Gents,

Going to look at a 51K mile 2005 SL55 on Saturday. It's Black w/ Berry, Pano, Keyless-Go, but no distronic/parktronic. It's a one owner car with clean carfax and I had my dealer run a VMI on it. Other than the MB recalls, it's only had 6 minor repairs. The NAV module was replaced, an SBC bracket, an SBC hose, and air injection pump are the ones I remember. No airmatic or ABC related issues.

Dealer is asking $44K for it but was told "since it's a cash deal, I'll take care of you" blah, blah, blah....

Haven't even seen the car in person yet, but does anyone have current dealer pricing for such an animal? I know auction prices on similar mileage/year cars are 35-36K, but dealers really aren't coming anywhere near that price. I was considering offering 39K, including tax, tags, etc...

Opinions?

Current auction numbers:

07/09/09 MANHEIM Regular $38,600 48,140 Avg BLACK 8G Yes
07/06/09 NEVADA Lease $35,450 51,609 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
07/02/09 RIVRSIDE Regular $35,000 51,912 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes
06/29/09 AYCOCK Lease $34,000 46,026 Avg SILVER 8G A Yes
06/25/09 MANHEIM Regular $39,750 45,157 Avg SILVER 8G Yes
06/19/09 MANHEIM Regular $46,000 9,024 Above SILVER 8G A Yes
06/18/09 RIVRSIDE Regular $33,000 20,324 Below SILVER 8G A No
06/17/09 DALLAS Regular $35,500 44,765 Avg BLACK 8G A Yes

If they want $44K and you offer $39K that may be too low; dealers don't care about trade in and auction valued...I tried barking up that treee as well, it sucks because they don't seem to listen to reasoning...where is it Euro Germantown?

What happened to the SL600 idea Hefner and I were telling you about? You coming up to the GWS MBCA picnic/show/swapmeet this weekend?

Well the auction prices are regional and situational. You cannot place yourself in the position of the bidder at an auction by looking at numbers on a screen, as there are alot of variables with the condition of the cars.

That said there are other costs. Dealers pay approx 750-1500 in admin fees, transportation and recon costs.

Just keep that in mind when purcahsing, although your price sounds high.

Sunir says too low, ROMEO says to high.....LOL

Sunir,

No way is it at Euro. Euro prices their cars roughly 15 grand above actual value. I've given up trying to purchase there. I've bought 3 MBs in the last 4 years and every time I've tried to purchase from them. Search for any model MB on autotrader and sort by highest price. They're always the highest price in the COUNTRY for a specific model. It's frustrating because they are so convenient for me. Car is in Baltimore.

The SL600 was a 2004, and tricked out with RENNtech gear. No Keyless-Go and they guy wouldn't budge off his 42K price.

Romeo,

I understand that there are fees associated with dealer auction purchases on top of bid price. Reconditioning, seller's fee, transportation, etc....

I can safely assume that they paid 35-36K for a 50,000 mile 2005 SL55, so I think 39-40K out the door, gives them reasonable profit plus saves me from overpaying.

**********

I just talked to a MB dealer in NYC that's asking 44K for a 43K mile CPO 2005. I'll try to work on him and see what I can do. CPO is worth a bit of a premium.

I agree in terms of auction prices. Yes they are lower but I dont really think its the greatest tool for the SL value, a clean SL with all paperwork/records/etc. is worth WAY more than auction price or even can demand over the other similar SL in terms of mileage and condition.

I went to the riverside auction myself three times and was very dissapointed in what I saw. Most Sl's were beat up and I maybe saw 2-3 clean ones out of over 30. ( Also looked into the 500's) thats another story...

44k "seems" fair, plus tax? That would put you pretty close to 50k but again depending on how clean the car is overall. Any warranty? and are you going to see the car?

Hahah,

Thats what I meant to say....that their price was high.

We are in agreement about the fair price. The quandry always is, however, is what THEY have in the car. No matter what the market is, the seller generally will not sell at a loss eh? The seller could have bought the car wrong or had it for too long, hence the big price.

