Soly20

You're all so lucky in the American market. SLS where I live is $385K! I went to the dealership to ask about eh SLS, after they told me the price, I freaked out Dan told the salesman to stop talking (he was going about how good of a car it is!).

Absolutely beautiful car though. Coupe over the Convertible any day.

Guess i need to move to the US soon!

Abacusfin

Hey guys first time posting in a long while. I came across this thread and I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into how well these cars are holding their value in the current market. I am looking to acquire a 2011 car but the list prices on these seem to be all over the place. I'm wondering if these cars have depreciated the way other AMGs have or are they holding their value. Thank you in advance for your help.

bigben320e

Take a look at the used market. I did a quick search on Ebay, arranged by year:

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tru...=p4506.c0.m245

An example, the white 2011 with 5600 mi on it, is listed at $155K was originally $183K. So that is a $28K hit in less than 19 months, good or bad is left up to POV. Good luck, hope you find the right one at the price you want!

Abacusfin

Thanks for the reply. Ive been searching around trying to find the depreciation figures for these cars but the only place with any hard numbers was on NADA. Based on current listings it seems as though these cars are holding their value fairly well.

Sibbyl

Can someone give me a Mannheim for 2009 SL550. I love the black exterior with the designo stone interior, this is a great car. Thanks.

ATerp830

PM me

CharlestonN

If you take a look on autotrader (i dont trust cars.com) you can see the depreciation trend on the 2011-2012 SLS'

I've seen a few 2011 SLS' for around $150K with 1,700-12,000 miles, seams like the prices have been dropping since the GT replaced the standard SLS

There were even some lower mileage 2012 roadsters for around $165K!

Carac

If the SLS depreciated like the CLK Black or almost any other AMG, you would be seeing 2011 models for $90-100k by now. I'd be surprised if you're ever able to buy one for less than $100k without a salvage title, major mechanical problems, ridiculous mileage, etc. The SLS will be unique in its depreciation, it's not based on any other model like other AMGs. And I didn't see any movement in prices with the GT release, just normal depreciation. In fact, if I didn't already have one, I'd be avoiding the GT because I hate "murdered out" black trim. Also, just like the 300SL, the gullwinged coupes will always demand a premium over the roadster even this early in the used car market.

CharlestonN

I think the CLK BS is a good depreciation indicator

A 2008 CLK BS can be had for $65-70K and was, what, around $120K new? It has has 4-5 years do depreciate and is already half the price

The 2011 SLS after tax & title was just over $200K new and can already be had for around $150K and it's only been around for 2 years so give it another 2-3 and i think it will be around half it's original msrp as well

Even the SLR which is in my opinion the most unique Mercedes since the original 300sl and still the most well rounded supercar can be had for half it's original msrp

To me none of this takes away from the 'actual' value of the car though, regardless of the current market price for the particular year it's still an amazing car and i would take it over any of it's competitors like the 458 and 12C

Carac

Original sticker of the 2008 CLK BS was $139k. I bought one with 8k miles CPO for $78k in 2010. Nearly 50% off in two years. A good deal.

As far as the SLS goes, I'm extremely happy with its depreciation in comparison. Most of the ones are cars.com have lost 20-25% in nearly 36 months (the earliest 2011s went on sale in May 2010). There aren't many AMGs that you can finance for 4-5 years and still be right side up after a year. Most of the ones out there for sale are between $160-180k, regardless of options, which is good if you want a well optioned one.

...Although I would be wary of the ones listed as 4x4s/4WD

CharlestonN

You're right! they do have a few listed as 4x4's, i didn't notice that at first - Although a 4-Matic SLS would be amazing considering that the new e63 S with 4 wheel drive is 3.6 second car

I almost bought a lower mileage CLK Black Series for around $75K last year but i ended up getting a 44' chris craft amerosport instead and kind of regret it... i've used the damn boat all of three times since i bought it

I'm going to be in the market for another car toward the end of the year and was thinking about the CL63 but i may just wait it out and see if i can pick up a SLS roadster for under $150K next year, might be wishful thinking for the prices to drop that much in 7 months but we'll see what happens

Texcedes

I am mulling over pulling the trigger on an ultra low mileage SLS with the 12 grand paint job, extended Carbon Fiber and the B&O sound for around $160. I think this is a good entry point for one of these beasts.

ced357

That sounds like a great deal. If you pass on it, give me the details

nlpamg

sounds great. 2011 I assume?

sound 8

The SLS will drop like a stone along with 90% of other expensive cars.
I just bought a new SL63, it had a 20 grand discount. There was a Red SLS
convertible there it had over 60 grand discount
I didn't like the front of the new 63 but living with I now think she'd beautiful and with 650 under the bonnet a SLS is not going to bother her. even my C Class has a AMG kit.

bteasley

I thought I'd add a comment on this topic.

The 2011s have (hopefully) bottomed out around $145K. The actual average sales price for low mileage 2011s has gone UP slightly in the last 3 to 6 months. The time to get into an SLS is now if you want the lowest price.

I compare the SLS coupe to the 2001 BMW Z8 (The "James Bond" car). The number produced and sent to the USA is similar to the SLS, and the Z8s are now selling for about $20,000 ABOVE the original MSRP.

