Sl65 amg, possible csl sale

[Hankcharlie]

Hi gents, looking for opinions/advice. I have a 2004 silver grey 24k mile csl and I have come across an sl65 amg(v12 biturbo😍) as good as new. The dealer is saying it's sold pending finance approval but as he says nothing is sold til the money is in the bank. I love the csl and wasn't even thinking of selling but this car caught my eye. It's a two owner 10k miler from 2004 and can be had for one seventh of its original price. The opportunities to drive the csl enthusiastically are few and far between here in Ireland and there's only one track which is a fair drive from where I live. I have never used it anyway. I just think the idea of a nice comfortable cruiser with monumental torque and convertible for the summer may appeal. Not 100% sure(not even 50!) and it's probably gone anyway but if I were to change how much would I want to be asking for the csl in the uk? Makes more sense for me to export it if he doesn't offer me a good trade. All early days and most likely won't happen(which won't upset me too much) but just curious! Mine is an 04 with full service history, totally standard,new brake discs and pads around 4k ago, excellent condition. Xenons, air con, no parking sensors and it has a radio. Let me know what ye think gents. Thanks for your help and apologies for the long post! Ps- any merc/amg experts who could shed light on running costs/reliability of the sl? Has anyone driven one of these? My old fella had an e55 supercharged with the DMS treatment(540bhp) back in the day which went pretty hard!
Cheers,
Brian

[shane@mbtech]

Hi gents, looking for opinions/advice. I have a 2004 silver grey 24k mile csl and I have come across an sl65 amg(v12 biturbo😍) as good as new. The dealer is saying it's sold pending finance approval but as he says nothing is sold til the money is in the bank. I love the csl and wasn't even thinking of selling but this car caught my eye. It's a two owner 10k miler from 2004 and can be had for one seventh of its original price. The opportunities to drive the csl enthusiastically are few and far between here in Ireland and there's only one track which is a fair drive from where I live. I have never used it anyway. I just think the idea of a nice comfortable cruiser with monumental torque and convertible for the summer may appeal. Not 100% sure(not even 50!) and it's probably gone anyway but if I were to change how much would I want to be asking for the csl in the uk? Makes more sense for me to export it if he doesn't offer me a good trade. All early days and most likely won't happen(which won't upset me too much) but just curious! Mine is an 04 with full service history, totally standard,new brake discs and pads around 4k ago, excellent condition. Xenons, air con, no parking sensors and it has a radio. Let me know what ye think gents. Thanks for your help and apologies for the long post! Ps- any merc/amg experts who could shed light on running costs/reliability of the sl? Has anyone driven one of these? My old fella had an e55 supercharged with the DMS treatment(540bhp) back in the day which went pretty hard!
Cheers,
Brian

Is it a Merc main dealer with 12months Merc approved warranty?

I own and run a Merc specialists, not massively expensive to routine service, but just remember parts are not one seventh of the original price, ie an ABC suspension pump which are prone to go, are near £1k just for parts. ABC front strut are £1k each and the bottom ball joint in the strut is non replaceable, ball joint play means big expense.

Boots leak for fun, so advise garage it.


Good cars, but I personally wouldn't own a 230 model SL, for the % we look after they have too many issues for my liking.

any links to said car?

Any q's just fire away.

[Hankcharlie]

Is it a Merc main dealer with 12months Merc approved warranty?

I own and run a Merc specialists, not massively expensive to routine service, but just remember parts are not one seventh of the original price, ie an ABC suspension pump which are prone to go, are near £1k just for parts. ABC front strut are £1k each and the bottom ball joint in the strut is non replaceable, ball joint play means big expense.

Boots leak for fun, so advise garage it.


Good cars, but I personally wouldn't own a 230 model SL, for the % we look after they have too many issues for my liking.

any links to said car?

Any q's just fire away.

