Why is the SLS not popular?
Discussion
I am thinking of buying an SLS to replace a DB7 Zagato. The Mercedes drives well appart from no initial feel from the accelerator pedal which travels a long way before moving the car. But prices are dropping in the ads and they seem to be for sale for ages. So, do they have a problem or does no one but me like what they look like? Does anybody have the answer?
thanks
thanks
bungie said:
I am thinking of buying an SLS to replace a DB7 Zagato. The Mercedes drives well appart from no initial feel from the accelerator pedal which travels a long way before moving the car. But prices are dropping in the ads and they seem to be for sale for ages. So, do they have a problem or does no one but me like what they look like? Does anybody have the answer?
thanks
i think it is a stunning car, i think some people dont like the getting in and out of these cars reaching for the door to close when you get in takes a bit of getting used to if you are a bit small. the prices seem to be in free fall at the moment simply because there are to many for sale and no one really knows were they will stop?thanks
the sls cab arrives soon so that will not help prices of the sls.
the cheapest on the net is £139k but still has'nt sold been on for over a week.
it would be intresting to hear from a dealer or trader what money they think they will trade at.
what colour are you thinking of?
yellowbentines said:
I'm not sure if your post is written tongue-in-cheek, but I think the list price of £168,395 puts the average man in the street off buying a little bit, in fact, I'd go as far to say that there isn't any car in that price range that could be classed as 'popular'.
the ferrari 458 is still commanding over list.amg master said:
the ferrari 458 is still commanding over list.
Supply and demand? Ferrari have had a more established customer and product base for that type of car at that price in recent years, as do Aston and Lamborghini. Mercedes might have had that years ago but are now the same manufacturer that makes the A-Class and the Sprinter van and are trying to tempt buyers away from those brands with their claws in the supercar market.Also as suggested, those like the OP looking at the cars that have fallen in price/value may be wary of sinking money into one in case they lose more, therefore hurting demand even further - catch 22 really, I'm sure they're great cars and they truly are stunning.
Just my tuppence worth.
yellowbentines said:
amg master said:
the ferrari 458 is still commanding over list.
Supply and demand? Ferrari have had a more established customer and product base for that type of car at that price in recent years, as do Aston and Lamborghini. Mercedes might have had that years ago but are now the same manufacturer that makes the A-Class and the Sprinter van and are trying to tempt buyers away from those brands with their claws in the supercar market.Also as suggested, those like the OP looking at the cars that have fallen in price/value may be wary of sinking money into one in case they lose more, therefore hurting demand even further - catch 22 really, I'm sure they're great cars and they truly are stunning.
Just my tuppence worth.
but then you had nearly every dealer in the country having a static demo sitting in the showroom which eventually had to come to market effecting the price as you said they are stunning cars but people just dont know were the price will stop?
i think they will trade soon at £100k with retail at £120k.i hope anyway
bungie said:
I think you are both right. With so few of them about I suppose not much is known about their reliability etc.
The colours I prefer are Alubeam Silver, Magno Monza Grey and [possibly] Le Mans Red.
Wish I had a crystal ball to give me an insight as to what to do.
there is quite a few available i think there is approx 100 sls for sale today hence the prices all over the place.The colours I prefer are Alubeam Silver, Magno Monza Grey and [possibly] Le Mans Red.
Wish I had a crystal ball to give me an insight as to what to do.
i dont think that alubeam silver is worth the £7.5k-8k extra over some of the standard colours i think that the imola grey suits the car very well, the magno monza grey is the matt look which is very risky in my opinion.
the colours i have narrowed it down to is black, imola grey or the white all with the black&red leather interior and the carbon pack.
have you got a guide in your mind as to what you would like to pay?
also i hav'nt heard any horror stories about the cars the engine is bomb proof.
Edited by amg master on Tuesday 5th April 21:46
r129sl said:
The available colours are so boring. Who gives a toss about resale value? I buy a car to enjoy it, not to sell it.
i think deprecation is very important when it comes to choosing a car i dont want to waste my money on something no matter how much money i have.the few who have a vast amount of money its not a problem ie millions in the bank, a 50k loss in a few months is no big deal but on a whole i think its a major part of many peoples decision when buying a car.
i buy a car to enjoy but i would never want to lose the kind of money these cars have lost already.
Our local dealer has two cars sat there looking pretty awesome. I have a feeling that they will be sat there a while yet.
I personally think that the SLS has failed because the problems started from the launch. The whole process started with MB thinking they could replicate the Ferrari system of screening customers and artificially creating demand and hype. What the marketing and sales people forgot were 3 very important things.
1/ The Ferrari system doesn't work and cars always come to the marketplace despite the screening.
2/ The pricing was wrong. The SLS is not a 170k plus car. Even in their wildest dreams what were the sales people thinking of??? The unsold cars and falling prices are the cars finding their true Market price.
3/ The sales and marketing people forgot that MB is a mass production company and therefore you can't keep supply artificially low as the accountants will want to know why they have 100 cars sat in the factories with nowhere to go or why the production line that they spent x million Euro's tooling up is sat there idol. Next thing you know each dealer has a car stuck in their showroom with the poor salesman having to rewind their sales speel about no availability, exclusivity, and the SLS being a sought after vehicle.
Oh and lastly that little thing called poor timing, trying to launch a car like this at the moment is bad luck for MB
Personally I think they are a stunning sounding and looking car but the price is wrong. I'd rather haggle and have an SL 63 and have change to buy a C63 for day to day than an SLS at list money.
