Please help me decide
 

IM about to sell my boxster for the 2nd time.Im going to get a Mercedes 2003 S600 or a 2003 s55 amg.What one do you think is better,i love the way the amg looks but i also LOVE the Twin-Turbo V-12 that comes in the S600?
thanks

Get which ever one will retain its resale value much better and the one that you can afford to service.

You sold your Box before? What it came back :confused:

Get the Mercedes 2003 S600 Twin-Turbo V-12

"Scotty I need more power!!"

yep,sold it guy took it to Porsche after money was in the bank,Porsche said $10,000 worth of repairs to car,i was nice and gave the money back to the buyer,got my car back and repaired it. :D

YEP :( SADLY IT WAS

WHAT KINDA REPAIRS COST YOU $10,000??????
:troll:

A SCARED PORSCHE OWNER...

Wow, always nice to hear about someone doing the right thing. Good for you.

The karma you have amassed from that will likely get you a great buy on one of the hotrods you are looking at.

I would personally go with the S600 - there is something about a full size German sedan with a V12 that says to me it should be owned at some point in one's life.

Either way you are going to get an amazing vehicle.

I'm also curious, did your engine have fatal RMS failure? I'm just trying to imagine what kind of repairs would equal that much money with only 13,000 on the car? They should all be under warranty (well, really, non-existant at that point in the cars' life)...

man I remember this story I think....everyone hear said not to give back the money if I remeber correctly

I have driven various Benzes for years, nice cars to cruise on the Hwy.

Either of these cars is expensive to repair and the acceleration for either is pretty amazing so not much to choose there. On looks I would prefer the AMG, it also has better handling and will probably retain a little more of its value. If it were me I would look at the miles and any remaining warrantee to decide, if all is equal I would get the AMG.

Maintenance on Benzes is like the P-Car and must be done on time. The Dealer will be able to pull the service records for these cars (I am assuming these are at the dealer) and let you know the warrantee history. Don’t be surprised if it is long!

Personally I don’t really enjoy driving the larger Benz models, they are packed full of great technology and are surprisingly agile for cars of there size but after a while I can tell you that you will feel as though you are driving a boat. Some of the smaller Benz models are much better in this regard; try to find a nicely loaded CLK500 with the sports suspension option or the AMG CLK55, also drive an E55 both these cars can be had newer than the S for similar $.

Finally the depreciation curve on S and CL class cars is pretty steep so count on a large hit when you sell it even though they are 3-4 years old. Don’t believe Edmonds etc. for pricing. The Mkt. for these cars is limited so bargain hard if you go for it.

yeah thats right :D

Does selling a "$15k Boxster" even have an impact when buying/financing/leasing a $120K benz? Something here just doesn't make sense to me.

More like $22,000 :D , and it will cost me more around $50,000

Sorry. I thought it was a 2007 Benz... not a 2003. Kind of sad for MB since they were linkely originally $100k cars and in only 3 years they have lost 50% of their value. I am sure they are cheap to fix though :rolleyes:

Good luck on the $22. While I don't know your cars story, a $10,000 repair bill is not likely to be "recovered" and well, 99's are only getting older and "cheaper" on the used market. I would hazzard a blue book value of about $14-17k depending on private sale or trade in. Then again, it may have both a new top AND motor???? so maybe closer to $20 for private sale?

Have we not learned our lesson about "German engineering"?

In my opinion, I would take the $50k and buy a nice used Japanese luxury car. I'm a big fan (granted I'm partial because I had one) of the Infiniti Q45. Or at least go for the big BMW if you really need the German stamp on it and a little bit of handling fun?

My apologies for giving you a vote outside of what you have asked... I guess I'm just a little anti-German right now... Maybe too much German beer or marsupial turds in my coffee over the holiday? ;)

i sold it for 26k

Why get a Benz when you can get another Porsche?! How about a 911?! :dance:

In your earlier thread entitled "im not happy" the estimated repair bill was $5000.00 (which seemed high for the work cited but who knows with dealers?) What else happened?

im not happy

$26K? Is that the trade-in value quoted or did you get that price in a private sale? If that's the price you got in a private sale, I'm going to let you sell my Boxster if I ever decide to get rid of it ;)

Interesting reading on depreciation I ran across recently:

http://986forum.com/forums/70182-post14.html

http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/toptens/expensive_to_own.html

____________________________

Looks like that karma kind of came back to you. Before you buy Benz why don't you consider some of the other posts and look into a Japanese car. Lexus, Infiniti, etc. Maybe even a new BMW since they retain value so well.

Wow.. 26? Guess what PT Barnum said was true. BUT. That was 1 year ago. Now you have a 8 year old car. And its still winter (not as good a season as Spring for local VA buyers getting the spring itch for a convertible.) Maybe you can find another "educated" buyer ;)

Apples to Oranges here, but I bought my MY2000 Boxster with 40K miles for $16,5 - Private party.

