55rider

Can anyone tell me if the exhaust sound of the US versions of the SL 55 is less deep than the European ones. I own a US model. I m living in Europe now for a few years. I know 2 people with a 55 ( there are not a lot of them around here) New price- 220 000 Euros = 352 000 US $ and gas price is 4x higher than in the US)
It seems to me the European models make more heavy sound. of course im not talking about the cars with modifications and stuff removed to make it sound noisier. I dont want to do that. The car looses its value
Just curious if anyone knows if the sound of the USA models and the European ones differ at all
Thanks

jobe

EU has more restrictive legislation on this issue. race exhausts are not street legal in europe, no problem with those overseas.

maxabo

Which country in Europe is that..??!
At least as long as Germany or Sweden (where I live) are concerned, you are waaay off!
So correction as follows;

The price for a new SL55 is more along the lines of €145-155.000,-. Depending on extras of course. And perhaps even less back in 2003 (that your car is from).
Unless it's equipped with rims of solid gold!
The 65's cost about €210-230.000,- new.


And I'm not too sure about your gas price estimation there either.
Gas price in Florida is about $3,20-3,30 and in California $3,30-3,40 per gallon.
And a gallon equals about 3,8 liters.
So with an average at 3,30 dollars per gallon, that makes about 90 cents per liter.
In Europe (Sweden and Germany for instance) the gas price is about 2 dollars per liter...
So a bit more than twice as much, is more like it.
Not x 4.
But keep in mind, that Europe (west that is) has 95-100 octane.
I think US "serve" as low as 91 oct.

55rider

I always put 98 octane in the 55
Im talking about the Netherlands. Legal drugs, legal prostitution and BPM
BPM = a tax you dont have in Germany or any other European country.
To give you an example , its about 43% of the price of the car
then just so you know , the rate we pay for gas is also higher here. the taxes
BTW and this other tax ( accijns ) make it as expensive as €1.80/liter
Other tax you don't have is road tax, based on weight and engine of the car, in this case it costs me €100 a month
Other thing is insurance. All risk is about €500 a month for this car
we have very expensive gas prices
so it costs you just about €2000 a month if you just want to drive this car. ( including gas and taxes )
And dont forget when you need a repair its way more expensive than in the US or Germany. Labor is about €150/hour m parts are much more expensive too.
In Germany the 2003 model i have would cost €30000 now. Here it costs about €48000 -€50000
Now you know why im put out another thread looking to get my wheels in the US. For example Asanti wheels. A 20 inch nice model ( 3 piece) with tires would do about 5000 Dollars Thats a joke. Its about 3000 Euros
The same Asantis cost €8300 over here, Thats 13000 US dollars
So now you know why , when i get back to the US again im selling my 55 and getting a Ferrari for the same price

maxabo

So, you have THAT registration system there too!
Like Denmark, Finland and Norway then, right..?
Because I've bought cars in Netherlands a couple of years ago.
They were advertised at mobile.de like all the other cars I buy, and if they wouldn't have been the cheapest, I sure wouldn't have bought them...
I've bought cars mostly in Germany, but also France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg or Austria... Don't matter to me where from. Only price does!
Because a system like that, only punishes the citizens.


And about the gasoline price.
Since your country is so small, it must be better to gas the car up (and some big canisters too while you're at it) in Germany then, with that price dfference you mensioned before...

55rider

I presume you know the system also makes you pay the rest of the tax left on the second hand car one gets from any other country. This means if I get that car from Germany I have to pay thousands of Euros to import the car . In most cases its not even worth the trouble
By the way. Cars from Germany are the most garbage you get. They drive like a bat out of hell on cold engines and weather is as bad as Holland .salvage cars they fix and say nothing about to non-Germans ( the law allows them to do this ) and many other issues not mentioning the German car dealers are notorious in Europe for ripping you off. I got ripped off one time buying a BMW M3 from a official dealer of BMW so that tells you something . Never buy cars like this from Germany or Holland . Swiss is better ( Pricewize ) the Tjech Republic is even a bit cheaper than Germany. Germans get there cars there. I can also promise you that the cheapest cars ( take page 1 from mobile.de) are complete garbage . They look nice on the pics. I promise you ll have 8000 euros of repairs as a Christmas present.
With cars like this ( if you get them for yourself ) you shouldn't be looking at the cheapest cars in any country. I still say US ( California ) is the best place to get any car.
Weathers great, car fax is much reliable than any other registration system in Europe know of. Ive lived in 4 European countries.

maxabo

I appreciate your tips and all, but I've been importing cars to Sweden since 1995.
So there's nothing you can teach me there, I'm afraid.
Thanks anyway.

IMHO the cars from Italy are the worst. Not Germany!
Not saying all cars in Germany are great, of course.
In general; More owners, the crappier car. And also more complicated to do my research on before take off...

And the trouble with cars from the US, is that they here in Sweden have a lesser value, than EU-versions.
Mostly because that the service books are missing. Americans tend to throw them away, for some reason.
Car Fax is a great system, but since we don't have it here, people are not familiar to it.
Therefore people (customers) find the service books more reliable.
And for more expensive cars, simply a MUST.
Another reason for lesser value is that the US cars need extended work to be equal EU cars;
- Navigation (mostly doesn't work here)
- Bumpers (because of plate size, and sometimes because of hideous bumps, like on Porsche 911's)
- Speedometer (m/h instead of km/h)
- Some lights/lamps need to be replaced, and some to be taken off.
And most US-imported cars on the swedish market are not 100% adjusted, because it mostly cost a lot of money. That's why.

When I say "cheapest car", doesn't automaticly mean the car at the lowest price!
That is not the same thing!
You have to separate "cheapest car", and the car for the lowest price, because the car for a higher price can sometimes be a better buy (cheaper)!
I then of course agree, that the first ads (when you have them in price order) mostly are rubbish.
But that goes for every market, no matter what category/item.
So that is not something unique for just cars...