Welcome to Hooie Garage! The dumbest autote channel in all of YouTube and I am thankful for a lot of things. not just this supercharged 5.4 L AMG G55 with 490 horsepower but also you all for watching all of my subscribers, my health and my kids health and uh well, a certain someone a supermodel that has moved to Kansas to be with me which I don't understand which is why this G wagon is here. she has her Bronco in Chicago where she's from and she wanted a car for Kansas and she wanted to buy a G wagon and I went not so fast and told her well if you're going to get one, it needs to be something very very old like this and that's because you would be insane to buy a new or lightly used luxury vehicle right now and in today's video, I shall explain why. In addition, I'll give you a tour of this latest purchase this G55 what makes it so darn cool in the G Wagon World about my favorite spec and talk about some other things but obviously I have my own personal bias towards this era of Mercedes which is another reason why I recommended it and it's rounded out a pretty good little Fleet of mid 2000s Mercedes which I'm going to line up right now.

A great 2008 Mercedes 3car garage that was very cool lining up that Trio of mid 2000's Mercedes goodness but I didn't want to film out there because it was too windy for audio and also an active taxi way. that's kind of important the planes want to get through, but those three cars outside represent $700,000 in depreciation, which is why at this moment, he would be absolutely in insane to buy a luxury. SUV Right now, the depreciation is very weird. Now, Traditionally, when you buy a new car, you have that depreciation the moment you drive off the lot.

15 to 25% within the first year of driving off the lot if you're lucky, but that was in the Before Time In the current time, the cars weren't depreciating at all really in the first year or two or three. that is if you bought it at MSRP or you bought that used car right before everything went totally nuts in the last couple of years. now, a lot of people paid over MSRP for luxury SUVs and anything that was desirable. and now they are really getting kicked in the pants right now when it comes to depreciation.

now. April Could afford to buy a new or used G wagon no problem. But I advised her against it and found this low mileage 2008 G55 because it's reached the bottom of its depreciation curve I Think the Hood's not all the way closed on this side. I'll have to fix that in a little bit.

It was $40,000 with 7 something, miles. and it seems like when these things reach high mileage, even with 200,000 miles on them, any AMG G wagon is still worth over $30,000 assuming it's not completely rusted out. But if you were to buy a much newer G wagon, the market data suggest that she would be a total complete crazy person. Now I'm getting this data from Manheim's market research.

it's called MMR and this is the largest wholesale Auction Company in the United States Now they sell so many hundreds of thousands of cars a year across the country, so they're able to use that data and compute it into a system where you can sort of see the market trends when it comes to used cars. And using this data, you can see that luxury SUV Market is in total freefall when it comes to prices. Every single month, it's just dropping dramatically lower starting with G wagon. So I'm going with a three or going on four-year-old Mercedes G Wagon The rest of these will be 2020 model year sold cars s just to show they're not brand new cars with that big depreciation the moment you drove off the lot.

This is when it should be starting to level out when it gets less steep of a decline and depreciation. but it's not. so a 2020 G wagon a G63 they were selling for 50,000 plus over their MSRP when they came out at the time and now. well, that's not the case MMR $140,000 which is a little bit back of its MSRP probably around what it was new in 2020, but they've raised them quite a bit since then and the trend is off from $172,000 a year ago 142 now.

So in a year $30,000 in depreciation, that's almost 20% depreciation in a year, year three to four and they're projecting next month for it to be down to$ 139. So another three grand off of that. There's very few buyers for these luxury SUVs right now, so those prices will keep creeping lower and lower. and lower.

$3,000 a month versus, well, $3,000 a year. probably in Main maintenance, maybe five if it's a really bad year. A year. With this, that's going to hold its value pretty well.

Now this: G-Class That's a pretty mild example. There's some that are way worse in the luxury SUV segment a 2020 Lamborghini Urus For example current MMR $186,000 That's another vehicle people were paying $50 to $100,000 over for when it was new and now in the last year it's dropped from 230 average to10. So $50,000 in loss in the last year over 20% This one's a little odd though, because they project the next month to be higher. This is the only one where the price seems to be going up.

Maybe it hit a big dip and is now coming back a little bit. The rest, it's just down and down and down and down. like the Tesla Model X A 2020 long range Falcon Door SUV Now $45,000 That is down from $770,000 a year ago. That is a huge drop.

Like a third of the value lost in the past year and they estimate next month it'll be down to $43,500 so another $4,000 off in the next month. If you own a Tesla right now, you're crazy to hold on to it. Get out of it while you still can. It's amazing how much these prices have dropped, prompted partially by Tesla slashing their prices of their new vehicles so much as well to move them and the increased competition.

Another terrible one: the Bentley BGA 2020 180 last year 132 now so almost 30% off in a year and they project next month $127,000 another $5,000 in loss in a month. Prices are dropping like a stone and I was in the car business for a long time and I have never seen anything like this in such a short period of time. 2020 Land Rover Autobiography SV long wheelbase supercharged so a very nice luxury. Range Rover $67,000 currently for the top-of-the-line Range Rover Well, in the span of the year it lost 40% of its value.

