I stopped by my dealer today to pick up some parts and they told me that they had a surprise for me.

A launch edition of the SL63 just rolled off the truck, and they brought it down for me to check out. It turned out to not be just 'any' launch edition SL63.... The dash plaque stated 1/100! I thought that was pretty cool. MSRP was $159K!

After taking a good look at it, I am still not convinced of the exterior styling. But the interior is definitely a step in the right directions. Great steering wheel. Great materials..... and lots of new dials and buttons!

I figured that I was just going to get a look at it, until I was asked if I wanted to drive it! Duh! Of course!

The sound of the thing is fantastic. It made my 55 seem quiet.... Which it isn't. The 63 engine is good, but I am still stuck on the 55 motor. The launch edition cars have the 030 package with the performance tuned ABC suspension..... Great package! The car's handling is definitely an improvement, and surprise, surpise...... Steering feel! It wasn't a Ferrari, but it is definitely a major step forward.

But the real reason for this car is the gearbox. What a brilliant piece of kit! The 7 speed auto with a clutch, instead of a torque converter. Who would of thunk? You feel very connected to the car. The shifts are lightning quick. Easily as quick, or quicker than any Ferrari F1 that I have driven. Perfect, rev matched downshifts! Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

Could it pry me away from my SL55? The handling and the gearbox were worth the entry fee, as was the interior. The engine is good, but I think that the 55K motor has much more performance, and character..... and I already know how tunable it is.

I think from a real world purchase, I would be crazy to buy another new AMG, as the depreciation is legendary. I love my 55, but the SL63 will be a great performance car bargain, in a couple of years. I'll have to see how my software guys develop the 63 programming, but for now the SL55 still has my number!

......and to our clients....... We just got really cool window decals that we will be sending out over the next couple of weeks. We recommend that you put it inside the rear window so that the guys you smoke will know who helped!

 

thx for the commentary...i really enjoyed reading your input on the various cars.
although not very practical(vs. my S55) recently i saw a 2005(i think) SL65 for $85k...about 30k miles - very tempting as it's less than 1/2 MSRP, and near new. the S65/CL65 are both in the $75k-80k range.
Patrick

 

I too have the same thoughts as you. I just drove a new SL63 Laumch Edition and my god, what a beast. I truly cannot wait for mine. This will e a great replacement to my CL63 which by far is the best car I have ever had.

 

Patrick:

I was very tempted, but I just had to remember the depreciation factor and I was more than happy to drive the 55 home!

 

Compare the engine performance please. How did the acceleration feel compared to your SL55? Do you think its lacking torque or power?

 

also

stock sl55 vs stock sl63

who wins?

 

Did the Launch Edition SL63 come with the F1 safety car front facia?

 

Nice post and thanks for sharing! I'd like to check it out, was the car at Schumacher or Phoenix Motor Company?

 

Performance to the 55K cars is very different. The SL63 is very linear in its power delivery and it builds massive amounts of power as the rev's get higher. Whereas, in the 55K cars, they start to lose power.

While the torque isn't that of the 55K cars, it is still pretty ferocius.

I will put my money on the new SL63 in overall performance in 0-60 and track. With the new Race Start (Launch Control) the transmission really puts the power down well.

 

The 63 was potent. I just personally like the power delivery that the SL55 gives. Don't forget that mine is tuned and definitely has an edge over the 63.

I would say that the 63 likes revs in order to develop it's power. Whereas the 55, because of the SC makes lots of torque down low. On the stock 55s that we have done, the SC kicks in around 2K rpm. We dial it in to kick in at between 1400-1500 rpm, and broaden the power band, as well as flatten it, so that it feels more potent across the range, which is different to the way the 63 felt.

The launch cars come with the 030 package, so they have the safety car nose. It looked good, but I like the look of the old nose better. Perhaps, it will grow on me. But like I said, from a driving side the new gearbox and the suspension set up is brilliant and worth the switch.

 

Great review, Thanks!

Now here's my question: Where the heck was your digi-cam when you visited the dealer?

 

I was just on a parts run. I wasn't expecting to see, let alone drive a SL63!

btw....... The car sold in 30 minutes!

 

Thanks for the interesting review. I agree with some of the others that $159K is starting to push the price envelope in today's market. I'm sure that the dealer didn't discount it if it was sold in 30 mins.

I love the AMG cars, but the depreciation can be a little disappointing if you purchase new. My local Porsche dealer has an 08 911TT on the floor which is highly customized w/ceramic brakes, $12K rim set, etc. for the same price. Looking at the prices on eBay it will probably depreciate at 1/2 the rate of an AMG car.

It all depends on how many SL63's Merc decides to make. They should follow Porsche's cue and keep them in high demand by not over producing. It would do wonders for the brand image and the resale prices.

 

I was #1 on the list for the SL55, and I was sold a bill of goods about 'limited production'. I didn't realize that meant, limited to as many as they can screw together! I tuned down $50K over MSRP several times. I should have sold.

I love the SL55, and I will probably get a SL63, but not new. I will never buy another new Merc/AMG. The depreciation is deadly.

 

Wouldn't it be the same as comparing any other 55 vs 63, such as E55 to E63? The engines and transmissions are the same, so they would have the same characteristics. Just look for any E55 vs E63 comparison and you'll get the idea of how SL55 compares to SL63.

 

I had been searhing for clean SL65 in the right color ( blue or grey) .for the past 6-8 months.

