Specialist Dealers. Worth the Premium for Older Mercs?
Discussion
I’m about to step up my search for a W126 and so I bought this months Mercedes Enthusiast. There are a handful of specialists advertising some very clean cars. However it seems the going rate is a 50%-75% premium verses buying privately via classic car classifieds etc.
I would been keen to hear of peoples experiences of buying (or not buying) older Mercs through a specialist. Are you just paying for the convenience and peace of mind or is it a case that they snap up all of the gems out there and add extra value?
Cheers
I would been keen to hear of peoples experiences of buying (or not buying) older Mercs through a specialist. Are you just paying for the convenience and peace of mind or is it a case that they snap up all of the gems out there and add extra value?
Cheers
I am not sure it is a particularly simple situation.
Undoubtedly, the cars at specialist dealers are among the best. If you confine yourself to the specialists, you will of course pay top dollar, but you will also save yourself a lot of wasted trips to see cars which are not what they are cracked up to be, cars with hidden defects and cars which just need work. But the cars at specialist dealers are not always perfect. Often they are just better presented. I study the market in Youngtimer classics quite carefully and I often see a car sold privately for £1,500 to £3,000 turn up on a specialist website three months later at £6k. In that time, the dealer will have spent £1,500 having the paintwork rectified, the wheels refurbished, new tyres, replacing bits of trim, fixing little gremlins. On the whole, I have been disappointed by the stock of the specialist dealers but maybe I have expected too much. At the end of the day, though, most of them are car dealers and they just can't help themselves.
If you have time, patience and expertise, you will find the very, very best cars from private sellers. But you need to know what you're looking at and you need to prepare yourself for wasted trips to see over-described cars. Often the best cars will be advertised for sale in the Mercedes-Benz Club first. I know of one chap who only buys privately and has the best 126 and best 107 I have ever seen. His 126 is a 36,000 mile 420 SE and it is perfect, new car perfect. He bought it privately for £6k. The reason these cars are not at specialist dealers is because their vendors know the value of what they have and there is not the margin for a classic dealer: the most his 126 would fetch at a specialist is maybe £7k.
The best specialists seem to be Carl Wilford of Auto Barn and Peter Lewis of Cheshire Classic Benz (not to be confused with Andrew Stansfield of Classic Benz). There is a very good report in the Club about Mark Taylor of MTSV: his cars are certainly among the best presented and he knows his stuff. Nick Froome at W124 certainly seems a very decent chap although I have not seen any of his cars; he certainly is an enthusiast. A friend of mine was impressed by the attitude of Prestige Motor Company in Oxfordshire but reckoned their cars were not top drawer. I was disappointed by the quality of Andrew Stansfield's stock when I visited a couple of years ago (given his prices). I have seen three cars purchased from Charles Ironside and while very good, in each case they fall short of his descriptions, although he does seem to have a very good range; same friend visited Ironside a couple of years ago and was disappointed by his attitude and the vehicle he went a long way to see.
The w126 in particular is a car I would look for privately.
Undoubtedly, the cars at specialist dealers are among the best. If you confine yourself to the specialists, you will of course pay top dollar, but you will also save yourself a lot of wasted trips to see cars which are not what they are cracked up to be, cars with hidden defects and cars which just need work. But the cars at specialist dealers are not always perfect. Often they are just better presented. I study the market in Youngtimer classics quite carefully and I often see a car sold privately for £1,500 to £3,000 turn up on a specialist website three months later at £6k. In that time, the dealer will have spent £1,500 having the paintwork rectified, the wheels refurbished, new tyres, replacing bits of trim, fixing little gremlins. On the whole, I have been disappointed by the stock of the specialist dealers but maybe I have expected too much. At the end of the day, though, most of them are car dealers and they just can't help themselves.
If you have time, patience and expertise, you will find the very, very best cars from private sellers. But you need to know what you're looking at and you need to prepare yourself for wasted trips to see over-described cars. Often the best cars will be advertised for sale in the Mercedes-Benz Club first. I know of one chap who only buys privately and has the best 126 and best 107 I have ever seen. His 126 is a 36,000 mile 420 SE and it is perfect, new car perfect. He bought it privately for £6k. The reason these cars are not at specialist dealers is because their vendors know the value of what they have and there is not the margin for a classic dealer: the most his 126 would fetch at a specialist is maybe £7k.