Hi lawsy, thanks a mill for the reply and info. I thought as much with running costs alright. Was thinking of maybe an sl55 considering it would be less than half the price and maybe tune that a bit. Then bank the remainder of the csl cash if I sell it. By all accounts the v8 sounds better than the v12. The sl65 is in an independent car sales company. Are the sl55's much cheaper to run would you think? I have found a couple on autotrader and piston heads and if it came to it what would be the best way to get somebody who knows them to have a look at it for me?
I'll send on the link to the 65 in Ireland and I'll send on a couple of links to potential sl55's in the uk and you might let me know what you think please? I really appreciate the advice and help. Any ideas what I would be advertising my csl for? Thanks again,
Brian

[Hankcharlie]

Sl 65 in Dublin http://m.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mercedes-Benz-SL-Class-SL-65-AMG-V12-BI-TURBO--612-BHP-..-350K-NEW-WITH-MEGA-SPEC..IRISH-CAR-WITH-FULL-MERCEDES-SERVICE-HISTORY..FINANCE-AVAILABLE..TRADE-IN-S-WELCOME..OPEN-7-DAYS..VISIT-WWW.BESHOFFMOTORS.IE-FOR-MORE-INFO../36513859077133190

[Hankcharlie]

Here's one sl 55
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201310119237907?atcide=emc-cars-EAF004

Another one http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201311260155626/sort/priceasc/postcode/e161sp/radius/1500/page/1

And another http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201302155355283/sort/priceasc/postcode/e161sp/radius/1500/page/1

Couple on pistonheads http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/mercedes-benz/sl/mercedes-sl55-amg-kompressor---viewing-a-must-as-in-lovely-condition----------2003/1594869

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/mercedes-benz/amg/mercedes-benz-sl-55-amg/1886878

Any there that would strike you as clean straight cars? Seems like a lot of car for that kind of money? Thanks again lawsy

[digi]

I think to drive, just get a SL55. They are pretty cheap. Keep the CSL.

In terms of collectible, the SL AMG non blacks are pits in terms of value. Atleast in my neck of woods. They drop like diarrhea.

CSL on the other hand is totally different.

[shane@mbtech]

On iPhone so I will respond better later.

But don't blow 50k on an SL, please!

SL55 will be the better car. Fast enough.

I'll go through pros and cons tonight when I have an old fashioned keyboard:thumbs:

[Hankcharlie]

On iPhone so I will respond better later.

But don't blow 50k on an SL, please!

SL55 will be the better car. Fast enough.

I'll go through pros and cons tonight when I have an old fashioned keyboard:thumbs:

Thanks lawsy,much appreciated! Unfortunately we have vehicle registration tax here in Ireland which would be €11k just to register the car here!! The 55 would work out at around €4k which is more manageable! Would have a 55 fully imported and registered and allowing for exchange rate for about €22-€25k I reckon. Would sell my csl for a lot more than that. Thanks again for all your advice lads

[shane@mbtech]

Right the engine in the 55amg is pretty bullet proof. We dont see many 65bi turbo if I'm 100% honest, but I prefer the 55, more vocal, and honest for want of a better word. The 65 are quick, but lack a bit of soul for me. Very gentleman like.

Gearboxes are good, but if not looked after can give issues. Oil and filter in box every 40k or 4-5 yrs.

Brakes are not the best if im honest, but a pad upgrade would see to that. Bear in mind they run basically 2 sets of pads on the front. 4 pads per caliper.

Discs are approx £100 each.

Boots leak in water, and the PSE (central locking pump) is in the boot, they can go and they are approx £800.

Check for no fluid leaks from tandem ABC/PAS pump, these are £1k +

Jab brakes very sharply at low speeds, if clunking from front, its likely the ball joints on struts.

They are a good car and we look after many, varying level of condition, good ones are very good, bad ones are very bad.

My advice is to get a thorough inspection before buying. If there are any near us, I would be happy to check pre purchase for you.

We have a customer who bought one from a small car dealer/trader. He paid £20k, it needed £6k worth of work. It got messy, trading standards with supplying trader etc. He sold it for a loss 3 months after. The work was meant to have been completed by the supplying trader, it wasnt so he just cut his losses.

I have had many mercs and obviously spend everyday of my life working on them, would I own a 230 chassis SL? NO, that tells you something;)

[uncle benz]

I'm in the same line of work as Shane, and I'd echo pretty much all of that. M113 v8 is a bombproof motor - I've never had cause to remove a cylinder head on one, ever. Inter cooler pumps fail regularly, and I've done a couple of charge cooler matrix replacements for leaking. They are under the supercharger and quite expensive.
I've watched a grown man cry when I told him his £25k dream car purchase needed £7k of remedial work! Must be a common occurrence!!
E55 would be my choice probably. Water leaks on a car of this level are frankly ridiculous, and the maker should be ashamed IMO.

