SL500 prices... ?
Discussion
Been looking at buying one of these and wondered if the prices on 98/99 plates have finally bottomed out at about the £13/14k mark? Are they likely to drop much further? What is the likely resale in a couple of years time? Have seen the black one here on pistonheads for sale for quite a while, and its virtually the perfect spec for me!
That sounds pretty good, I've had my eye on the prices for a while and even a nice condition 1990 car is £8500 as a minimum and you'll see them advertised at 10. So a few k's extra for a 7-8 years newer model sounds like a good deal. The previous shape cars are anything from something like £3-15k depending mostly on condition (age doesn't seem so important) - so I imagine the car you describe, kept in nice condition, will remain somewhat in this price zone as opposed to depreciating to nothing which would happen with say, a Jag, Beemer or other model Mercedes. It's not a car you can easily run for free though.
This morning I saw a M-reg white one on a fourcourt at £15k.
This morning I saw a M-reg white one on a fourcourt at £15k.
You are looking at the later models with the later 5.0 V8. Nothing wrong with them but a few issues: I'm not an expert, but I do know that that range of V6 and V8 (they are modular) engines have problems with the harmonic balancer (www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=119790) - it's not that major but a common problem which I have seen myself and has the potential to cause somewhat expensive damage.
Likewise the crankshaft position sensors are a regular failure on these engines, again not too major but they can leave you stranded. Usually starts off as a stalling or occasional not starting issue.
Alternatively you could consider a slightly earlier model which would give you the previous M119 5.0 V8 which many Mercedes enthusiasts rate one of the best Mercedes engines ever. This 4-valve model has 326bhp versus 306 of the later 3-valve 5.0 (yes, the power went down with the new engine). That said I've driven the older engined model myself and wasn't blown away, but it is in a 2-ton Mercedes. Plus it's not a hot hatch anyway so the engine characteristics when going for it aren't exactly the most important thing!
Obviously fully check the roof works too.
Good luck
Russell
Likewise the crankshaft position sensors are a regular failure on these engines, again not too major but they can leave you stranded. Usually starts off as a stalling or occasional not starting issue.
Alternatively you could consider a slightly earlier model which would give you the previous M119 5.0 V8 which many Mercedes enthusiasts rate one of the best Mercedes engines ever. This 4-valve model has 326bhp versus 306 of the later 3-valve 5.0 (yes, the power went down with the new engine). That said I've driven the older engined model myself and wasn't blown away, but it is in a 2-ton Mercedes. Plus it's not a hot hatch anyway so the engine characteristics when going for it aren't exactly the most important thing!
Obviously fully check the roof works too.
Good luck
Russell
My dad recently bought an SL600 1996 for 14k. We test drove it against an SL500 and although they are similar 0-30, above that the 600 beats almost anything. Id seriously recommend it. The costs are very similar, although it is true that if anything goes wrong with the engine it can be expensive. However the V12 is said to be literally almost bullet proof. Plus the added exclusivity and the fact that you have a V12 make it seem that little bit extra special. Good luck anyways.
Thanks guy's. SL600's are alot rarer and seem to hold on to their value quite a bit more than the SL500. Also not sure I can justify the additional outlay when I'm going to be parking it in the street (a garage is a rare thing round here), hence why I've pretty much decided on the Merc SL500, as there was no way I would be able to keep an early Aston DBS/V8, TVR or any other exotica! It has its plus side though, plenty of servicing available, quite a few to choose from, reliable, good for summer top down and winter hardtop on cruises (panoramic essential in my opinion) and still looks pretty cool, even though there are plenty of others out there that will beat it 0-60.
I had one of these. Pretty good stuff. I assume we are talking the squarish one, with first auto roof.
At the time i bought it was hefty money, loons asking 47k for a 2-3 year old car costing 65 new. So, er, I got three mates (ie different credit cards) to place adverts in the sunday times for completely non-existent cars with non-existent mobile numbers at 37 -39 k and the following week the prices came down a bit. I cancelled the ads and the ad dept went a bit potty - apparently loads of people had called them asking about a typo...
Kids up to age six/seven are fine in the back. It is a bit girly, really, as are all SL's. Wife's car.
At the time i bought it was hefty money, loons asking 47k for a 2-3 year old car costing 65 new. So, er, I got three mates (ie different credit cards) to place adverts in the sunday times for completely non-existent cars with non-existent mobile numbers at 37 -39 k and the following week the prices came down a bit. I cancelled the ads and the ad dept went a bit potty - apparently loads of people had called them asking about a typo...
Kids up to age six/seven are fine in the back. It is a bit girly, really, as are all SL's. Wife's car.
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