here in the DC,MD, Va i have seen 4-5 SL's for under 30,000 and seen 2 for under 25,000. Soon Sl's are going to be to be popping up everywhere, seriously thnkin about selling mine n getting an SL55

If you're in the market for a used Mercedes, now is the time. Could it get even better? Maybe. But, like you said, the market is so soft...SL55 sounds awesome!

ya im glad im not the only who noticed

im thinking of picking up another just cuz i love them so much

Im going to check out the Sl 500 at the carmax this Friday ..oh wait its tormorrow lolz.

Andy

The new cars that are coming out in the price range of $20K-$30K dont look as nice as an SL500. Being able to get your hand on a SL500 for under $25K is just so awesome.

That is a definite yes.

It is the one of the main reasons I bought mine. Yea, I paid a little much, 2005 @ $38K, but it is still totally worth it. Heh, even now over three months later I get people asking "Do you still like it? The honeymoon isn't over?" I just laugh heartily and reply that this is the best car I've ever had and don't see myself ever getting tired of it.
*vroom-vroom*

Rook

+1. I dunno if it's over-paying, but I paid exactly what I allotted myself (66K for a 2007 w/3,500 miles!!!) and will never grow tired of it.

Michael

So you're not going to start saving for maybe a gallardo? or maybe a DB9?

i just saw a high mileage sl500 with 90xxx miles for 19,000 dollars thts insane, i'm thinking bout selling my clk500 n picking this up as my daily driver, buy a warranty n theres no worries, these cars cn easily top 200,000. another plus is the exterior is red

I have been watching the market for the last 3 months as well. Early SL's 03 & 04 can be with decent miles (around 50k) can be had for around 30k.

I was sold on a white 500 one w/sport package before, my broker found an 05 for $37k, and the MB dealership sold one that he actually found for me but to late for 39k with CPO and it sold in 3 days very recently.

An 03-04 SL55 can be in the mid to low 30's I dont think these prices will go too much lower especially the time of year and/or your geographic location. I've had a few deals on an 04 or 05 in the past month they were all in the high 30's to low 40's. Again be wary of what you pay for...

Check this out:
One note I need to add in about people looking for SL's..I personally went to Manheim riverside last month and saw a decent 55. Wasnt the greatest needed some TLC. Long story short I saw the same car on EBay ( it had cheap rims and a spoiler and other identifiers) the next week at some -"Certified ebay power dealer or dealer of year or something"

I knew the car had issues as I just saw it , I emailed the dealer twice and never a response...the worst part i knew its flaws and they claimed it was 100% perfect!! WOW. Be careful again. BTW- he wants 50k for an 06 55 and it didnt get reserve at 46k...

Hah! No, I'm saving for the eventual service on this car. I figure I'll need a head start...

Although a DB9 would be pretty sweet!

Definitely -- I wouldn't be surprised if more folks who are selling these are selling them because they can't afford them anymore. Which means they could be more prone to being poorly maintained. Keep your eyes and ears open....

Thats a beautiful color combo!

Thanks! Yeah, it took about 2 months of online searching to find the color with the pano roof. Well worth it for me.

Wife's looking for an SL500 but not sure what year. What year did the Navigation system come out?

All R230 SLs have nav systems; the major change was in 05, which switched to a DVD-based system and wide screen, away from the CD-systems from 03/04. The factory Nav is probably the most-criticized element of the SL, it's just marginal at best, with limited view options, very poor route selection, and a limited database of POIs. Further, until the 07? (maybe 08?) update, the DVD maps for the US were woefully incomplete. I live in a town of 20,000 people, and it had exactly 2 roads in my town, completely worthless to me. Small towns were basically omitted in the early editions of the DVDs.

One item of curious note. The 03/04 systems have an aux input. The 05-08 systems eliminated this! For the life of me, I don't know why they deleted this, very annoying.

I adore my 05 SL, great car, but the COMAND (sic) system is 10-years behind equivalent Japanese in-car electronics. Don't get me started on Bluetooth...

Thanks for the update. Other than the bluetooth and nav on your car, how's the mechanical side been to you?