I personally think that the SLS has failed because the problems started from the launch. The whole process started with MB thinking they could replicate the Ferrari system of screening customers and artificially creating demand and hype. What the marketing and sales people forgot were 3 very important things.
1/ The Ferrari system doesn't work and cars always come to the marketplace despite the screening.
2/ The pricing was wrong. The SLS is not a 170k plus car. Even in their wildest dreams what were the sales people thinking of??? The unsold cars and falling prices are the cars finding their true Market price.
3/ The sales and marketing people forgot that MB is a mass production company and therefore you can't keep supply artificially low as the accountants will want to know why they have 100 cars sat in the factories with nowhere to go or why the production line that they spent x million Euro's tooling up is sat there idol. Next thing you know each dealer has a car stuck in their showroom with the poor salesman having to rewind their sales speel about no availability, exclusivity, and the SLS being a sought after vehicle.
Oh and lastly that little thing called poor timing, trying to launch a car like this at the moment is bad luck for MB
Personally I think they are a stunning sounding and looking car but the price is wrong. I'd rather haggle and have an SL 63 and have change to buy a C63 for day to day than an SLS at list money.
Edited by 2 5HAN on Sunday 24th April 09:56
we phoned a couple of specialist with the reg of a sls with not even 1000 miles on it for a trade price and the 3 dealers that we rang said the car was worth £120k in the trade but even then they would not want them for stock.the car was in a good colour with carbon brakes and bose sound that would have cost over £180k when new.
what i find annoying is that when a dealer offers crazy money for your car they just expect you to take the price, but when you offer a crazy price for the car that the dealer has in stock they look at you in disgust.
with the way fianance is at the moment a lot of the big stuff is going to take a big hit and petrol prices going sky high even people with money will get fed up putting £150 just to fill up a tank every 200 miles.
what i find annoying is that when a dealer offers crazy money for your car they just expect you to take the price, but when you offer a crazy price for the car that the dealer has in stock they look at you in disgust.
with the way fianance is at the moment a lot of the big stuff is going to take a big hit and petrol prices going sky high even people with money will get fed up putting £150 just to fill up a tank every 200 miles.
2 5HAN said:
Our local dealer has two cars sat there looking pretty awesome. I have a feeling that they will be sat there a while yet.
I personally think that the SLS has failed because the problems started from the launch. The whole process started with MB thinking they could replicate the Ferrari system of screening customers and artificially creating demand and hype. What the marketing and sales people forgot were 3 very important things.
1/ The Ferrari system doesn't work and cars always come to the marketplace despite the screening.
2/ The pricing was wrong. The SLS is not a 170k plus car. Even in their wildest dreams what were the sales people thinking of??? The unsold cars and falling prices are the cars finding their true Market price.
3/ The sales and marketing people forgot that MB is a mass production company and therefore you can't keep supply artificially low as the accountants will want to know why they have 100 cars sat in the factories with nowhere to go or why the production line that they spent x million Euro's tooling up is sat there idol. Next thing you know each dealer has a car stuck in their showroom with the poor salesman having to rewind their sales speel about no availability, exclusivity, and the SLS being a sought after vehicle.
Oh and lastly that little thing called poor timing, trying to launch a car like this at the moment is bad luck for MB
Personally I think they are a stunning sounding and looking car but the price is wrong. I'd rather haggle and have an SL 63 and have change to buy a C63 for day to day than an SLS at list money.
how are you 2shan hope all is well? are you going to go for the new c63 amg when it arrives? the car looks very nice in the pics.I personally think that the SLS has failed because the problems started from the launch. The whole process started with MB thinking they could replicate the Ferrari system of screening customers and artificially creating demand and hype. What the marketing and sales people forgot were 3 very important things.
1/ The Ferrari system doesn't work and cars always come to the marketplace despite the screening.
2/ The pricing was wrong. The SLS is not a 170k plus car. Even in their wildest dreams what were the sales people thinking of??? The unsold cars and falling prices are the cars finding their true Market price.
3/ The sales and marketing people forgot that MB is a mass production company and therefore you can't keep supply artificially low as the accountants will want to know why they have 100 cars sat in the factories with nowhere to go or why the production line that they spent x million Euro's tooling up is sat there idol. Next thing you know each dealer has a car stuck in their showroom with the poor salesman having to rewind their sales speel about no availability, exclusivity, and the SLS being a sought after vehicle.
Oh and lastly that little thing called poor timing, trying to launch a car like this at the moment is bad luck for MB
Personally I think they are a stunning sounding and looking car but the price is wrong. I'd rather haggle and have an SL 63 and have change to buy a C63 for day to day than an SLS at list money.
Edited by 2 5HAN on Sunday 24th April 09:56
amg master said:
hat was the market mercedes were aiming for with the sls and they did get it right at the start with customers getting vetted and a very limited supply coming to market hence the 20k-40k premium the specialist were selling them for.
but then you had nearly every dealer in the country having a static demo sitting in the showroom which eventually had to come to market effecting the price as you said they are stunning cars but people just dont know were the price will stop?
That's exactly correct. Mercedes messed this up by making every dealer take a car which all had to come back to market creating a glut. I think they've potentially screwed themselves for the convertible because of that but we'll know soon enough. but then you had nearly every dealer in the country having a static demo sitting in the showroom which eventually had to come to market effecting the price as you said they are stunning cars but people just dont know were the price will stop?
So far as the SLS goes, I think it's an instant classic albeit that's not reflected by the current market. If you're planning to keep one for a while, now is a good time to jump in as I think the prices will bounce once the market has cleared up but it's potentially a different matter if it's a short term purchase.
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