I was amazing to me how much the AMG cars seem to continue to free fall in value every month since new. As I searched during the past months the cost of the SL65s seemed to plumet about $3,000-$4,000 per month or more!!.

This is baffling to me because the SL65 is a VERY EXCLUSIVE car at $195K with very LIMITED PRODUCTION (only 390 in 2006 less in 07) and with SUPER CAR PERFORMANCE (Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche Turbo).

By all rights the value of both the SL55 and SL65 should hold reasonably firm with only modest depreciation. This is not counting the standard huge hit most cars get the moment they drive off the lot for the first time.

It is absolutely amazing to me how a $195,000 car can drop over $105,000 in 1 1/2 years with only 4,000-8,000 miles on the clock, but there are lots of them out there.

It is not like it is some underfunded unknown car company that just burst on the scene with a new one off type car hell these are AMG Mercedes that have almost no resale value! Even the SLR is taking a hit, I dont get it...

 

You seemed to have left out the MCT. The trans is not nearly the same.

After driving it in Vegas, the MCT is just plain bad a$$.

 

What is not to get? Cars are worth what we are willing to pay for them. My opinion is only we have the ability to drive the prices of cars. As an example, the market ultimately drives the prices of Ferrari's (I will say they do a much better job at creating perception and keeping production under control.) They are still only worth what owners are willing to pay. If people stop buying the prices WILL go down.

A variety of factors have played into the free fall of the SL65. Dealers have always been scared of resale on V12 Mercedes thus they don't want them in trade. The brokers screwed this up from the beginning thinking the SL65 was the next Enzo then dumping them when no one wanted to pay a huge premium over sticker. The market looked since all the cars were being bought (by brokers) so demand seemed higher than it should have been.

We smelled blood in the water and refused to pay sticker. Not many people want to pay $170+ for a used car.

Just a few of the factors in play here.

Sad, it is really a great car!

 

$160k for 2009 SL63?
I don't think so...ck this out for 1/2 the price:
http://www.nohrsauto.com/used-cars.p...2f1c5cbe15ecda

IMHO, many MB dealers and service don't really know how to properly treat high-end customers. After all, can you really train a salesperson to identify who buys a C-class or SL? It doesn't take too many bad apples to ruin the perception of an "exclusive" club.

p.s. this dealer is near where I live, and I have no affiliation with them other than having test driven a few cars there.
Patrick

 

I think the SL65 at almost $200,000 MSRP was extremely overpriced to begin with. At this price range, you can buy a real exotic like Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari F430, Bentley GT, or Aston Marin DB9. Let's face it, SL65 is just a souped up version of the SL500 and not a real exotic car... the average person won't even know the difference between 500 and 65. Nowadays, it seems like there are more SL's on the street than Honda civics, and most people spending 200 grand want a level of exclusivity and not look like every other car on the street. At around $100,000, SL65 is much more appealing.

 

First off, what defines a "real exotic?" I would not include your DB9 or a Bentley GT. You can't buy a 430 or a Gallardo for 200K new and the performance of a SL65 in nothing to laugh at.

Exactly how is MB going to offer a SL65 at 100K? The SL550 fully loaded is almost 100K. I think you need to take a look at your facts. Not all of us want pure flash. Have you ever driven an SL65 or is this more bla bla bla?

 

Well said

New 65s only cost roughly what new SL500s costed (adjusted for inflation and interest rates) back in '90...

New SL550 in EU costs roughly what a new 65 costs in US...

For various tech and aesthetics reasons, many financially capable buyers view buying any used car to be as distasteful as buying a used smartphone or used clothing.....w/obvious implications for trade-in values...

Exclusivity may be cute for Pateks or Petrus or purses or shoes, but for cars many prefer maximal sales volumes to allow mfrs to profitably amortize R&D costs, to both pay for innovation....and allow extensive crash testing and rapid real-world crash/reliability feedback, for debugging....

And any place where $150K+, <1yo cars are rare sights in daily commute traffic is prob a land of economic underachievers anyway....

 

All I'm saying is that if I had $200,000 to spend on a car, I would much rather buy a one year old Lamborghini Gallardo, Aston Martin DB9, or Ferrari F430 as opposed to a brand new SL65. I'm not saying the performance of the SL65 is not amazing, because it certainly is. But it is not an exotic car like Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentley, or Ferrari and does not justify a $200K price tag. Based on its depreciation, I'm certainly not the only one who thinks SL65 is overpriced

That is certainly not the case with most exotic cars. Sure they depreciate, but cars like Lamborghini's and Ferrari's hold their value extremely well. Look at used F430's, they are selling for MSRP on a used market. Some cars, like the Ferrari 599, are selling for above MSRP used. SL65, on the other hand, tanks because it is not an exotic car that costs exotic car money. There is simply not enough demand for it at that price range, hence, the value decreases.

 

..........a bit off topic, but tangentialy related. I understand why Ferrari and Lambo owners do not drive their cars very much. They are exotics for one and most owners have other cars and use these exotics for weekend driving. However even when you account for that, it appears that ferrari and lambo owners go out of their way not to put toomany miles ion these cars. I'm told that that they drop precipitously in value with each added mile. It brings me to my question, what is the point of owning these things if you are not going to drive them? It seems such a shame to have such amazing machines not be driven. These cars are incredibly enginered, but for what purpose?

Ted