CharlestonN

There are actually a few on Auto Trader for $135K-$137K and one for $126K which is the lowest I've yet seen, all of which have 10K-18K miles on them

I have a feeling the GT version will retain it's value more and become the more sought after since it's price premium wasn't much over the non-GT it replaced and it was improved quite a bit

I don't see the non-GT going up, it will probably hit sub-$100K by the end of 2014

You can pick up a last gen SLR for around $270K with under 6K miles now and in my opinion the SLR was a far more special and rare care than the SLS and it still dropped down close to 50% of it's original price in the past 4 years

But only time will tell, we'll see what happens

Carac

From an owner, and someone keeping a eye on these things, prices for GT and non-GT models will eventually be interchangeable with the GT only serving to tell you it was a 2013+ model. I wouldn't call a 20hp bump in a car making 563, black anodized trim, headrest AMG crests, and a transmission software update (that was basically secretly rolled into non-GT SLS' via a software update) a big improvement. That's it. Red calipers and the adjustable suspension were already available. Any other company would have just called the SLS GT the 2013 SLS, but they needed to boost sales to keep the car in production for another two years. Nissan bumped the hp in the GT-R by 45 hp, rolled out a redesigned transmission (not just a software update), redid the suspension, chassis improvements, etc, etc and only called it the 2012 GT-R. They didn't call it the GT-R -GT, or -S, etc. it was just the normal year over year improvement that car companies do without calling it a special edition. You'll notice that cars with the $12k Alubeam paint and $6k B&O stereo are selling for the same price as cars without those options on the used markets. Similarly, most car listing websites didn't even bother creating a "SLS GT" listing, they're all just SLS's.

Keep hope alive there.

The SLR was OVERPRICED from the get-go. Prices have ended up where the car should have been from the start. (And from what I've heard, that sounds like what some dealers eventually ended up letting a them go for new, a huge loss. So much so that a local dealer required a $50k, non-refundable deposit for a SLS order because they sat on a SLR for over a year) I never really got the appeal of the SLR besides the engine and pedigree of McLaren from the F1 and racing.

Yep. It's all moot since I plan on keeping mine (since they didn't offer a Aero-package delete option on the Black Series like they did in Germany where it was optional). I would have bought a SLS BS without the Aero, looks so great. Photos forthcoming.

Carac

Don't get me wrong though. Mercedes and AMG in particular make my favorite cars in the world right now, but the whole GT thing was the most blatant special edition badge marketing exercise I've seen in a while. I wasn't going to give them a pass with that, no matter how much I love them. The Black Series is a different animal, deserving of the name and price premium, the GT is not. Just a year over year improvement via software tweaks that could have easily been applied to 2011/2012 cars. Speaking of McLaren, they gave the 2013 MP4-12C a 25hp bump via software that they went back and gave to 2012 customers for free. They didn't call it the MP4-12C GT, they just did it.

emericr

Carac: thanks for the pics. I love the BS but I think it is overpriced as it competes with a Ferrari or McLaren.
I will eagerly await the SLS successor as it is supposed to be cheaper than the SLS and with a twin turbo V8 and AWD, it looks very promising.

CharlestonN

They actually replaced over 120 components in the GT version but i agree, it does not justify the GT tag - After driving both the standard SLS and the GT version there is a difference in feel of the suspension and the trans software update made a pretty big difference in gear shifts imo

The part that doesn't make sense to me is that GT stands for Grand Tourer which is supposed to be a long distance, high speed traveling car but the GT version of the SLS is stiffer and doesn't have a comfort mode compared to the standard SLS which means it should be (all be it slightly) less of a GT than the standard model - I still think the GT will keep it's price a bit longer simply because of public perception

As for the SLR i don't think it was overpriced - The Carrera GT was also around $450k at launch (and still holds it's price pretty well) - And while it had a 3 tenths quicker 0-60 time the car itself had none of the luxury amenities of the SLR, i recently drove my friend's 06 Carrera GT and i'm around 6'2, even with the seat slid all the way back (manual lever) my knees were hitting the steering wheel and the interior leaves much to be desired but i'm not a huge fan of 'pure track' cars anyway - Until the Veyron came along you couldn't get a car like the SLR with the ability to best a Murcielago while still having all of the luxury amenities expected from a high end Merc, you just had to settle for pure sports cars

Oh, and there is now a 2011 SLS listed for $116K/7K miles

CharlestonN

@emericr

The SLC should be a great car but it will most likely be to the SLS what the SLK is to the SL

zachary

I agree. I have a 458 since 2011 and recently bought a 2013 SLS GT as my daily driver. I can tell you from driving both, that the SLS GT is way overpriced compared to the 458.

Don't get me wrong...I really enjoy my SLS, but the 458 is faster, more comfortable, easier to drive, a better suspension and ride, etc. The SLS doesn't have the composure of the 458 and is quite twitchy getting to the edge. The SLS GT shows how far behind MBZ is compared to ferrari in their attempt to have AMG build a super car that's street able.

CharlestonN

I think the MP4-12C is the best car in the $QM price bracket, it is a supremely well engineered car but it does lack the flare of the SLS and 458

I've only driven the 458 spider and while it was fun it just didn't feel quite as high quality as the SLS especially on the interior and the old fashion steering column mounted ignition with a blade key and the buttons and switches on the steering wheel really kind of annoyed me - I don't see it as a car i could live with even as a weekend cruiser

The only Ferrari I've driven that i was really impressed with was the 2011 599GTO even though it's around twice the price of the 458 but then again i'm a fan of larger GTs over smaller lighter sports cars

jrcart

I have seen two in the Chicago area alone in the past month listed at or under $135k both with under 10k miles. The only reason I am paying attention is becuase I have a friend looking for an aero pkg C63 BS but I am trying to talk him into an SLS for the same money. They have not seen the bottom yet, not even close. My prediction is they will drop to around $100-$115k once AMG officially announces the SLS replacement (SLC or whatever it ends up being called) since that car is rumored to come in under $150k. All we have to do is look back a couple years and see what happened to the SLR market, which was already weak when the SLS was announced. The new SLS market is not so hot rigt now either, my dealer has been sitting on a 2013 roadster since May. If you want a good laugh go compare recent SLR auction/wholesale prices to retail SLR listings out there.