They are emptying their luxury cars under the influence of the FTX explosion, which has rippled through the cryptocurrency market and caused the value of digital coins to fall.
A surge in new models of sought-after luxury cars has hit resale sites like AutoTrader in recent weeks, but they’re not fetching the high prices they once did. The Mercedes Benz G-Wagon — the unofficial “new money” badge of the cryptocurrency rich — was once worth about $300,000 on the resale market, but now auto experts peg it at closer to $200,000. Other luxury cars like the Lamborghini Urus and McLaren Spiders also took a big hit.
Some luxury car insiders believe the purge was linked to FTX’s collapse, which saw up to $2 billion in customer money evaporate.
“The exotic car market is dying right now,” said CarDealershipGuy, the anonymous CEO of a luxury car dealer who wrote a newsletter of the same name. he tweeted noted on Nov. 22 that a 2021 Mercedes G-Wagon sold for $187,000 at auction with only 3,378 miles. “That’s a decrease of about $80,000 (or 30%) in less than 12 months,” he said.
Recently, on November 25th, a 2020 Mercedes G-Wagon – G63 AMG model – with 3,992 miles was sold at auction for $179,000.
“Obviously, the decline in exotic vehicle prices has accelerated in the last few months, and that correlates very, very well with the crash in the crypto markets, where we know some of the biggest customers of exotic vehicles are cryptocurrency millionaires.” CarDealershipGuy said.
Priced at over $140,000 for the 2023 model year, the Mercedes G-Wagon has established itself as a status symbol among celebrities, CEOs, and crypto investors, some of whom want to make a quick buck in a volatile market and show off to the world. . In August, The Post profiled a former Amazon delivery driver who became a self-made cryptocurrency millionaire and won a G-Wagon with his earnings.
But over the past few weeks, CarDealershipGuy told The Post that his DMs have been inundated with inquiries from cryptos looking to sell their hot wheels.
“If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that when you have a large allocation of your wealth, everything is connected. This affects the entire economy.”
Software engineer Brianna Wu tweeted a listing for a 2020 McLaren 600 LT Spider, with just 9,000 miles listed on auto ad aggregator AutoTempest for $255,400.
“The crypto crash is real. Right now, AutoTempest is blasting with McLarens – the flashy and highly unreliable car of Cryptobros who couldn’t change a tire if their lives depended on it.
Another eagle-eyed auto scout, Marshall Haas, noted on Twitter that there are more than 1,600 G-Wagons for sale on AutoTrader.
“It’s more than I’ve ever seen. Crypto guys are suffering,” he tweeted.
The number of used luxury cars for sale on AutoTrader priced over $100,000 has more than quadrupled in the past three years, from 0.16% in fall 2019 to 0.69% in fall 2022, shared with The Post website representative.
Moreover, seasonally adjusted values of luxury SUVs fell 12.1% year-on-year, according to data for the first half of November from the Manheim auction site, where dealers can source used cars.
“We know that used car prices in the larger market are under pressure — wholesale prices have been down for most of this year,” AutoTrader representative Mark Schirmer told The Post via email, noting that retail prices have begun to follow.
“Remember, 2021 saw a historic increase in used car values. This year we’re seeing the lows – what goes up must come down.”