00 S 320 what's it worth

nialler

Hi Folks

Heard about an 00 S 320 petrol last week, all the mod cons as they say, cream leather, long wheel base and about 78k on the clock so I bought it, just had her serviced.

Now can't obtain the service history (well I can but it would be inappropriate to contact the person as it was a repo) phoned a couple of merc dealers and the dealer who sold it originally but he doesn't service cars to try and locate where it was serviced.

Any idea how I could (a) get the service history (I'm sure it's on a computer somewhere) and (b) how much is it worth on open market?

Opinions would be appreciated, It's a dream car although probably to good for a gimp like meself.

rabbitinlights

About €30,000?

Carzone.ie link

Did you get a bargain?

nialler

rabbitinlights wrote:

About €30,000?

Carzone.ie link

Did you get a bargain?

ermmm considering I have the long wheel base, yes, but no service history which pees me off. Just priced the current model (same body) on belgard motors with the extras that are in this car and it came out at a whopping 140k that's worth more than me house! Massive depreciation on cars like that.

drdre

30000 yoyos sounds so cheap compared to a new one

lomb

actually its worth not more than 23-24500, its 6 years old, and most property developers buy new, theres a new model out that will depress their prices rapidly within 12 months,very fine car though..

unkel

Hard to say though as there are very few around for sale. In my humble opinion the asking (listed, advertised) prices for S-classes are generally about the most unrealistic for any car

lomb wrote:

actually its worth not more than 23-24500

And then only with history and from a dealer with a warranty

Let's put it this way: If I were to buy that in about a years time, I'd expect to pay about €14k in a private sale if the car was in good condition with no defects and with service history. It's hardly gonna depreciate €10k this year, so selling it privately no will no way get you €24k

Pity it's not an S430 / S500. Firmly on my shortlist for my next upgrade. Gonna feck the third €1343 tax bill at my car this month so I'll have at least another full year to decide, provided the Flaggschiff will survive

lomb

[QUOTE=unkelIf I were to buy that in about a years time, I'd expect to pay about €14k in a private sale if the car was in good condition with no defects and with service history. [/QUOTE]

ur a tough customer unkel:D
u are probably right though, the car probably isnt worth more than 20 in a straight cash sale, sad for a majestic car to fall so far in such a short time, still an awesome machine though regardless of price;)

unkel

lomb wrote:

still an awesome machine though regardless of price;)

Absolutely and I feel the previous S-class still looks fantastic and not dated at all, nearly 7 years after it's launch

lomb wrote:

sad for a majestic car to fall so far in such a short time

Sad? Happy days me thinks and I'm sure the OP is with me on that one

You know this lomb, but others reading this might not. I bought my car, a BMW 735i V8 (E38) fully loaded (you name it, it's got it) when it was just over 7 years old with full BMW service history in a private cash sale for €11k

That was 2 years ago. Not a single thing has gone wrong with it yet (touch wood) and servicing by my trusted specialist was very reasonable. The only nay is the tax, everything else is yay

nialler

unkel wrote:

Absolutely and I feel the previous S-class still looks fantastic and not dated at all, nearly 7 years after it's launch



Sad? Happy days me thinks and I'm sure the OP is with me on that one

You know this lomb, but others reading this might not. I bought my car, a BMW 735i V8 (E38) fully loaded (you name it, it's got it) when it was just over 7 years old with full BMW service history in a private cash sale for €11k

That was 2 years ago. Not a single thing has gone wrong with it yet (touch wood) and servicing by my trusted specialist was very reasonable. The only nay is the tax, everything else is yay

You're definitely one tough customer unkel, I'd hate to try and sell a car to you. But you're right and I sometimes feel it's wrong to take advantage of someone elses troubles but that's the way things swing.

My dream car was and probably still is like the one you're driving 95-2000 735 but this is a very very classy car. I feel your valuation may be slightly off though, not by much if you look at the dealer prices then again they're probably offering warranties and the like.

To be honest I'm the type of person who'll drive a car for the next 7-10 years if it doesn't give me any problems (touch wood again), I'll look after it but unfortunately my 95 Rover 620si was starting to grate on me a bit, it was noisy due to the electric windows being a bit dodgy and a little hole in the sunroof, still a nice car to drive although not in the same league compared to the S320.

As you say the only downside to owning cars like this is the ridiculous amount of tax €1300 and your fuel costs, I was a bit taken aback when driving out to the airport the other day averaged about 8mph and getting slightly over 9mpg and when it takes close to €100 to fill a tank (including reserve) you start to see why you need an exec's job to run one (I'll probably have to start selling a kidney soon ;-) ).