Sl's are NOT going to be to be popping up everywhere unless they were popping up everywhere when they were brand new. If not everyone could offer them brand new back then, there are not THAT many used SL that can be popping up everywhere, you know?

omar26, how can you buy a warranty on an SL with 99k miles? btw I just bought a 03 SL500 for $30k... 46k miles... I"m very pleased with it thus far.. also you have to be real careful in working with the stealership.. one blink and it's $1500 here and there...

I just bought an 03 SL500 Designo with 113k miles for just under $22k. The car looks and drives like a one year old car with 10k miles. After purchase I drove it from Seattle to Michigan in four days. What a car!

ALL MY $$ are CDN $$$

I got my 03 sl500,99xxxKM's for $37500+tax(CDN) about 2 . 2+ months ago. It needed batteries , so i replaced them at about $450+cdn, the truny struts at $144(wasnt 100% needed, but for that price, put fresh ones in) I bought ext warranty from INDS for about $3500..my left rear ABC went, and they covered the repair bill of $3228.00.
I felt my roof wasnt closing right so MB adjusted everything $235.(it was fine when i bought it but then was closing 1 side first and not very smooth?!? much better now.

I replaced my batteries as previous owner drove car 9000km in 2 years....my electronic consumer batter still goes offline after sitting for about 48hours....MB cant figure it out, they had car over night, and nothing.alt is fine eveything was fine..but whenn i have it it dies after a few days..hopefully i can trouble shoot it or the trunk lid was off..HOPE, HOPE.

I live the car, but i can see they are very high maintence cars. dunno ow much a service will cost or il change..but am already worried.

I have orderd a NEW windscreen off ebay for a crazy $180 buy now!
got lowering links/installed from JOHN at Adjustableairride.
roof module
New Rims and tires..PICKING UP IN ABOUT $ hours!! JOHN is going to nstall them amd re-adjust car height. (will post plenty of pics later)

I have seen Sl500 here local down to 33,000CDN but it was x-USA car etc..i wanted local, no decs, history..i dont know how much it helps as i have has some VERY MINOR issues, but it all adds up..but i guess a almost 7 yr ols car for 100k less will need a few things.

My car was vandalized about 2 weeks after i bought it..SO PISSED. Crack head broke window for change that wasnt there. Glass, 2 new lower leathers for seats, touch up from glass marks inside, repaint door, rear fender at MB owned bod shop reapir was $4899.60 (insurance covered except $500 deduc & $250 depreciation feee?!) The car was mint, interior awesome when AND why i bought it...so i was pissed. The new lowers are NICE, but org. were mint also. But noe it has a NEW look instant as you see seat lowers first and has new leather smell
I got fingeres crossed I have no more isssues with car..but i doubt that will happen I love driving it..i have put 7,000kms on it and most of time its been at MB body shop!! LOL

owning one of these cars well out of warranty is dangerous. I would suggest you get a car that has even a few miles of warranty left so you can find a quality aftermarket warranty. The warranties are very expensive past that point. You just want to protect against "major disasters". And yes, 05 cars are much better and have less issues than any 03/04. Do your homework and take the time to check out the car and the seller. It's sort of like buying a boat--the purchase is just the beginning. Good luck...

i just sole an sl55, its an 04 MINT with 40k on it and the original owner bought a MB extended warranty, so i have 2 more years and 60k to go, i'll probably be out of it on a year and half anyway, but 38k for a mint sl55, i couldnt pass it up

nice u guys r lucky i USA...if we bring a us sl500 to canada its like 10-15k in changes for the BS rules. there are some good deals here though..i got a good deal.

I think I am still winning the SL500 Dealmaker of the first half of 2009. Got my 2003 SL500 with 72,000 miles in April with all options, I mean all the options except for the pano roof, plus 20 inch wheels and 18 inch wheels (two sets), plus zero deductible warranty until early 2012 or approximately 115,000 miles for $25,000. This included a full vehicle inspection paid for by the seller at a dealership, just got lucky and found a guy who had his paid off and wanted the deal to go down quickly.
One thing was wrong with it after the inspection, cracked third tail-light, the rest of the car was in near mint condition.