Resell Value?

[barstool_ben]

I just got the call that my Brabus edition is in. I’ll be going to look at it this weekend. I have to admit that I am getting cold feet about spending $20+ (with TTL) for this car.

Since there is no sales history for pre-owned Brabuses (or would that be Brabi?) I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to how well they may retain their value.

Although I have NO intention to resell, it would be nice to know that I would not lose too much if I had to sell for some reason.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Cheers

[chieftmc]

Times are tough

Many folks are holding vehicles that are now worth much less than they owe on them

You can check ebay and craig's list to see what they are currently selling for. The Barbus will only bring a little more

[jose3030]

Yea, a lot of people wont know what a Brabus is and why it's worth more, it'll just be seen as another Smartcar, IMHO. Therefore, it may be worth less than a similar smart. I'd even say the same thing over a Cabrio over the hardtop. Most people think "Smartcar" and never bother to differentiate if it's a cabrio or a hardtop. That may bring down the prices of the cabrios as well, imho.

[chieftmc]

Originally Posted by jose3030

Yea, a lot of people wont know what a Brabus is and why it's worth more, it'll just be seen as another Smartcar, IMHO. Therefore, it may be worth less than a similar smart. I'd even say the same thing over a Cabrio over the hardtop. Most people think "Smartcar" and never bother to differentiate if it's a cabrio or a hardtop. That may bring down the prices of the cabrios as well, imho.

The U.S. Brabus is all "show", no go

IF, it was a true Brabus (turbo) THEN we'd be talking

[forestacademy]

To me buying a Brabus is just a way of paying upfront for a passion with aftermarket addons. We have seen before that resale doesn't care about aftermarket items. If your getting extras do it because you enjoy it not for resale value.

If you want your best value and resale % then just get a standard Passion. If you want to stand out a little more then get a Brabus.

If you think you would put many of those addons anyway, then get it from the factory because it would be cheeper than adding them later

[jose3030]

^^ Agreed.

No one cares about aftermarket parts. If a Brabus was what you were going to do ANYWAYS, get it like that from the factory.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of all the Brabus and the 15s in fronts and 17s in rear. IMHO, it looks "off". I'd get 17s all around actually. And the Brabus body kit isnt really the way I want my car. S-Mann body kit is as close to perfection in my eyes, other folks may think differently of course

[jonmills]

Why are you worrying about resale value. When gas goes up again, and it will, so will the resale value.

[forestacademy]

Dollar went down today, Oil is going up.

More resons not to expect resale on your aftermaket items here
Depreciating Like a Stone?

[barstool_ben]

Thanks for the input. After I posted this I found the "Depreciating like a stone" thread.

It turns out the message I received was incorrect. My Brabus is not in, but will be in a few months. However, the dealer (Sugar Land, TX) has an almost identical model that the buyer backed out on and I could have bought it now.

I decided to wait until mine comes in. I'd like a Smart and was thinking that the Brabus whould hold their value better than the others. Since this really is just a toy for me (I also have a Mini), I think I would be better off getting a used Passion. I'm not quite in the position to drop $21k on a car just to see its value drop to $15k when I drive it off the lot. I don't mind a couple of thousand a year in depreciation, but 5k or more is a bit much.

Cheers

[beautyforashes]

sounds like a smart move.