About to buy an SL55...wish me luck!

[Benz17]

Well.....I bought or should i say stole these for 1k with tyres and I've just got them back from being refurbed.. centres in Mercedes Himalayan Grey as per the new OEM centre caps I've bought with diamond cut edges

Those ones listed I personally think are too dear as they don't have tyres

Looks very good indeed, are the centre powder coated?

 

[BaldGuy]

They are indeed.... really pleased with the result... ordering tyres today....

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Unless you are dead set on the AMG badge I would not discount a later year SL500 with the 5.5l V8. Admittedly not quite as fast to 60mph and not quite as nice an exhaust note but otherwise the 500 will do everything else that the 55 will do.

will do everything that the SL55 will do.... more reliably, partly by design, partly as a result of NOT having been driven by AMG owners.

But.... there are no bragging rights in owning a 2007 SL500 compared to owning an AMG.

.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I'm joining the thread late, and the advert has now closed. Presumably sold.

If this is the Colin Montgomery car, this black and red SL55 it sat in his second wife, Gaynor's garage for several years before being sold - possibly around around the time of their divorce in 2017. (Stunning brunette)

The usual saga of a luxury sports car being owned who didn't like driving it.

All good gossip, but the due diligence now is to establish just what the current condition is.

Here's the thread from member who bought Colin's car in 2017:

Just bought an SL55....Need some advice. | AMG Lounge

Is successful SL55 purchasing down to luck? It's all about the due diligence and fettling As Gary Player said about Golf, "the harder I practice, the luckier I get." The more you look closely at what you're buying, the luckier you get.

 

[Will]

To be fair though, the seller acknowledged that it's higher on one side than the other and what made me completely distrust him and aim for the worst case scenario (ie buffer for £3k of work) was the fact that he poorly tried to pass it off as being because of the 19" wheels. I was a little bemused and said c'mon bud...we both know it has nothing to do with the wheels. He insisted that on the 18 inch wheels, the issue wasn't that bad. So...he was clutching at straws and having an idea of what i'd be up against (thanks to this thread), it kind of gave me some perspective as to what level of funds I'd need to put it right. Each strut being around £850 quickly takes me not to far from the 2k mark. If you spoke to him, you'd quite quickly gauge that he is a bit of a fast talker and you'd be forgiven for making an offer with the worst in mind.

I'll definitely keep an eye out though, but maybe just from a dealer so that I can part ex my A124 and add a bit of cash on top.

I think you have to go into these sorts of things eye wide open, but someone who rings me up and tries to knock £3k off a car that I’m selling before they have even viewed it would probably not get the answer they are looking for either.

 

[Will]

I'm joining the thread late, and the advert has now closed. Presumably sold.

If this is the Colin Montgomery car, this black and red SL55 it sat in his second wife, Gaynor's garage for several years before being sold - possibly around around the time of their divorce in 2017. (Stunning brunette)

The usual saga of a luxury sports car being owned who didn't like driving it.

All good gossip, but the due diligence now is to establish just what the current condition is.

Here's the thread from member who bought Colin's car in 2017:

Just bought an SL55....Need some advice. | AMG Lounge

Is successful SL55 purchasing down to luck? It's all about the due diligence and fettling As Gary Player said about Golf, "the harder I practice, the luckier I get." The more you look closely at what you're buying, the luckier you get.

Good memory!

Yes, it’s definitely the same car - and still on the same registration (OV53 YHC)

Looks as though the forum member you linked to has sold it on though in 2018, which would tie in with the last change of keeper.

Seems to be a nice one with good provenance/maintenance history etc

No idea on values, but I would think a cheap one of these that needs TLC could quite quickly be a money pit (and that’s not to say that this car in question was perfect or otherwise)

Cant believe these are nearing 20 year old cars. Great cars and ahead of their time in many ways

 

[Celicasaur]

Well, looks like the seller lucked out really well. The car was bought by a trader (assuming for the £17k that the seller insisted he wouldn't go beyond when I spoke to him) and now it's up for sale in Peterborough for £22.5k. The suspension height issue appears to still be there.