I'm going do my damnedest to try and locate the service booklet, though starting now it'll get the care and attention it needs.

BnA

nialler wrote:

Now can't obtain the service history (well I can but it would be inappropriate to contact the person as it was a repo) ...

I say call him up.

I know it won't be easy..... but what's the worst he can do. Tell you to efff off. Big deal.

Also, you don't have to let on you know it's a repo. Just ring him up, be very nice, tell him you bought his car and you were just wondering where it was serviced.

Best Case Senario..... He tells you.
Worst Case.... He tells you to eff off. Big deal. Just hang up on him, you never have to hear from him again.

I'd say, rather than worrying about it just bite the bullet and go for it. It could save you a lot of hassle ringing around.

Johnny Storm

Lomb and Unkel,

I am very interested in what you are saying and I dont doubt your word for a minute but let me ask you this: why isn't everyone paying €11-20K for a 6-7 year old S-class or 7-series? No disrespect intended but it sounds almost too good to be true. Is it the cost of tax, servicing and repairs?

lomb

Johnny Storm wrote:

why isn't everyone paying €11-20K for a 6-7 year old S-class or 7-series?

because they are scared, conditioned to drive 1300 cc engines, scared of fuel bills, tax bills, and insurance. the truth is that fuel isnt going to make a hugh dent if you do average miles, especially on a 7 series(just ask unkel what economy he gets)
tax is 1300 but then again thats why the car is cheap so thats a fair trade, insurance unless its a coupe will be surprisingly low.
the only fly in the ointment is if something breakes, a new engine for a 740i is 15000 euros on an exchange basis. luckily with the internet and good transport good used parts can be gotten cheaply from the uk from specialist breakers.
the other thing is if u buy a car for 15 say, u may not get 5 for it in 2 years tehre just isnt a market for these cars, so the depreciation can be hefty. do as unkel does, buy at 11-12, and drive it for 3 years. dont buy any older than 8 years old ,and sell after not more than another 3 years.

the final thing is u need to haggle hard, the cars genuinely have no market, the vendor knows this, its not like property where theres a que around the block, these cars arent perceived as desirable except by the wealthy who always buy brand new and most who are reg plate snobs..

Citizen Jake

This may sound stupid, but two places might give you a clue to who serviced her:

* some mechanics stick a sticker on the top right corner of the windscreen under the sun visor on the driver's side and outline the mileage when the next service is due. Chances are you may already have checked for this and there's nothing there , but you never know, if you haven't checked or spotted anything, check again.
* If there's 78 miles on the clock, then at some point in the last 10-20,000 miles the timing belt was changed. Mechanics tend to stick a note on the engine noting the mileage. Unlikely, and may be just the figure, but there may be a clue, maybe not.

My tuppence worth. J

lomb

Citizen Jake wrote:

T
* If there's 78 miles on the clock, then at some point in the last 10-20,000 miles the timing belt was changed. Mechanics tend to stick a note on the engine noting the mileage. Unlikely, and may be just the figure, but there may be a clue, maybe not.

My tuppence worth. J

she has a chain afaik that doesnt need changing till 200k miles.
u needed to check service history before buying it, deducting generously if it hadnt got any.

nialler

Lomb

it was a repo, bought direct from finance company, one dealer bid 2.5k over at auction what I got it for before it was pulled from auction for me (I know the repo guy I've bought a lot of equipment off him in the past). I knew the risks, had to take them, still though cost me €329 for a service, €119 for a new battery as it's been off the road for a year while yer man tried to catch up on the arrears and the mechanic told me she needs new front tyres and to be tracked and balanced there's another €400-€500 on the way.

lomb

hi nailler, sounds fair, can i ask what you got her for?

nialler

lomb wrote:

actually its worth not more than 23-24500, its 6 years old, and most property developers buy new, theres a new model out that will depress their prices rapidly within 12 months,very fine car though..

you were on the nose with the 1st number 23.

TempestSabre

nialler wrote:

averaged about 8mph and getting slightly over 9mpg and when it takes close to €100 to fill a tank (including reserve) ...

Lovely cars but thats horrendous. As the saying goes. If you have to ask about the running costs, you can't afford it.

fletch

Are we gonna see some pics of the S-Class nialler?

nialler

TempestSabre wrote:

Lovely cars but thats horrendous. As the saying goes. If you have to ask about the running costs, you can't afford it.

