Mmmm. Nothing puts a smile on a motorist’s face quite like drift-happy suspension.
On our next stop, I chatted with our head sales manager about the idea of using self-perceived value in business transactions- here’s how it went:
CC
say you’re selling your car and i wanna buy it- how much would you sell it to me for?
Anonymous
which one?
the amg?
CC
yeah the one you drive to work
how much would you say
Anonymous
hm
probably around 30-35
CC
what would you say if i offered you 10
Anonymous
hahahahahha
i would say you’re in the wrong market
go buy a honda or something
CC
well my reason is that i don’t really need a mercedes, so to me it’s not worth that much
to me personally its worth about 10
Anonymous
ahhh
so you’re trying to bargain
do you know much about the CL500 amg?
CC
not really
Anonymous
the CL500 is the coupe version to their Sonderklasse series
AMG is their specialized tuning division so this CL in particular produces 500 horses with a v8
the suspension settings
gear ratios
powerband
everything’s been redesigned to put this car at its top performance level
on top of that
a limited number of these were shipped to the US
and a new one costs $90,000
so based on facts alone
you couldn’t find this car for 10 if it had a huge dent in the fender
you couldn’t find it for 10 if it only came with 3 wheels
now my offer of 30-35 is the street price
to get my car, what you need to do is respect the market value while at the same time find out how to make it work for your price point as well
what this basically means is that
if you do not want to pay 30-35 for my car, then you must find something you own that is worth 10 to you, but is worth 30-35 to me and then trade for it
CC
hmm wow i didn’t think about that option
that sounds kind of hard tho hahaha
Anonymous
well it wouldn’t be a rare transaction if the situation is between car collectors
but i can immediately judge from you wanting to buy a mint amg for 10 that you’re not a car collector
and you probably have no interest in keeping the car either
my guess is if you are ever able to buy this car for 10 you’re only going to sell it back out for more
CC
hmm i see
why do you figure that?
Anonymous
because 10 is closer to an auction price
it’s considerable profit
any joe who got this car for 10 would question keeping it
however someone who really loves this car would find some way to pay the street price
CC
that is true
but you say i can get this car at an auction for 10?
why wouldn’t i just do that?
Anonymous
because you need a license
and I didn’t say 10
I said it’s pretty close haha
I don’t think you can get an amg even at an auction for 10
CC
haha maybe i should just get a license
Anonymous
absolutely
if you want an amg for 10 as a DEAL trust me on this you’re not going to find one
if you want to make side money, it’s not worth your time and energy
the only reasonable thing is to bite the bullet and get a license and make this your official business
you can’t toy around in trade
you either do it fulltime or you’re not going to make any real money
CC
so if i just want a deal on a car that i want to keep, i’m wasting time
Anonymous
correct
CC
if i wanna make side money, i’m wasting my time
and if i wanna do this as a business i should just get into this stuff 100%
Anonymous
you got it
CC
what if i feel that the value of the car to me is more like 20?
Anonymous
haha then I’d say the value of my car to me is 100 because it’s what I paid so that’s natural
and then the bargaining starts from there
you can already see that the street price was already a big drop from what I think the value should be and i’m not going to settle for under street
it’s just a big waste of time
CC
LOL yeah true
what if i did get a clean amg for 10 tho?
not yours but maybe another one
what would you say to that?
Anonymous
I’d say good for you that you robbed someone hahaha
you can try robbing whoever you like
but you’re not going to rob me
———————————————————–
Afterwards he offered his 2008 325i for my 2007 328i straight trade. His is technically more expensive but we both knew my sport package keeps the street value higher 
There are people in this world who think the value of an object is entirely relative and therefore it’s pricing should match their personal expectations. Here’s why that’s stupid-
There’s usually an existing value already there, decided by many transactions. When you’re buying or selling something, and you offer a price that’s roughly the going value, it’s a quick way to offer something that’s deemed fair by both parties. Staying near the going value is also a sign of mutual respect- you’re showing the other person that you want the deal to be fair, and therefore indicate that you don’t wish to cheat them.
Needless to say, pulling numbers out of your ass, numbers that clearly do not reflect the market value, seems to me a sign of disrespect. I was curious about what others thought of this so I went around asking their opinions.
CC
say i’m a stranger and i want to buy your car
how much would you sell your car to me for
Anonymous
my prelude?
3500-4000
CC
why that range
Anonymous
thats more or less what its worth
about market value
if i sell it any less, i might as well just keep it
CC
what if i offered you 900 for it
what would you say to me
Anonymous
i’d laugh
CC
well my reason is that i don’t really need it so to me personally, thats what i feel the car is worth
would that mean anything to you?
Anonymous
nope
why would you check out a car with an asking price of 4x what you think it’s worth
CC
lol that… is a good question sir
very good question
———————————————————————–
CC
say i wanted to buy your xbox 360
say im complete stranger
you’ve never met me
and i offer you $20 for your xbox360
Anonymous
are you a woman?
CC
like seriously
i gave you a serious offer of 20
Anonymous
I would think you’re a f###### idiot.
or I would laugh, and be like
that’s a funny joke
CC
what if i told you my reason was that i don’t really need an xbox 360, so my personal perceived value is 20 dollars to me
what would you say to that
Anonymous
I would say, you will have a hard time finding an Xbox 360 that will fullfill your perceived value.
hard time, meaning, impossible.
CC
HAHAHA
Anonymous
simply b/c your perceived value is low, doesn’t mean you should get it at that price.
let’s say you got an xbox for $20
for whatever reason
you played it, used it as a paper weight
whatever.
you’re like, ok, I used up my $20 of fun
I’m going to sell the xbox
how much would you sell it for?
$20?
or make a profit and sell it for $200?
that’s the true test of whether you view the value is really that low
b/c if you want to sell it for $200
your perceived value shoudl be $200
b/c………that’s how much value you’re looking to get out of it.
CC
hmm so you’re saying its only fair that your perceived value is the same across the board: buying or selling
so say that i think your xbox is 20 bucks and you’re like ok, sold
because my perceived value is 20 dollars. then when i get your xbox and i wanna sell it again- i sell it for 200.
am i an a######?
Anonymous
hahah, I would say so, yes.
——————————————————————
So there were some interesting points made that I hadn’t thought about. Next, I’m going to inquire of industry professionals- mainly experts in sales. Maybe they can help me figure out why some find legitimacy in this ridiculous idea of self-perceived value.