https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/next-...ere/404486/175

 

Here in Canada I am seeing significant stock build up in the SL63. Many are going for $40k off msrp and will likely go even lower as the summer winds down. I'm predicting $60k off for new units which are leftovers. I wouldn't be surprised to see dealers dumping 2022 MY cars which have just sat for months on end.

It's unfortunate to see that the SL63 sell so poorly.

 

I think it’s overpriced. Also, they only brought in the SL63, no SL55, just to be a little extra greedy (to only have the top model available). On top of it, the dealers found interesting ways to add to “market adjustments” to their 2022 showroom models
thus inflating the price even higher, beyond reach… and here we are: Too many 2022’s now sitting on Canadian lots with the 2024 order guides around the corner.
In 2021, the outgoing SL63 model started at $170. What makes this new one worth $45k more? What makes it worth 40k more than a new BMW M8 cabriolet?
I think it’s a beautiful car and I’d like to buy one but the price is just way too high. Maybe an SL55 if they decide to bring it to Canada one day.

 

For Canadian car…Is there a luxury tax on top of the cost of that discounted price, my guess is that there would be adding another 19-20 k to the price.

 

Sure there is a luxury tax now, 10% of the amount over $100k, but you don't see porsche dropping their prices, on the contrary their pricing have been seeing double digit MSRP increases and they're still sold out.

Mercedes did misprice this car and the market has spoken. This situation is not unlike what happened with the GTS/GTC/GTR pre COVID a number of years ago where new cars were being dumped for $50k+ off list late in the year. This is turn killed the resale market.

 

Are they doing same discounts for sl55?

 

Nope the SL63 have more meat but also cost a lot more for just a tuned and little extra stuff.. 20K off the SL55 only on 22 and tthere are bery little left on the martket so jump on one if you find it

 

Do the 55 and 63 have identical engines - just a tune difference in terms of power output? (Like e63 and e63S)?

 

Yes, both feature the same 4.0 V8.

 

Aren't the turbos different?

Really it's just a tune?

 

Maybe the boost, but they use the same engine.

 

I think it's good question to check into. Like the AMG GTS and GTC. Same engine but larger turbos, higher boost pressure, couple different/lighter components. Apart from engine slightly different gearing.

The SL63 obviously has twin scroll turbos unlike the AMG GT models but I am still surprised that the power output is so low with that much hardware. The same engine with twin scroll turbos in the E63s was already over 600HP 6 years ago.
Hard to imagine that AMG detuned this engine down to 469hp in the SL55 without stripping it down.

 

Any insight on this one? Curious as well.

 

Canadian dealer is offering 44k off on 22 now.

 

I see.

 

This type of discount can be attributed to several factors:
1. The MSRP was too high
2. The overall design and engineering have questionable appeal to actual clients, especially long time SL buyers Why ask previous buyers when MB knows exactly what consumers want?
3. MB's arrogance has finally caught up---------see #1 and 2 above

It's probably safe to conclude the initial feeding frenzy with $50K over MSRP is over, way over. The discounts will create havoc on resale.

 

This has been discussed quite a bit already. Also, nothing new, $40k discounts could be had with the last SL63 and that hit a lot harder given the lower MSRP. Longtime SL buyers were also not the target audience at all with the new car. I think that was a good move...

 

I keep hearing that Mercedes Benz didn't do much if any market research by asking questions of what people would want in a new SL. What is the data to support that? I wonder if it has just become a much-repeated trope. It presumes that the product planners, designers and engineers are unintelligent and clueless and not in contact with people who purchase and love their cars. That real market research is absent. Seems unlikely to me and more designed to make the repeaters of the idea feel more intelligent than those residents of the glass and steel "big corporations." It could be that Mercedes Benz really doesn't care what the uptake of their cars is and has the arrogant feeling that "we know best" - I just haven't seen any real data - just someone who knows someone who spoke with - blah blah blah. I guess I'm an agnostic here.

 

as of this writing there are 174 new 2022 SL 63 and 21 SL 55 for sale and I think this entire debacle is the result of getting the initial timing of delivery wrong. I have just priced a new Porsche Turbo cabriolet and assuredly pound for pound it is a much more expensive proposition. however on balance there is absolutely nothing wrong with the price ofthe SL 63 for what it offers, the look and the driving experience.

but the geniuses ar MB marketing and distribution should all be fired for gross incompetence. As a result of their failures we are dealing with an over abundance of vehicles and declining values.

 

Just as the 2023 are showing up the 2024 DOG is out just 8 months after the 2023's. This means a short model year and further depreciation. This roll-out is certainly a self-made debacle. The could have just called them a MY23 at the time of launch instead of a 22.

 

I don't think it's nearly that easy to change a car's model year, for US vins it's stamped in as the 10th digit of the VIN number so it's not a changable thing. However, some better planning was definitely needed here.

 

The second order derivative of depreciation become more positive for myriad reasons. I hope the R232 is a big success but I have major doubts.
If "Longtime SL buyers were also not the target audience at all with the new car.", what was the target???? Conquest sales would seem to be more difficult than previous consumers who already wrote a check or checks.
My first SL purchase was in 1986. I have many friends that are SL fans. I never met ANYONE that was a subject of MB SL market research. We here in the USA even have less color options! Do we matter?

The SL has been a MB icon since 1954...........is the R232 also treated with such reverence???

 

It's easy to set the model year for a manufacturer, Mercedes has done this all the time. For example when the AMG GT series was launched as a MY16, these cars (Launch Edition and custom ordered cars) were standing on dealers lots in April 2015. Well ahead of the typical time. Same as the W222 S-Class and countless others.

That said, to your point it would be difficult if they change their mind mid-stream, so it is difficult to understand why they were trailing in their planning. COVID, missing chips/parts? This already started at the official launch in CA.

 

The SL was a dying model. In 2020, MB sold 1783 SLs in the United States. In 2019, that number was 1791. Yet, in the second half of 2022 alone there were 2024 R232s sold, and 918 in the first quarter of 2023.
One can clearly argue that the roll out of this car was poorly handled. However, to try and reboot the model line to appeal to younger buyers (hell, that ain't me, I'll be 65 in less than two weeks) was, IMHO, rational and reasonable. The SL had an aging fan base; trying to appeal to 911 buyers was a natural goal, even if it is very difficult to achieve. All I can say is it worked for me. (Except the young part, I'm powerless to change that )

 

It is also worthwhile mentioning that only a small fraction of the (2018/2019) R231 SL's sold were AMG models; about a 100 or so a year. Now it will be roughly 4000 R232's (rolling 12 months). Still a niche car but clearly a fit for more people than before.