bing330i

A lady is getting rid of her 97 SL320 at our mechanic's shop. The car has only 33k miles and 18" AMG wheels.

3 general questions:
--- how reliable are 97 SLs generally speaking?
--- How long can I expect this year's SLs last? My wife's 92 280SL has 260k mi and runs still good.
--- What'd be a good price ? She is asking $25k.

Thanks in advance.

hotel_calif

Hi Bing:

I don't own one, but JD Powers rated it fairly well. Edmunds lists suggested prices
here.

ruperto

That's a good price for only 33k miles. You can also check out info on prices relative to mileage another features at http://www.kbb.com. Best of luck to you!

bing330i

I am still debating if I should put in more money to get a care free new car, like Acura TL, or this one that is old enough to begin costing me money for constant maintenance.

I will let you know. Good thing that I am in no rush. Thanks.

correction: my 280SL is 82, not 92.

ruperto

On the issue of maintenance, I know your concern. Ever since I've been owning Benz's, I've always bought new and keeping them until the 4-year factor warranty ends. The end result is that I haven't had to pay even one cent out-of-pocket. On the other hand, I've bought used cars before and ended up paying thousands in maintenance.

Whichever way you go, good luck!

JAM

The SL320 is a great car.... I had a 99 TL (bought it becasue it was the only car with Navi at the time). The TL was nice, and the newer ones are even nicer, but as nice as the TL is, it's not a Benz. Go for the Benz; if you buy the new TL, you'll always be thinking about the SL that you passed up. Of course if you need a rear seat, that's another story. The SL is a fantastic 3rd car and for $25k, you cannot go wrong.

blueSL

High maintenance costs are not a certainty with an SL; true, my SL600 has just had the gearbox rebuilt but I do believe I was unlucky. Normal maintenance costs are fine (servicing, brakes, tyres). What is a certainty though is that a new car will depreciate heavily and therefore still "cost" you, it's by far the biggest element of car ownership.

This lady's SL has done it's depreciation, $25k seems something of a bargain and if it's a sensible colour (and there were some bad ones), I'm sure you could run it for a couple of years and then sell it on for close to what you paid; your overall cost will have been low. I have no idea what an Acura TL is, but I'm sure that it will cost you more because of the depreciation.

If you are tempted by any mechanical warranty, keep in mind that Mercedes engines are very reliable if they are well looked after and the things which are more likely to go wrong are the electronic/hydraulic variety. A new hydraulic controller for the roof is hugely expensive, for example, but that only matters if you need one and experience suggests you will not.

sl3204me

I have had my 1995 SL for 2 months now and after totally detailing it,which means making it perfect to me,I am glad that I spent the $15000.Depreciation is by far the biggest expense in an SL.My stiker price in 1995 was $78,000.That means the car has lost 82% of it's original value.If the car has been well maintained and not abused,then I would definitely purchase one especially with low mileage.Mechanical things can be replaced for a reasonable price most of the time.The thing to watchout for is hydraulics,interior broken parts,paint work,and replacing components of the Bose Acoustimass system.I am redoing all ofthe speakers which were all crackling and sounded terrible.If your car is out of warranty,then you really have to figure on doing some of the work yourself on things that you can do.
But once the car has depreciated down to the $15,000-$24,000 range,I think the SL's are a wonderful choice.