Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Let’s start with the last line first: The C43 AMG is one of the best bargains on the market right now — if you can find a good one. There were less than 1,500 of these imported to the U.S. so there aren’t many to start with. Further, if you find one that needs TLC it should be deeply discounted as repairing this car properly can add up fast.
I tend to buy cars for two reasons: speed and looks. Then again, I’m a single man in my thirties. I don’t have many requirements to take into consideration when purchasing a vehicle. This would render the Mercedes-Benz R-Class as a vehicle completely off my radar. For some reason, however, I’m drawn a bit to this multi-purpose vehicle. They didn’t sell too well in the US market, perhaps due to the fact it wasn’t easily categorized. It wasn’t an SUV, wasn’t really an estate vehicle and didn’t function as a van, either. It was a bit of a hybrid of all three. AMG even breathed on a select few, making for one seriously fast hauler. This R500 4Matic for sale in Florida is one packing the familiar 5.0 liter V8 under the hood and has yet to break 50,000 miles. If you missed your chance at one of these new, you can get a serious discount on them today.
Of the contemporary Mercedes models, the SL55 AMG is certainly among my favorites. The lines on this car are about as good as it gets for the time period and few Benzes pulled off the double oval headlights as well as the SL did. It is a true testament to the quality of the design that the car still looks fresh even though it’s 12 years old. For me a big part of that formula are the Type V “Turbine” wheels. These have always been my favorites on the R230 cars, they’re equal parts opulence and performance, much like the car itself. An SL55 AMG is one of those cars I will forever aspire to own, if only for a brief period of time because I know the kind of road trips it would inspire me to take. Long jaunts for no apparent reason other than to enjoy the drive and end up at an enjoyable locale, that’s the kind of thing these cars are built for. Could you use one as a daily driver? From a reliability standpoint I’m sure you could, the 5.4L supercharger V8 has proven reliable over the years. I’d certainly have no problem pulling this thing out of a garage every day but in some ways I think that’d defeat the purpose of the car. It’s a purpose built cruiser with loads of power, it begs to be driven hard on long stretches of road. My guess is the seller would agree given that they’re the 3rd owner and the car has just 30k on the clock.
While running errands the other day, I came across a 560SL in signal red, parked, with its top down. These late model R107 roadsters are finally getting their due in the marketplace, which isn’t surprising. Classic lines combined with features that still make this roadster feel modern are the usual hallmarks of Mercedes-Benzes from the 1980s. This 560SL for sale in Illinois comes to us by way of our friends at Evolve Motors. This car represents the first year of the 560SL, with barely over 40,000 miles on the odometer.
In 1999, if you wanted a small German performance car capable of carrying several adults, you had a few options. First, you could select the BMW M3 – the benchmark for performance in the category, the E36 was nearing the end of it’s life cycle and the sedan had been dropped for the last model year. There was no M3 Touring model available, so if you wanted a wagon you needed to move over to the folks from Ingolstadt; Audi’s second generation S4. While unlike the M3 you couldn’t opt for a convertible, importantly if you wanted to carry your 2.2 children and dog in style they had the Avant available. While BMW’s neutered U.S. spec M3 made it by with only 240 horsepower, Audi’s twin turbocharged V6 offered less displacement but waves of torque and 250 horsepower. Those were the days when a 10 horsepower jump over your competition was a pretty big deal. So, you can imagine the shock when Mercedes-Benz introduced it’s new take on the small executive performance market with the introduction of the V8-engined C43 AMG. While the C36’s inline-6 had a 26 horsepower advantage over its nearest rival, the C43 broke through the 300 horsepower mark with the M113, with 306 horsepower, but staggeringly also 302 lb.ft of torque. That’s a lot, even by today’s standard, and it was not only available in sedan form, but also in Touring form. Though the Tourings never made it to these shores, one has popped up on eBay and is for sale in the Great White North:
