[VSD]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Just be patient guys don’t sell in haste.

Exactly my thoughts, have also listed the car in the classified section. Will probably just find a buyer directly instead of going to random dealers. Also, I haven't really thought what the replacement will be so I have time before I decide to sell this one.
Gave the latest S5 a try while checking out the new Q5, that made me realise I shouldn't sell mine at all.
S5 suspension/handling was such a dissapointment, felt like a boat. The regular 520d would put it to shame.
Probably wait for the 6GT at the auto expo.

[Durango Dude]

Why is it that in India, everyone's interested in owning a "premium" car when it can be leased. I've friends abroad who never splurge their cash on cars but lease it: that way the the insurance and up keep headaches are taken care of and so is the ease of letting go when some thing better comes up?

I've had a relative who recently got a Volvo XC 90 D5, he always swears by diesel as the resale value is much better for a large diesel SUV than a petrol one.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Why is it that in India, everyone's interested in owning a "premium" car when it can be leased. I've friends abroad who never splurge their cash on cars but lease it: that way the the insurance and up keep headaches are taken care of and so is the ease of letting go when some thing better comes up?

I've had a relative who recently got a Volvo XC 90 D5, he always swears by diesel as the resale value is much better for a large diesel SUV than a petrol one.

Have you seen or read about the leasing rates and terms in India for a premium car? You wouldn’t be giving such advice if you did. It makes no economic sense.

The AMG cars being discussed here are bought with your heart and not your head. A diesel is not even a consideration when an enthusiast is looking for a thrilling option.

[Fullrevs]

Hey Shivjeet. I did notice you are looking for a trade-in for a GLS 400 so its sensible to go back to the dealer who sold you the GL63 AMG but have you tried other dealers like BBT? I am not commenting from experience or knowledge but maybe they could offer you a better price?

[Steeroid]

As many here have pointed out, an AMG or other brand performance variant is NOT a hot-selling item. Here, or even elsewhere in the world (though you have better chances outside).

Your best bet is to sell the vehicle in the used car market, and especially target niche markets for performance vehicles. For anyone else, there is no difference between this and a regular ML - EDIT: except that yours is a petrol and has terrible fuel consumption, which makes it less desirable than the regular diesel ones.

You have to find the right buyer - one who WANTS an AMG. My advice in these matters is to put it up for sale and wait patiently - somebody will eventually come along. Enjoy the AMG in the meanwhile.

When you put your money on a very niche petrol performance vehicle, don't expect to sell it like a Maruti or expect your dealer to trade it in like one of the commuter vehicles. They are dealers - they are in it for the business, not just to give us a warm and fuzzy feeling at a considerable cost to themselves.
It is not unreasonable to have expectations of excellent service and relationship management from a premium brand, but one has to be realistic. When you buy that AMG or M or RS badge, it is usually a long-term purchase. If you plan to switch cars quickly but are not ready to shed a lot of $, these badges are not for you.

[octane1002]

From purely a financial point of view, why dont you consider retaining the GL63(till you get a price that is reasonably close to your expectations) and shuffle one of the more saleable regular luxury cars from your portfolio for the purchase if a comfy luxury SUV is an imminent requiment?Say flip somethng like the E-class or ML or both combined?

The reason I say this is the niche performance SUVs like the GL63 might take time attracting the right buyer.Nothing wrong with the car, just that the GL63 is not exactly a hot selling product, especially when you compare it to the more popular (if you can call them that) Cayennes/ G63/ supercharged RRs if you are to look at the monstrous performance SUV bracket and even these take time attracting buyers in the used market.Having gone the pre-owned route most of the times with my buys, this is the sense that I got when I was keenly exploring one.65 L quoted to you by MB dealer contains a Liquidity discount of at least 20% to counter the costs of inventory they may incur holding car that is not a fast mover along with a 5% upside.


Assuming the car in question loses 20%y-o-y per change in Calendar year (CY) , at the 4th change(2014-2018), you'll be at 40% of your purchase price (1.95 Cr.), which comes to 80 lakhs roughly.

Assuming, it takes 6 months to find a buyer for your car , the dealer would apply a liquidity discount towards cost of holding inventory (50% of the 20% whole year liquidity discount; which comes to an additional 10% of residual value), which would make the vahicle stand at 72 L now. The dealers upside on this transaction being 5 % , he would buy it from you at around 67-68 L and he'squoted 65 L.

This is what I could work out to rationalise the quote youve got.If I were you I would hold and enjoy my purchase.Maybe flip it for a worthy sport coupe/ sedan/ SUV ( not a regular GL) once the opportunity presents itself. As I said flip a regular for a regular, a niche for a niche.

[ecksreturns]

Shivjeet, I can tell from comprehensive experience that I have been-there-done-that. I empathise with your anguish over the sour deal the dealer gave to you. I can tell you from personal experience that your car will get better value in the used car market if you connect with the right set of people. If you are keen on that option, please reach out to me over PM and I will share details of such people who helped me move my cars and got me great value on my cars.

[ashwin1224]

I am sort of in the same boat, however in a different body of water

Im in the market to sell our family's 2013 GL350 CDI. It is usually an easy sell in the used market, so Ive been told. But our GL was bought as a workhorse rather than a luxury item(Which itself was not too bright a decision but well, nothing we can do now). In the 5 years of ownership the SUV has done about 104k Kms and is currently riding on its 3rd set of wheels and 4th set of brake pads.

When I approached the dealer he simply refused to buy it back, claiming the high mileage would make it an impossible sell. The open market on the other hand finds this high mileage as an excuse to quote stupid prices, Ive heard as low as 19Lac for the 1cr car. There are only a handful of new luxury SUVs on the market with these kind of odo readings and it makes gauging market prices very difficult.

