Tobby

Last November I bought my 2002 SL500 w/74000 miles. All services taken at MB in Germany, the car seemed to be in good shape.

Now 6 months and 60 miles later I have had the cars at the dealer several times and repaired the following:

Right rear strut
Left rear strut
ABC tandem pump
Right valve cover
Control unit for Keyless left door
Left door handle Keyless
Battery front
Left upper control arm
CD-changer
Left comfort seat

Most of the it covered by the warranty. But I'm starting to avoid using the car, it seems like something brakes down every time I use the car.

Is it common with so much issues with this cars, or is it me just been unlucky buying a car with to high milage? I really love this car, so I hope the problems will stop at some point

Rick SL55

If you stop using the SL then problems will appear.
Just drive it.

dorzohar

hi
more to come i have 2003 and the problem keep coming
this car have many issues . same as yours and many more.
shimon

Tobby

Rick: You got a point there. If a car is not in use, it's typical that problems shows up. So that itself is a problem, the SL is not a typical car for everyday use.

dorzohar: Sorry to hear that you have had so many problems with your car.

Now I hope somebody replies to this thread and tells that they haven't had any problem with their SL the last couple of years

IngenereAMG

I think it is dependent on each particular car, and if it has been taken care of and used.

I have had my '03 since new and it has been bullet proof. In 8+ years I have had to replace:

AC compressor
Tire pressure monitor sensors
IC pump

Tobby

Thank you for your reply IngenereAMG. I'm glad to hear that you have had so little problems with your car. Since '03 that's almost like zero problems.

You oftens hear from the people in forums who have problems, but you don't hear from the satisfied people so often. So you can get the impression that everyone have problems, but I don't think it is like that.

I think I have to use my car more regularly from now on after all the new parts are installed and hope for the best

Rick SL55

My 2005 SL55 is a daily driving car with an average of 2000 miles per month, however I do alternate every 6 weeks with my 930S.

mlandis

I bought my 2007 SL550 in 2009, with 3,500 miles on it. Since then, I've driven it about 85,000 miles in the past 2.5 years. (It's my only car -- no family, why drive anything else? )

In the past 2.5 years/85K, I've had the following replaced:

Oxygen sensor
Engine mounts (I drive pretty hard, no big surprise there)
AC compressor valve
Sub-pan gasket

For the mileage I've put on, and as hard as I've driven it, I'm pretty happy with the issue rate. I got the MB Extended Warranty, so it has all been covered. I love that warranty, kinda sad that I'll probably reach 100K in the next year or two.

Jim K

2009 SL550, 32K miles, no issues. I think the earlier years suffered from the overall decline in M-B quality which now appears to be rectified. We have a 2008 C350 that's been bulletproof. My 2001 CLK430 was fun to drive, but needed repairs that were fortunately covered by extended warranty.

Tobby

My SL finally won, after the roof suddenly decided to stop working I had enough. With so much trouble and no warranty I had no other choice than sell the car. It was like a never ending story for me.

I traded it with a 2006 S320 CDI. I hope this car is a little bit more gentle with me :-)

hhalimi

Bought a high mileage well maintained 2003 SL500 around 1.5 years ago, the previous owner paid probably more than the cost of the car in repairs including a new trans at 70k miles. It has been my daily driver without any problems for around 15k miles, except for the roof that will some time not close and probably needed adjustment and the driver side small window that will some times not close completely for the same reason. Called the dealer twice to fix it but it was kind of difficult to really get an appointment and I never got it fixed (this is a dealer close to work). I drove through standing water, when it rained heavily and the engine froze. It spend over a month in another MB dealer's shop and I had nothing but problems since. They changes the engine and than wanted me to change the ABC pump (it has been changed twice already) I declined, than they wanted me to change the ABC lining, becuae the were supposedly leaking and rusty, I declined and they were NOT leaking. When i got the car back, the transmission was overfield and leaking, spend one day in shop, and just when they give it back to me the ABC light came on, while still in shop. Turned on and off the engine and the light went off. The service manager at that time told me your struts needs to be replaced and this is why the light is on. Once at home I saw that some thing was leaking, the ABC reservoir cap opened under pressure, because it has been overfield by stealer and fluid went everywhere, another day at the dealer and after the level was corrected, no problems. They scratched the lower AMG style molding heavily in their shop as evident by grease and they wanted insurance to pay for it. I use to really enjoy driving it but now since it came back from repairs I am touching it with soft gloves as if some thing could break any time. No trust in dealer, I thing their service managers and also mechanics are paid incentives if more repairs are done and they are pushing customers into costly repairs. My ABS light came on along with three other warning messages just recently but I know that this is a 25$ faulty break switch, I was wondering what the dealer will blame it on. ABS pump? suspension? new breaks or what?
I have 2 advice for used german car owners without warranty.
1. Know a little about the car and it's problems before buying it, so stealers don't take you for a ride. If there is no waranty, they could be expensive to maintain.
2. Do the regular maintanence and stay away from dealer as much as possible.

Same is true for Doctors.
Take care of your body, do your regular check ups but other wise stay away from them for minor problems, because they could also be very expensive and potentially damaging if you give them a free ride.