I'm not an "euro-chic" "euro-spec" clubber. I'm a wild nerdy JDM fanboy hehehe. A tuner at heart hehehe. But, watching just another day of Jerry's business I was able to grasp what people THINK they are masters of: valuing cars.
Among the comments on his video, annonymous people trying to "make sense" of a man that tried to sell his Mercedes SL-500 for Jerry. At AUD$ 45.000? All that stuff about classic car and the usual bullshit some business owners have to go through... And I'm here thinking that my tuning chat was boring to them hehehe. Nope. I'm actually very reasonable.
At first people were commenting about the original AMG wheels. Like... as if they alone could save the performance of this turd from weighing 1700 kg. People really don't know the deep shithole they're going for. So, hell yeah, Jerry was really patient and detailed with that customer. Most people are actually dellusional towards their own cars.
I also enjoy how some broke fellows try to fight to see who's get the best argument in the end. And all of them fail to see that a properly tuned car will cost a lot of money in parts and work, a lot of expenses with fuel and oil, some taxes... At this point you just let these idiots actually fight for it. Even though I know very well how good can a Mercedes SL be, I'd rather be happy with the small and cheap SLK 4 cylinder ones. But most people will be idiots only to see and assume things for granted.
Some wise man realized that buying a couple of houses back then was probably more reasonable than the SL. That's kinda specific, but I get the idea and he confirms what I knew before; cars are not a solid investment.
But, let's be honest: what the hell is the SL? Well, lets take the tuner mindset into action. Here's the entire wikipedia article on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_SL-Class_(R129)
Its the 4th generation Mercedes SL, code R-129, which was produced between 1989 and 2001. A very classy grand tourer. From what I see, there were a lot of engines for it, ranging from a small 2.8 litre V6 to a massive 7.3 litre V12 tuned by AMG. And of course, as a tuner at heart, I'd rather stick with the 5-speed manual box. There's a plenty of option of engines and boxes for it nowadays.
The base proportion is quite healthy, just 1.38 which is on par with most of the japanese grand tourers of the time. But what I really dislike on these cars is mostly due to the interior being a crappy mix of leather and wood. And all those electronic gizmos that can fail at anytime (electric seats, electric windows, electric door lock, electric antenna...). If you give me one, I'll get rid of the ar conditioning and power steering as soon as possible. Being a kind of nice powerful tourer, the only problem is the weight. Its a 1700-1800 kg slump that will barely make more than 5 km per litre of fuel nowdays. I doubt if a stripped 2.8 litre V6 version can do 7 at least.
It would be good to make a drift missile with it, bringing the weight to some 1450 kg and just letting the basics to pass inspection. Always remember that Chris Fix just proved Gran Turismo weight reduction is real. In Brazil we call it "riches rest". An usually luxurious car that isn't interesting for rich people anymore. So they end up as a little drifting boats. Its our time to enjoy them now hehehe.
But Jerry was right when called it down to some AUD$ 20.000 at best. Its a silver whale on the road. If not sharply tuned, its just a money pit. And think of the +$20.000 on parts, work, tune, shakedown... plus all the yearly expenses and taxes, going to meets... Personally, I'd pay those $40.000 if the car was tuned to my specific requirements. Otherwise you can find cheaper american or japanese modern machines for the same or lower price.
Keep in mind that the SL (R129) is a modern car and I really enjoy modern cars. But unless we're talking a finely tuned by me, I have to agree with Jerry and say its only $15.000 in australian dollars. You'd be lucky to find someone like me to put it on the grind of the touge guardrails.
But I also enjoy the other comments from "Mercedes Specialists" arguing that Jerry don't know about european cars hehehe. As if european cars weren't kinda of yellow flag enough before buying them. Kids, stop arguing! George Russel and Andrea Antonelli have a whole staff of mechanics for their racing formulas. Don't come after me saying that your euro-chic euro-spec is easy to repair and find parts.
I drive an Opel. I'm safe enough. It's the actual common lad panzerwagen.
Sincerely, most of you "Mercedes Specialists" aren't ready for the car dealer life, even less the tuner fun, way less for the economics of the market and whatever that comes to your minds. You talk about Mercedes, but you are the ones to say that the SLK is a piece of shit inside your club. In Australia alone he couldn't fine more than 12 cars for sale for lower prices. Even a pristine "collector" car is rare and hard to sell.
Its a passionate long road for a tuner, but the dellusional SL owner won't get there.
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