But I agree some dealers are just stupid with their prices.

Hey there are alot of cars out there.........take your time OP.

Walk away and do not buy from a stealer. I only buy from individuals. For that mileage you are paying way too much. You can find some good deals out there for less 20k miles for that price.

Please provide a few links to said cars. Thanks.

Autotrader has 30 2005 SL55's listed in the entire country. Of these 30, only 9 are 30K miles or less. Of these 9, the lowest price is $47,000.00

I would love to see these cars you're talking about.



2005 SL55s

it's way more than that. Cars that are out of warranty are WAY cheaper than cars with any factory warranty remaining. The Benz CPO deal is OK, but not exactly a bargain or a panacea. I'd rather start with a little factory warranty remaining and buy some other coverage from someone else. I just don't think I want to own any R 230 out of warranty. Also, being in and around the business for nealry 30 years, these other folks are right, most of these auction cars are not what you are looking for. Most of the people on this board want something nicer. Just my .02, good luck in your search.

Totally agree here. In addition, the mileage will drastically change the price of the aftermarket warranty. For example, a buddy of mine bought a 25k cl 500, and warranty was $2200 for 3 years/60k. If the car had over 40k, the price jumped to $4500. And these warranties will not cover certain items no matter what.

Agreed Clayton...Autotrader is a realistic impression of what the market can bear. I'd like to see the car(s) Das AMG is refering to as well. Outside of auction; which is inherently risky you really don't know what you're getting into...I'd say bite the bullet make a fair offer and don't get the cheapest puppy from the pen...get one that's in good shape with records and even if it has 50K or more miles that's fine, lots of people oogle over low mile cars; best to get one 40 - 60K miles so you know the car is not a lemon, if it has been driven and maintained properly with records then it's golden!

Alright guys.....more opinions. Which would you buy?


Car #1 - 2005 SL55 51K miles, no warranty. Sold at ghetto dealer with bad online reviews, but VMI shows stellar service history. Just NAV unit, SBC pump bracket, SBC pump hose, and alternator.


Car #2 - 2005 SL55 43K miles, CPO till 2011. Sold at MB dealer, 3K more than the above one. But VMI shows that it's had ABC issue in the past as well as front strut and tandem pump replacement. I'll see the full VMI on this car in a few hours and will post.

Will be a cash deal so I'm not extremely worried about dealer experience. It won't be serviced at either of these places. Both cars are very similarly equipped, but car #2 is my first choice in color combo. Actually, it's my dream color combo.


Opinions?

What's your dream color combo? I'd say wait to see the VMI on #2; 43 to 51K miles is not that much of a difference both have good miles so you know you're getting a car that is not a lemon; other than that Car #1 service record is not bad at all and if the VMI is well than it may be a good purchase...just don't feel like you are short changing yourself wih missing out on your dream color combo...#2 may be 3Kmore but if it pulls at your emotional heartstrings there's a lot to be said about that; I wouldn't worry so much about ABC...they all have issues there no matter what at some point in time...be ready though cause ABC anything (Strut, pump, valve block) = $$$$

Thanks Sunir.

Dream color combo is white/berry. Thinking dollars and sense , car #1 would need aftermarket warranty, read 3,000 - 3,500 there, so price becomes equal. I guess my real concern, is when reading threads here, there seems to be two different types of SL55's. Type 1 is bullet proof with very few problems, type 2 is a nightmare car. With most repairs being suspension/electrical issues. The fact that car #2 has had suspension issues worries me for the future. Not near future, mind you because of the CPO but I plan on keeping it for a very long time, if it's kind to me.


Car shopping is so exhausting. I'm looking at Car #1 tomorrow. The ad has horrible pictures so I really can't wait to see what it looks like in real life. It also has some horrible aftermarket wheels on it, and I mean horrible. Luckily, the dealer has the OEM wheels for it. Car #2 is a 5 hour drive, so I'd really need to be ready to pull the trigger in order to make the haul.