Should I wait for the perfect buyer? Or should I sell it off for the least pathetic quote I get?

[Sankar]

I have an experience to share too but not on this scale at all, not even close as it was just a Polo.

I wanted to trade in my GT TDI Polo for an automatic Polo GT TSI and the car I was trading in was almost an year old (did not complete 1 year). The change was just because I wanted an automatic. The VW dealer here offered me a wee bit less than 50% of the OTR cost i paid for mine some 10 months ago! This when I was ready to buy a Polo GT TSI from them. I have not bought a VW since then and probably never will.

PS: I sold the Polo on my own for around 2L more than the price Das Welt Auto offered me.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by ashwin1224

I am sort of in the same boat, however in a different body of water

Im in the market to sell our families 2013 GL350 CDI. It is usually an easy sell in the used market, so Ive been t..

Should I wait for the perfect buyer? Or should I sell it off for the least pathetic quote I get?

The market for lemons as its called. People will pay good money to a dealer for a 7 year old 40k run luxury car, then act surprised when they find odo tampering.

Owning a luxury car and using it like your family has its the right way to go. I'm saying this because of you decided to baby it and travel less comfortably (the GL is an S riding high), you would have a good resale, but simply wasted your ownership.

19 sounds rubbish, keep the car for another 4 years, enjoy it and even if it needs expensive repairs , it won't be as bad as the depreciation hit.

[devilwearsprada]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

It is not unreasonable to have expectations of excellent service and relationship management from a premium brand, but one has to be realistic. When you buy that AMG or M or RS badge, it is usually a long-term purchase. If you plan to switch cars quickly but are not ready to shed a lot of $, these badges are not for you.

That's a weird statement to make.

Realistic approach would be for a premium brand to buyback like they do globally.

More than 60% depreciation is unrealistic, considering what the market selling price is. And to top it brand hypocrisy too.

I think shivjeet owns a 911 too, and Merc is now relatively smaller badge for him. When he got the car, he did know of the $$ that he will lose but when MB themselves are giving him a lower than market quote, about 30% its the brand at mistake.

AMG/M/RS are smaller badges when you have a porsche 911. Just so you know.

[VSD]

Originally Posted by ashwin1224

In the 5 years of ownership the SUV has done about 104k Kms and is currently riding on its 3rd set of wheels and 4th set of brake pads.
Should I wait for the perfect buyer? Or should I sell it off for the least pathetic quote I get?

Welcome to the club man. I have a September 2012 Q5 2.0 which has now covered 119k kms. Few months ago I thought of replacing it with another SUV and well, like you already know the prices offered were shocking to say the least and therefore I got it serviced and put it back on it's duty where it belongs. It still makes couple of highway trip every month and it's doing it's duty perfectly. It'll be sold when it's meant to be.

[lamborghini]

Honestly, going the dealer route is probably the worst way to go about it.

Especially since dealers need to pay GST on the re-sale if the buy the vehicle from you - and therefore it is discounted even further than if you sold it yourself!

Second issue is the market for Germans - especially those that have done high kms - is a tricky one, as people are very wary of maintenance issues popping up. They're going the pre-owned route because they can't afford a new one essentially, though the maintenance costs will be similar to a new model if not higher!

In the case of the GL63 AMG - it makes sense to retain the car as is as compared to paying more for essentially the same car but a lower trim; at least until you find a buyer willing to pay the right price. If it's kept well, there are a ton of enthusiasts who wait for the right type of car to come by - and for them, distance isn't an issue.

Our old 5 series found it's way down south, our Laura went to a chap in Aurangabad, etc.

Better would be to list it at a fair market value and wait for the right type of buyer. If the car has done a lot of kms, discount it a further 15% from a lesser driven vehicle.

[ninjatalli]

Seems to be more of a rant thread - the way I read it - the core issue is that the the dealer is not ready to take the responsibility of finding a buyer for your car and is chosing to not go ahead with your trade-in transaction. And this is inspite of your history with the dealership.

But that is just a risk the dealer/executive in this case has decided not to take up. Legally, there is NOTHING wrong in his action. He's potentially losing a customer, but that's his call.

As for the depreciation on your car, you are free to get options elsewhere - no-one's limiting your hand to go only with what the dealer is offering you.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Shivjeet

About 3 months ago we decided to trade in the GL 63 AMG for a GLS 400, as we didn't feel the requirement for a high performance SUV anymore.

The car had cost us Rs. 1.95 cr on road and the Dealer/MBIL are offering absurd quotes of only about Rs. 65 lakhs (that too if and when they find a buyer) for this vehicle which is only 3 years old, done 19,000 km with valid extended warranty and is in immaculate condition. Whereas, on the Mercedes Benz certified website, MBIL has a Carneole Red Metallic ML 63 AMG listed for sale an

Unfortunately, in a limited / niche market, it seems that there are not enough buyers willing to give a good price for it. I think this is what you can do:
1. Put up the car for sale and use it till you find a person willing to pay the right amount for it.
2. Approach another MB dealer, or a used car dealer to get a better price.

Originally Posted by Shivjeet

Yes, but with great power comes a much-much harder suspension set-up and now we're looking for a comfy GLS instead, that can stay with us for a decade.

If I may suggest, if the ride comfort is the only reason to sell, why not look at options of changing tyres and suspension bits to get what you want? This can be done at a fraction of a cost that you'd lost if you sell at the price you are offered. I'm sure there must be garages that would do this sort of work.