zer0t

I'm looking at a local 2007 sl65 from the original owner. The car has 13,100 miles on it and really looks showroom new including brand new tires that are less than a month old (not trivial), it also had recent service. The car is diamond silver metallic, with a very light colored designo interior. It does not have panoramic roof. The guy is asking 55k, which seems pretty reasonable from what I can tell. I can probably get the car for 53. Thoughts?

I do not know all the options on the car but more importantly it is a well maintained example of the far with low miles.

Thanks.

Speedriven1

Miles are *VERY* low. These cars like to be driven, so expect issues with lines and pumps (ABC, for example). You might be better served finding a car with a few more miles on it that has, for example, newer coils, a recent suspension service, brake service, etc. At 13K, it might have only had 1 or 2 oil changes ... over the last 10 years.

aeroman

Agree with Speedriven. I bought my 2007 with 27K miles on it two years ago and thank good for good warranty as it has had about 20K in warranty work done since then.

i.e. Both coil packs, main computer, ABC pump, secondary computer

It now has 50K on it and is basically worry free

Speedriven1

Yeah. Expect to spend about $5-10K to "make it right" very soon after you buy it. Especially if you plan on putting miles on it.

zer0t

Glad I asked.

Speedriven1

I think this myth that low miles = awesome buy is the problem here. You can probably find a car with 40-50K on the clock that has had more work done to it, has a better maintenance record, and would probably make a better driver. Heck, you can probably do all that AND spend less money!

Or, you know- try to get this one for $49K.

zer0t

I'm going to offer him 48k and try to explain this. Most people, I was included, believe lower mileage always increases price. If I can get this for 50k or less I would be fine putting 5-8k into to make it right. It's in mint shape, the color I like, interior I like. So in my head if I think 54-58k for the car (buying it at 49 or 50) it could be worth it.

I'll consider any I look at needing 5-8k worth of work unless they have the service records to back up fixing the items outlined here.

aeroman

I would offer him 40K. I'm betting you are going to put a lot more than 5-8K in it in first two years. Especially if the motor and tranny mounts have not been done. And if he has not had the brake fluid and ABC fluid flushed do that right away and get ready for both coil packs to fail. When they do make sure they change the plugs out to save you money.

zer0t

sounds like I should get one that's already gone through all these items.

PoCoAMG

I bought a 2005 E55 with 70,000 km's on it a while back. When I let it go with 125,000 km's on it, it never ran better. It "learned" my drivings style and I look after my vehicles very well. I do agree with the low miles on this car. I think you will get more value from a car with 40,000 to 60,000 miles at a lower cost with all the necessary work completed. I'm sure there are people on this forum that have high mileage cars I would own in a heartbeat because of care and attention they put into their cars.

I am just at the Stealership right now with my SL right now. They are just looking into the "soft close" (yes I have looked at all the threads and DIY) and doing a light "look over" the car. My knowledgeable service tech and good friend said these cars like to be driven. Having them sit for long periods hurts them more than it preserves them. I agree. It may not be my daily driver but it is nice to go for a quick jaunt to the Valley and open her up one or twice a week.

Good luck with the SL

P.S. I would offer lower for this car as others have mentioned and explain that you WILL be putting money into this over the next couple years. Then drive the beast and put a huge grin on your face. Not having pano is interesting as well. Thought it would....

Cheers!

Shaun

zer0t

If I have the VIN can I get the service records from Mercedes Benz?

BlownV8

$40k would be generous.

okbarnett

I would look at nada used car price, take the lowest dirty value and thats what the dealers are offering him to trade it in, he wants what he thinks its worth

zer0t

it ranges from 25 to 45 in the lowest condition that the websites will accept. I ran it with actual miles (45k) and said 100k miles (25k) just to reduce what the perceived condition would be.

I'm going to look for another one because I don't think he'll take less than 50 for the car and I don't want to pay 60 for it. If I could get it for 40 and end up into it for a bit over 50 I'd probably be ok with that, but it's a non-starter given my chat with the guy. He's never heard of being penalized for low mileage and I can understand that because on most cars it is considered a value.

okbarnett

I would inform him of the real market value which he may already know and make a offer and let him decide

V12TTenthusiast

I paid 55k for my 2006 SL65 back in 2012 with only 27k miles which was a good deal. I paid 3900 for a really good warranty that prob has dished out 25-30k in extra cost.

I think with these cars mileage isn't as big of an issue as age is. My car was only 6 years old when I purchased it and most of the problems have been ABC stuff which I fix and I'm sure will last another 5 years and I would flush the car every year if not more. Your looking at a 9 year old car. Mine is already have so many hoses starting to crack or sag its stupid how much all these hoses cost to replace them. I had one hose that gave out, and cause my ABC pump to blew, 7 months later another hose went out and caused the ABC pump to give out.

I was debating at this point to replace all the hoses and accumulators etc which prob would have costed me about 4-6k but for the same price I can get coilovers so after debating it for a long time, I'm going with the coilovers, if they don't seem to ride right I can replace all the hoses then.

But anyways back to the point 9 years with that much miles not ridden on it, I feel the ABC prob has aged quite a bit. And these cars like to be driven around not sit.

