Sad, Very Sad..!! Trying to exchange my 2001 ML 320 for an ML 500 at the dealer and

[AC_ML]

Sad, Very Sad..!! Trying to exchange my 2001 ML 320 for an ML 500 at the dealer and the dealer just offers $16,200 for my 2001 ML 320...!! (My ML is in impecable state..)

That is, it devalorized about $10,000.00 per year, since I paid $45,000.00 w/o counting the extended warranty.

My ML has 76K miles but that is just a fraction of the fall in price ($ 2492).

Never have seen such a drop in value in a Mercedes Benz vehicle in just 3 years.. It makes me wonder if I really want to get another MB ML since I will get stuck owing more than what it is valued over the years. I would have to pay more than $10,000 in loan principal every year minimum to just keep up with the ML devalorization...!!

If my ML is valued $16,000 this year, then next year my ML should be around $6000 dollars..!! Or maybe the 2000 ML's trading value are worth now that..? Anybody with an ML 2000 320 has asked their dealer how much is their trade in value..?

AC

[bjwebster]

When I Traded My 2001 ML320 In December 2003, The Best Offer, And The Offer I Took, Was $23k. My ML Was A Nicely Equiped Model, Lux, Conv, Phone, Nav, Bose, with 37k miles.

[BOY-6]

mines was around $18,000 cdn!!!

with 75,000kms and plenty off mods~ thats just really low. I guess thats the price of having an american made mercedes-benz real sad [:(]

[tsanjose]

not to burst your bubble but 2001 with 76k miles is considered high mileage. thats a major factor in pricing.

boy6, ditto on bursting your bubble too but dealers dont give a #$&@ about mods. factory options to an extent but to them aftermarket mods can even depreciate your car. if you want top dollar for the mods, find someone who is looking for those specific mods and that's how'd you'd get some money for it. unfortunately a *smart* buyer would not express his/her interest in the mods either so they typically dont help in getting you more money. if you guys are trying to get sell your vehicles, go with a private buyer.

dealers dont want more cars, they are in the business of selling not buying.

my 2 cents...

[BOY-6]

gud point, iknow what u mean. i think it goes to all cars. i went

[Mac]

I thought our '00 430 was great but nothing like the '03 ML500. The price of the V8s have risen a bit but you can still buy one for only about $2K more than you apparently paid for your ML320.

The dealer may not be offering you much for your trade but don't be surprised to see them try to sell it to someone else if it is in such good shape.

When we traded our '00, which we also kept in perfect shape. It also had as many miles as yours and I thought they'd just wholesale it away. The dealer took the mud guards off and put it out for over $29K. Seemed high to me but they sold it in less than a month.

I'm getting better mileage with the bigger engine, the '03s handle better, the transmission is unbelievably responsive, and there are a few more features that you'll probably appreciate.

As far as holding value, the wife's C320 is the winner, but I can't imagine a Escalade, for instance, holding its value any better; a LC probably would hold its value better but it costs another $10K and is not the SUV we'd want. [8D]

[AC_ML]

Yeap.. You are right.. I went shopping around for used 2001 ML' s like mine and they were all $25,500-$32,000 for 20,000 to 60,000+ mile ML 2001 vehicles at the MB dealers used vehicle section.. Even ML 2000 320's were at a minimum of $24,000..

MB is no different from any other common vehicle dealer in that they all want to make money on the sell, trade, and extended warranties of the vehicle.

What I think is brutal to their own business model is that MB dealers are the ones who offer far less trade-in for their own vehicles than any of the other brand dealers. BMW, Lexus, Volkswagen, and Infinity are all giving me much better trade-in for my ML. I like the looks of my ML (traditional) but after testing many of the current new SUV's in the market(GX470, Touareg, FX45..), their technology/quality is beginning to read better and one can feel it in the actual driving and handling.. Air suspension (GX470 and Touareg is already a generation ahead of the ML).

We'll see what happen next week with the ML500 or when the Touareg V10 Diesel and new GX470 2005 arrive later this year..

AC

[timf]

The trade in I was offered on our 00' ML430 was pathetic - decided to keep it and eventually give it to my daughter to wreck. Will likely replace it with a Cayenne TT or VW Tourag V10 oil burner !

Doubt either of the above would be as fast as an ML500 though ;-)

[Tim]

Well I think it should be pretty obvious to everyone here that the best way to get the least amount of money for your vehicle is to trade it at a dealer. At best, it gives them another opportunity to turn the deal to their advantage, at worst you really get taken.

AC_ML your analysis does not consider mileage which is probably the most important factor in determining the value of a used car. If you put 75K miles on a vehicle in just 3 years, then you are driving it 25K miles/year This is almost twice as much as what many people drive in the same period. In comparison, I only have 47K on my ML and I probably drive more than most. BTW, many Mods actually take the value of the vehicle on the used car market.

[4benzes]

When MB does not want their own truck back. They offered me 17k for my 430 w 57000 on it. That was total BS[:(!]
My truck was retailing for 25k all day long! There is always a markup in used cars, but they really dont want those ML's back[:(]
Dealers make more profit selling used cars, but it's really sad MB does not want to offer better trade in allowances on their own vehicles. I got 21k
at the Ford dealership. You really have to go to a lot of dealers, but someone will bite.[;)]