Blue Benz

I was being sarcastic if you couldn't tell. All I can say is WTF??!!? I know dealers do this all the time, but this time it really got to me. They're pretty much just raping people left and right with the prices. Thing is some poser will probably come and buy the car at that price not knowing what an amazing car their buying, treat it like ****, drive like a grandma (or extremely hard and abuse it), get bored of it and then sell it . Yeah i'm over generalizing, but you get the point.
So all you guys with SL55's out there, how much if any amount did you pay over sticker? I was told that even if you put your name on the waiting list and put a deposit down 2 years ago, they'll still sell the car to someone else if they are willing to buy it for over MSRP. So another question, how did all you guys get your SL55's so quickly? I'm guessing most of you paid over MSRP?

awiner

You talking about that Silver SL55 at Keys ? The one with 50 miles ? It was owned by Nicholas Cage and sold to Keys for them to rip someone off with..

Blue Benz

No, this one was Black on Black and it only had 7 miles. I didn't see a silver one there.

muhri

So he drive it for 50 miles only?? hrm?

awiner

They must of sold the silver one fast then. Was there last week.

theine

200K for an SL55 owned by Nicolas Cage? I don't think is too much considering the following SL55 @ $189,900 owned by nobody.....at this pace, pretty soon we should be able to get them for a cool quarter million.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=23953

mookie

I have one coming in 1 month for sticker, if u are a good customer they honor u with a car at sticker but if they never saw u before they disrespect u with the option of paying over sticker or not getting a car! If u look at previous posting u will see that the premium is shrinking and is currently about 25m over, and has fallen about 5m per month since released

blueSL

Mookie's correct. It pays to build a relationship with an MB dealer which will pay dividends when new cars come along. I was able to get one of the first SL55s at my dealer because I had bought from them before, they knew my interest in the new SL and also that I was not going to sell the car on to make a quick buck.

SL Boy

I am in an identical situation to blueSL

freakinfreak

Keyes is absolutely insane. However, they seem to be able to sell these cars at these prices to idiots. I saw the 03 Range Rover on their lot for a few days and found out it sold for $25,000 over sticker. I'm through with their service and sales departments.

vraa

paid around 130ish for our car.. but then agian.. its not an AMG (NOOOOO!!!)

bimmerlover

anyone who pays 30k over sticker for a mass produced car is either seriously wealthy or seriously stupid.


i love the sl55, but some of the markups are 360 spyder range, and that my friends is the pinnacle of droptops.

Mr. Xristo

Given the rarity of the SL55 and the LONG wait times, I personally feel $150,000 for a loaded SL55 is an honest, fair market price.

theine

Besides an MB is a much more reliable car than a Ferrari, which spends most of it's life in the owners garage or in the shop for repair.

bimmerlover

thats a common misconsception, if you push the car hard and consistently ferrari's hold up well. just ask the owners and they'll testify to it proof

and i guess 20k is sort of fair but i'd rather wait and order one at msrp, but then again you have to pay to be the boss, but 80k isnt cool at all

the difference between a genius and a fool is a genius has limits

theine

originally posted by bimmerlover
thats a common misconsception, if you push the car hard and consistently ferrari's hold up well. just ask the owners and they'll testify to it proof

Don't get me wrong, I love Ferraris, specially the F355, but I always heard bad comments about them. Specially the 15K interval services which are a killer. Also Ferrari owners don't drive their cars at all, to keep the mileage low, trying to fight depreciation. Would you buy a Ferrari with 30,000 miles?....I doubt it, but an SL with 30k miles is in "like new condition".

Blue Benz

The fair market price is MSRP. That's my opinion. Do people just like getting ripped off?

Mr. Xristo

They do not enjoy being ripped off, but they also do not enjoy waiting for 2 - 3 years for a vehicle.

MSRP is the Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price and has nothing to do with the actual value in the market.

The SLR Coupe will have an MSRP too, but do you think it will be selling for MSRP? Of course not as there are only going to be 500 made.

Mr. Xristo

If people can afford to purchase a $250,000 Ferrari with cash, paying for the maintenance should not be a problem, nor an issue.

blueSL

Of course, this is not McLarens first venture into the rarified atmosphere of supercars. They limited production of the F1 to 100 cars and still could not sell them, and that was at a time of a buoyant business climate. The SLR is compromised compared to that and there's going to be alot of competition next year from cars in this price range.

Besides, I hear on the grape-vine that the one they were going to show at Detroit is now sitting at the bottom of the English Channel, along with 2800 other cars.

morebhp

Things improved a lot by the 360 - Belts are no longer an 'engine out' job and as such I was quoted about 600 UK Pounds (900 US dollars ish).

Tyres, etc as you say but I doubt much worst than the SL55.

It is a shame Ferrari's depreciate badly with miles put on them as I'm sure my old 360 was good for many miles.

Mr. Xristo

As far as cost vs. benefit vs. usability is concerned, I feel the SL55 is a much better purchase for the money than a Ferrari, and this is why there is such a demand for the SL55.

Why own a Ferrari that is not able to be used as a daily driver, and that also costs a tremendous amount of money over time for maintenance, and repairs?

Not that I am against Ferrari's

blueSL

Agree with you, the appeal of the SL in general and the SL55 in particular is that it is a car which can wear many hats, and you know it's going to start in the morning.

The likes of Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini must be just a little bit concerned. As for Jaguar, I went on a clinic to review the next generation XK. They must be really depressed.

theine

Originally posted by blueSL
theine, you're completely correct. The bad news is the cam-belt change which costs upwards of $3000 to change two belts costing less than $100.

Just out of curiosity, what is the mileage in your 1995 F355.

blueSL

About 12k - I only do about 2k miles a year, excluding the 6 months it spent being repaired after I crashed it and another 6 months in storage while my garage was being extended/re-roofed.

It's not a huge mileage of course, and the belt changing regime is based on the assumption of a rather higher mileage. I'm sure they could do more time, but the sinking feeling when you hear the bang at 8500 rpm and know that you're in for $30000 for an engine rebuild is one I could do without!

I like the car though, mine is an earlier pre-air bag model which has the lovely momo steering wheel instead of the fat package introduced for the remaining life of the car.