Owning a rare Mercedes from the beginning of the millennium ruins even the rich, just replacing the brakes costs them millions

If you want to have a monkey, you have to have bananas, they say jokingly in our industry. But it is true almost literally, even at the moment when the “monkey” is not worth so much to show the need for a bunch of expensive bananas in advance. Let the Mercedes SLR McLaren be the proof.

It’s been quite a few Fridays since we marveled at the car collection of the Iranian emigrant who rose from a poor stall holder to a real estate tycoon owning five Mercedes SLR McLarens at the time – today he has even more. Someone can say that today the SLR is not a car that would be a symbol of such wealth – you can buy used examples for as little as 7 million CZK, which is much less than the amount that the three-pointed star charged for this car between 2003 and 2010. when she sold it as a new car. But the cost of acquisition is far from everything for this car.

Only a really wealthy person can afford to keep a few roaring GTs alive, after all, high service costs are usually the reason most cars become a bad investment, even if it doesn’t seem so at first glance. There are not so few cars that increase in price, but if the necessary running costs of all kinds are taken into account, it is often a loss-making affair. And the Mercedes SLR is a good example. Just look at how much it costs to replace the brakes on this car.

This is pointed out by one of the owners on social network X, as you can see below. He wanted to have a complete set of brake discs and plates replaced on his SLR, but the authorized service sent him an offer for – hold on – USD 120,462.79, i.e. 2.8 million crowns. That’s easily more than a third of the price of the entire car. It would be enough for 4 great Octavias, a top-of-the-line BMW M3 with carbon-ceramic brakes, or a used supersport of a lesser degree of exclusivity. At first glance, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.

That it is not a mistake was verified by colleagues from Jalopnik, to whom other Mercedes dealerships offered the same, with one exception, even more expensive. The exchange price for them climbed up to 128 thousand dollars, we are already talking about 3 million CZK. Three “balls” behind the brakes? A car with such service costs can really ruin even the very rich.

Unbelievable amounts are naturally based on the specificity of the car and the limited production range of any special components. McLaren says today that at one time it counted on this, such an exceptional car will be used very rarely by the vast majority of owners anyway, and the brake components will therefore usually not need to be changed during the entire life of the car. It makes sense for similar hypersports, but judging by the hardships of some owners, the British were clearly wrong in some cases.

Let it be a lesson for us again, that not every used car at an attractive price has to be as bad as it seems at first glance. The Mercedes SLR McLaren is still not cheap, but with prices starting at 7 million CZK, it is a relatively affordable product by the standards of its exceptionality. But if just changing the brakes will easily increase the budget for its purchase by 40 percent, it’s really not an attractive purchase…

The Mercedes SLR McLaren is still a damn hot car and its prices have dropped quite low on the used market. However, the cost of its service is quite a different story – just a complete replacement of the brakes will cost almost 3 million crowns. Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Sources: Jalopnik, HumpedMyJeweler@XMcLaren

Peter Miller

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