My SL63 went for a service at 13k. At the time I asked for a valuation.
Now my car is mint and could go in the showroom as new. Low miles, never
had 1 problem, he said you would be lucky to get 60k, it cost 108k that's
ridiculous. What about it's condition I asked, still the same if it was scruffy,
he said Once it goes through the workshop it will look as good as yours. The moral is don't look after your car, and park it anywhere you like.

Benz and depreciation go hand in hand.

It seems this topic has come up a lot recently.

in two and a half- three years pretty much any benz is at 50% or worse of msrp.

out of all german manufacturers, porsche (911) are best at holding their values

In 2009 I bought my 2007 SL55. MSRP was $139,000+. I paid $53,000. It did have high mileage, however, so I bought a M-B 100,000 warranty. I'm up to 71,000 with very few problems so far.

But how do you guys feel about keeping a car in mint cond, only to be told
a scruffy one was worth as much.

It is the car business' way of making greater margin for themselves with pre-owned cars relying on reselling lots of cars fast and low prices.....

They can make a 3-10K profit........scruffy ones get the least profit..they love the ones in good shape that they can sell faster and higher with no repairing or detailing, etc....

Buying luxury cars pre-owned is the only way to go or hold on to the new one for 10 plus years, if it is reliable..let the first person that the BIG depreciation hit........not trying to rub it in......

I saved 15K on a Porsche that way, 25K on another Porsche and 130 K on my SL 65.....and 30 K on a E 39 2000 M5..........that is real money....minimum repairs out of pocket buying the ones kept pristine by previous owners and with a warranty as part of the deal of buying the car.....I always have the seller pay for the warranty - one way or another - reduction in price to cover or higher trade-in value given to my trade-in......

+1.

As long as there are quality aftermarket warranty options that cover damn near everything except basic maintenance AND pay for a rental car, the best way to go is to buy a high end Mercedes that barley qualifies for top end warranty coverage. The advantage: You get warranty coverage on a great car as if it were still brand new, yet pay 30-35% of the cost of new.

If you have a bit more money to blow then me and don't want to drive a car that is 5-6 years old (or in my current case, 8!!!!), then buy a Mercedes 3 years from new. (Case Study: 2009 SL63's maintained their value reasonably well through 2011. Now in 2012, I expect them to start REALLY falling. By 2014, they will be bargains ($40k USD). But like I said above, if you have a bit more money to blow then me, buy one for $80k now. You will still lose $40k over two years, but at least you saved $50-$60k over their $130-$140k MSRP.

Wait 2 years, save a bit of money
Wait 3 years, save significant money
Wait 5 years, get the car for 30-35% of MSRP

+1..nicely stated on the 3 levels of saving!!

I am starting to look now for a good pre-owned replacement for the 2005 SL 65......tough act to follow though.........

Last fall I bought an 04 SL55 with a window sticker of just over $123,000. I paid $45,000 and it had just under 11,000 miles.

Even though its 8 years old, everyone of my neighbors thought that it was a 2010 or 2011. Thats the thing that I love about the SLs, they're timeless. If you don't know what to look for, if you don't know the differences, a clean 8 year old vehicle can pass for new.

IMO it just isn't worth buying a new MB unless its going to be a daily driver. The depreciation is precipitous. Some poor sucker lost over $80,000 on my car and he barely drove it. His loss was my gain though.

I got more car for 50% off the window sticker three years after it was brand new and it only had 8,000 miles on it.

Are you keeping it clean for you or for the person who is going to buy it off of you? Personally I take care of my car so that it looks good while I'm driving it...

Remember the brief period inbetween purchase and sale? Yeah, that's called ownership.

Lukas is pretty spot on.

Bought my loaded up 07 E63 in 09 with 15K on the odo for 57 cents on the dollar vs. new. It came with lots of MB warranty. Just added 4 more years of warranty last December.

Bought my loaded with everything you could buy on an 05 SL in late 09 for 30 cents on the dollar vs. new with 19K on the odo. Bought a 4 year warranty that still has 2 plus years of coverage.

Bought my little 06 C55 in 2011 for 40 cents on the dollar vs. new with 27K on the odo. Bought a 4 year warranty last December.

Depreciation at this point is not bad at all, and with warranty these are all awesome cars to drive and own.

My biggest challenge is coming up with something worthy of replacement.......I struggle to go anywhere with passion from a TT V12 Mercedes roadster or an E63, the new cars just aren't all that much better anymore.

There's a simple cure: DO NOT SELL IT!

Simply remember that it was worth 108k to you when you got it. What's it worth to you now? Especially with the R231 being such an fugly bast*rd.

Seriously... keep it. There aren't that many SL63s out there (and the R231 SL63 has a 55 engine)... So, maybe it becomes a classic at some point in the future. And if it doesn't... who cares? All that matters is the fun you've with your ride. And that's definitely worth more than 60k, right?

I had my 55 upgraded to the Mark II look in 2009... and I enjoy every day with that car. I'm not going to sell it until it's fallin' apart... and that's a loooong way down the road. I hope.

oooohhh that's better. Thanks sharkster you brought me to my senses!

KEEP IT I will keep it until I pop my clogs, then they can bury me in it.
after all nobody else in my familiy is getting it.