An influencer named Moshed Mohamad shared recently on TikTok his regrets after buying his Mercedes G-Wagon.
It’s not because of of the top of the top-of-the-line ride and handling, its beefy 585hp engine or its cool retro-futuristic look.
It’s the fact that when he bought the car, it cost him RM1.45 million, and when he sold it three years later, the car only returned RM670,000.
That’s a RM780,000 drop, more than 50% in only 3 years. That’s a 16% depreciation year-on-year, which, if extrapolated, would wipe out the car’s resale value in only 6 years.
Reselling cars in Malaysia is all about perception and unfortunately, European cars do not fetch high values here in Malaysia.
The secondhand kings are consistently Toyota, Perodua, and Honda, in that order. For reference, a Honda City depreciates by only 6% yearly on average.
Even a 10-year-old Honda City will still fetch half its price on the secondhand market—that’s a 5% depreciation each year.
He shared in the post that he paid almost RM350 on a full tank for the V8 and RM30,000 in insurance yearly.
He pontificates further in his post about the value of money and the folly of chasing material things, but c’mon mate, you don’t need to spend millions to learn a lesson as simple as this.
In most cases, cars are not an investment. The Mercedes G-Wagon, while an exceptional piece of machinery, is fungible.
Maybe try getting a Supra, Skyline, or Cherokee next time. Heck, even an S2000 has appreciated in value.
