[W126 Coupe] 560SEC figures & survival rate for Germany

[joe chiappinelli]

Denis,

There are two types of buyers for older cars. First, there are those
looking for an inexpensive means of daily transportation as an alternative
to buying new. They are basically looking for an appliance that is cheap to
own and operate. In this market, i would agree the 126 would not command a
high price because, as you say, they are expensive to own and operate.
Economy and performance can be had elsewhere at a lower price. These are
practical buyers.

The second type of buyer is one who is very specific about what he (she)
wants. This person does not look at a car as an appliance. They are driven
by any number of factors such as style, uniqueness, performance, even
loyalty to a certain marque. To these buyers, gas mileage is unimportant
and the cost of upkeep is rationalized away. These are emotional buyers.

The 126 coupe will have appeal to this second class of buyers. There are no
other cars I can think of that were produced in the 80's that had the
combination of style, performance, luxury, safety, quality, comfort,
panache, durability, and reputation that these cars had. They are not the
collectible muscle cars of the 60's nor the British roadsters of the same
era. They are not the uber collectible Italian supercars either. However,
they were the best of their breed and, unlike the aforementioned vehicles,
they are cars that can be driven safely and reliably by today's standards
even today. In my opinion, it is only their relative newness that has
prices depressed. This, of course will change with time.

Regards,
J.Chip



On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 4:03 AM, LESPERANCE Denis <denis.lesperance at fime.com

> wrote:



>  Hi fellows,****

>

> ** **

>

> I think that I can explain the attrition rate. There are several factors

> for Europe :****

>

> ** **

>

> They get scrapped because they do not resell well. The car is hit by high

> taxes at purchase time due to its engine size (I paid close to 1200USD TAX

> when I licensed mine).****

>

> ** **

>

> Their performance and fuel consumption are NOT great by 2011 standards :

> there are plenty of new, faster german cars that do so using half the fuel.

> ****

>

> ** **

>

> C126 parts are expensive (ask me how I know) even outside the stealer

> circuit …****

>

> ** **

>

> So it boils down to a sellability issue these days. I've seen 560 SECs

> sell for under 2500USD in France. These are bought by punks that drive the

> hell out of their newly acquired "pimpmobile", don't maintain them adn

> eventually scrap them.****

>

> ** **

>

> The C126, even with 5.6 litre engine, does not sell (resell) well at all.

> The same goes for any *big -engined* , as-guzzling car of 20+ years (BMW

> 750, Jaguar XJ12, common Bentley or Rolls …)****

>

> ** **

>

> My 2.2 euro cts worth ;-)****

>

> ** **

>

> Denis

> Villejust, France (just south of Paris)****

>

> ** **

>

> *De :* mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com [mailto:mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com]

> *De la part de* joe chiappinelli

> *Envoyé :* dimanche 27 novembre 2011 21:32

> *À :* Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists

> *Objet :* Re: [W126 Coupe] 560SEC figures & survival rate for Germany****

>

> ** **

>

> Gerry,

>

> Very interesting. To what, do you suppose, is the explanation for the 30%

> drop in numbers from 2007 to 2008? Most of the years show a consistent 4-7%

> attrition rate. In any case, it looks like a 70% drop in vehicles from the

> peak in 1992 to 2010. If you assume an additional 4% attrition for 2011 and

> apply this total (74%) to the US market, an estimated 770 1991 models would

> still be registered. Now apply my 29% figure for those having less than

> 100k miles and you arrive at some 223 examples remaining with the potential

> to reach collectible status.

>

> Disclaimer: enjoying a quiet Sunday with a Martini and some football on

> the tube so my math may be suspect.

>

> J.Chip

>

> ****

>

> On Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 10:43 AM, Gerry Van Zandt <gerryvz at me.com> wrote:*

> ***

>

> Joe,****

>

> ** **

>

> Some additional information from a third source -- the official quarterly

> magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Interessengemeinschaft (MBIG), which is the

> largest and most authoritative MB club in Germany.****

>

> ** **

>

> This morning I came across the 560SEC figures for Germany (this is all

> model years of the coupe) that are registered in that country, in the MBIG

> Magazine "Ponton Kurier."  The 2011 figures should be out in the next month

> or two….probably the next quarterly issue of the magazine.  I will update

> them when I receive that issue.****

>

> ** **

>

> All figures from 2003 to the present are of January 1 of that given year,

> registered cars.****

>

> All figures shown from 1986-2004 are of July 1 of that given year,

> registered cars.****

>

> ** **

>

> 2010:  1427 cars****

>

> 2009:  1482****

>

> 2008:  1551****

>

> 2007:  2217****

>

> 2006:  2382****

>

> 2005:  2525****

>

> 2004:  2718****

>

> 2003:  2894****

>

> 2002:  3127****

>

> 2001:  3282****

>

> 1998:  3726****

>

> 1996:  4192****

>

> 1994:  4515****

>

> 1992:  4771****

>

> 1990:  4630****

>

> 1986:  444****

>

> ** **

>

> TOTAL 560SEC PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE, 1986-1991:  28929****

>

> ** **

>

> GERMAN PRODUCTION:  7882 (** from MBIG sources)****

>

> USA PRODUCTION:  10,625 (** from SL Market Letter sources)****

>

> ** **

>

> Notice the growth in registered cars between 1990 and 1992.  That pretty

> much confirms my previous point of the Benzworld data being incorrect with

> regard to 84.5% of total 1991 production of SECs going to the US market,

> simply because the registered number of cars increased for the German

> market between those two years by 141 cars.****

>

> ** **

>

> Let's draw a few conclusions from the data:****

>

> ** **

>

>    - 27.25 percent of all 560SEC production was retained for the German

>    market.  This is addition to the 10,625 cars (36.75 percent of all SEC

>    production) that went to the US market from 1986-1991.  So between the US

>    and German markets, 64 percent of all SEC production went to those two

>    countries.****

>    - I have attached a graph that shows this information in a curve.

>     This may be useful information for you as general data to also help

>    extrapolate and refine your own data model for the US cars in estimating

>    the survivor erosion rate and number of survivors as a total percentage of

>    production slated for the country.  You can also find this graph at the

>    following URL: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10675111/SECGermany.jpg****

>

>  ** **

>

> Hope all of this information helps.****

>

> ** **

>

> Cheers,****

>

> Gerry****

>

> ** **

>

> ** **

>

> ****

>

>

> The MB Coupes Website!

> W126 SEC Mailing List

> Postings remain property of MB Coupes, L.L.C.****

>

> ** **

>

> The MB Coupes Website!

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> Postings remain property of MB Coupes, L.L.C.

>

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