Is it a fair assumption that MB dealers get the cream of the crop at preferred auctions, and second tier dealers get the rest?

Thanks for input, gents.

why don't you post up a couple of links so we can take a look at the cars...or just post some pics if you don't want to give away any details...pictures are worth a thousand words! And again, they ALL have some sort of ABC issue at some time; so don't let that worry you; and plan on getting the aftermarket warranty even after your CPO runs out so you'll be spending that money anyway if not today then in a couple of years...so that cancels out.

Just got word that Car #2 has been sold. Dealer had it listed for 3 days.

Sunir, you have PM.

Clayton I've received your pm and replied...I'm sure it's only a matter of short time before you join the SL enthousiasts here and still have a good deal of time this year left to enjoy top down motoring! Weather it's an SL500, SL55, SL600, SL63, or SL65...they all have classic lines, represent a flagship in the MB marque with a long rich history steeped in iperformance and nnovation in design and brilliant as far as GT roadsters are concerned they are truely fantastic and offer a unique coupe and open air roadster experience!

Knew the XK8 wouldn't be enough car for you...

SL55 or XKR the way to go...if you look hard enough you could find a 65...bought mine from a friend so knew the history and got a great deal...

As regards thr car the dealer wants 44k for...I'd offer 40k out the door (they'll want to at least get it in the 40s)....amazing car for the $$

Keep us updated

-Rob

Love the new XK, but for my budget, it'd have to be the XK(8) and not the XKR. Still tough to find one of those south of 50 grand. The more I think about it, it's just too exciting to own what was a $120k+ car for 1/3 the price. The Jag would still have tons of depreciation built in, whereas the SL has already taken the big hit.

Looking at car #1 tomorrow. Hopefully she's a keeper.

I would not shy away from a car because it had some repairs made. If you saw my VMI you would likely wet yourself with the length of work. But its all things that were more completely nit picking in nature. You likely cant find a SL55 as amazingly clean and like new out there with 40k miles. The reality is that shocks wear and having new shocks is a good thing not a bad thing. How many SL's have had bad valve blocks? Basically every SL could use a new set of Valve blocks for ABC. I have had about 3 or 4 front and rear it the car still lets the front sag a bit when it sits for 3 days or more.

Go with the warranty car. Its the much better deal. A warranty costs the dealership at least assuming ZERO reconditioning was needed. The getto dealership you can guarantee did nothing other than wash the car to get it ready for sale.

Saw car #1 over the weekend. What a complete pile of horse dung this thing turned out to be. The dealership experience was horrible and the car wasn't even clean on the inside. I literally had to wash my hands after the test drive, it was that filthy. And this was one of their "in the showroom" cars, if you know what I mean. Plus it didn't run very well. Transmission lurched a bit on take off and there was a clicking sound coming from both the right and left side of the car. Most likely the cheap wheels they had on there. They had a lot of high end Euro's but this car was a complete heap.

I'll post the link to warn potential buyers lurking here:

http://www.autoshowcasecars.com/deta...g-4335677.html

It's listed on all of the normal used car sites, including ebay. I also took a look at their BBB rating this morning and they get an "F" rating.

Anyway, the search continues......

What's the consensus on this pick?

2005 SL600 w/AMG package, Xenon and keyless-go, no other options, 13K miles, warranty until 2013 or 72K miles. Car appears to be in as new condition inside and out. I had a friend run the VMI on it and it came back stellar.

Negotiated down to 46,000.00 on a private party sale.

I really wanted to stay around 40K for a 30-40K mile one, but I'm strongly considering this one due to it's miles and warranty.

Thoughts?

Clayton...get it man...low on the miles, it's got a V12TT, xenon and KeylessGO...you know John so you're in good hands....AND Warrenty...dude buy the thing for $46K it's a more than fair price for that car, you'll be happy and done looking and wondering "what if" this, that and the other...you'll have something you can enjoy for the rest of the summer!