Just to share my experience with you Starkiller, Having worked with a MB Authorized dealer for 4 years and then for another 2 years in a workshop that specializes in Continental cars as well, have serviced,repaired, diagnosed, and of course the very lucky privilege to drive both cars you mentioned. From my experience, the SL55 AMG is a great great car. Goes stupid fast in a straight line, not so good in the corners. The weight of the car at almost 2 tons really hampers the handling of the car. It is a great GT cruiser to take out with the roof down when the weather is nice :big grin:. Not to mention a relatively huge boot to boot (No pun intended), a golf bag will fit in there believe or not.
The thing to keep in mind with the SL55 AMG is the maintenance bro, not forgetting the RM13,699.00 road tax for the 5.5 litre V8 M113 engine yearly. 16 pieces of spark plugs (twin spark) every 3-4 years (Approx RM1K), a faulty Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC) (Easily RM4-5k) every 4-5 years or when shit happens, faulty Kompressor intercooler pump, a common failure for the M113 (RM2K), faulty ABC Suspension, if a front ABC strut goes kaput, prepare about RM10K per piece, if the ABC valve block goes kaput as well, another RM8K will be flying out from the window. At the end of the day, it's still a great car. Not to mention one of best standard V8 exhaust notes from factory! Pretty much everything else on the car like the engine, transmission and hardtop is bulletproof. It's the other stuff that rakes up the bills.
As for the Boxster, it's a pretty much solid car as a whole. Of course no where fast and exciting as the SL55 in a straight line, but it will deffinately outperform the Merc in the corners. A quick note on the PDK transmission tho, ain't cheap to repair as well. Common failure for the PDK is the valve body aka mechatronics and if I remembered correctly, costs RM14k. There are some cases if your luck really sucks, a complete transmission is needed if the thing cocks up. Wanna know how much a complete PDK costs?? Lets just say it can buy a brand new Toyota Camry from UMW Toyota. :big grin:
Just sharing my 2 cents, why not get a Cayman S Manual instead? I've driven one, the manual option is very very rare, and it was an absolute stonker to drive!
And since you have the budget as well, how bout an E92 M3? One of the best cars to come out from the ///M factory IMHO. But don't take my word for it bro, go and test drive all the cars you can before you buy. Happy shopping bro!
And yes you are a truly lucky bugger!