I know the depreciation of our vehicles was damatic for a while. But prices seemed to have settled.
'04's seem to hover around $12K,, sometimes less, depending on miles.
Since the Crossie was based on the SLK 320 platform and drive, I thought I'd see for what they were selling.

SlK's just 2 or 3 years older are selling in the $12K's

Considering that they originaly stickered for more than the XFire that doesn't seem so bad.
EBay had several of these.
Mercedes-Benz : SLK-Class : eBay Motors (item 320489912691 end time Mar-10-10 20:14:45 PST)

MB's always seem to drop fast in price after about 3 years. I always bought mine right sometimes for 1/10th the original stickered price.

Great way to get value for sure.



roadster with a stick

 

I paid 25K for mine new is 2005. I thought that was a great price back then. It would have been best to wait and buy for much less but I don't regret it. I like being the original owner... then I know how the car was treated. Also, when you buy a used car you never know what the previous owner did to the car. Some people do strange things!

 

A conservative investment approach is "dollar cost averaging" ....so after getting $13K off in 2007, I waited till 2009 & got $21K off another new one...

 

I paid $19k for my brand new 08 this past January.

 

imho, like residential real estate, we've seen the bottom. i feel fortunate to have purchased mine new old stock when i did.

 

Your welcome. Son doing ok now ?

 

Yes & wife is loving driving Wilma now instead of the Chevy HHR ....

 

Dude, I got a steal on my crossfire. The dealership almost didnt want it at all. Mines an 06 with 22,xxx miles on it, and picked it for 11K.

 

I got a steal on mine too. That and the lifetime powertrain warranty are the reasons I bought it.

 

Its all due to the economy and chryslers financial issues.
The market wont support a car that has no backing from the dealer that built it
besides, going to chrysler to get parts for this car is a painful process, I just skip them and go straight to mercedes.

I paid 22 for my 07, in 07 with 7k on it, black limited coupe 6 spd

 

Anybody who bought in late '06 , '07 or '08 did well. This is no surprise.

You bought AFTER the massive depreciation, so your experience isn't normal or standard.

those who bought new in '04 and '05 paid a stiff price in depreciation. As much as 50% in the first years.
But the downward spiral has leveled off and soon, unless one sold their Crossie in a panic, the value will be what it would have been anyway.

Just saying.....
So if you did buy one right, drive 'em like you stole them, 'cause you did.

And if you didn't steal one, well lucky you, as you have many more years of permagrin on you face than those skinflints who suffered as they waited for the deal. And as of now, you landed in the same place anyway. Sorta


roadster with a stick

 

I have no doubt I'll be underwater on my car loan until the thing is paid off as I put very little dough down when I bought my '05 roadster in Oct. 07.

 

I feel your pain as I am under water on one of mine. Even though I bought my '06 roadster right, I bought it when it looked like my ship was coming in and I could wait no longer for my Xfire. With virually no money down and a big warranty package added on I will likely never be ahead on that one. The second one we bought right with some money in the deal and so, between the two, we are OK.

Meanwhile it doesn't hurt so much when the payment comes due. Not like it did making payments on a 4-5 year old minivan.

roadster with a stick

 

Bet you had that money back in your pocket for more go fast goodies

I am looking forward to running them at the Dragon buddy. I am really interested to see what that modded out little roadster will do

 

I'm not the one you have to worry about. Mrs Shark067 has a red '05 coupe that is going to prove out as the fast one. I drove it last week. Amazing!

roadster with a stick

 

yeah, I'm really happy with my Ltd autostick, bought Dec 08 for 14500 with 10K, now has 20 on it. I've said this before, but I'll buy another really quick if mine gets lost somehow. I might look for an SRT, but for how I drive probably not. The NA is just fine with me and I understand the ride is stiffer, and there is the IC pump issue, so all in all I like the idea of just being a solid reliable auto with a reasonably good ride.

 

Would you "settle" for the harsh ride if the SRT only cost you $100.00?


roadster with a stick

 

Picked up my roadster in July 07, car just turned 52,000 mile today - did I pay too much - yes. Looking to sell -nope!
Still like it as much as when I bought it - so what else am I going to get that's this much fun for even what I paid in 07 - NOTHING that's what!
So who cares

 

Stop it Franc!
That's MY SRT yer takin' about!

MINE! Ya hear me!?

 

[quote=Franc Rauscher]Anybody who bought in late '06 , '07 or '08 did well. This is no surprise.

Even though I bought an '08 at the apparent top of the curve ($23k), I don't feel I'll ever be upside down on this car. Simply, I intend to keep this car until its worth what I paid--and I firmly believe that this will one day prove true. I also intend to meticuously keep my lifetime power train warranty.

P.S. Through connections in the industry, I'm guessing a downsized Chrysler will survive and even thrive for the next two decades in contradistinction to GM, for which I am very concerned.