My husband's Mercedes SLK was damaged by the removal company during transport to Switzerland. It is mostly just scratched and dented.

We wanted to sell it in any case as it is no longer suitable for us now we have kids.

The question is do we repair the damage before trying to sell it or try to sell it as it is. I would prefer to do the latter so we can resolve the matter with the minimum amount of stress. We really don't have time to be fussing over arranging repairs.

As well as the damage, the car would also need winter tyres and a few other updates (not sure of the details myself).

My question is, is there a second hand Mercedes dealership here in Switzerland (or something similar) that would be interested in buying car with the minimum amount of hassle?

Essentially, we are looking to sell a car to someone prepared to do some work on it; it would be a waste of time to put an ad up on a website and have people come to look and be disappointed.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Without a bit more info very difficult to say.

How old is it, what sort of SLK is it, etc

SLK 320 (R 170), year: 2000

Sell as is, you will never make the repair costs back.

Tom

That's my feeling too. But who can we sell it to? Are there specialists who take a car like this ? My husband doesn't believe that any Mercedes dealership will be interested because we don't want to trade it in for another.

I doubt an MB dealer touch it here, to old for them. You haven't said but I presume it RHD, so you'd could try an independent garage but expect peanuts especially if it requires paintwork.


Your not giving much away with regards to colour, man/auto, km's history, MFK etc to try and establish what it's worth fixed. Get a quote for repair and see what that is, then decide. If you check there are 7 on auto scout below CHF 10,000 the lowest being CHF 5,500, and all look to be in good condition with fresh or recent MFK.

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Assume the removal Co would have insurance and cover cost of repairs??

Yes, the insurance company will pay for repairs. Or we could just sell it and keep the money they gave us to cover the repairs.

I was looking for advice on a second hand car dealer who might be interested in buying - perhaps to fix it up and sell on.

Hello! Could you give more details about the car? I know few guys who might be interested buying it to repair and sell.

has the car been properly imported? has it got swiss plates, an mfk etc? LHD /RHD

If its RHD and not imported then no chance, its worth nothing here, send it back to where it came from and sell it there

Thank you snjsnjsnj,

It's a black SLK 320 (R170), registered in Italy in sept 2000 and still on italian plates, therefore Left hand drive, 115.000 km, 6 speed manual.

I have no problem registering it with swiss plates.

Never had accidents. The only damages are due to the transport and are scratches and dents on the left side (not major, but definitely visible).

It is and always was very well cared for and in perfect working condition. But it is currently due a service and new tires.

Please send a PM if you want further detail.

Thank you

I'd say:

- Since insurance is paying for repairs do them
- Import it into CH - so get swiss plates.
- Only then in my opinion you have a chance of selling here in my opinion.

I agree with Jaceq: if you want to sell the car here it is better to have it on a swiss plates.

A friend of me spent several months importing a car from Spain to canton Geneva. It was mostly collecting some docs here and there, visiting some places, etc. Not a pleasant experience, but definitely doable.

I guess the best way for you to make a decisions is to do the following:

- check prices for this car with similar kilometrage either in Italy or in Switzerland to determine best place to sell
- get car repaired by insurance company
- sell it either in Italy or in Switzertland depending who is paying more

The key thing is to actually check prices for the cars with similar conditions to yours (same engine, same kilometrage, same gearbox). Also, it is indicative to see how many of these cars are sold in either country and how big is the demand for it.

For example, if in Italy the price is 6000 EUR and the car is quite popular and is sold in 1 month however in Switzerland the price is 8000 CHF and it is solved for 1 year I would probably opt for Italy.

We live in small country, so in a way Italy is a bigger market with (possible) bigger chance to get something sold there.

Did you check if what the movers paid will actually pay for the repairs here? If so it must be a decent amount... so maybe you idea to sell it quick with minimum hassle works.

also, there are many independent garages paying 'cash' for any car-checkout the classifieds like anibis.ch etc...