$188... THOUSAND?

"SBA Thanks You For All The Fish" (santabarbarianlsx)
08/31/2020 at 20:10 • Filed to: None

OK, so Raph’s piece just now on the FP is lamenting the demise of the S-Class Coupe next year. Which, by all reports is a very nice car— and everybody agrees they were just | | to running to their Benz dealer to buy one for themselves. And now, sadly, no one will be able to so so ‘cause... it’s discontinued.

So, out of curiosity regarding a Benz flavor I never paid much attention to— I pull up the listing for aforementioned S-Class Coupe in AMG form . Oh, man, $188,000 List Price?!? I’m astonished it wasn’t a sales leader for Benz. Right up with the CLA.

DISCUSSION (37)

facw > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:19

Well DRIVER ASS is expensive these days...

fintail > facw
08/31/2020 at 20:22

Funny thing, my local dealer has an abandoned special order S560 coupe lacking DRIVER ASS (I’m not joking).

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:22

Expensive piece of ASS

fintail > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:24

Lower profit margins than bloatling cloned CUVs. MB doesn’t want traditionalist buyers anymore, at least not in devolving Murka, hence the deletion of non-cladded E wagons from the US lineup for MY 2021 (not counting AMG).

A running joke since FP has existed is lamenting the passing of cars that readers would never buy, could never buy, or both.

Nom De Plume > fintail
08/31/2020 at 20:30

Also they have placed employees where they could innocuously declare in X number of years MB will be a lifestyle company that makes no, or very very few, vehicles.

onlytwowheels > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:37

It’s not so terrible when you consider that in 1997 the S600C MSRP was $136,495, plus destination and options. I remember gasping at the sticker at that time, while shopping the new for 1997 F150 at the auto show. It was the first time I had considered the fact that someone’s goi ng to be driving a car that cost more than my house.

WilliamsSW > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:37

Without the V12 what's the fucking point

Thomas Donohue > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:44

I’m thinking this is one of those times when you go CPO and s pend just $100,000 and keep the $88k for, oh, I don’t know....something else?

This one has DRIVER ASS (as well as Distronic and Swarov ski crystals).

https://www.mercedeshoffman.com/used-Hoffman+Estates-2018-Mercedes+Benz+AMG-+-S+63++4MATIC-WDDXJ8JB4JA034826

Kinja'd!!!

Thomas Donohue > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/31/2020 at 20:45

Until it saves the stupid Drivers ASS, then it’s priceless!

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 20:51

Or $5,500 at auction in a few years. ( was watching mecum the other night)

404 - User No Longer Available > WilliamsSW
08/31/2020 at 20:55

For the ASS of course... didn’t you read?

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > fintail
08/31/2020 at 21:02

No, I think you're mistaken.... the driver lost his ass and could afford the car.

notsomethingstructural > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 21:08

my boss has a S550 on lease and i think it’ll be a future icon like the older lexus’s. there’s something special about a car that has two of everything you could possibly want, and zero for anyone else. it’s a fuckin spaceship. people want chilled armrests and tv’s for the back seats, but there’s so many fewer options for driver-focused cars where you aren’t shuttling people around. it’s really just the bentley coupe and the s-class coupe in the “ludicrous driver comfort class ” these days. he drives a good 35,000 miles a year minimum so i d on’t blame him for wanting a home away from home.

nermal > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 21:09

You’re missing the target market for a new S-class:

Old and extremely wealthy business-types. In other words, FU money, but not quite Bentley or RR levels of it. The overwhelming majority of buyers for this will lease them and write the cost off as a business expense.

You’ll see them driving to work at 6am, if you’re out and about at that time.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > notsomethingstructural
08/31/2020 at 21:16

The Bentley is probably a good analogy. Wonder why they didn’t just slap a “Maybach Coupe” moniker on it?

As point of reference, that $190K is damn close to Ferrari Portofino territory.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
08/31/2020 at 21:17

WE can only dream...

notsomethingstructural > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 21:23

apples and oranges. if you want to go fast there’s plenty of other cars that can do that. if you want a 2-ish seat grandest tourer it just isn’t out there aside from the bentley.

as to the maybach thing, that’s a great question. honestly the finishing probably isn’t quite up to snuff. it’s a very contemporary luxury car and the maybach has always had some throwbacks to the old british traditions.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120
08/31/2020 at 21:34

Autocorrect kinja’d me... couldn’t

LJ909 > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 21:36

These things hold their value. I think its because its an S Class and because they only recently came out for the current gen of S Class. Non AMG models I’ ve never seen under $56k used.