The best specialists seem to be Carl Wilford of Auto Barn and Peter Lewis of Cheshire Classic Benz (not to be confused with Andrew Stansfield of Classic Benz). There is a very good report in the Club about Mark Taylor of MTSV: his cars are certainly among the best presented and he knows his stuff. Nick Froome at W124 certainly seems a very decent chap although I have not seen any of his cars; he certainly is an enthusiast. A friend of mine was impressed by the attitude of Prestige Motor Company in Oxfordshire but reckoned their cars were not top drawer. I was disappointed by the quality of Andrew Stansfield's stock when I visited a couple of years ago (given his prices). I have seen three cars purchased from Charles Ironside and while very good, in each case they fall short of his descriptions, although he does seem to have a very good range; same friend visited Ironside a couple of years ago and was disappointed by his attitude and the vehicle he went a long way to see.
The w126 in particular is a car I would look for privately.
r129sl said:
I am not sure it is a particularly simple situation.
Undoubtedly, the cars at specialist dealers are among the best. If you confine yourself to the specialists, you will of course pay top dollar, but you will also save yourself a lot of wasted trips to see cars which are not what they are cracked up to be, cars with hidden defects and cars which just need work. But the cars at specialist dealers are not always perfect. Often they are just better presented. I study the market in Youngtimer classics quite carefully and I often see a car sold privately for £1,500 to £3,000 turn up on a specialist website three months later at £6k. In that time, the dealer will have spent £1,500 having the paintwork rectified, the wheels refurbished, new tyres, replacing bits of trim, fixing little gremlins. On the whole, I have been disappointed by the stock of the specialist dealers but maybe I have expected too much. At the end of the day, though, most of them are car dealers and they just can't help themselves.
If you have time, patience and expertise, you will find the very, very best cars from private sellers. But you need to know what you're looking at and you need to prepare yourself for wasted trips to see over-described cars. Often the best cars will be advertised for sale in the Mercedes-Benz Club first. I know of one chap who only buys privately and has the best 126 and best 107 I have ever seen. His 126 is a 36,000 mile 420 SE and it is perfect, new car perfect. He bought it privately for £6k. The reason these cars are not at specialist dealers is because their vendors know the value of what they have and there is not the margin for a classic dealer: the most his 126 would fetch at a specialist is maybe £7k.
The best specialists seem to be Carl Wilford of Auto Barn and Peter Lewis of Cheshire Classic Benz (not to be confused with Andrew Stansfield of Classic Benz). There is a very good report in the Club about Mark Taylor of MTSV: his cars are certainly among the best presented and he knows his stuff. Nick Froome at W124 certainly seems a very decent chap although I have not seen any of his cars; he certainly is an enthusiast. A friend of mine was impressed by the attitude of Prestige Motor Company in Oxfordshire but reckoned their cars were not top drawer. I was disappointed by the quality of Andrew Stansfield's stock when I visited a couple of years ago (given his prices). I have seen three cars purchased from Charles Ironside and while very good, in each case they fall short of his descriptions, although he does seem to have a very good range; same friend visited Ironside a couple of years ago and was disappointed by his attitude and the vehicle he went a long way to see.
The w126 in particular is a car I would look for privately.
Thanks very helpful. I don't mind paying top dollar for something bordering on concourse etc but if it's just a posh polish, a wheel refurb and a 3 month warranty covering very little it does seem that the wise buys are private.Undoubtedly, the cars at specialist dealers are among the best. If you confine yourself to the specialists, you will of course pay top dollar, but you will also save yourself a lot of wasted trips to see cars which are not what they are cracked up to be, cars with hidden defects and cars which just need work. But the cars at specialist dealers are not always perfect. Often they are just better presented. I study the market in Youngtimer classics quite carefully and I often see a car sold privately for £1,500 to £3,000 turn up on a specialist website three months later at £6k. In that time, the dealer will have spent £1,500 having the paintwork rectified, the wheels refurbished, new tyres, replacing bits of trim, fixing little gremlins. On the whole, I have been disappointed by the stock of the specialist dealers but maybe I have expected too much. At the end of the day, though, most of them are car dealers and they just can't help themselves.