It was $115,000 to buy one wholesale a year ago, and they're projecting it to drop another $4,000 in the next month. Absolute free-for all The sky is falling. Unbelievable how quickly those are dropping, but the worst has to be the Rolls-Royce Cinin right now: $248,000 the wholesale value of a 2020 a year ago that was $398,000 That's once again, like 40% of the Rolles value gone in one year when it's going from 3 to 4 years old. I've never seen anything like it before.

$150,000 gone that far into the cars life cycle and they're estimating next month it'll be at 241. So another $7,000 gone in a month in depreciation? Just absolutely insane. But it's not just the hyper luxury vehicles that are seeing this big depreciation percentage wise, such as the new Ford Bronco which was being sold in 2020 in big numbers, but as a 2021 model year. So I'm using the V6 first edition which was fully loaded Uh current value: $59,000 down from 7,700 just six months ago.

Six months, not a year, Six months. So that means almost 20% in depreciation in 6 months and they project it to lose another $3,000 in value in the next 30 days. A Ford Bronco many people paying 10 15, $20,000 over for those or even more so Kell rides Hyundai Palisades All these luxury SUVs that were sold in the last few years at a premium are now just plummeting in value. And if you're shopping right now, most dealers aren't willing to accept that fate.

yet. They're just letting the car sit because when they sell them, that's when they realize the loss. So they'd rather just have the cars sit on the lot, sell them little by little, and hopefully get out of them. But you are the one who would get stuck with a car that is worth dramatically Less in a very short period of time, even even if you're trying to be smart in buying used Now if you currently have one of these vehicles and you bought it at the crazy time, well, you are so far upside down right now you're just stuck with it unfortunately and hopefully you like the vehicle and can continue making the payments.

but this is sort of an alarm Bell going off kind of situation here. sort of like the housing crisis of 15 years ago with the mortgages with inflated values on the homes and all that coming crashing down. Now it won't be as extreme with cars because they're easily liquidable, but still pretty devastating scenario for the car market and along with high interest rates I See this being a pretty bad situation if you're in the business of selling cars uh, for quite a while. which is why I Thought this was the smart thing to buy for now it's why I' still daily drive a 2005 Escalade And it's been really hard for me to buy new cars and projects right now because once again, people are still thinking I can get the six months ago price or the one year ago price and they're not really willing to let it go yet for the current value.

but I'm not suffering at all. I Love my 2005 cat like Escalade Those trucks are just so reliable. so comfortable. Very economical except for gas mileage obviously.

and if you're looking for one hero, Asian Bob My car dealer buddy has a Denali version, same chassis in Riptide blue. Very low mileage for $69.95 which if you need a car right now, that is a great one to buy and just use low mileage, mint condition and not something that's just going to die in depreciation over the next year or two. This G Wagon on the other hand, was a little more expensive $40,000 It is a little bit thirstier on gas and it does need a little more maintenance than say a Cadillac Escalade, but it is still very cool. every bit as cool as a newer G wagon, if not cooler in my opinion.

and that's why I steered April towards this and why I'm very happy to have it in the garage and with that, let's start the tour. now. the G wagon was developed in the 1970s as a purely military vehicle for the German Army. There was no aspirations for it to become the status symbol that it is today, a luxury roller for celebrities with big off-road capability.

Back then it was a simple basically a German Jeep, but obviously that is changed a lot. What didn't change is the basic shape of it, and this generation didn't have a major redesign from the early 1990s until it was retired in 2018 with a new generation of G-Class But there were a lot of changes In the early 2000s, they began offering these officially in the United States and not long after that, the AMG version came out, which is the one I had before the first generation AMG G55 which had a normally aspirated V8 under the hood. but in 2005 it got a big big upgrade. You probably heard it when I was driving.

The thing: you got the supercharged 5.4 L V8 with almost 500 horsepower now I Found this G Wagon in Chicago and uh, well, there's a big worry from G wagons in that neck of the woods or in the north places prone to rust because these things do Rust very easily. Mercedes Had is issues with paint bonding in the mid 2000s, so if it was exposed to the elements well, they would rust. on the E-classes from the early 2000s, the spring Perch is going to actually fail and poke through the body and completely total out the car. But on the G wagons, their big Achilles heel is definitely the windshield frame.

Something about this, the way it was developed 40 years ago, is very rust prone. Water gets trapped underneath here and it all starts bubbling up. And that did happen on this G wagon the previous went to all the trouble of replacing this panel, entirely cutting it out and replacing it, which is about the only thing you can do with these. now.

the undercarriage of this isn't mint. It's not a California car, but it's not super Rusty But the thing you definitely want to check on the G Wagons is the door panel bottoms, which on all these it is very nice. But one thing about G Wagons is the dent conspiracy in the back. You see a lot of them that have a dent or a ding here on the corner and it's no exception with this one.

