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Multiple owners of a 2005 SL350 !!

Joined
Dec 1, 2020
Messages
47
Location
West Lancashire
Car
December 2005 C220CDI Estate Auto
Hi again to you all out there.
I have located a 1st September 2005 SL350 105,000 recorded miles with History and a stack of paperwork relevant to works carried out but it is currently in the hands of the 10th registered keeper/owner.
The current owner has had it for a little over two years and has spent/invested both time and monies in rectifying advisory issues that had been left unattended in the previous several years including replacing both front shock absorbers because of misting/leaking - they would have appeared to have been replaced the year before !!
This smacks of salvaged parts from another SL350 !!
My question/concern is that of the high ownership numbers and the likelihood of it not selling for me in the coming years if and or when I may require moving it on.

Do these cars have a high ownership history because some owners buy and run them until they realise that they are not a cheap option and especially if MoT advisories have been allowed to build up because they do not produce failures until BANG the bank account gets plundered because they now must be attended to with a liberal dose of hard earned monies or borrowed finance ??


Your thoughts on this rather condemnatory issue would be much appreciated.

By the way the car really does drive and perform well and everything functions as intended - am I letting my gut feelings overrule my head ?
 
If the resale value is not too worrying for you, others will buy it as you have later in its life.
If in doubt there will be others perhaps depending on your requirements.

I became the 11th owner of my R129 and had the same niggling doubts but bought it because it was what I was after in terms of spec.. each had owned it for a year or two, had it serviced and moved it on. It had a few problems which was possibly why the last owner sold it. Nothing that I couldn’t fix with the help of the kind and knowledgeable people on here.
I still have it 12 years later and at 127k now.
 
As per the above comments, some cars lend themselves to 'oh that's nice' and 'always fancied one of those' and of course 'wow! £70k car for £4.59 ' ...... usually it boils down to practicality, two door sports / tourers are a great idea in theory, but to live with as your only mode of transport can be a different kettle of fish.

If a car has had only one owner, with sketchy service history and OK bodywork and one of the same style and age has great service history and good bodywork and has been used..... which would you choose?

These types of cars attract buyers who think along the lines of the first three scenarios, they buy it, put right what needs to be done and then think 'that was pricey lets move it on before something else goes wrong' .......which will happen at some point as they are getting older now....

In essence the amount of owners would not put me off as long as there is evidence of servicing etc....
 
If the resale value is not too worrying for you, others will buy it as you have later in its life.
If in doubt there will be others perhaps depending on your requirements.

I became the 11th owner of my R129 and had the same niggling doubts but bought it because it was what I was after in terms of spec.. each had owned it for a year or two, had it serviced and moved it on. It had a few problems which was possibly why the last owner sold it. Nothing that I couldn’t fix with the help of the kind and knowledgeable people on here.
I still have it 12 years later and at 127k now.
As per the above comments, some cars lend themselves to 'oh that's nice' and 'always fancied one of those' and of course 'wow! £70k car for £4.59 ' ...... usually it boils down to practicality, two door sports / tourers are a great idea in theory, but to live with as your only mode of transport can be a different kettle of fish.

If a car has had only one owner, with sketchy service history and OK bodywork and one of the same style and age has great service history and good bodywork and has been used..... which would you choose?

These types of cars attract buyers who think along the lines of the first three scenarios, they buy it, put right what needs to be done and then think 'that was pricey lets move it on before something else goes wrong' .......which will happen at some point as they are getting older now....

In essence the amount of owners would not put me off as long as there is evidence of servicing etc....
Thank you both for your replies. I suppose that like Cat D and Cat N cars they are a rather attractive investment in later life and when they become the only 'kids' on the block albeit with a reduced value in terms of money but then become a somewhat alternative valuable rarity as more and more disappear having resorted to the breakers yards !!
 
Cars like these often have above average owners and below average mileage.

(Summer cars not used much in winter/garaged cars used at weekends etc)

Having said that, ten owners is quite a lot. The mileage is on the higher side of average and it seems you’ve got some doubts as to how it’s been maintained.

Are there not any others available? If there was another particular reason to buy it I could understand but usually there’s no shortage of SLs for sale and plenty of low mileage, low ownership ones that have been cherished.

In my experience nice examples of cars cost less in the long run, and you should get the premium back come resale :)
 
Cars like these often have above average owners and below average mileage.

(Summer cars not used much in winter/garaged cars used at weekends etc)

Having said that, ten owners is quite a lot. The mileage is on the higher side of average and it seems you’ve got some doubts as to how it’s been maintained.

Are there not any others available? If there was another particular reason to buy it I could understand but usually there’s no shortage of SLs for sale and plenty of low mileage, low ownership ones that have been cherished.

In my experience nice examples of cars cost less in the long run, and you should get the premium back come resale :)
Hi Will. That particular car is the most acceptable of the several that I have viewed and driven - there is a 2003 one in the far North-East of Scotland (350 miles away) with no real means of getting there. Trains are risky and the regular coach companies only go as far as Edinburgh.
The listing has finished but I will ring a check again tomorrow and see if a way can be devised for a part-way meeting.
 

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