If you have time, patience and expertise, you will find the very, very best cars from private sellers. But you need to know what you're looking at and you need to prepare yourself for wasted trips to see over-described cars. Often the best cars will be advertised for sale in the Mercedes-Benz Club first. I know of one chap who only buys privately and has the best 126 and best 107 I have ever seen. His 126 is a 36,000 mile 420 SE and it is perfect, new car perfect. He bought it privately for £6k. The reason these cars are not at specialist dealers is because their vendors know the value of what they have and there is not the margin for a classic dealer: the most his 126 would fetch at a specialist is maybe £7k.
The best specialists seem to be Carl Wilford of Auto Barn and Peter Lewis of Cheshire Classic Benz (not to be confused with Andrew Stansfield of Classic Benz). There is a very good report in the Club about Mark Taylor of MTSV: his cars are certainly among the best presented and he knows his stuff. Nick Froome at W124 certainly seems a very decent chap although I have not seen any of his cars; he certainly is an enthusiast. A friend of mine was impressed by the attitude of Prestige Motor Company in Oxfordshire but reckoned their cars were not top drawer. I was disappointed by the quality of Andrew Stansfield's stock when I visited a couple of years ago (given his prices). I have seen three cars purchased from Charles Ironside and while very good, in each case they fall short of his descriptions, although he does seem to have a very good range; same friend visited Ironside a couple of years ago and was disappointed by his attitude and the vehicle he went a long way to see.
The w126 in particular is a car I would look for privately.
ADP68 said:
Which club is it:http://www.mercedesclub.org.uk/
Orhttp://www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk/default.aspx
The 2nd one you posted.Orhttp://www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk/default.aspx
http://www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk
Hi all
I grew impatient looking for the near perfect 500se / 300se (with a/c) and ended up buying a one owner low mileage W124 320 sportsline from a fairly well known specialist. As he had advertised regularly in Mercedes Enthusiast and was charging a reassuring premium I carried out less due-diligence than I should have. Sadly the car turned out to be a true rotter underneath as the car had been owned by someone living in a marine type environment. Added to this the 5 speed auto gearbox had gremlins which was masked on test drive. The so called specialist didn't want to know and at a particularly busy time in my life I didn't challenge anywhere near as much as I should have. I'm now in a BMW warrantied 130se which I'm very pleased with and offers me the fixed cost motoring I need right now.
I popped into Cheshire Classic Benz last year and was very impressed with their cars. I've also met Nick Froome of W124.co.uk and again was left incredibly impressed with his approach, knowledge and stock. From my experiences there are about half a dozen true Mercedes specialists out there who justify their premium. But you have to be forensic with your research to make sure you don't get stung.
As for me I still hope to have a 126 in the stable within the next 5 years but it will be a 3rd car and consequently I'll bide my time trawling over the forums for the right specimen to materialise.
Cheers for all your replies.
James
I grew impatient looking for the near perfect 500se / 300se (with a/c) and ended up buying a one owner low mileage W124 320 sportsline from a fairly well known specialist. As he had advertised regularly in Mercedes Enthusiast and was charging a reassuring premium I carried out less due-diligence than I should have. Sadly the car turned out to be a true rotter underneath as the car had been owned by someone living in a marine type environment. Added to this the 5 speed auto gearbox had gremlins which was masked on test drive. The so called specialist didn't want to know and at a particularly busy time in my life I didn't challenge anywhere near as much as I should have. I'm now in a BMW warrantied 130se which I'm very pleased with and offers me the fixed cost motoring I need right now.
I popped into Cheshire Classic Benz last year and was very impressed with their cars. I've also met Nick Froome of W124.co.uk and again was left incredibly impressed with his approach, knowledge and stock. From my experiences there are about half a dozen true Mercedes specialists out there who justify their premium. But you have to be forensic with your research to make sure you don't get stung.
As for me I still hope to have a 126 in the stable within the next 5 years but it will be a 3rd car and consequently I'll bide my time trawling over the forums for the right specimen to materialise.
Cheers for all your replies.
James
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