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I'm currently negotiating with an owner who wants $16,000 for his 2007 SL550 with 42,000 miles.
It's stored most of the year and when I took a look at it a few days ago, it appeared to be a "garage queen." It's owned by a guy who keeps it parked in a garage and barely drives it when he's down in the US for vacation.
Do you think that's a good price? What do these vehicles usually sell for?
I'm currently negotiating with an owner who wants $16,000 for his 2007 SL550 with 42,000 miles. It's stored most of the year and when I took a look at it a few days ago, it appeared to be a "garage queen." It's owned by a guy who keeps it parked in a garage and barely drives it when he's down in the US for vacation. Do you think that's a good price? What do these vehicles usually sell for?
Slider, It seems a little bit high to me. I value my '05 SL500, AMG trim with 50,000 miles, at $10,000 to $12,000. Perhaps he is starting high to have room to negotiate. It also depends on colors, options and location.
A good source to check previous sales is on Bring-A-Trailer.com.
These cars like to be driven, so if it hasn't been driven much recently be cautious.
And remember, the one that can/will walk away from a deal is the one that will win the negotiation.
A '07 SL550 (ABC 2, upgraded M273 V8) is more desirable than a '03 - '06 SL500 (ABC 1, M113 V8) and the premium in price reflects that.
BaT presents a valuable data point but cannot be the only place you research values.
Years ago someone in the industry told me that KBB Private Party can run unrealistically high, but their Trade-In estimates are a pretty reliable gauge for what is a good private party range.
Additionally, you can run a nationwide search on Auto Tempest to see what comparable vehicles are listed for.
If the vehicle history report is clean and it is cosmetically in excellent shape, that car is a great buy at $15K IMHO.
A '07 SL550 (ABC 2, upgraded M273 V8) is more desirable than a '03 - '06 SL500 (ABC 1, M113 V8) and the premium in price reflects that.
BaT presents a valuable data point but cannot be the only place you research values.
Years ago someone in the industry told me that KBB Private Party can run unrealistically high, but their Trade-In estimates are a pretty reliable gauge for what is a good private party range.
Additionally, you can run a nationwide search on Auto Tempest to see what comparable vehicles are listed for.
If the vehicle history report is clean and it is cosmetically in excellent shape, that car is a great buy at $15K IMHO.
I noticed that he had a trickle on the starter battery, you don’t need one. Just trickle the battery in the trunk wether you let it sit for a week or months. Ctek makes a great trickle charger. Great car BTW!
Last edited by danaw007; 10-24-2020 at 10:21 PM.
Reason: Add text
I noticed that he had a trickle on the starter battery, you don’t need one. Just trickle the battery in the trunk wether you let it sit for a week or months. Ctek makes a great trickle charger. Great car BTW!
Well bought IMO, is it a designo model? My ‘08 is a joy to spend time in, very solid and secure feeling. And a great grand tourer 4-5 hour drives are a real pleasure. Post more pics or try the Russian vin decoder to decipher the color and options. Someone will know
Aegean Blue was the US name for it, I think that the rest of the world called it Teal Blue Metallic. If you run your vin in lastvin.com, it will show you the color codes and names, all the options, and your original engine and transmission numbers.
Wonderful car, congratulations. You can google mercedes VIN decoder and two will pop up. then enter your car's VIN and it will give you like a birth certificate for the car that shows all options it was made with. Including color code, etc. Also will give you the engine's serial number so you can see whether it is before or after the cutoff number of the ones that had the balance shaft issue. I didn't know about it when I bought my 2007 SL550 and was happy to learn mine was a later 2007. Reading here. http://www.mercedesmedic.com/check-m...y-vin-m272273/
...the cutoff number of the ones that had the balance shaft issue. I didn't know about it when I bought my 2007 SL550 and was happy to learn mine was a later 2007.
I recall Rodney writing that all U.S. 2007 models and early 2008 models have the sprocket issue. If you have a U.S. car, Tony, then apparently that is not the case.
Congrats on your new SL550. I have one just like yours in Teal Blue, which is pretty uncommon. I bought mine 2 years ago from a Dealer in the Bay Area and paid $18000. The car had 65K miles on it at the time. I think I got a pretty darn good deal on it.
One thing to consider is that what is considered a high price in one part of the country could be a bargain somewhere else, and since I don't know your location, I can't comment on it. Nevertheless, I still think you got a good deal, so enjoy your car.
BTW, what wheels came with yours? Mine came with chromes 10 spoke like this:
But I've since replaced them with the 5 spoke split AMG style also chromed, as I'm a little more partial to those.
I recall Rodney writing that all U.S. 2007 models and early 2008 models have the sprocket issue. If you have a U.S. car, Tony, then apparently that is not the case.
No, that's not accurate. My '07 shows a delivery date of 12/18/2006 and the engine serial number is outside of the problem range.
For the M273 engine serial numbers up to 273xxx 30 088611. If your engine has a higher serial number you're good. Mine is 114671
Congrats on your new SL550. I have one just like yours in Teal Blue, which is pretty uncommon. I bought mine 2 years ago from a Dealer in the Bay Area and paid $18000. The car had 65K miles on it at the time. I think I got a pretty darn good deal on it.
One thing to consider is that what is considered a high price in one part of the country could be a bargain somewhere else, and since I don't know your location, I can't comment on it. Nevertheless, I still think you got a good deal, so enjoy your car.
BTW, what wheels came with yours? Mine came with chromes 10 spoke like this:
But I've since replaced them with the 5 spoke split AMG style also chromed, as I'm a little more partial to those.
Nice car.
I'm in California.
I can't remember what the wheels look like. I'll upload the some pictures when I go pick it up.
Wonderful car, congratulations. You can google mercedes VIN decoder and two will pop up. then enter your car's VIN and it will give you like a birth certificate for the car that shows all options it was made with. Including color code, etc. Also will give you the engine's serial number so you can see whether it is before or after the cutoff number of the ones that had the balance shaft issue. I didn't know about it when I bought my 2007 SL550 and was happy to learn mine was a later 2007. Reading here. http://www.mercedesmedic.com/check-m...y-vin-m272273/
Engine 273965 30 069456
Gearbox 722904 00 807316
Looks like this car has the older parts.
Current owner bought it in 2015 with 33k miles. Since it has about 42k miles, that means he put about 1800 on it per year.
Unfortunately, the engine falls into the range of the problematic balance shaft/idler sprocket.
BUT, this problem was more prevalent on the M272 v6 engines. On the V8 it wasn't as common. The odds are, you probably won't ever have this issue.
I'll bet that if you were to take a poll, here you'll find very few if any members that had this problem with their SL, whereas the poor guys with the ML350 live in fear of it happening to them.
10-24-2020, 02:21 PM
