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Why can you buy a 2002-2004 (newer shape) Merc SL for £13k?

R

rossyl

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Aug 11, 2009
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693
Location
N.London
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CLK 230K W208 Coupe (1999)(Auto)
Hi,

After a friend bought a SL 500 2006 model, I thought damn I want one. I thought they'd be into the £20k bracket at least. But they are no where near!

Why is this;
- are they all rusting (pre 2004) I would've thought the SL would've been treated better than the E classes

- did they, or are they starting to, fall apart?

- crazy pricing to maintain (ala the CL class?)

- any other reasons??

Cheers
R
 
2006 model would be circa 25 to 30 K.

But a few on the market at the moment.

yes the SL is actually the most expensive model to service by 10 quid. £459 for a B service I think.

Price of petrol would drop the prices I would suspect, also several uprgrades or new models out since the years you mention.
 
Limited appeal really I suspect even though they are gorgeous cars.

They cost a huge amount to run if done properly, and the people that can afford to do that, can afford a new one.

Not everyone likes the image, they are uber posh after all, I can imagine the comments from customers if I turned up in one of those!

Personally I love them, and it's got to be worth a look, just make sure you get one that doesn't brake!
 
CCAALLVVIINN said:
!

Personally I love them, and it's got to be worth a look, just make sure you get one that doesn't brake!
Click to expand...

I'll definitely be wanting one with brakes ;) ... only joking.

Yes, always the fear you might buy a lemon with these high-end, now cheap, cars.
 
Large engined petrol cars always fall in price dramatically when they get older.

I guess the logic behind it is that if you are buying an older car you probably don't have as much money... so you would want something that looks the part but is still reasonably frugal.

If you blow 60k of your own money on a new car that will loose at least 10k in the first year, you probably don't care much about MPG figures. Or VED...
 
I think one of the problems is that its hard to justify having one of these as a sunny Sunday car when the road tax is so high.

Older R129's still command good money for a nice example but the VED is a fraction of the cost.

The 230's are also much more complicated and more expensive to maintain which would put off many.

The 230's are also only two seaters unlike the R129 so why buy one over an SLK?
 
Are the early AMGs still over £20k?, I saw a CLS55 for sale for £18k the other day, part of me is wishing I got one instead of the E Class.
 
"The 230's are also only two seaters unlike the R129 so why buy one over an SLK"?

better build quality?
 
Eye watering repair bills in the event of something going wrong? Been out of warranty long enough to have servicing skimped? Heavy running costs- fuel, insurance, road tax? Strictly a 2 seater with a complex folding roof ? Requires plugging in to a battery conditioner if only used intermittently? Don't buy a silver one-the pages of auto-trader are full of silver or black ones.
Anything without a cast iron history will be cheap---for a reason.
 
grober said:
Eye watering repair bills in the event of something going wrong? Been out of warranty long enough to have servicing skimped? Heavy running costs- fuel, insurance, road tax? Strictly a 2 seater with a complex folding roof ? Requires plugging in to a battery conditioner if only used intermittently? Don't buy a silver one-the pages of auto-trader are full of silver or black ones.
Anything without a cast iron history will be cheap---for a reason.
Click to expand...

You've saved me the job of typing all that ^^ out.:thumb:
 
Yep, I've shelled out £4k since buying mine 6 months ago. New front/rear suspension parts and SBC update. MB paid for a new SBC Pump and two new calipers which on a 2002 car I cant complain about.

I think I got one of the bad ones, but she's getting better and I love her to death!
 
bostonmj said:
Yep, I've shelled out £4k since buying mine 6 months ago. New front/rear suspension parts and SBC update. MB paid for a new SBC Pump and two new calipers which on a 2002 car I cant complain about.

I think I got one of the bad ones, but she's getting better and I love her to death!
Click to expand...
The way I see it if you plan to keep a car for a while then these costs aren't so bad. The SL won't drop below about £10k in value anyway so if you buy one for £13k and it needs £4k of work doing to it in the first year of ownership it will likely still be worth £13k a year later. It's not likely you'll have to replace the same parts more than once every couple of years so it's an investment. As mentioned in many other threads one of the highest costs in car ownership is depreciation but that's practically zero for these cars.

Amazing value really.
 
Shude said:
The way I see it if you plan to keep a car for a while then these costs aren't so bad. The SL won't drop below about £10k in value anyway so if you buy one for £13k and it needs £4k of work doing to it in the first year of ownership it will likely still be worth £13k a year later. It's not likely you'll have to replace the same parts more than once every couple of years so it's an investment. As mentioned in many other threads one of the highest costs in car ownership is depreciation but that's practically zero for these cars.

Amazing value really.
Click to expand...

This is true... as for servicing and repairs, a lot also depends if you have access to a good indie and discounted parts, or you pay retail to service and repair your car... labour costs (and parts) can be prohibitively expensive is some places.

I was charged £28 the other day by a main dealer (not MB) to change two indicator bulbs on my other car, while it was already there for servicing anyway (i.e. the dealer did not even have to book it in etc). Incidentally, the indicator bulbs were not even blown, they are painted yellow to meet UK regulations (other countries are happy with white indicators apparently), and the yellow tint was fading... you can easily see that trying to keep a car - any car - it shipshape this way will indeed lead to financial suicide.

A good indie will help, and if you are happy with DIY, then maintenance can be very cheaper.
 
Shude said:
The way I see it if you plan to keep a car for a while then these costs aren't so bad. The SL won't drop below about £10k in value anyway so if you buy one for £13k and it needs £4k of work doing to it in the first year of ownership it will likely still be worth £13k a year later. It's not likely you'll have to replace the same parts more than once every couple of years so it's an investment. As mentioned in many other threads one of the highest costs in car ownership is depreciation but that's practically zero for these cars.

Amazing value really.
Click to expand...

I reckon that you are wrong in so far as them not dropping below 10k in value. These will drop lower than the 129's which a decent one can be bought around half that.
They are complicated, juicy, high VED cars and have many faults. Early cars have swimming pools in the boot for a start. In saying that they are still an SL so will always have appeal and as you say they are amazing value but will get much cheaper.
 
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