Is It Time To Cash In The 401k And Drop $200K On A Mercedes AMG GT 4 Door?

The third Mercedes-AMG model developed in-house after the SLS AMG and the AMG GT has now reached the assembly line at Mercedes’ factory in Sindelfingen, Germany. It was back in 2014 when the three-pointed star reached an agreement with the works council to add the GT 4-Door Coupe to the assembly line as part of a transformation plan also involving an investment of €1.5 billion (about $1.75B) by 2020.

A further €600M ($702M) is being invested in research and development at the same Sindelfingen location where some versions of the E-Class, CLS-Class, and S-Class come to life together with the Maybach and the AMG GT family. The significant investment in R&D makes perfect sense considering Mercedes has plans to build fully electric models here in the years to come as part of the newly established EQ family.

OneOfOne - 9/14/2018 9:45:58 AM

+3 Boost

sure, if you're dumb enough to buy a sedan in this environment and want to live out of it.

dumpsty - 9/14/2018 10:43:26 AM

+3 Boost

Why is it "dumb" to BUY a sedan today?

Yeah...cashing in retirement savings is a silly idea, especially for any vehicle.

More & more major automakers are finding out that it's better to just wind-down their sedan operations for this period. But that kind of planning only makes sense if they have already started R&D for CUV's that will fill in models in the various size categories. Otherwise, their lineups look like complete sh!t & does nothing to encourage curious consumers to shop the brand. Hint: Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Ford, Lincoln, Infiniti, Genesis.

cidflekken - 9/14/2018 2:37:14 PM

+4 Boost

It's not dumb if a sedan fits my lifestyle and/or it's my preference. And if I can afford $200K on a car, I don't give a sh*t what your opinion is of me buying a sedan anyway. That likely means I have a big, honking SUV as a second car.

dumpsty - 9/14/2018 10:51:12 AM

+3 Boost

It's kinda weird that M-B has finally embraced the concept of offering marketly smaller series of luxury vehicles (sedan, hatch, CUV) in the US, during a time when sedan/hatch sales have tanked for everyone & after nearly 2 decades after the DCX debacle. Many of us have not forgotten.

It's clear M-B wants to capitalize from the increase in upscale sedan sales for mainstream brands regardless of the decline is overall sedan sales overall. But they're planning product introductions as the larger domestic automakers has announced that they will start to reduce the number of sedans they offer significantly & with no clear/solid major refreshes planned.

TomM - 9/14/2018 5:13:24 PM

+2 Boost

Last year - the percentage of New Mid-Size Sedans sold in the USA was about the same (16.4 - 16.2%) as that of Pickup trucks.

Ford, Chevy, and FCA manage to do quite well making money on Pick Up Trucks - and I suspect that they will do so in the future as well. While the market is moving towards crossovers - which to me are basically raised station wagons -a lot of them do not even have four wheel drive as well. Since these "crossovers" are actually built on Sedan platforms for the most part (Notice I did not say SUVs) - and with a still very LARGE market (Millions of cars) for sedans in the USA - I question whether it is logical to completely cut off production of sedans. Somebody is going to sell those cars - it may as well be GM.

zlives - 9/14/2018 2:30:12 PM

+3 Boost

sorry to hear that 009 won't be with us for long. i mean thats the only reason one would "Cash In The 401k" for a car.

countguy - 9/14/2018 5:07:29 PM

+2 Boost

No vehicle is worth 200K. Whether it be coupe, sedan, suv or crossover.

SanJoseDriver - 9/15/2018 7:19:00 PM

+1 Boost

Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them

ricks0me - 9/14/2018 6:03:00 PM

-1 Boost

I can't even believe what I am reading.
Agent 009 >>> Empty your 401k and post the paper trail to your new AMG GT 4 door on this website. Then I will believe what I am reading.

MDarringer - 9/14/2018 7:59:45 PM

-1 Boost

I'll drop big money on GREX if they get back to me.

Holydude - 9/14/2018 10:03:55 PM

+2 Boost

200K+ for any car is fine, but not for this one and certainly not worth raiding the 401k for.

pcar4evr - 9/15/2018 7:30:10 AM

+1 Boost

I actually did know somebody who cashed in a large part of his retirement savings to buy an Audi R8. Right after he found out he had pancreatic cancer. Died 4 months later.

MDarringer - 9/15/2018 8:50:52 AM

+1 Boost

Indeed. Because why not? Much better plan than leaving it.

SanJoseDriver - 9/15/2018 7:19:35 PM

+1 Boost

Then I guess he made the right call.