Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
This is the end of the road for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe. Following the 2020 model year, Mercedes made a huge decision on pulling the plug for the S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet model, which have been around in one way or another since the W142 chassis that debuted in 1937. The reason given was to cut down the massive line-up of cars to make it a little easier on dealers as well as shift focus to electric offerings. Crazy how we can go from twin-turbocharged V12s making 620 horsepower to all-electric cars basically overnight. Mercedes is telling its customers to go buy the new R232 SL if they want a grand tourer coupe, but that is clearly not the same as the king of the hill S-Class. What will all that mean? I think the current C217 and A217 are going to be very collectible.
A few weeks ago I took a look at the former king of the Mercedes-Benz chauffer cars, the Maybach 62S. Back when it hit the scene in the early 2000s, it rivaled everything on the road of terms of executive ground transpiration and certainly had the price tag to match. However, now that 20 years have passed, it isn’t so impressive anymore other than it being a look back into the time and doing the math at how much value they have lost. When Mercedes brought back the Maybach name as a sub-brand in 2015, it certainly made more sense to have them positioned as a trim level of the S-Class, rather than trying to pitch them as an entirely new brand. Wouldn’t you know, it fared much better and certainly kept production costs down as the majority of the changes were just to the rear seating and some various trim pieces. In typical S-Class fashion, it followed a heavy depreciation after the first few years but still offers great value if you want to go that route. This 2019 up for sale in Texas offers you a $50,000 discount if you’d like roll around in a previous generation car. Would anyone even notice?
The Mercedes-Benz C216 chassis isn’t exactly aging well. This design was certainly considered modern at the time of it’s launch in late 2006, but now almost 15 years later, it is a bit uninspiring. Yes, the AMG cars look a little better, but this is a giant blob of a car in my opinion. Inside the cabin, you had a small glimpse into the future. It has a nearly full digital display that could be configured in a number of ways. This was impressive in 2006 and just now the technology is trickling down the regular cars of the world. Still, the party tricks are few and far between on this chassis and the repair bills have the potential to be many.
Today, I happen to come across a 2009 CL550 up for sale in Arizona that has an extraordinary amount of miles, and as a result, an over a $100,000 discount off the sticker price. Would you?
For the past 15 years or so, Mercedes-Benz and AMG would take their flagship sedan, put a twin-turbo V12 in it that makes enough power to pull a barge of coal, and sell it for over $200,000. Then before the dealership owner’s nephew gets a chance to scratch the paint up by “washing” it, it isn’t worth $200,000 anymore. Mile after mile, the car is worth less. Significantly less. Like, “I could have gone to Harvard” less. Until we are here today, some five years later, where the car has lost over $160,000 in depreciation. Still the same car, same 621 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, and of course, same running costs. Tempting?
At the beginning of this year I looked at one of the most exclusive and expensive cabriolets on the market with the 2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet. Mercedes produced 300 of these cars and just 75 of them came to North America. To pay for that exclusivity, you had to pony up around $350,0000. Needless to say they all did sell, but now six months later if you want one, it might be a little difficult seeing as there are just that 75 of them out there and maybe even less because of exporters. Today, I found one in West Hollywood of all places with just 182 miles on it. The price? Well, that $350,000 MSRP isn’t going to cut it anyway. Not even close.
