Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Getty
In the wake of the $32 billion blowup at FTX this month, the continuing fallout within the crypto trade, and a monthslong decline in costs, loads of crypto traders who had been flush with coin till lately are all of the sudden very exhausting up. Now, it seems that a few of them could also be flooding the market with evenly used G-Wagens at steep reductions. “G-Wagen,” for individuals who will not be available in the market for a automotive priced like a home, is a nickname for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class — often the G 63 AMG, a luxurious SUV that appears just like the ungainly love little one of an vintage hearse and a cyberpunk monster truck. As entrepreneur Marshall Haas tweeted final week, “There are currently 1,606 G Wagon’s for sale on AutoTrader right now. That’s more than I’ve ever seen. Crypto boys are hurting.” My personal search on the automotive market yielded round 1,000.
It’s not clear when the G-Wagen turned one of the vital coveted vehicles of the newly rich crypto class, however like classic Rolexes and sure NFTs, the principle supply of its enchantment appears to be that it’s very costly. G-Wagens go for a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} (a brand new 2022 mannequin was priced at $330,000 on Autotrader), the equal of a Lamborghini Urus. As the nameless CEO of a car-dealership group who writes the CarDealershipGuy Newsletter tells me, luxurious vehicles are an ordinary splurge for crypto millionaires: “It has become a sort of meme, but there’s some truth to it.” He attributes the G-Wagen’s reputation to its engine efficiency, its standing as a standing image, and the truth that it may be written off as a significant tax deduction; due to its weight, it will probably generally be categorized as heavy equipment. The Dubai-based crypto mogul Christopher Jaszczynski has flaunted the hand-painted reptilian G-Wagen on the heart of his ostentatious automotive assortment, and in August, the New York Post featured an Amazon supply employee turned crypto millionaire who burned a few of his newfound wealth on a $250,000 G-Wagen. Mercedes-Benz itself, understanding its new goal demographic, lately partnered with 5 NFT artists to market the car. As analyst Web Smith put it, “When someone has ‘eCommerce’ in their bio on Instagram,” in addition they have “crypto, and the year of their G Wagon.”
Not solely are used G-Wagens piling up on Autotrader, however they’re accessible at a lot deeper reductions. Earlier this yr, 2021 mannequin G-Wagens with low mileage have been going for near $300,000, in keeping with CarDealershipGuy, however now he’s seeing main worth cuts. “In the last two weeks alone,” he says, “I’ve seen several sell for sub-$200,000 in excellent, close to mint condition.” He says an enormous chunk of the value drop has occurred up to now few weeks. This is very stunning provided that the G-Wagen tends to carry worth higher than many different vehicles. He declined to invest on whether or not the crypto crash is fueling the precipitous drop in G-Wagen costs however says he’s listening to from an rising variety of house owners seeking to promote their luxurious vehicles. “People are trying to off-load them, people that need money for some reason,” he says. “It feels emblematic of the macro that’s impacting it.”
The worth lower tracks with a widespread decline in used-car gross sales this yr, however CarDealershipGuy notes that luxury-vehicle costs are largely faraway from the remainder of the used-car trade. Still, it’s a purchaser’s market proper now, whether or not somebody is in search of a 2003 Toyota Corolla or a 2021 G-Wagen. One factor we will say with some certainty: The purchases in all probability received’t be financed by bitcoin.
