Was tempted to trade for an 08 SL at a dealers. The offered me 16K in trade. I have 92K miles and needed a few dings and the rims repaired(curb damage) otherwise totally clean and presentable. Oh well...love my car. 08 had only 23K and 1.5 yr warranty(certified). they wanted my car +40K and T/L/D. forget about it... Man do these babies depreciate.

 

In April, I paid $28K for my 2004 SL500 w/56K miles. So, I would think your car with higher mileage would retail in the low twenties. You might be able to get a little more than $16K on a trade-in, but not much. The main problem is the mileage. Many people are concerned when it's close to 100,000.

 

As horrible as $16k sounds, it isn't too out of line as a trade in value.

I know of a 2003 that was sold recently. Black/black, mint condition, AMG sport package, keyless go, heated/ventilated seats, wood steering wheel+shift knob, etc. It also had 91k miles, same as yours.

That car was sold by a small dealer to an individual for $19500.

The dealer replaced one strut with a used strut, new rear control arm, new motor mounts, and a transmission mount. The dealer picked up the cost of these items, including all labor.

The dealer said their margins were getting thin, after having to replace those parts (price was agreed upon first, then the items were discovered during the PPI so the dealer felt obligated to fix them). So let's assume the dealer only made $500.

Figure $19,500-$1000(work done to car)-$500 profit = $18,000

They probably had to pay some auction and transport fees to get the car (they bought from auction 2 hours away), and you need to include time/travel/admin costs. The dealer picked up the cost of taking the car to and from the dealership for PPI, for example. This would have cost them 1hr time each way plus gas.

So figure another $1000 right there. Let's assume then that they picked the car up from auction for $17k.

Yours is the identical car, but a year newer. And my story above was in March of this year (spring). Yours is now in fall/winter, so prices are presumably a bit lower.

I think if they were to flip your car at auction they probably wouldn't get more than $18k for it. That's why I say the $16k price is reasonable.

On the other hand, I'm sure you could list your car privately for $21k and get it pretty quickly. Why not sell the car yourself (admittedly a minor hassle) and pocket the $4k-5k?

 

Great analysis. I was hoping for a better deal because I had bought my car new from same dealer and had serviced it there until 7yr warranty expired. Also the 08 had sat there for a few months. I think it has now sold thou. My car looks/runs well, so crossing fingers.

 

my 04 SL500 has 36000 miles on it... mint mint... AMG brakes, new AMG engine mounts (old one broke...pos...), Carlsson front spoiler and Lorinser trunk spoiler, Reus audio... bunch of lights, DVD player for COMMAND... I don't think I can get much for trade in either... so.. I am keeping it. Too much emotional attachment too...

 

Interesting post. I have on 05 SL500 with 45K, pretty much min/excellent condition. I was thinking I could still get mid 20's for a trade. However, I've had the car 4 years now and I think it may be the best all around car ever made, certainly the best all around I've ever owned. I figure I might as well keep it for as long as it runs (10 more years at least). Why get rid of a car that cost almost 100K new that does so many things so well?

 

SL is the finest car of all. I panicked when after warranty ran out i had a string of problems. Gas tank baffle that a spring has partially solved. Top flap that a wire fix is holding and then a transmission hickup that fortunately never reappeared(yet). Latter may be due to an Indy messing up the gasket on service and redoing a year later. Caught by a better Indy on next service.

 

Funny you mentioned an Indy messing up on the gasket. I 've been taking my SL500 to an Indy for a couple of years. I used to go to the dealership religiously with my cars, then I started trying Indys due to confirmed price differential of at least 30%, and advice from several people saying dealer mechanics were not perferct either. So, I experienced what the Indy identified as valve cover gasket leak last year, which I further confirmed is a common problem with these cars. So, Indy fixed, but I just had to go back a month ago, as one of the valve cover gaskets was leaking again. Indy refixed for free, but I am still a little bit concerned. I'm not mechanically inclined at all, and must rely 100% on others advice. BTW, the same Indy replaced my motor mounts this year, which was an expensive enterprise too. Once again, I confirmed this is a common problem with these SL500's, and he was much cheaper than dealership quote. Fingers crossed he knows what hes doing!