How much is my '88560sl worth?

[BenzToy]

Originally Posted by Roncallo

I did not say park it. Just drive it and when you find those occasions where you have to take the kids somewhere, Take the beater.

Before I bought my first 560. I had two cars. A 1993 Ford Taurus with over 200K miles and a 1992 F150 pickup with over 150K miles. Although I kept the cars in good condition, when they get this old the failure modes become totally sudden and unexpected.

It was getting to be enough of an annoyance that my wife wanted me to get rid of the F150 and get a new smaller one. We looked into a Ford Ranger at the time with a crew seat for the kids it was $28K. I told here there was another option, we get a third car. This way when one goes down I would have plenty of time to order parts and get it fixed right. Oh and by the way the other car dident have to cost $28K, nor would it have to depriciate as fast as a Ford Ranger. At 13.5K and another 2K to bring it up to a good standard of dependability came Sadie. See below.

Of course I still hear to this day how the gas gussling 560SL more than makes up for an additional depriciation and +14.5K price tag.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=19

John Roncallo

Good job.
The break even point, to me, is/cost/mile/reliability/enjoyment.
Put the wife and kids in a safe/have fun while the kids aren't around
kind of car.
Make the kids get their hands dirty,
But not on the sl until they learn torque.

[cmp21]

Thanks for all of your replies. John R., thanks for the pictures of Sadie; she sure is a looker. You mentioned that you worked at Rallye. Ironically, that is where my father bought this car in 1989. I live nearby in Garden City so as you can guess...my driveway is not big enough to accomodate a third car. I would love to keep the car and fix it up right...but I dont have the time or $$$ or skill to do that right now. I really hate to sell this car, but I think its the best choic right now.

[bamerson]

I totally agree with John. Don't sell the car at this point. I have a 1986 560SL with many more miles than yours and the bottom line is that you can't replace the car. Even with all of the aggravation associated with repairs, etc., there's no price you can place on the looks and comments when you drive the car. It may be worth more to you for sentimental value at this point. Good luck! P.S. Mine is white/blue also! I love the combination and her name is Daisy.

bamerson