont come back through in a few months was £250.

Been done around 14 - 15 months now and not a blemish, just thought the price might help you judge.

 

[wemorgan]

Trade price for my CLK, both rear arches and full boot spray and prep'd properly so the rust wont come back through in a few months was £250.

Been done around 14 - 15 months now and not a blemish, just thought the price might help you judge.

Thanks for that. I'll get a quote for the bonnet too, but I'm reluctant to spent too much on a car I'm selling. It'll be ironic that if the car is resprayed it will look as good as it's ever been under my ownership....but I'll not own it for much longer to appreciate it.....oh well.

 

[hawk20]

Loads of MBs do well over 300k miles on the original engine -even petrol versions do. I recently rode in an MB mini-cab in London which had done 334,000 miles and the owner/driver was just about to get the engine reconditioned.

In France I've met several MB owners with over 500,000 kms on original engines.

On one MB website there is a G wagon owner who has done 650k miles and didn't need a new gearbox till 500k miles.

When the price is down to £3-4k you are motoring in a fine car with minimal depreciation. If you do another two or three years and then scrap it, it would still be cheap motoring. If you get the rust fixed for a few hundred, and keep it a few years, it will be sound economy.

But there is always that wretched itch that makes us want to change after a while. I keep scratching mine and very costly that can become indeed. I think the miles are irrelevant. Search your soul. What do you really want?

 

[wemorgan]

hawk20: You're right, I have little doubt the 3.2 V6 engine is good for many more miles yet. It's ever so refined and economic, I've been very impressed. I'm just doubting that there is a wider demand for +100k mile cars. Some buyers just can't see behind the numbers.

My reason for wanting to change is simple. I'm doing more miles now than when I bought the car and the kind of journeys I'm doing, having an estate car would be really convenient. My Dad has offered to sell me his 2001 C220 diesel estate at trade price, so it feels like the right time to change.

 

[Will]

I think that most people who buy £3k cars are more interested in the current condition of the vehicle - tread depth of the tyres, MOT/Tax, how long till the next service, does everything work, appearance of the body and trim, etc.

96k is actually quite a reasonable mileage for an 11 year old car, slightly lower than average perhaps. I tend to (inadvertently) psychologically group a car's mileage into blocks of about 40,000. Eg, 80-120k etc. I don't think many people would be put off buying an 11+ year old car with 100k miles, but they might be put off with noticable rust or poorly painted areas - IMHO

Better having the rust done properly or leaving it for the buyer to rectify as they wish I'd say.

£3k sounds like a fair price - it's a lot of car for the money and should have many years left of motoring in it.

Will

 

[wemorgan]

Just a final canvassing of opinion before I place the advertisement in Autotrader/Ebay.

How much should I advertise it for?

Within 60 miles of me there are only 4 vaguely similar cars in Autotrader:

1998 CLK200 elegance, 94k, £3250 (trade)
1998 CLK200 sport, 95k, £3495 (trade)
2001 CLK230K, avantgarde, 122k, £3890 (trade)
2000 CLK200, elegance, 54k, £3975 (trade)

So does £3250 sound about right for mine?

Thanks.

 

[Will]

Hmm, I think I'd pitch it slightly higher than that to start with.

Reason being that yours is a 320, in silver with black leather, digital climate etc, and it looks quite a tidy car.

Three out of those four in your list are CLK200s - fairly undesirable model IMHO.

The 230K model sounds pretty good, but then it is on 122k miles, could be a manual gearbox varient (unpopular), and I wonder how clean it is (rust etc). No mention of spec either?

Perhaps start at nearer £3750 and give yourself more room for negotiation. Buyers always like to haggle!

Good luck,

Will

 

[Will]

Hmm, just read the thread from the first page again - depends on how bad the rust is on the back arches.

You might be closer to the mark with your original guesstimate!

Will