A Resource for SL55 Enthusiasts

I bought my first SL55, a silver 2003 model with 18K miles, in August of 2020. I fell instantly in love with the car, and figured I would never get rid of it. That was, until two years later, when this one of a kind yellow SL55 became available. After I won the auction my wife looked at it and said “it looks like a big banana” and the name stuck.

I am pretty particular about maintaining my vehicles in the best condition, especially this one, which I’m trying to maintain in a Hagarty’s “Fine” (2 to 2-) condition even though I do drive it. This will be reflected in the amount of money I am willing to spend to both maintain and correct defects with the car.

The Banana Has Landed

I got a text from the driver that the SL55 would arrive around 7:30 pm.

Since I figured they would be in a semi-tractor trailer, I suggested we meet at the nearby Lowes Home Improvement center instead of my house. While there is room on the farm for a semi, it would be hard to turn around and this would just make it easier.

At the advice of the seller, I used T&J Auto Transport and I was very happy with their service.

You Can’t Fight the DMV

The Banana is supposed to arrive tonight, so I wanted to go get it registered and get a tag for it.

It was not to be.

The seller had sent me the title and usually it is a simple process to register the car, but when I got to the DMV they wouldn’t accept it as it wasn’t notarized.

There was a space for a notary to sign that was blank, so I reached out to the seller who pointed out that in Montana, where the car was registered, a notary is not required if the seller is a company (in this case, an LLC).

I Won!

Okay, I honestly didn’t expect to be bidding on this auction much less winning it. As I mentioned before I expected this car to go for north of $60K and that was more than I was willing to pay.

Yesterday I noticed that there was less than a day left in the auction, so I set an alarm on my watch for 2pm and promptly forgot about it. I was actually on a call with most of my coworkers when the alarm went off, so I had to bring the auction up, discreetly, on my phone. I was surprised to see it was still lower than the $30,500 I paid for [The Shark][2], so on a whim I put in a bid of $31,000.

$240,000 ?!?

I just got back from my trip to LA to see that the [yellow SL55][1] was now at $240,000.

What? I mean it is a very unique car, but that is crazy money.

Of course, soon after I saw the bid it was retracted, as the bidder added in an extra zero.

Heh.

Original-Owner 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG

Ever since I bought The Shark (a 2003 SL55) I’ve had a notification set up to let me know when any R230 Mercedes cars are put up for auction on BaT. I was in LA for a work assignment when I happened to look at my phone to see “Original-Owner 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG” as the subject in the e-mail.

This was a little newer than The Shark but still a year too early for that sweet spot of the post-facelift 2006-2007 SL55. Anyway, since I block remote images in my e-mails I hit “load images” to check it out, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Considerations for Buying a Sports Car

Okay. I’m older, and so it is time to get the sports car.

In all seriousness, I have been into cars since I was young and I’ve always wanted to buy a performance automobile. But I am also cheap, and so I like to get a good deal.

A friend of mine has turned me on to a website called Bring a Trailer (BaT). Apparently it started out as a blog about cool cars for sale on eBay, and it has grown into the leading online auction site for classic and collectable cars.