speedAsylum

How do you think the SL65 will hold it's value? That is, for the new SL65's being sold right now, how much will they be worth after 1 year, and after 2?

SL55T0T0

Not much, get a Ferrari

IanSL55

I agree. The SL65 will depreciate the moment you drive it off the lot...

~Ian

Ted Baldwin

...........good question regarding re-sale value of SL65. However, if you find yourself concerned about this, then mercedes AMG models are not a good idea for your purposes. Today, you can get an 03 CL55 with the V8K for $80K. It has crashed by $60k in just one year. There is no reason to think that the SL65 will be any different. Also, the warranty is for 4 years or 50,000 miles. Once the car reaches close to the end of the warranty period, the value further crashes. this mostly because of all the electronic gimmickry in todays MB cars.

Ted

speedAsylum

2 waste-of-time answers and one real reply. Ted, I think CL's are not very popular, which might be one reason the value dropped substantially. They've had the same basic body style for a long time, and are too big to only have 2 doors. Other AMGs definitely hold their value.

Stricks

Fergetit. Buy it for the kick in the seat fun, not for the future resale value (lack of same). If you're looking for resale value get a classic car.

FInality

CLs depreciate really fast and are also at the end of their product life cycle. As for 65 resale values I dont think it would end up being anything more than a comparable 55/600 series at most a 5-10% difference.

IanSL55

The AMG's are very popular out here but the SL65 can be had at almost any dealership in Southern California (same holds true w/ the E55)... When I was last in my dealership they had 3 new SL65's on the lot... Demand needs to outstrip supply by a very wide margin for a automobile to appreciate or even hold even. I just don't see that being the case.

Sorry for wasting your time...

~Ian

blueSL

This is new ground for Mercedes-Benz. There's never been a car from them in general series production in this price bracket so there's not much to go on but if you look at other manufacturers, depreciation is likely to be heavy and in Mercedes recent track record, low depreciation does not figure.

Owners of Ferrari 456/550s, Aston Martin Vanquish, Lamborghini Diablo/Murcielago have all taken a bath of various depths. V12 invariably means bad depreciation and SL65s will likely have been driven hard. People buying second-hand necessarily have an eye on running costs - otherwise they would be buying new - and they will mark down accordingly.

Here in the UK, the SL65 is a non-starter. The almost identical looking SL350 can be had for less than half the price and many SL buying decisions are made on how it looks, not how it performs. For the money, the SL65 interior is decidedly low-rent being virtually identical to that half-price car optioned up and still less than half price.

No, the SL65 will depreciate the fastest of all SLs. Bought on a whim and a desire to win some bar-room comparison, the only consolation for the savage depreciation will be that the SLR will depreciate even faster.

Ferrari limited the production of the Enzo to 349 cars; they're all sold and will hold their value. Mercedes plan to churn out more than 3500 SLRs; sure they're all sold for now but I doubt they will ever make that many. No car in that price range has ever sold that many and, added to that, while the Enzo has won universal aclaim, most reviews of the SLR are decidedly ho-hum.

The message is clear. Buy an SL65 to enjoy its straight-line performance, understand that cornering is not its forte and be prepared to take the punishment of savage depreciation like a man.

Alican1

Candidly both the SL 55 and SL 65's will be impacted by a large drop in selling prices.

The 2003 SL 55 on the West Coast at a wholesale level are going for $ 120,000 or a drop of 15 - 17 % per year.

I bleive the price will continue to drop on these models at a rate of 10 - 15 % for the next year after which the price will taper off.

This means that the price of this car has come down approx. 40 - 45 % in 3 - 4 years which is hugh, considering a list price of !70,000 Cdn dollars .

I purhcased my 2003 with 10 k on it and even then will take a bath if I sell it .

So I am enjoying it where I can !!

Walter.fr

Hello Members

A SL65 is a luxury item - luxury means IMO - "things you don't need" - it is just a pleasure.

