Used twin-turbo Mercedes SL55s are flooding the market at Miata money, but depreciation curves tell different stories. The AMG carries $8K/year maintenance assumptions; the ND is Toyota-reliable. One teaches you to fear the next service bill.
Comparing them on price alone misses the point—you're not buying the same car twice, you're choosing between a depreciating pleasure machine and one that actually holds value.
Single-family ownership, sub-50k miles, and the AMG Sport Package make this R230 a clean example in a market where low-mileage examples are getting scarce. The 5.0L naturally-aspirated V8 paired with the 7-speed automatic represents the last generation before turbos and complexity took over. Silver over charcoal is the safe choice, but values on these have stayed surprisingly stable.
The R230 SL is the last Mercedes convertible that didn't apologize for being a car instead of a smartphone. Low miles used to matter. Now they just mean it sat longer.
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