It has a ding right here and that's because of the massive blind spot. So it is the older G wagon but it has had a nose lift a very common thing. you can see the wheels there newer as well they weren't offered like this in 2008 and the LED running lights and the more modern headlights that's something of a few years newer. A very easy upgrade on these things.

this one. well it's a Chinese version that's uh, well. a little off on the quality, but not too bad. I Do have to pop them every once in a while, but I do have the stock headlights, the stock Grill and the stock wheels if I did want to put them on.

But what I love is this old engine? If you got the modern nose, you'd be paying more for a less reliable G Wagon in my opinion because of that twin turbo V8 under the hood unlike my SLS behind the G wagon that got the 6.2 L V8 these got a twin turbo smaller V8 even though they were called the G63 that has a few big mechanical gotu is really expensive, valve covers, a few failure points that are really annoying, and I Just love this old school engine. Not to mention it shares a lot of things with the SLR McLaren a supercharged 5.4 L V8 as well although that AMG V8 was heavily modified by McLaren to over 600 horsepower. so a nice potent powertrain. There a nice closed Hood now and you go inside and you get the more basic interior.

Also a little bit dirty on the farm right now we need to get some Paving and a lot of construction going on but you can see this one does. have the Zeno interior which is Mercedes specialty design house where you can get interesting colors but in this case it's just black but it's a very soft aircraft like leather interior very nice. You get the AMG gauges basic steering wheel but you do have a heated steering wheel in 2008 a nice touch. heated seats but in 2008 the G wagon still didn't have a lot of modern technology yet.

What we see luxury as nowadays you have a basic infotainment system, a little bit of LED readout here in the gauges, but otherwise very old school mechanically, much as it looked for the last decade or two before a very small Dash a very upright windshield. you have your diff locks right here. That is one other thing to check to make sure all that engages before you buy it because most people don't use it. it gets all sticky.

It can be very expensive to rebuild if you care about that kind of stuff, but being the older Mercedes you still get a lot of cushion in the seats all the air bladders as well so it is extremely comfortable and ample room in the back as well. Boy, this thing needs a lot more of a bath than I thought before I filmed it, but it's been used so you get a great looking Mercedes that could pass for something 10 years newer for a fraction of the price with a reliable and potent engine. something they only did once a Supercharged V8 under the hood one time for just a few years on the G55 Pretty darn rare as well. production only in the hundreds in the United States year to year, so pretty rare one compared to the tens of thousands of G63s that they have made today.

and that's why I lobbied really hard for this G wagon and I am so so happy for it to be in the garage. and with that, I' like to end today's video first with an apology to you I know in the last month I've been slacking a bit on my car YouTube videos and that's because I've had a very busy but very fun month. First with the Barrett Jackson collector auction in New Orleans the live TV coverage there on the History Channel they repost that on Barett Jackson's YouTube page so you can watch it as well. It was my first time up on the Block for real doing every single car that crossed the block for TV it was a lot of fun but also I had SEMA was employed by the History Channel there doing another project and then a trip to Hawaii with April for her birthday and I filmed a good morning YouTube while I was out there and that's the other part I want to address in this video now I'm sure you've seen or some of you have participated in the commentary on my personal life, especially with everything that's happened in the last year that had me out of my old garage and everything flung into this hanger, buying the farm house and all that stuff and the comments about it.

Well, 99% of them, the videos, the AI bot articles, it's totally untrue it. it's all just complete junk out there. I haven't commented on it personally because I simply don't want to. What I will say is everything is amicable I still see my kids.

Everything is normal, everybody is happy and healthy, but obviously a lot has changed I don't care about the comments, they don't bother me at all I'm thick skinned when it comes to the Trolls but one thing that does have me worried is a lot of people think that I'm not going to be posting my car content anymore because of my new YouTube channel Good Morning YouTube where I do a Morning Show with April where Cars is sort of a secondary topic to pretty much anything that we want to talk about and it's taking away from my cars, it's not at all. it's on a second YouTube channel. Now that the studio is all set up, it's actually very easy I Sit down, find topics I want to talk about we react to some videos Jake edits it. My workload is pretty much the same and I have a great time doing it.

and if you don't want to watch it or you don't like it I Totally get it. but please do not be worried that I'm going to stop posting car videos and move on to do this exclusively. I Love Cars I Never want to stop doing hub's garage and I never want to stop making you all happy with my car videos. so please don't worry about it.

and I have been very happy with the new Channel's performance so far. Over 100,000 views on every single video so far 97 98% like the dislike ratio. Tons of new subscribers. It is on the ground and running so I'm very happy about that.

For all of you that do go over and watch it and enjoy it. Thank you so much and as always thank you so much for watching Hoy's Garage. And no, it's not going anywhere. It's not changing.

and if anything, the current car market has me leaning back towards hoopties again because it's what makes the most sense. So hoopties be coming.