Of course you can purchase a supermarket shirt, suit or whatsoever - and you are dressed (means you dont have to run naked through the streets) but if you want something nicer you go shopping to Ralph Lauren or another high street store. If you're going for Haute Couture you do not wear the labels outside - you wear it just for the pleasure....

If you purchase an expensive brand wrist watch you're "loosing" at least 40 % after you left the shop .... so you take it, just to have something nice on your arm, a swatch for 40 USD is able to tell you the time as well !

This are just two examples - and the reason why I purchased a SL65 - and do not care really, how much I am loosing in the first year, second year or what is the sale value at the end after I had fun for a couple of month and kilometers .... I took it for my pleasure only. ( and no, I am not a Billionare - and still have to work for my money ) but this moments of enjoyment nobody can take of my memories ... and moments / time is a precious issue !

PLEASE this should not offend anybody in here - it is just my point of view - and maybe only my thinking, to explain it to myself.

wish you all a nice evening

Walter


PS: I am not using the power of the 65 at all - even a SL350 would be overpowered for me, and the speedlimited streets of France.

Messerchmidt

its going to drop like a rock, from say what over 200,000$ (canadian) to maybe 70$k after 3 years.

those cars have a lot of electronics and are $$$$+$$$$$$$$$$ and more $$$ to fix when they are out of warrenty.

Q8SL55

Well i bought my SL55 here in Kuwait for US$88,000 with aprox. 6000 miles on it. I thought that price was a steal but from reading what you guys been saying i been having second thoughts

vraa

88K$ for a SL55 is indeed a steal.

E55_POWER

A guy bought a SL65 from a local dealer here in the DC area for $203K, 4 days later he outright sold it back to the dealer, not a trade it but just sold it back to them and he only got $160K for it...pretty sad, either the car's resale is going to be horrible or the local dealer is a bunch of crooks...you decide.

RonG

Lease the SL65 and let Mercedes Credit or other lender, bear the risk of the residual value, which they are now estimating will be approximately 45% of MSRP, after 4 years. If by chance it is worth more and you love the car then buy it for the residual value. If the value tanks (as everyone is predicting) then just say good-bye and purchase the then current supercar that turns you on.

sprins

Probably both. If you want to buy a car you always have to pay the premium, if you want to trade it in or sell it back there is always something wrong with it (sorry sir, that's not a popular color/convertibles are out of fashion/the rims are too tacky/etc...)

blueSL

The SL65 is the ultimate niche product and most people who can afford to buy one and ignore the depreciation will prefer a new one.

The issue with leasing cars is that you commit to a mileage which will be based around normal usage, say 10 - 12k miles a year. Most SL65 owners will have - what? - 4 - 7 other cars in their garage and will not cover anything like these miles. It's a toy, a plaything. (I know Walter has covered lots of miles but I think this is an exception). Bottom line is that if you buy an SL65, you will take a bath because production may be limited in Mercedes terms but not in supercar terms.

My SL55 is one of 4 cars in my garage and I'm currently driving less than 4k miles in it a year. I just to do not have the time to drive any more.

IngenereAMG

I think that it could go either way. I have had alot of cars. The AMG cars are very special. If MB doesn't overproduce the SL65 I think that there will be a niche for it. The overproduction thing is tough for a mass producer like MB NOT to do though. They are talking about 200-500 US cars so there may always be a market for it. Having said that I just sold my SL65 contract as I like my SL55 so much.

RU_MATRX

I think that we can fairly gauge the depreciation rate based on a similar analogy of when the newly redesigned 2001 Porsche 996 Turbos first came out. Hot and widely anticipated by the public though skeptical for many Porschephiles that loved the styling of their air-cooled 993s.