I didn't ask really about the running costs, I was using up about 50 euros worth of juice in the 620 anyway this is slightly more at about 65/70, but like anything else you gotta breakdown costs, insurance, tax, maintenance and fuel, you'd be silly not to all I was trying to assess was the market value of the car, I felt I got a good deal and still do I'll drive it for the next 10 years (hopefully) and keep it well maintained and really what it all boils down to is that it puts a tremendous smile on my face and it's a beautiful drive.

as for a pic

unkel

Best of luck with your S320, nialler

nialler wrote:

I'm the type of person who'll drive a car for the next 7-10 years

So you picked the right car. I can't think of a better saloon for your budget to be driving for that length of time

nialler wrote:

I'm going do my damnedest to try and locate the service booklet, though starting now it'll get the care and attention it needs.

I'd second BnA on that one - nothing to lose there

nialler wrote:

I was a bit taken aback when driving out to the airport the other day averaged about 8mph and getting slightly over 9mpg

You sure? That ain't right unless you have an extremely heavy right foot or sit in gridlock city traffic for hours on end

I've done 21mpg on average (more in the winter, less in the summer) over the two years that I've owned the 735. That's with at least 90% Dublin traffic, but not commuting into the city centre every day. I generally drive smoothly and within the speed limits, but do overtake whenever it's safe using full power

Just checked and the official fuel consumption figures for your S-class are slightly better than for my 7-series

Johnny Storm wrote:

Lomb and Unkel,

I am very interested in what you are saying and I dont doubt your word for a minute but let me ask you this: why isn't everyone paying €11-20K for a 6-7 year old S-class or 7-series?

lomb has summed that one up rather well, especially:

lomb wrote:

because they are scared, conditioned to drive 1300 cc engines, scared of fuel bills, tax bills, and insurance. the truth is that fuel isnt going to make a hugh dent if you do average miles

Indeed. For the past two years, I've done 7k miles per annum. Compare my fuel bill to that of a modest 1.6 repmobile two full sizes smaller doing 30MPG in similar driving conditions and you get a difference of 100 gallons, or a measly €477 per annum (assuming petrol @€;1.05/l). Nothing in terms of total cost of ownership

My comp insurance is about €700 plus a small premium for limited business use and a 15% premium for full NCB protection, totalling about €900

Johnny Storm wrote:

Is it the cost of tax, servicing and repairs?

Tax is high - no way around that one, except that it surely is disconted in the price of older large engined cars in Ireland

I don't do any servicing myself except for the most trivial matters like checking the tyre air pressure (the one thing the computer doesn't do) and topping up washer fluid. I bring the car down to my trusted specialist whenever the computer tells me I should

Repairs? In my past 5 years of driving older V8 BMWs, I haven't had any - touching wood again

But again, as lomb said, should the engine get fubarred, the car would be an economical write-off. The engine is considered to be good for 400,000 km, and I'm just over half that. I don't take out term loans when buying a car, so if disaster should strike, I could always get a loan like most people and buy another car

nialler wrote:

I feel your valuation may be slightly off though

Yeah, you're probably right there. Here's some thoughts:

-I didn't spot the LWB. Makes a huge difference to the comfort of tall back seat passengers. In my (non-L) 7-series, I can only just about sit behind myself with about an inch to spare (I'm 6'2). Not that impressive in a car this size

-Check this thread here on boards. Volvoboy's dad bought a '99 S500 last year for €22.5k (advertised for €30k)



-I was a bit unrealistic in expecting to be able to buy a '00 S320 for €14k next year. The new model is only out now and there will not be that many around yet this time next year

-The mileage on my car when I got it was 112k. Enough to scare of a lot of people, especially those that don't think is right, the timing belt hasn't even been replace once yet

-I got my car for a fantastic price. This was down to luck and opportunism as much as anything else. I was looking for an E39 5-series (keeping an open mind on the E38 7-series) when I spotted my car. The car had all the check signs green. It was a company directors car. The accountant had told all three directors to sell their aging company owned cars (A8 4.2, BMW 735, S320) and replace them with leased cars. The cars just had to go. I do feel I played my cards right. I was making sure that he knew I was very interested and I was going to buy it. I had the cash ready. I was not going to waste a minute of his time. Then again, I told him that he might very well get a better offer for the car, which obviously was in great condition and worth more than he was asking for (and a lot more than I was offering him). I also told him that might very well happen tomorrow, but it might not happen in two months time. At that very point in time I saw him concede from his body language. We chit-chatted and argued for another 30 minutes, but that was it

DirkVoodoo

Speccing a brand new one is a bit tricky, as the face lifted version added a few 'extras' as standard, namely the command style screen and the pre-safe system that mercedes had just developed. I think prices across the range went up by about 10% (not entirely sure tho)