Eta, oh, and rust. They do that too.

[shane@mbtech]

Only engines we have seen issue with were on "tuned" cars. Tip of spark plug on cyl 1 missing. Same cylinder on 2 cars.
My theory, ran lean on that cylinder due to increased boost, due to pulley upgrade and poor map. Cyl 1 is furthest away from fuel entry and the size of the pulley, I reckon the injectors would have been close to max duty. Det city:whistle:

Don't know why I forgot to mention about the charge cooler pump, :119:, we replace enough of them.

[Hankcharlie]

Thanks for all the replies gents. Sorry for the delay in getting back to ye. So are they just problematic by their nature or is it possible to find a good one that won't break your heart? Is it expensive to replace the seals in the boot? What about the ball joints, how long do they last or is it a case of just being lucky or unlucky? With regard to remapping, how are DMS and would you advise for or against it? I know there's lots of cowboys around the place but they seem to have a good reputation.Thanks again guys

[digi]

why don't you ask lawsy to see if he can help you source a decent one as he's in the Merc business.:smokin:

He gets business and you get a decent car. Sounds like a winning formula to me. :beer:

[LeinsCSL]

why don't you ask lawsy to see if he can help you source a decent one as he's in the Merc business.:smokin:

He gets business and you get a decent car. Sounds like a winning formula to me. :beer:

One of the problems we have here in Ireland though is that for certain cars the import duties are extortionate (funnily enough the CSL not being one of them anymore). When a lot of money was floating around here back in the boom times, many cars such as the SL65 were imported without much regard to cost, as sure what else were you going to spend your pots of cash on?!!! These days, no one wants them, so it's much cheaper to buy one of the few remaining here than it is to import. We have some of the dearest new car prices in Europe, but thanks to our inept government and ridiculous levels of motor tax on anything remotely old and/or interesting, we have some of the cheapest secondhand prices

[Heisenburg]

One of the problems we have here in Ireland though is that for certain cars the import duties are extortionate (funnily enough the CSL not being one of them anymore). When a lot of money was floating around here back in the boom times, many cars such as the SL65 were imported without much regard to cost, as sure what else were you going to spend your pots of cash on?!!! These days, no one wants them, so it's much cheaper to buy one of the few remaining here than it is to import. We have some of the dearest new car prices in Europe, but thanks to our inept government and ridiculous levels of motor tax on anything remotely old and/or interesting, we have some of the cheapest secondhand prices

+1. And just following on from this...HANKCHARLIE, if you are looking to export you CSL to the UK, you can now reclaim the VRT. This is based on a percentage on the current value of the car. Only problem is, the VRT people don't have the CSL's details on the system and they value the car as a stock M3 :wanker: You will have a long battle on your hands.

I've found out the hard way. I imported my car into the UK from Ireland last year. Feel free to PM me for the details if you are going down this route.

Paddy

[digi]

think I will need to come to Ireland to find a Scuderia or something collectible :smt055

Hope you find a great car. :beer:

[LeinsCSL]

think I will need to come to Ireland to find a Scuderia or something collectible :smt055

Hope you find a great car. :beer:

They all got traded in here for Golf TDis a few years ago I'm afraid ;)

[Hankcharlie]

Thanks for all the replies lads. I'll be exporting the car to the uk most likely. Leins, it's good for those of us in to those kind of cars😃. The tax itself is a balls tho,especially if it's a second/weekend car. Heisenberg thanks for that, ya I'm aware of that alright. Do u mind me asking if you were successful in your argument with the vrt crowd? They used to have the csl on the vrt site before. Maybe they realised it after your case and took it off figuring they could make more on cars coming in,but keep it low on them going out! Did u have to appeal it afterwards or before you exported it? I brought an e39 m5 inform uk before and they charged me 11k vrt and the car was 13k sterling!! I appealed it and I got a nice cheque for €5,003 back, was well chuffed! I'd be on for lawsy sourcing me a car when the time comes if he had any contacts?!😉. Also thinking of maybe a boxster s. Anybody driven one of these? The second generation one with the 3.4? Thanks digi,shopping can often be the fun part!
Cheers