Keith Martin has had his finger on the pulse of the collector car market for well over thirty years. In addition to his role as founder and publisher of Sports Car Market magazine, Keith is among the most visible figures at the highest echelons of car collecting, including appearances as emcee at Pebble Beach, the Concours of America, Legends of the Autobahn, and many other events.
Martin recently acquired his latest Mercedes-Benz, a 2004 SL55 AMG. With supercar performance, this purchase was a departure from the vintage cars that usually make up Martin's personal stable. We caught up with him in his favorite coffee shop for a discussion on the current state of the collector car hobby, and where Mercedes-Benz fits in that ecosystem today.
The Star: Tell me about your new-old AMG? What led you to that car?
Martin: I've always been attracted to Mercedes. But there's been a shift in the way we collect cars. We now have the ability to "return the unused portion," if you will. In other words, with my SL, it's got 50,000 miles of as-new performance left in it right now. If I were buying a 230SL or a 190SL, it wouldn't have that. I couldn't find one with 50,000 miles left on it where all I had to do was make sure it was a decent, original car, and go. That didn't exist with cars from the 1960s or 1970s. But cars from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s are so good, you can buy a 50,000 or 60,000-mile car, and if you drive it 3,000 miles a year it could be five or six years before you need to think about anything. They're really good cars.
The Star: Why choose the SL55 instead of something like an S-Class, though?
Martin: I love the fact that it's got swagger. For people who know what it is, this is the car. It's a fundamentally better car than the SL63 V12. It's less complicated and what I like about it is that it's an AMG, maybe one of the last. When the top goes up, it's a coupe. It's staggering how good the car is. Having had a stroke and not being able to drive a stick shift any more has allowed me to go into the soft underbelly of the depreciated supercar market. What I mean by that is that these cars are value-priced at around $25,000 these days. Mine has about 45,000 miles, and it was collector-owned. It's a huge amount of car for the money. Did I mention that I bought the car through a classified at in The Star?
The Star: Fast, expensive cars like that often scare potential buyers because of big repair bills. How did you sort out the risk?
Martin: I used to view cars like the SL55 as fiscal immolation, but as I did my deep dive into them I found that like all depreciated supercars, if you have the maintenance records, a shop inspection, and so on, they're not cars that break all the time. If they're set up right, they stay set up right. I've put more miles on that Mercedes than I've put on all my other cars the past few years. Normally, a car of mine gets about 1,500 miles a year. But if you take a modern supercar and get it set right by a marque specialist, you can expect to get 10 or 15 thousand miles.
The Star: I know you've had a couple of Ponton sedans from the 1950s in the last few years. What's the rest of your history with Mercedes-Benz?
Martin: The W123s I've had included a couple of 240D automatics. I told people that at a stop light you could put a brick on the gas pedal, jump out and run across the intersection, and when the car came by you could jump back in and be OK. I had a great 280SE, it was a four-speed Euro car with plaid interior and the twin-cam motor. That was a great motor in that car, and I loved it. I had a 300D with a four-speed, no air conditioning, no sunroof, no power windows - the Taxicab model, but it was unbreakable.
The Star: Do you have any other Mercedes cars on your wish list?
Martin: If I needed daily transportation these days, I'd buy an E-class of some kind. I tested an E55 AMG when they were new, and that has to rank as one of my favorite cars of all time. And maybe I'd pay $25,000 and get an E55 with 60,000 miles on it. But I'm not buying a practical, everyday car at that point. I'm saving $100,000 on a dream car, but when I sell it I'll get most of my money back.
The Star: What do you think is the fundamental reason for the Mercedes-Benz mystique? Why are people so passionate about these cars?
Martin: Of all the marques in the world, Mercedes-Benz has always had the clearest vision of what a Mercedes is. A 220S was still an S-Class even back in 1962. To use a counter-example, I was on the long-range planning committee for GM for a couple of years, and we'd meet with the CEO, Rick Wagner, and I asked him, "Who's the keeper of the flame for the Impala?" He asked what I meant, and I said, "Someone at Mercedes-Benz is the keeper of the flame for the E-Class. They are the ones who decide what an E-Class is. Who at GM decides what an Impala is?" He said, "why would we have that?"
So, Mercedes has always had a clear sense of their brand heritage, and where their different models fit into their hierarchy. You always had a range of choices from C-Class to S-Class. You also know that when they're set up right, Mercedes-Benz makes really good cars. The older cars are really easy to get right in terms of the suspension and drivetrain. I think also, because of the 300SL, Mercedes-Benz was so far ahead of its time that there is still reflected glory from that car. The reason that car is still so popular is that when you spend the $50,000 to get one set up right, they're really good, reliable cars. I think there's always been a sense of quality about the brand, and when you arrive somewhere in one, you arrive in a Mercedes-Benz.
The Star: We started off talking about the change in the collector car world. What advice do you have for people who love the Mercedes brand, and may be looking at an older used car, or even their first real collectible car?
Martin: Spending too much for a really good used car is the best investment you'll ever make. You can't make a $15,000 car into a $25,000 car by spending $10,000. We live in an era where there are lots of undamaged cars available, so why would you ever buy one that didn't have a clear CarFax? Manufacturers can now offer Certified Pre-Owned cars with a warranty because the cars are so good, they can back them like that.
When it comes to older modern cars, owning the SL has taught me how good 15-year-old cars are today. You want to look for one that's been collector-owned, that has a clean CarFax, and has up-to-date maintenance. I think you also want to connect on social media and on BringATrailer and see who really knows those cars, and ask their advice. I've found that eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace are all messy. I found an SL500 on Facebook Marketplace, and I asked about the car's condition. The seller said it was good, except for the salvage title, but she added, "for some extra money I could get you a different title." At each layer you drill down to a lower level of assurance, but maybe a better deal. It's like walking through the dark using your checkbook as a flashlight.