EdJohnson70

Hello,

I am new to the forum and this will be my first Mercedes. I am torn between a used 05 E500 or a 03 SL500. I live in San Diego and this will be my daily driver although I have a 4Runner to haul things. THe SL has more miles and less options but has the convertible, the wow factor and I can drive it all year round. The E500 is newer, lower miles and more options and is probably more practical. The SL500 has approximately 38,000 miles and is a few thousand more. The E500 has around 14,000 miles. Your thoughts.

Ed

PetePap

Sounds to me like you're leaning towards the E, or else you would have posted this in the 'SL' forum

DEFINITELY THE E MY MAN! I love the SL as well, but for an everyday practical driving car, the E is what you are looking for. The SL in my opinion is the weekend cruiser. Buy both!

KosherBenz

If I wasnt a real estate agent that needed a 4 door to show homes, Id take the SL.

GL wither way you go.

Vik888

Hi Ed,

We're in a somewhat similar situation. I have a 4Runner too, which is going to turn 13 in March '08 and I may retire her then.

So I'm between either a new E350/550 or a SL55 ...

The E is more practical, and I honestly will be careful with it, but to the point of paranoia as I will w/ the SL55 .. I mean a $70k car versus the SL55 which configured is almost $165k out the door.

The SL55 will get a lot more attention from the public and possibly negative attention and I often drive into bad parts of Los Angeles, and I couldn't really see myself driving there in the SL55, and my 4Runner is fairly unsafe by todays standards, so I dont really want to keep it after 2008.

Lastly, you do know the 2003 SL500 is notorious for all sorts of problems (being a 1st yr model in the US), and if the car is out of warranty, you might be looking at some *serious* maintenance bills on a yearly basis. It isn't a car that I would keep past warranty.

Things to keep in mind while driving the 4Runner around

Dema

I'd take SL. It looks better, it handles better, it runs faster, and convertible is nice to drive in not so hot weather.

55fanatic

I would lean towards the SL BUT I am too scared of buying any mercedes from 2003 to purchase that SL...

03 is the low point for Merc

ATS

It isn't that much faster.. SL500 and E500, same engine, transmission, only thing different is the weight.

I believe they have the same 0-100km times.

gl996tt

I can't take old 500 engine. Heavy acceleration. Don't know about you.

ATS

E500 - 5.8sec 0-60

E550 - 5.2sec 0-60

If this is "heavy" then you need to reset your adaptive accelerator.. Both cars are very fast.. The E500 is on par with W210 E55 AMG.

lig

Even though the design has been out there for a bit - the SL is still one of the better looking cars you can drive today.

Having said that - I would agree with the others and avoid an '03 like the plague.

My brother has a stunning '04 - Black/Black, lowered, 20" HREs, AMG exhaust and debadged. It's killer - but still not electronically bug free.

My whining about my '03 E has been well documented in this forum already.

ATS

As for the orginal question I would take the E, I think the SL looks complete only as an AMG. The E500/E550 looks like a great car and you can upgrade to the AMG and it looks amazing..

The SL looks as if they made the AMG and then they said, now this looks perfect, and then dumbed it down to make the SL500/SL550. The non-AMG doesn't look finished IMO.

georgedaman

The SL has longer doors ,seats are lower.I found it very uncomfortable get in and out of the car when it's parked in a parking lot.
.

fergml

Assuming that the previous owner of the '03 was diligent and corrected all/most of the issues while under warranty, then is there really an issue with buying a '03 in '07? It's the original owner of the '03s that suffered... at least that's what I'm betting on.

johnroden

I also live in San Diego and I have an E500 and an SL500, both 2004s. They are apples and oranges. I love both cars and they have been relatively trouble free but they are very different. If I have to do freeway driving, I usually drive the E as it's a better cruiser. If the weather is nice and I'm driving non-freeway, I usually take the SL.

We don't have kids so the 2 seater is fine; it will even carry 2 golf bags in the trunk.

It depends on your lifestyle. The SL definitely has the WOW factor even in La Jolla where there are lots of them.

You can't go wrong with either car although i would be careful about the 03 SL.

sklasse

SL all the way baby...

the best car ever

JRAMGV8

SL is like for a joy ride but either cars are great... IMO I would get the E-Class