By the way, have you test driven either of the Benz's in question? I would have to think that even if their performance numbers are similar, they behave quite differently.

lol your right,i dont know why but 10k came in mind,your right it was 5k

i have driven a 03 s55 amg and WOW it was loud and really REALLY fast. after my test drive when i got back into my boxster it felt like **************** :mad: thats how fast it was! i havent drove the 600 yet.

I've owned a S500 designo and a C55 AMG, and looked at both the S55 and 600 during that time. The cars are far more different than you might think. The AMG is a tighter handling car, with visual and suspension bits that make it more athletic. Power is good. The 600 is more of a cruiser in look, suspension, etc. Much like my S500 designo. The power is different, too. I describe the power as feeling like you pushed a piano off of a skyscraper. A strong, steady push. Very much in line with the 600's cruiser status.

So, pick sport or cruise. After that, you really can't lose. Just make sure you get a couple of options that will raise the satisfaction level. Look for the designo package. Upgraded leather, suede headliner, extensive wood trim, wool carpets and mats, etc. Everything, and I mean everything is covered in leather. Dash, key surround, console, etc. Also, get the rear seat package. Rears recline out and are heated. Your passengers will thank you. Finally, rear climate control.

I bought mine off lease. Originally a bit over $100K in 2000. I bought for $46K in 2003. :woot:

Good luck.

Have you familiarized yourself with the cost of maintenance/repair on an S-Class, particularly if you're out of warranty anytime soon? Don't forget to call your insurance company before hand, less you get a rude surprise, especially at your age. There's also alot of nice late model SL500s at or just north of your price range as well.

No kidding. Spark plug change = $450, 16 of them, platinum, and all the top engine dressing has to come off. :eek:

Both cars push 493HP however the V12 Turbo has 590lbs torque while the S55 has 516lbs. I’ve driven both and the S55 is a COMEPLETELY different beast. Also the AMG with have a better resale value at the end although neither cars value will be high at all. As soon as the 2007 body style releases its AMG model the old models will see a big drop. MBZ does a HORIBLE job at retaining value.

We here have a 1997 S500 BB Value $8000(Bought new for 102k), a 2006 S500 AMG BB value $60000 (Bought new for 96K) and a 2007 S550 BB Value 75K (Bought new $121k). THEY DO NOT RETAIN VALUE and that’s why you’re getting a 100k-120k car for 50k. Plus they are a dime a dozen, who wants what everyone else got?

Have you been reading Consumer Reports lately? :p

Merc got trashed. I believe they were the car make with most models to have so many cars make Consumer Report worst list. All of their convertibles, the SUV(shocker), CLK and even the new CLS. Probably Merc's worst showing in a decade.

An AMG like a RUF Porsche, is EXTREMELY expensive to insure. Although the two aren't really the same because AMG is wholly owned by Merc but that makes no difference to the underwriter, they'll stick you with a nice BIG surcharge.

By the way I have no idea how someone can drive Porsche brakes and give that up for what they put on Mercs. Braking is the most underated aspect of a car and I personally could never live with anything I have seen from Merc.
p.s.
I also feel ridiculous driving a four door sedan, like I should be wearing a chauffer's cap on my head.

Yeah, my brother-in-law currently works for them and has been a huge Mercedes fan his whole life. He advised me against buying one and has said that he would not purchase any of the recent models himself. They are hoping that some of their initiatives improves their quality, but until then...

Dude:

Get yourself an SL55 AMG. Forget the SL600; for the same money your getting all the AMG technology in the breaks, suspension, etc. plus the panoshe if you will.

The way the SL's depreciate you can get yourself a sweet deal on a car that went over 120K new, and will outperform almost anything out there. Plus, you get comfortable seats beyond your dreams, and a retractable hard top.

Forget the S Class, too big and "clumsy." :rolleyes:

You could hang in there and save, save, save and get a Panamera perhaps...

either one u get u cant go wrong, they are both great cars, its just what u prefer better...couse at the end of the day ure gonn be the one driving it.
but y not look into a used 911. that car looks and is all business, id love to pick one up later on sometime

good luck, and let us know what you decide to get

One reason to ****************-can the Benzes? Um.. it was 70 degrees here (Northern Va) yesterday... TOP DOWN. Won't be doing that with a sedan ;)

thats true but i can put down 4 windows something you cant do with a boxster;)
i have also decided to get a S55 amg instead of the s600,The s600 was to much of a drivers car and i was really really quiet.The amg was way more sporty

Incidentally I know you are coming from a 2.5 liter engine, but have you
driven the new 3.4 Boxster or the CaymanS? Not quiet the power of an AMG
but I'd like to see someone outlap either one of those cars in ANY car from Merc.
Ther's sport-y and then there's sports car. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Mercs I've seen at an autocross or track event.

But if you are after rear seats then I'd guess Porsche is a no go.