Posted this in the CL 500 section, but since they weren't exactly in the states in 1995, I thought "other" might apply as well. Please read on, I could really use the help.

Hey guys, new here and could use a little help.

I sell Repossessed Autos for a Credit Union in St. Louis, Missouri. I have come upon a vehicle that has pretty much been the bane of my existence for almost 2 years now. The state is finally relenting to my demands and it appears I will finally get a title, but the vehicle is kind of an oddity. Allow me to explain.

The car is a 1995 CL 500, straight from Germany. It was brought into the United States in NYC, and was titled (with the German VIN) in Philadelphia, PA. Of course, the VIN doesn't compute to American standards, and so it was next to impossible to get a repossessed title. The dealership sold it to our Credit Union member on a title guarantee, but failed to produce the title (one would think we would have had some recourse, but I digress). State governments, having somewhat of a monopoly on this sort of thing, don't exactly set the world on fire with customer service, they lost our file a few times, and a different operator will give you a different answer every time, you get the idea. Rather that drone on, I'll get to my question:

According to the customs documents, it IS a 1995 CL 500. However, the CL 500 doesn't appear in the N.A.D.A. values until 1998. So, how much is this actually worth? It's only got 40,000 miles on it, and is in immaculate condition, save missing the factory radio (which will be replaced before it goes up for sale, part of the hazard of storing a vehicle on an auction lot for 2 years). Fully loaded, black leather, sunroof, AMG rims, German controls and indicators (whats a schwausteg?).

Anyone care to venture a guess?

Thanks in advance!

 

blackened or something?

 

hm. Value of these cars are really hard to say, even for American models. It all depends on what the customer is willing to pay and the condition.
But a good idea would be just set the value around the 1995 S500 coupe (CL500) and go from there but make sure your customer knows that it's German spec, meaning it's way better performaing than the US counter part assuming it's been left mostly German spec engine wise and I assume it's legal so that means there won't be too much hassle for paper work for the person that buys it. It's actually the same car but Germany gets everything first and then America a year or some later. And lots of times they don't have the common CL500 or S500 badges on the trunk lid like they are in the states so sometimes things get lost in translation such as this. In Germany, you can find that car called by both names but since 1992 the S500 coupe are now and or was always been called the CL500 or what ever depending on engine size here in Germany.

Just start around the value price for 1995 USA model in the same condition as yours and probably a little plus from there. Hard to say for German models for sure and can't really compare it to the market over here for value due to the fact that it won't translate well.

 

Thanks Blackwolf, thats exactly the info I was looking for. I appreciate the quick reply.