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[Mull]

Sorry if this has been asked before. Looking around there seem to be a lot of Brabus for sale at the moment on ebay etc. So my question is "Is there a problem now that most are getting to 6 years old?"
Also the prices seem to vary from £3500 to £7500 what are peoples thoughts on teh correct price to be buying into a brabus.

Cheers

[Big Dunc]

I dont know of any problems.

They are not that economical or cheap to insure and there is always the possibility of an expensive breakdown cost.

I bought a near mint car at the lower end of the price range range you mention a year ago.
It had 40,000 on the clock at the time with a full Smart / Merc service history and a years MOT.  I have added another 20,000 miles, and other than a service (and a few additional oil changes) , tyres and brake pads it has not cost a penny.  Just past its MOT first time as well.

The car market is dead at the moment, especialy for sports cars, so anyone thinking they are going to sell for the top end of the price range you mention is going to be disapointed.

[nomad8459]

As with all things, something is worth what you are prepared to pay for it, on closer inspection, the mileage would be the main detriment to achieving a higher price.

We are in the depths of the highest petrol price, lowest family income period in recent history, justifying 98RON fuel and poor fuel economy becomes harder and harder for most struggling families.

New car models are showing great design features, while the brabus and the forfour stood out for so long as being quirky and of a unique design, more and more cars are becoming aesthetically pleasing, Citreon DS3, Suzuki Swift, New Astra, New Corsa, and even the Ford Fiesta, all these cars are looking better, some people just get bored!

The insurance prices are going higher and higher!

That's just a few reasons 

[funkydoodycool]

I put mine for sale because I had a choice to keep Brabbie or my Micra.

I chose the Micra to keep because I could insure my other half on it fairly cheaply (she's a driving newbie), the petrol was significantly cheaper (about 15p a mile over 23p a mile on typical MPG and only needing standard unleaded), and I figured it would be more practical in the winter that seems to only be starting now (I fit winter tyres).

I put mine for sale for £5k, which seemed to be the going rate for an 05 plate with 54k-ish miles.  3 weeks on Autotrader and advertised locally, not one call!  Put it down to £4k, and got a couple of calls withing 2 days.  One of those was this forum's own CrazyG (whose collection of Smarts was part of the inspiration to get one), but he decided not to come see it in the end

Basically I could have kept it on Autotrader and so on, and waited for the right time... but there are only so many lots of £45 I can throw at them if I'm getting no calls!

Now our circumstances changed, so I'm keeping Brabbie.  Which is nice because I get an awesome car all to myself, and I got to come on here and get to know you lovely people

[nomad8459]

Phew, close one then, glad you didn't sell, the residuals on these cars has not been good, largely I think to poor reviews by a press determined to find fault but also Mercedes insistence on charging big amounts for services and parts.

I think time will look back on the car favourably, It broke lots of new ground and is a design classic, the designer now works at AMG!

I paid £7000 for my 54 plate passion at 5 months old and its probably worth £2500 at a push now, but I have had it for six years and put 75,000 miles on the clock!

[Problemchild]

nothing wrong with them but i guess a lot of them are getting to the age where people sell up (around 50k) and trade up before things go wrong.

i would say a decent 06 plate is worth 5-6k ... 7k for a v low mileage or 4k for a quick sale

i know they are defo changing hands still.

the colt czt guys are having even more torrid time trying to move their cars (but...IMHO... they have a slightly more "boy racer" owner base)....... sorry carbon

JJ

[CrazyG]

As noted already, the one's that are coming up on the market are all around the 50k mileage mark,
which is nigh on the time to get the cam belt changed, which is quite an expensive necessity.
Ok, some have had that done, but when one adds that to the already high running costs (fuel and
insurance) it could possibly be the trigger to sell the car on, or so it seems.

[Problemchild]

What's all this talk of expensive insurance???

JJ

[CrazyG]

Ha ha ha ha.....JJ, I just knew you would 'rise to the bait' when I put that comment in....
but in truth....the insurance for anyone under 35 is prohibitive.....Group 16....ouch...
it's only cheap for us 'old' en's with 'hundreds' of years of driving that pay just about
an acceptable premium.

[nomad8459]

Premiums have risen over 40% in the last two years in general, why?

Banking crisis, massive losses for Lloyds due to "natural" disasters, American floods, snow, British floods, tsunami in Japan!

[CrazyG]

Premiums have risen for a couple of reason...
1/ because they can and always do...
2/ because of the really significant rise in claims from all those injury lawyers.
3/ and, the huge rise in claims for damage caused by un-insured drivers

[nomad8459]

Dat true also G!

[Big Dunc]

Insurance is pricey generally for the reasons given by Grazy.

For a Brabus, the underwriters know how fast it is, they know it will be expensive to fix.  They also know that almost everyone who buys one will at some time or another, drive it pretty rapidly.

I am sure, if I did a low milage and ran it as a second car, then I could insure it cheaply.  I expect plenty of people do.
I am running it as my every day hack, and therefore it costs more for me.

I got my Brabus very cheaply, and I was very lucky in that respect.
Compared to a "shopping" forfour, it is not cheap to run.  For a performance car, it is. 
I say that comparing it to my last "every day hack" which was a subaru, which I loved.  However, the Brabus is much cheaper to run (uses less fuel, and the Subaru needed servicing far more often, and ate tyres / brakes faster than the Brabus).

Second hand car prices are supply /demand and market forces will dictate what they are worth.  The Brabus may be held back a bit, because not many people know about them.  To be honest, it only matters if you are trying to sell one and were under the impression that it was worth a lot more than it is.  On the other hand, if you want to buy a performance car and need rear seats, they are great value for money.