All Entries Tagged With: "eBay Motors"
eBay Watch: 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 4.5
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG eBay
PARTIALLY, but professionally restored with fresh Mercedes-Benz 728H beige grey paint and refinished walnut paneling: a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 4.5.
Carefully considered listing with all original literature and some service records. Exhaust was replaced with stainless steel system for longevity.
Original pneumatic shocks said to be in full working order with the seller acknowledging:
Most 300SEL’s have worn out air valves and air bellows. Trouble with the air suspension will cost quite a bit of money. It is uncommon to find a car such as this that has been well maintained and all air suspension components replaced.
More than 140K miles traveled, though the seller states that the odometer reads only 42K. A buyer might check VIN with MBUSA as an additional source.
Eight bids have the price at posting @ $5,000 with three days to go and the reserve yet to be met. Based near Portland, Oregon, this W109 Benz sedan cuts a handsome figure, indeed. Aficionados will note that it lacks the mighty 6.3 designation with big-bloc m100 V8.
The trade off? An apparently cared for vintage Benz of seeming quality that will sell for less. Tremendously enticing, though as always, caveat emptor.
Buyer’s Market: Benz 300SE SoCal Gem
Too good to be true?
By Gunnar Heinrich
WHAT does $1,600 buy you these days?
- Two roundtrip tickets (economy) from New York to Buenos Aires for a sunny sojourn? Check.
- One leather briefcase from Dunhill plus a box of cigars for the humidor? Check.
- One dozen long stem roses in a crystal rose vase by Steuben for votre amour? Check.
Or how about one 1989 jet black on black Mercedes-Benz 300SE…
Manufacturer Sales Events vs. eBay Motors: 0-1
The real “event” is over @ eBay.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG MBUSA.com
EVERYONE is having a fire sale Stateside.
Mercedes-Benz is hosting its “Winter Event” now through the New Year, tempting would-be buyers with saucy 3.9% financing on C’s ‘n E’s.
GM, naturally, has its own “Red Tag” event; slashing MSRPs on every Cadillac, Saab, Hummer, Pontiac, Chevy, and Saturn and offering cash incentives.
Toyota (of “Saved By Zero” infamy) and its luxury subsidiary Lexus have their own year end blow out – or as Lexus more properly puts it: “The December to Remember Sales Event.”
And it just so happens that the Lexus “Event” carries on until January 5th -a full three days longer than the Mercedes-Benz “Event”.
Mere happenstance? Likely not.
Since there’s enough “tape” out there telling us that the economy’s tarter than a Sicilian blood orange, it’s a buyer’s market for luxury cars. But as tempting as all these factory-led discounts may seem, buying used online remains the better bet for those who really want to save ca$h.
Here are some illuminating examples of fluffy manufacturer incentives versus real online bargains.
MERCEDES-BENZ
According to MBUSA, $54,075 will put you behind the wheel of a base M.Y. ’09 E350 4-Matic.
If MB’s figure appears reasonable, consider then that Straightline Automotive Group of Dallas, TX is offering a M.Y. ’06 E350 4-Matic on eBay for a buy-it-now price of $19,770.
Just shy of 50K miles, the silver Benz is still under Stuttgart’s warranty umbah-rella.
CADILLAC
Shopping for an ’09 Cadillac SRX with a Northstar V8? Cadillac.com tells me that my Redtag price is $43,965.69 (down from the original $47,835). Nice discount.
Until we head back to eBay and see that Michigan based Gooley Cadillac offers a M.Y. ’08 SRX (V8) with 12K on the clock for a buy-it-now price of $34,990 (bidding’s up to $25,100 last time I checked). Again, original factory warranty applies.
LEXUS
Base MSRP on Lexus’ LS460 is a lofty $77,110 before we get out the door – Lexususa.com says.
“Redlinefun” – one of eBay’s “powersellers” – has a promising listing for a warrantied M.Y. ’08 LS460 that has only covered a scant 9,015 miles for a buy-it-now price of $54,700.
The best part of this and all eBay listings is that with sound credit, you too have as much chance of getting financed (if not at better rates) than you do at the dealer.
And yet nothing is ever fool proof. Scams, lemons, and bum deals can happen on eBay.
That said, scams, lemons, and bum deals can happen at the local dealer, too.
It seems that the real event is (for now at least) online. And what’s even better is that these incentives don’t appear to be disappearing anytime soon.
[Linked: eBay Motors | MBUSA | Cadillac.com | LexusUSA]
