Is this a good trade-in for an F355?

STOP YOUR DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The dealer is ripping him off! He will be able to get the price it is worth if he sells it on his own. What ever you do DO NOT let him take the dealers offer.

On a side note. Just for kicks, I once took my 348 to a dealer here in the states just to see what kind of idiotic offer they would give me. They offered me $25K U.S. That is about 13K Sterling. I called the guy an idiot and walked out.

 

This particular Merc is a great car but bad news money wise. The dealer is making 5k to 10k on the 355. Your dad would do much better getting the Merc as a private buy and selling the 355 likewise. Even if he just sold the 355 to a dealer and did a private buy on the Merc he'll do better.

 

While no car is a good investment, Ferrari depreciation is pretty stable/predictable, whereas SL55s have been hemorrhaging money recently (£25K over list down to £65K in the space of a year or two).

The dealer has offered a low price for the F355. How much is the SL55 ?

 

I 'm hearing you can buy the MB way under list and the 355 price is there or thereabouts as far as trade value goes. Give Karl Verdi a call on 8 756-0066 to discuss further if you need some help.

 

As Tony said you can get the Merc way under list and very good low milage second hand ones have been hit by 25k to 30k already. The AMG 55 is a very good car but hasn't held it's money well.

 

I agree with TonyH, don't pay list for an SL55.. you can get them for under that now.

I reckon your father could get at least another £5,000 for his car, and perhaps save another £5,000 on the purchase price of his SL55 (Lapworths have unregistered cars for £89,995)

I appreciate he wants a new car, but how about an almost-new one ? He can get one with say 3,000 miles on the clock for £15,000 less.. and personally I couldn't justify that premium for just 3,000 miles.

 

From what I have seen very clean 95 cars can be retailed at about £50-£52k depending on what needs to be done. Dont accept £41k !!!!

 

Its a low offer, but then again, all trade offers are disappointing. Would undoubtedly get more privately; presumably the Merc will take a while to be delivered, why not advertise the car on the FOC's website or via a dealer like KHPC or Verdis on a commission basis. The car would retail at over £50k.

With regards to paying list on the SL55, I'd resist- the initial fuss has died down, and supply now exceeds demand. SL has build quality issues, which could also impact on used demand.

On the subject of disappointing offers, I was offered £30k (LOL) on an indicative basis for my '99 355 GTS w 13k on the clock against a 996 C2 (part of me wants a car that I can take my wife and daughter along in too). Needless to say, negotiations stopped right there.

Robert.

 

Now that you mention (on ebay) the belts are due in a few months the 41k starts to look a little better.

 

Adding some photos to your ebay advert would really help.

Also try putting an advert on www.pistonheads.com its free and there is a good audience.

I would also try selling it to a Ferrari dealer. Verdi's as mentioned, Maranellos etc etc and then the independents.

Unless you're made of money, a few hours phoning around could save you thousands.

 

Yep, definitely needs some pictures.

Heck, if I were in the market for a F355 GTS I'd snap this one up.

 

How much work/money spent (in receipts) have you had done on this car since '97 when u bought?

 

Good news, nice one.

 

Mikeyevo,

May i be so bold to ask who was the lucky Independant???

 

Oooh, go on. You never know, there might be a buyer on these pages.

The dealer won't mind...

Robert.