However, all thing considered i would reckon around 30k to be a fair price. I myself would have gone with the diesel, but there are issues i understand with its engine management computer and other electronics that one finds in a modern day diesel system. From experience i know that mercs build quality has been questionable recently, my dad traded in his 01 s for an 03 s a year ago and some component under the seat had oxidised and leaked onto the leather. After much hassle they delivered the seat to his house in waterford (??) presumably so he can install it himself!!

cbg has a 00 s320 with 84k miles on the clock for 30,000 (with some terrible aftermarket alloys mind you)

Anyway, best of luck with it, tis a grand car, just try and avoid the awful mercedes dealers who would rather shoot you than help!:D

unkel

@nialler - it took me so long to type up my post there ^^ that it crossed with your post

nialler wrote:

as for a pic

Very nice indeed

Oh and I forgot to add to my list of thoughts:

- a slightly older Merc is worth at least 20-30% more than its equivalent BMW in the Irish market

DirkVoodoo wrote:

I myself would have gone with the diesel

That's not a great diesel and way overpriced second hand imho

nialler

Thanks unkel

Just needed a bit of reassureance. With regards to the mpg it was gridlock, was getting about 28mpg on the way back with nothing on the roads which made me calm down a fair bit. Looking forwared to bringing it on a good run to cork in a week or two.

lomb

lovely colour, consider getting the air con refrigerant drained and refilled (with the lubricating oil that HAS to be put in, otherwise the compressor will get damaged)
the evaparator tends to corrode from the inside out with humidity build up in the fluid and not to shock u but u have to take the whole dash out to change it at a cost of 3 grand. also whatever u do get the automatic gearbox fluid drained and refilled. u ont want to know what a gearbox rebuild costs. if u change it it will be ok. finally get the brake fluid drained and refilled, this protects the abs sensors which control the esp stability control systems, whixh u dont want to go wrong.
only run it on synthetic oil also, and listen for any timing chain rattle from the front of the engine, change it when it starts (possibly 150k miles)
if u do all that, im sure u can look forward to many years of motoring, if u dont u can put it on the scrap heap in 5 years. if u need further info join some merc forums on the net theres loads of them.
finally the command system gave problems when launched, hopefully u havent got this, but even if u have should be ok as im sure its been ironed out by now.
ps i know all the above as i was looking at buying one at some point, might go with a late nineties SL though:D

unkel

lomb wrote:

i know all the above as i was looking at buying one at some point

LOL, you've been saying that since you joined the boards. Put your money where your mouth is!

colm_mcm

the S320 is booking in the mid 20's, and thats not for a LWB

lomb

colm_mcm wrote:

the S320 is booking in the mid 20's, and thats not for a LWB

DATE: 03 February 2006 TIME: 19:30

STATISTICAL CODE: 40389915
MAKE: MERCEDES-BENZ
MODEL: S320
VERSION: LWB 04DR A / SALOON / AUTOMATIC / PETROL ONLY /
MILEAGE: 80000 MILES

The information requested in respect of the vehicle shown is indicated below.
DATE OF FIRST REGISTRATION(MM/YY): JANUARY 2000
OPEN MARKET SELLING PRICE:
(applicable on enquiry date) €22630
RATE OF TAX: 30.0%
VEHICLE REGISTRATION TAX:
(payable on enquiry date) €6789

i think its dropped since the new model

lomb

unkel wrote:

Put your money where your mouth is!

one word-property. im buying things that go up not down, but all in due course my friend. anyway the best things get better the longer u wait;)

nialler

lomb wrote:

DATE: 03 February 2006 TIME: 19:30

STATISTICAL CODE: 40389915
MAKE: MERCEDES-BENZ
MODEL: S320
VERSION: LWB 04DR A / SALOON / AUTOMATIC / PETROL ONLY /
MILEAGE: 80000 MILES

The information requested in respect of the vehicle shown is indicated below.
DATE OF FIRST REGISTRATION(MM/YY): JANUARY 2000
OPEN MARKET SELLING PRICE:
(applicable on enquiry date) €22630
RATE OF TAX: 30.0%
VEHICLE REGISTRATION TAX:
(payable on enquiry date) €6789

i think its dropped since the new model

Lomb

Do you add the €6789 VRT on top of that? Or how is customs getting that valuation from dealerships?

And you're right, property is the way to go, mine's gone up 600k since I bought it 12 years ago.

unkel

nialler wrote:

Do you add the €6789 VRT on top of that?

No. Whatever you pay for the car you are importing from another EU country, you'll have to pay the VRT figure upon importing the car into Ireland, in this case €6789

nialler wrote:

mine's gone up 600k since I bought it 12 years ago.

:eek: So you're nearly a millionaire based on the value of your house alone. Fair play