I'm sure the guy selling the car will prob hold out which is understandable because for most cars low mileage is a good thing, and I'm sure someone unaware of ownership of an SL65 will think that car is a steal. But the suspension on these cars are the biggest game changer.

V12TTenthusiast

You know 49k isn't a bad offer and its prob something the owner would think about. The trans is prob in good shape, the brakes wont need replacing for awhile which are not cheap about 1000 per corner.

Idk about engine mounts, but that might be more of a mileage thing then an age thing because prob not that much heat from the engine wearing those mounts. But I do know those coil packs can be an age thing and at year 10 if he didn't replace them you might as well because if you tune the car those coilpacks and sparkplugs will most likey need to be replaced. 40 though I don't think that owner is going to take it, you can find alot higher mileage SL65s for low 40s

Ed954

$55k is way overpriced in my opinion. I would offer $45k to $47k. I got my 2007 SL65 with 50k miles for $37K a month ago, brakes and coil packs were done 4k miles ago. Also I would recommend to perform a Full inspection at any MB dealership.

Ed954

You need to ask the original owner to do that. MB won't release any record to a 3rd party anymore.

Blackbird76

I've owned my 2005 SL65 for last year (46k miles on it now) and speaking from experience there are 6 or 7 major faults that will need to be replaced at around 50k miles or 10 years old with these cars. You can find find these cars in the mid to low $30k range with fairly low mileage, but, typically all of this work still needs to be done to car to have it up to scratch:

1) Ignition coils & plugs
2) Lower control arms
3) ABC Pump and Hoses
4) Intercooler pump
5) Brakes - rotors and pads
6) Secondary Air pump and sensors

I was lucky enough to get a Fidelity exclusionary warranty with my car (cost me $7k) and still have 3 years left on it. Solid paperwork will push the values of these cars up.

You should also look at flushing all the fluids when you buy one of these cars, unless it's all just been done - engine oil (OW-40), ATF fluid (75W85) - need to flush it two or 3 times to get all the ATF out (contrary to what dealer will tell you), differential gear oil and brake fluid. It's double the price of the regular/recommended Mobile oil, but, I would recommend Redline Synthetic race oil for best performance, made a huge difference to my engine performance with much smoother shifting etc.

sgaar

I am not sure they will give you the print-out, but can ask them to look at the VMI and see what has been done under warranty.

I will echo everything that has been said about this. An example are motor mounts. They go bad by being old, not miles. If you get the right service place, they can change them without taking the motor out, but it is still at least $1K.

Then you have fluids, seals and pumps. ABC alone, along with struts, will cost you $800 per corner if the struts fail. Now, ABC by itself, is a brilliant system, but does not do well if the car is not driven. What happens if that the seals in the struts dry and when the car is then driven, you get micro tears in the seal leading to leaks.

A 2007 with 60k miles is properly a better option in terms of reliability.

vtvette

As others have written these cars need to be driven! My 2005 SL55 has 115,000 miles on her and has never once let me down. No weeping ABC hoses, no ABC failures, nothing. I am religious about maintenance and don't abuse her. I also change the ABC fluid every other oil change and am convinced that's lead to the long life of many of the ABC components.

My wife's 2004 BMW X5 has 165,000 miles and is in fantastic condition. We talked about selling for a newer model but ultimately end up at "why"? It's in perfect condition and it's one of the last years with a 6 speed manual transmission. She will only drive manual transmissions

Bottom line is, don't get seduced or fooled by low miles. Overall condition and regular use are much more important. Sitting is the enemy of these cars.

Jan T

I had the same experience with my Maserati Biturbo, in that the less I drove it the more problems I had. I suppose if you are a collector to let the car sit and maintain low mileage, then maybe a low mileage car may be the way to go. But if you want to drive it then good maintenance and medium miles may be better. I had the same thing the other day with a guy looking at my SL600 with medium miles and excellent maintenance, where he may still choose a low mileage car that has been sitting for years instead of mine.

BlownV8

My Maserati bi-turbo was a POS regardless of mileage driven and maintenance. Just junk!

The V12 has issues based on mileage and time. The intense heat in the engine bay plays havoc on the coilpacks and hoses. Driving the car does not change those factors and only speeds the process. Look for one from a cool climage that wasn't driven in the winter. Odds are it will be in better shape than one from hotter climates. Getting one with more miles and having been maintained properly will mean the repairs from failing ABC pump and hoses will have been addressed. My experience from two V12's with the biturbo engine and ABC tells me the car needs a bunch of repairs around 70 to 80k miles from failed hoses, engine mounts, idler pullies, leaking struts, bad coilpacks, blown accumulators, and the odd Command/amp/ electronics issues. Driving the car daily will not lessen any of those failure points in the V12's.

Blackbird76

Totally agree, there 10 very typical faults with the V12's cars that are going to have to be fixed at around 7 - 10 years old regardless of mileage. Coil packs, motor mounts, ABC, control arms, IC pump etc. Very rare that you will find one that's immune to these issues. Key is to try and find out before you buy the car if these issues have been addressed / parts replaced and when they were replaced as this will enable you to potentially avoid some of the major expense items unless of course you have an extended warranty. Bottom line is, it's very rare that you just get lucky and find one that has no issues.