Second-Hand Boom For 300C

13 December 2006 15:08 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Chrysler’s preposterous yet wonderful 300C has achieved a rare feat in the motoring world: its second-hand value is actually higher than its list price.

According to Glass’s Guide to resale values, an 06 plate 300C 3.0 V6 CRD saloon with 9000 miles on the clock will sell for £27,500, compared to a list price of £26,250.

This rare state of affairs occurs when demand for a relatively well-priced niche vehicle far exceeds demand. In recent years it’s happened with the Jeep Cherokee and the Mini, and continues to be the case for any Morgan, for which the waiting list is several years long. In fact, people desperate to get their hands on a Morgan often buy out people’s place in the queue for several thousand pounds.

The 300C was launched at the end of 2005 and trying to get hold of one ain’t easy. Produced in relatively small numbers for the UK market and with few coming up for company car renewal, some have been available at auction - and this, too, has had a role in inflating the second-hand value.

Peter Lambert, Chrysler Group MD in the UK, said: “As a new player in a segment dominated by the big three German brands, I think that many people expected residual values for the 300C to go the same way as other new entrants to the E-segment have gone".

“With the 300C seen as an unknown quantity, the price guides initially gave us low values. But in the 12 months since launch it has clearly made its mark and residual values for the popular diesel have remained strong.”

A car that’s an investment … how many times have you heard that?

Full tags

Car And GPS, Cars, Saloon cars, Chrysler