Ingenere

What are we talking about? Overpaying $5K or so...... maybe? On a car that retailed for $150K.

All this debating over a few bucks, and you could actually be driving this thing and enjoying it.

The car has the tough to find (and $17K), 030 package. If you like the car, then buy it and stop quibbling over a few grand. You'll forget about it after the first time you hit the gas...... unless you are one of those guys that has to drive 20 miles out of the way to save .10/gallon on gas.

EXECMALIBU

Part of the expense of the 030 package is the 390mm front brakes. Same as on the SL65...

I had a SL55 and felt the car was under-braked and needed bigger brakes for going really fast in the canyons...

V12TTenthusiast

Completely forgot this was a P030 well then guess only expense really is coil pack and engine mount compared to the car in question. Idk what worse that or all the other maintenance associated with the 55 engine. I haven't had any engine issue yet, just basic stuff to expect from the M275 engine.

FastAMG

I'm not rich by any means but I'm not doing bad either. If it was a question of a few grand, I wouldn't care. However, $48k vs $35k is quite a big spread. I usually only keep my cars for two years or so. I just don't want to pay almost $50k now and have the car only be worth $30k two years down the road.

Hence the reason for me trying to feel out what the actual market is right now. It's nice to have current owners and other potential buyers share their feelings on what they would actually pay for the car today. I just sold my SL63 back in October and I had a relatively tough time doing so even though it was a low mileage car.

BlownV8

You want to pay as little as you can. There is no collectable value on these due to the numbers produced and the less than stellar reliability. It's going to depreciate considerably ever year and that's not even taking into effect the additional mileage on the value. Yes, easily a $30k or less car next year if you drive it often.

user z478747

Agree with your first 2 comments (well, except for the reliability part....) but, a $30k car next year? Well, maybe if he were to put 60k miles on it, do no maintenance, wreck it, fix it then try to sell it..... Seriously, if you know where a 17k mile, 2007 SL55 WITH the 030 package with no bad history, in a sellable color combo and good ownership history can be bought for $32-35k, PM me the details and I'll buy it RIGHT NOW!!!

BlownV8

Not sure what rock you have been living under but the 230 SL was deemed the least reliable car in Europe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...s.html?image=5

Europe's most - and least - reliable cars - Telegraph

Most reliable
1. Toyota Corolla - reliability index = 4, Average cost of repair £148.62
2. Suzuki Alto - Reliability index = 7, Average cost of repair £148.62
3. Honda HRV- Reliability index = 8, Average cost of repair £213.62
4. Suzuki Alto - Reliability index = 7, Average cost of repair £148.62
5. Ford Fiesta- Reliability index = 14, Average cost of repair £111.09


Least reliable
1. Mercedes SL (230)- Reliability index = 349, Average cost of repair £742.10
2. Mercedes CL (216?)- Reliability index = 327, Average cost of repair £653.66
3. Range Rover - Reliability index = 295, Average cost of repair £530.62
4. Mercedes S (221?) - Reliability index = 287, Average cost of repair £546.21
5. Nissan Pathfinder - Reliability index = 269, Average cost of repair £686.65

SL55_Forever

^ funny enough the w216 is listed but not the w215 isn't

user z478747

Guess a different one then YOU since I don't read UK based Telegraph???? Was that UK or all of Europe.... Didn't follow the link cause I don't care that much..... Real world experience is all I need. Had 2 SL55s which have been really reliable! Also had an E55 and an S55 both of which have been pretty much bullet proof.... Not that I care but, you didn't mention which model year(s) the stats were for?

Gonna post some stats now to back up your value/depreciation claims next.....

If these are such unreliable cars that depreciate like crazy still at 10+ years old..... why do you own them? Own more then one of them too? Seems odd that you own a car(s) that you seem to really like to dog?

V12TTenthusiast

I personally think when people buy these types of cars, they forget to realize that this is a 150-200k+ retail car and that parts need to reflect that. I mean is the suspension a handful to maintain at times? Yes, but for this type of suspension which makes the ride feel great even in the bends you can't really complain.

I've seen many people over the years that owned SL/S/CL's and they decided to chuck the car cause they were sick an tried of keeping up with the maintenance. Sure sometimes I have a love hate relationship with my car. Hate it when its in the shop, love it out. As this is my favorite daily driver, and seeing how 65s are tanking, I always debated on buying a 2nd 65 just to drive while the other is in the shop.

I know it sounds crazy, but it reminds me of this house I always passed when I use to live in Northern VA and there was 5 early 2000s NSXs in different colors, and I figured the owner must really love to drive NSXs to have 5 of them lol

Back to the originally OP, if you love the car then just go for it, I think you could possible haggle a few grand off. As for resale value in the next 2 years, Idk how much you will drive it per year, but if you plan on using it as a daily with 20k-30k miles a year for the next 2 years its a good chance car could drop below 40k. I think for this type of purchase resale shouldn't be a factor if you want to enjoy this car. If it is idk if an AMG R230 in general is a wise choice.

kittyandgary

Regarding value, here's another 'benchmark' that I might be interested in investigating further if I were considering the purchase of an SL55: Like the exterior color 'almost' as much as the firemist red on my '03, but I like the interior color better. Beautiful combination - at least to my eye (but I couldn't stand that steering wheel color in that interior!). Also has the upgraded SL65 wheels (as I have).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Benz-SL-Class-SL55-AMG-152-620-new-loaded-14-k-perf-pkg-panoramic-balancer-shaft-update-/311233180892?forcerrptr=true&hash=item4876f174dc&item=311233180892&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Gene Gorman

I still have the SL55 that I bought from Chuck Z. years ago. It now has 7600 miles on it and has never seen rain. It is kept with all my cars in a climate controlled garage. Talk about value. I would not think of selling even at the price I paid for it, as it is my favorite car.

sl65_rockford

I don't know what other car can do what a 2006 SL65 (Black Series kit) made to look 99% like a 2009 BS SL65 can do.

2006 SL65 , with almost all known factors repaired/replaced; coils, mounts, plugs, ABS, exchangers.... $40-45k

Allow another 5k-10k for future mech repairs (streching it a bit)

Allow 1 BS headlight & body/paint/rims; cheaper if yu get spacer (not recommended) enhacement...about 20-25k...

65k...low end, 80k...most likely in 70k's

Pulling up next to a 2012 SL65, priceless
Pulling next to a real BS 2009, priceless
Pulling up next to any lambo, ferrari, or any other car deemed "exotic" ...priceless

I know of no one other car, that can do that. If you do, please share

sl65_rockford

Wanna even go further, buy a SL55/65 that some one already did meticulous work on, like overzealous did on his art-form of a car, sold it for 40 or 45k...and pull up next to a BS or 2012 SL55/65 and smile knowing what you know. No other car can say that, imho.

sl65_rockford

45k. Vs. 120k...lol.
45k. Vs. 190k....BS, my ***..