Is a 2014 B-class really worth only $3,000 ?

[SSL]

Hi everyone. Curious what your experience is trying to sell a 10-year old B-class.

Today my white 2014 B-class passed 75,000 miles. I used it as my commuter car for 9 years (Sep 2014 to Sep 2023, but not much during COVID). I've recently retired and so I don't really need this car now. BUT the KBB value (which was quoted by my Mercedes dealer as what they would pay as a trade-in) is about $4,600. That surprised me, especially since the car qualifies for a 30% tax credit (so someone paying $5,000 for the car would get a $1,500 tax refund).

The car runs fine. I've replaced desiccant cartridges 7 times, every 10,000 miles. I had to change the starter battery in 2023 at 74,000 miles and in 2017 at 31,000 miles. Otherwise, thankfully, no issues with the car - no bearing replacement at 40,000 like so many unlucky souls. I hate to pay $1,000 a year for insurance on a car I'm not driving, but I don't want to sell a functional Mercedes for $4,000 either. Any thoughts?

Somewhat related topic: does anyone know how to determine how much battery efficiency remains? When new, the car reliably traveled 100 miles on a charge outside of winter cold weather. Currently, the battery delivers 85-90 miles of range.

 

[rrattie]

It's worth more than $4000, but that's what it's worth to a dealer to resell. All of the B-classes I see online forsale are going for $9k - $17k (newer and less miles).

I sold my 2014 back in 2021, now I've been looking for another one in the south seas blue I had. I miss driving it.

 

[mr250e]

I recently sold my 2015 with roughly 55K miles. KBB is very helpful regarding pricing info, as you’ve noted. Mine had been serviced at my local MB dealership on regular intervals and was in impeccable condition. The problem that I encountered in my area, however, is that it’s not a well known model and, thus, selling it took some time and effort. My local MB wasn’t even interested, but my local Audi dealership was (see below).

Considering the age and mileage of your vehicle, I would take it to CarMax and see what they’ll offer you for it, if you want to sell it right away. Also, some dealerships like my local Audi dealership will actually give you more money (i.e., above the CarMax offer) for the car if you want to trade-in and you have an official CarMax offer, which again you must obtain in person. You could also do a national search on CarMax to see what their inventory is to get a ballpark of what they’re asking for the models they buy, which might be helpful to know. The last time I checked there were several listed in various model years, mileages, and packages.

As for your battery health question, mine was regularly checked during service by a certified MB mechanic and a report was provided indicating the remaining life which I found helpful and reassuring. This is also something that a third-party could have done at presumably any MB dealership as part of a pre-purchase inspection. Aside from that, the reported mileage per charge is roughly 84-87 miles without the extended mileage gained by a range extender. So, it sounds like your battery health is still very good. That said, I would anticipate that any savvy third-party purchaser would make sure that checks out before buying.

There’s also the possibility that you might decide the vehicle is worth more to you than selling it…

Best wishes to you as you move forward.