SL-Class (R230) 2003 -- 2012: Discussion on the SL500, SL550, SL600

SL/R230: The Future of R230?

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Old 07-05-2009, 05:30 AM
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Mercedes-Benz SL 500
Lightbulb The Future of R230?

Just watched last years movie: "Gran Torino". And there was this muscle car. Then I thought, now having such car is fantastic. You have it in garage and it is enough to stare at yours 70's muscle car.
Anyway, those days all those Camaro's and etc., I don't think that they will be so great as old muscle cars.
What about our MB SL's...? Are those gonna be the cars which we will have in our garage and leave it to our kids? What do you think about the future of our R230 SL's?
In my opinion it is really nice car and I'm thinking to stay with it for a long time, buying the second car and having my SL for hot summer evenings to show up.
Old 07-06-2009, 02:07 AM
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Interesting question, IMO, I would say that the R230 should hold its value reasonably well. Given that it's a luxury sports car and that it's engines should hold up to 200,000 miles with regular service, they should still comand high teens just like the R129's.

The key is to take good care of them and drive them once in awhile instead of just letting them sit in the garage to admire. After all, you did by it to drive it. Not alot but some.

Question for you, what does a 2006 SL500 with 15k on it go for in Lithuania and what does a litre of gas go for?

I love this forum in that we get to talk with MB owners from all over the world.
Old 07-06-2009, 05:28 AM
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Originally Posted by garybc230
Interesting question, IMO, I would say that the R230 should hold its value reasonably well. Given that it's a luxury sports car and that it's engines should hold up to 200,000 miles with regular service, they should still comand high teens just like the R129's.

The key is to take good care of them and drive them once in awhile instead of just letting them sit in the garage to admire. After all, you did by it to drive it. Not alot but some.

Question for you, what does a 2006 SL500 with 15k on it go for in Lithuania and what does a litre of gas go for?

I love this forum in that we get to talk with MB owners from all over the world.
I guess all owners of this awesome car is taking care of it

As you know Lithuania is EU, so the prices are terrible. Let's say for the gas we pay $6.15 per gallon... And the market of used cars just collapsed so prices are so low, you even don't think about selling cars.. At the moment the price would be about $40k. Also, I have to mention that car prices in Europe are basically higher than in US.
Old 07-06-2009, 08:11 PM
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Good question! Personally, this is a car I will never stop driving. It is just too much fun. In terms of performance and technology, it will be passed by, even as the R129 was with the R230. From pneumatics to hydraulics, I'm sure purely mechanical systems will be next. The electronics keep getting more complex and intuitive. Seems like, eventually, we will become old fogies while our kids are zipping around in hover craft or something.

But it's going to take a lot to surpass the sheer beauty of this car. That's a completely different gauge to measure this by. I think there will be a lot of garage-gazing. But part of Gran Torino is that his life is deteriorating, right? The fact that we are even buying these suggests we'll be able to maintain these for a while and not worry about wearing out the bushings every 200,000 miles or whatever. They're beautiful, but I'm not about to start calling this car "My Precious" and keeping it locked up.

I'm never having children, but if I did, they'd probably get the car by tearing my dead fingers off the steering wheel.
Old 07-06-2009, 09:23 PM
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I have a garage full of sports cars. I bought them all to keep for the long haul. I have a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT, 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT Fastback, 1989 Porsche 928 S4, 1998 Ferrari F355, and my 2003 SL500. Non of these are my daily drivers. When I bought the SL I was intending to use it daily and then trade it in a few years. Well that all changed when I got it home. It just looks so great in the garage. I enjoy it more then any of the other cars I have. So now I am going to sell the Ferrari and keep the SL for the long haul. I may regret selling the Ferrari in the future but I really don't enjoy it anywhere near a much as SL.
Old 07-06-2009, 10:43 PM
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I think this same question came up a few months ago and thats how I saw that fiero .. Man that brought back memories.
These cars are to me european classics. Like so many have written with care and attention they will always stay a thing of beauty.
If you are buying one as just another trophy in your collection , well you will truly miss out on the rush , the raw sound of power and beauty of the car.
To me dollars and cents are good but when I get in my SL 55 and it roars to life , its like nothing else.
Oh and there are the stories of women and the rush of the wind...
So it is for this and the unmentionable happening that I truly love my rocket.

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