OhCrikeyTheRozzers > facw
08/31/2020 at 21:42

Came here for this; was not disappointed.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
08/31/2020 at 22:18

I had an S550 cab for a week to review when they first came out; biggest thing that struck me about that car was how small the back seat was. Like, Mustang sized. Surprising, seeing as it was an S-class. For a lot less dough, I’d go with the Lexus LC500 convert and just give up the pretense of useful back seat altogether.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
08/31/2020 at 22:43

Like my 911s, I figure the back seat is kind of a joke.

OTOH, were Porsche to finally do the 2-door Panamera Coupe— the “modern day 928" they’ve toyed with forever, I guess I see that in this “not-quite a Bentley”, but fast-as-hell and very refined for Grand Touring, market bucket. But I figure it’s a tiny bucket.

Khalbali > facw
09/01/2020 at 07:26

Makes me feel like there's a huge gap in the market to fill, I have plenty of Mazda 2 driver ass for instance, I'd let it go for a lot less.

Stef Schrader > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/01/2020 at 11:18

Yes, but you get DRIVER ASS. You say you wanna get in my Benz?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 11:32

Have an off-topic question for you that I figured I’d ask you here instead of the other thread:

Mrs. addiction and I have been really fortunate over the past 15 years, and thankfully are still both employed in spite of the changes in recent months. We’re at a point in life where we max out our 401ks each year , we contribute well to our kids’ 529s, are generous to charities , have our home paid off and are, for all intents and purposes, debt free. We have healthy long-term savings, and have cash on hand as an emergency fund (which is good, considering that our jobs are still not necessarily a sure thing over the longer term). Any way, I’m wondering if you have any advice for what to do with the cash we keep as an emergency fund, or any extra we might find ourselves with. It’s in a money-market fund making .5 % (down from 2% when we opened it a few years ago ) . We have a couple brokerage accounts that we could purchase more index funds from (wish I would’ve in late March!), but just wondering if you have any other ideas.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2020 at 12:02

Well, first let me congratulate you on the excellent job. Sounds like you’re in fine shape... That’s great news.

The low returns on money market is certainly a challenge. My view on it has been that, having liquid ready access to cash is— in itself— a benefit. So accepting a lower rate for the time being, in return for instant liquidity, is worth “something”. Shopping for the best money-market rates is about all you can do.

if you truly have “excess” you could look at dividend stocks, in stable industries (utilities used to qualify... but then SCE and PG&E happened) with great cash flows. That’s basically why Buffett bought Pacificorp. You might juice up the overall mix by doing a partial into dividend stocks.

One suggestion, if it fits under your limits, is to look at whether you have enough headroom to fund a Roth. It is the one form of retirement vehicle that is exempt from Minimum Distributions— and it sounds like you’ll be sweating that bullet when the time comes. Roths are also tax-free on the backside— it’s taxed income going in but tax free coming out. As you’ll see below I think tax rates can only go up from here... so there’s reason to look for tax-free exits in the endgame.

Of course, if “the other party” comes into power in the fall.... Look out. Their tax plan upends retirement accounts, really clobbers commercial real estate (ending 1031 exchanges) and scrambles estate planning. It’s so crazy it’s hard to imagine it being enacted... but my theory is that, once people look at the tax plan, anybody who’s accumulated over $100K in hard assets might think twice about their vote. Anybody with less than $10K in hard assets will love the new plan. Of course, the Senate will have to flip, but our concepts of retirement and estate planning could change radically in the next couple of years.

2020-- COVID is not the only source of anxiety.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 12:50

Thanks - we’ve been ridiculously fortunate.

Yes, the comfort of cash, especially with employment uncertainty, is significant.

I’ll look into dividends more, thanks. I do have a small Roth from an old roll-over, and a good percentage of my current 401k is a Roth.

The swings back and forth in control have been crazy in recent times - definitely not great for long term planning, personally or otherwise!