Then, the 2002 GT2 well-loaded at nearly $200K grabbed the headlines and flagship title for Porsche. Porsche spoke of limiting numbers similar to the previous 993 generation which held their value very well even today. The reality turned out to be that after 5 model years of production for Porsche's most profitable product, mint examples now sell for roughly $50K less than the $135-$140K otd (out-the-door) price after only 2 years with less than 10K miles. A pristine mint 2002 GT2 can be found with less than 5000 miles for approximately $130K (vs. an original ~$200K sticker), very nicely loaded with a full carbon-fiber package. As production numbers increase, the most expensive models will always depreciate at a larger rate just for the simple fact that these are afterall, "luxury" wants in the realm of desired vehicles (and desirability at a given time). It's foreseeable that a low mileage, mint SL65 could possibly be in the sub$140K realm within 1-2 model years, especially when MB or another manufacturer tops the output of the SL65's 604HP/738 ft-lbs TQ rating OR just the straight-line performance (less HP/TQ but lighter weight). Clearly, how MB-DC evolves the SL models in the next 2 years, in style and performance, will have a high impact on the 2005 SL65's progressive fair market value. Hence, my analogy to the 993 Turbo to 996 Turbo to 996 GT2 analogy with the 2006? 997 Turbo just on the horizon. The beloved SL65's fmv value will be interesting to anticipate and witness.

blueSL

Interesting. Seems to me the SL range is complete now - difficult to imagine anything above the SL65 or SL600 and there's already an entry level model, the SL350, not sold in the US. What else could they sensibly add?

I'm sure the next generation SL (2009/10?) or at least the technology on which it will be based is well into development. If there's a mid-life makeover in the meantime, that will affect the resale value of all the SLs, depending on how radical it is.

RU_MATRX

When I stated the evolution of the SL models in regards to styling and performance, I was referring more to the possible new architecture of a 520-550HP N.A. 6.3L V-8 touted on another thread. Would the SL65 garner the same portions of SL sales if, say, the SL63 output and numbers came that close to the SL65 for a similar price of the current SL55 AMG? Torque on a V12TT would most likely be superior though.

Also, there are rumors of a higher-output SL65 to come. I noted the crazy ~700HP figure? Anything is possible with AMGs leaps in just the past 2 yrs alone in the heat of the German HP wars. Plus, there are inevitable iterations in styling with the controversial F1 nose or facelifts of any sorts that could easily occur within the next 2 yrs.
In the market today with all of the new innovations and avante-guard styling, could MB retain SL owners or finicky new-comers with the 2003 face in the year 2009? The R129 had great longevity though would MB chance on the R129's 14 yr history to maintain a conservative, future course on the R230? Finally, we could see the SL65 produced in larger model year quantities, but definitely more SL65s on the road as model years progress. These are just a few of the many plans and speculations that would greatly affect "resale" value on the current 2005 SL65. Enticing prospects for all of us though.

blueSL

Yes, I had forgotten about Mercedes wanting to ditch the '55 engine but interesting that they've just used it in a new model, the CLS55. As I've suggested elsewhere the CLS has been rushed into production to beat new safety regulations in Europe and it's possible they had no choice but to use the existing engine to provide a match for the BMW M5. That suggests the new engine is still in development.

The great problem with putting yet more power into the car is getting that power onto the ground. In the 65, the traction control will only too readily intervene to save the tyres. 65 owners here will confirm, but I expect that if you switch off the traction control, the car is a real handful.

The front-biased weight distribution of the SL will increasingly limit what can be done. No point having the power if all that happens is the traction control slaps your wrists. Front engine cars like the 575, DB9, SLR, even the humble 928 of 15 years ago approach the problem by shifting the engine back and/or putting the gearbox at the back of the car. Others like the F430, F1, 911 increase the traction by putting the engine over the rear wheels and/or using 4 wheel drive.

So, of those options - front mid-engine, rear engine, transaxle, four wheel drive, all of which will improve traction, not one of them is available to the SL.

Bilal

In the UK at least, the 65 cars with 6-10K miles are being sold for 100-110K GBP, losing 30-45 grand for that many miles...they're probably not even a year old....

vraa

Don't forget, on some of those cars, that 10k miles were probably hard miles. It is an AMG after all.

Or does that not play a role?