2003 53 MERCEDES SL55 AMG CONVERTIBLE SUPER CAR FMBSH 82K FUTURE CLASSIC INVESTM | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003 53 MERCEDES SL55 AMG CONVERTIBLE SUPER CAR FMBSH 82K FUTURE CLASSIC INVESTM at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

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I'm not actively looking for an SL55 now because a black/red one seems like it might be a bit of a mission to find and I'm certainly not interested in one at around the £20k mark unless it's an absolutely flawless example, however I'll still keep an eye out every now and again and if a nice one comes up, i'll likely still be interested. I ended up buy an M5 touring last weekend, so that'll keep me entertained for a while no doubt.

 

[E55BOF]

will do everything that the SL55 will do....

I sold my SL500 (and my Jaguar XK before it) because I found the performance a bit, well, limp; I had no such opinion of my M113K E-classes before it, which had the same power train as the R230 SL55. It's the same difference as between the W211 E500 and E55K; you could say the E500 will do everything that the E55K will do, but I'd not agree.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I sold my SL500 (and my Jaguar XK before it) because I found the performance a bit, well, limp; I had no such opinion of my M113K E-classes before it, which had the same power train as the R230 SL55. It's the same difference as between the W211 E500 and E55K; you could say the E500 will do everything that the E55K will do, but I'd not agree.

As I said the 2007 380 bhp 2007 SL500 "will do everything that the SL55 will do.... more reliably, partly by design, partly as a result of NOT having been driven by AMG owners. But.... there are no bragging rights in owning a 2007 SL500 compared to owning an AMG."

Living in SE England, I can't use 500bhp rather than 380bhp - that vital one second difference between 5.4 and 4.4 seconds to 62.

And I doubt that the delicious Gaynor Knowles ever floored her 500bhp SL55, either, when she drove the kids to school in Cobham, or popped into Knightsbridge for a spot of shopping.

My point was that the updated 380bhp 2007 SL500 was faster than your early SL500 (300 bhp and 0-62 in 6.1), and more reliable by design and pattern of use, having resolved all of the suspension, roof, gearbox and engine issues that plagued the original 300bhp R230 SL500 and the early 500 bhp SL55.

 

[Spider10]

So all AMG owner's drive flat out everywhere then?

 

[BPD07]

So all AMG owner's drive flat out everywhere then?

Of course not, but it’s great fun to floor it and and show the following car that the AMG badge is not a Halfords special.

 

[Dickster]

Well, looks like the seller lucked out really well. The car was bought by a trader (assuming for the £17k that the seller insisted he wouldn't go beyond when I spoke to him) and now it's up for sale in Peterborough for £22.5k. The suspension height issue appears to still be there.

2003 53 MERCEDES SL55 AMG CONVERTIBLE SUPER CAR FMBSH 82K FUTURE CLASSIC INVESTM | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003 53 MERCEDES SL55 AMG CONVERTIBLE SUPER CAR FMBSH 82K FUTURE CLASSIC INVESTM at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

I'm not actively looking for an SL55 now because a black/red one seems like it might be a bit of a mission to find and I'm certainly not interested in one at around the £20k mark unless it's an absolutely flawless example, however I'll still keep an eye out every now and again and if a nice one comes up, i'll likely still be interested. I ended up buy an M5 touring last weekend, so that'll keep me entertained for a while no doubt.

Yep, they appear to be going up slightly now, as there are a lot more around the £20k mark than two years ago when I bought mine.

I went for the SL55 because it’s a bonkers car for the money, and I thought buy one now while I can. And it had the V8 that I had to have. For years I wanted a 107 and I kick myself now for not buying one when they were £10k.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Well, a chap can ask £22,500 for an 82,000 mile car, but that doesn't mean he's going to sell it... Car still for sale.

Having seen those two much later SL55's go for £40k at Silverstone over the weekend, with less than half the mileage, that price seems pretty "hopeful" on a car with that unique interior.