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2020 at 12:59

Sometimes you get surprised at how leaders act when crunch time comes, too. To get elected they are talking a pretty “wealth grab” platform now... but...

We had a small betting pool going on what Obama-The-Wealth-Redistribution Guy would do when the time came to re-negotiate the Estate Tax Exemption after the Bush era. ALL the smart money... and I mean ALL.. felt that the easiest thing politically to do would be to revert back to the pre-Bush $1 million level, probably with some teeth in it to make it $500K per individual, $1M per couple. So Barry and the Senator Leadership meet privately, and emerge with the answer.... “Over $5M per individual, almost $10.5M per couple”...

And, we’re like “WTF?”?>>>>????

Until my smart ass actuary CFP buddy points out “Oh, keep in mind that the average net worth of a Senator is about $4 million. This makes most of the Senate exempt from estate tax...”

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 13:49

Yup...

As they say, all politics is local. Sometimes, that’s local down to one individual’ s pocketbook.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2020 at 13:56

I figure Barry’s worldview on the matter changed substantially after a couple of book deals. But, yeah, we were all braced (they had to fix the continuity problem in the Estate Tax— so it’s not like they could sit on it. SOMETHING was going to happen.) for reversion to a $1M limit.

NOOOPPPPE>>>>

In fairness, I think all the soft money that comes from CA and “influences such things” probably pointed out that even $4-5M is only a average home in the neighborhoods that big donor dollars flow from. And if there’s one thing the California liberal elites are committed to, more so even than the concept of wealth redistribution and ‘equity’, it’s that none of that wealth redistribution and tax fairness should apply to their estates. It’s a different topic but it’s shocking how they’ve mutated Prop 13 into a deal that shelters wealthy families from the pain of property and estate taxes on their over-appreciated real estate.

When you see weird stuff coming out of the House? I always figure it’s some quiet lobbying from the CA money and donors.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 14:04

Despite everyone’s fear, Obama turned out to be quite the moderate, in the end (to the great dismay of many liberals).

I’m tremendously thankful to have a well-paying career in a place where the cost of living is ridiculously low.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2020 at 14:25

Despite being conservative in my worldview, I’m actually very disappointed in Obama’s “tack to the middle”. I did vote (full disclosure) for him in 2008. But always felt he never had the full commitment to carry through on big initiatives.

I’d have much preferred they’d gone full-public-option healthcare , even to the point of gov’t (based on VA campus) run NHS_like health services below certain income levels and conditions. It was a straight party line vote, so the Dems could have implemented anything they wanted. Instead we get this weird hybrid, much higher costs, and the same folks that broke it ten years ago, now up on stage at the debates in unison whining about how broken it is... “Remind me again, I forget. Who broke it?”

I also disagreed strongly with their weak sauce reaction to the Crash. Every one of those banks should have been nationalized (ala AIG). Instead all those jerks got their bonuses, trillions of our money, and full access to the Fed Window to borrow at 0% even as they issue credit cards at 29%. I always laugh when I hear the party claim the GOP is the party of big business. Ha. Follow the money. Nobody’s got a lock on that title.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 14:36

They definitely had a huge opportunity in the first half of his term and failed to deliver. I guess we’ll know soon enough whether the Ds have enough control to fix the mess they made.

“Too big to fail”, my ass.

I definitely feel adrift between the two parties. I’m thankful I don’t live in a battleground state where I’d feel like I’d have to cast my vote for one of them regardless of how distasteful both options are.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
09/02/2020 at 14:44

Yeah, it’s hard. I’ve lived in three of the bluest of blue states and three of the reddest red.

If it gets too bad after leadership changes, I’m definitely going back to the Red States. But that’s mainly a personal liberty and “I have no time for this crap” viewpoint.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 14:54

Pretty much the reddest red, here.

I have a sister in California, a brother in rural Illinois, a brother in Texas (but Austin), a brother in central Missouri, and a brother trying to get back to his home in Shanghai. We were brought up conservative, and have some very interesting political conversations these days , especially considering that my parents have bought all the Trump/Fox News snake oil, to my great dismay...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 14:54

Pretty much the reddest red, here.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/02/2020 at 14:54

Pretty much the reddest red, here.