A Resource for SL55 Enthusiasts (Pinned Post)

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.

Reading the Documentation

The Banana came with some of the previous owner’s documentation. There were service records from about 2014, and records of the original purchase, but nothing much about the first ten years of service.

The car was purchased by an (apparently) very successful Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. He seems to have collected a number of classic cars, including an 300SL gullwing, but he sold it and bought a different one because the first one was too nice to drive.

Sending the Title Back (sigh)

So, I’ve given up on getting any kind of answer out of NC DMV as to why they won’t accept the title for The Banana without a notarized signature, so it is on its way back to California.

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.