shaon.deb

I'm looking to make my first independent car purchase with a budget of CAD $30,000 or below. I absolutely adore both of these cars however I'm having a tough time choosing between the two. I'm looking for advice on everything from what sort of maintenence costs I'll be looking at to common issues and failures as well as how much prestige either car still carries and of course; panty dropping appeal. I'm also open to suggestions to alternative vehicles at a similar price point. Any input whatsoever will be much appreciated.

alx

you should really really really... read this thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...irst-gear.html

Mike5215

I think with the SL you can safely assume the sort of reliability and repair expense of the S, then add in the complexity of the power hard top. If you don't need the room, the SL is the sexier car and more fun to drive. I wouldn't own either one however without a decent warranty. In terms of predicting exactly what will fail or need attention, it's a total crap shoot, but odds are you can expect at least a couple grand a year in unanticipated repair costs on a mid-mileage (40-60k) car and that can go up exponentially in the higher mileage cars.

Mike5215

Well, unless you happen to have the OP's exact transmission failure and fault codes, it probably won't help you. That thread is a very dry, highly technical dissertation on transmission diagnosis and DIY repairs. I can barely get through it without falling asleep.

snovvman

+++++++1

Some random thoughts:

1) If you depend on your car to get panties to drop, you're going about it entirely the wrong way.

2) If you're overextending so that you can achieve whatever prestige you perceive about yourself (or how others to perceive you), you're going about it the wrong way.

If there is anything to be learned, the budget analysis of an S (or any Benz, or other highline cars) is that you must factor not only the entry cost, but the maintenance cost. Think of it as capital expenditure and operational expenditure.

$30K CAD in today's FX rate is about $24K U.S. You have to consider tax, title, insurance, and about $2K each year or more for repairs. All of a sudden, the car that is in your budget is about $20K U.S. A Benz does not get to that price point for no reason. It is older, high miles, or there is something else wrong with it. This = money to keep it running.

If you are then having to divert all your money to keep it running, how do you think those panties would feel?

My advice is that you make some practical decisions about what you can afford and understand your risks.

snovvman

1bad540

are you guys implying that a 20k sl will not drop panties... with a half stuck open top?

Mike5215

Yes, but only to the knees.

alx

i think i blew some coffee through my nostrils. it hurt.

i guess the silver lining is that i still have good compression and seals thus it didnt come out of other unexpected places.

now, on a more serious note an r230 sl is not even in the same galaxy when it comes to potential problems compared to the w221. forget the hardtop (all it does is it blows the pump every now and then) - i have one word for you (or three?) - abc

1bad540

you know a lot of times that's all you need...

Mike5215

I may not be up on all my R230 info, but doesn't it use the 5.0 liter V8 and tranny from the W220? I know it shares a COMAND system and seats (at least seat bottoms) with the 220 as well, and a lot of switchgear. And it has ABC standard, where the 220 (and 221) can also have ABC but more commonly get Airmatic. I kind of consider both ABC and Airmatic to similar in terms of reliability (none) and repair costs (high).

Mike5215

Just caught this...

Does that mean your parents have bought you your cars up until now? You're not remotely close to being in the market for the SL or S550, guy. These are cars for older dudes with means. Unless you want to spend the next few years feeling like you're driving your Dad's car.

I just bought my kid a 2015 Scion FRS with a manual 6 speed. I think it was mid 20k's and we put another couple grand in wheels and a stereo. It's a blast. That's the kind of car you should be looking for...same money but with a full warranty.

alx

i have (among other benzes) an sl65. have had it for few years

think of airmatic as lego duplo

think of abc as lego technic

yeah, i have kids lol...

Mike5215

Interesting. I love the R230s. I was actually on AutoTrader last night ogling 05-08's because I plan on making one my next DD. One thing I can't sort out is the 09 facelift. Is that still the R230 with the Bose audio? It looks like a completely different car.

alx

07 is the last of the pre-facelifted r230s.

the 08+ have different front and rear fascias, but are still identical more or less mechanically.

the 55 and 65 cars have their distinct problems, but abc issues are common across the platform.

Mike5215

Would you put an SL 500 on par with a W220 with ABC from that era?

PaulE550

An excellent post if SHAON.DEB is wise enough to heed the advice. There's a lot more to owning any high end vehicle than merely the initial purchase price. Especially when you're talking about an older vehicle that probably has significant mileage on it. You definitely have to budget for the ongoing maintenance and repair costs, even if it has an extended warranty. Only buy what you can afford to actually maintain over time.


I'm relatively new to this site, but I see an awful lot of threads on this site involving people purchasing older vehicles and then being surprised that they're suddenly looking at expensive repairs that are beyond anything they have appeared to budget for. All cars eventually break down, especially older high performance cars that were probably driven hard by their previous owners. After all, that's how they were designed to be driven. Isn't any of this being factored in when people are looking at picking up a vehicle they can apparently barely afford price wise?

Mike5215

Short answer is no. Imagine you're on a used car lot shopping 25k cars and you see a W221. Your gut instinct is that you can't afford a car that nice. Then they tell you the price so you take it out. It's in great shape and rides better than anything you've driven before. You know nothing about the car but it seems like an amazing deal compared to what else the money will buy you. Only after you get it home and the adrenalin wears off do you decide to Google it, and then the horror sets in.

MBNUT1

2003-2006 are the same with the 5.0 liter engines. 2007-2008 are an ever so slight change with the 5.5 liter. The 2009-2012 have the 5.5 with the facelift. 2013- different chassis

carcommander

You either pay depreciation or repair bills. I own an 07 S550 and a 09 SL65. If you can afford one new and choose to buy a used one because you think repair costs will be less than depreciation, fine. But have 10k that you can spend on repairs. You may be lucky but if your not. My experience is that women rarely car about cars. Spend money on nice sheets, good restaurants and music.

mnje350

My God. . .

That's exactly what happend to me! Except add 20 large to that. I was in the market for a new E class but test drove the used S. That's all she wrote. I bought a MY '11 with 40k miles. But I did buy the CPO with an extra year of warranty and 2 more years after that. Time will tell how this works out. Must admit, I still can't stop looking at the car and really have never driven anything else that comes close. So far, nothing has broken yet.

Mike5215

Yeah, well I speak from experience. I had an appointment to get my 05 GTO appraised, planning to order a new 07 CTS . When I got to the Caddy dealer (a very small Caddy dealer) I was told by the sole sales guy, who was reading a newspaper in a dead quiet showroom, "my" sales guy was off for the day. No problem, I'll work a deal with him instead. Nope. Have to come back on Monday.

I drove directly to the MB store to test drive a new C Class, which was sort of in the same vein as the CTS. I got about a quarter mile down the road and told the sales guy I hated it. He asked why, and I said it didn't feel like anything special, and a Benz should feel special. We drove back and he had me pull around behind the dealership to a fenced impound lot, and we stopped at a very dirty black 2005 S500 AMG Sport with 40k miles for $42k. It was a lease turn in and hadn't been touched, or given much love.

I took it out and had a ****eating grin the whole time. I actually bought the car on the spot and left it there to get certified. They gave me a used S430 to drive in the meantime, and then on the way home I realized I'd never really cleared the deal with my wife, who was out of town for the day.

It worked out, because she finally started speaking to me three days later, right when the car was ready to be picked up. Then we took it on a 1200 mile shake-out road trip and I was officially forgiven. The CPO (also went the full three years, but mileage back then capped at 100k) saved my *** on that car. It had $13k in warranty repairs but I loved it so much I kept it past the CPO and at 103k it ate a $6000 transmission on my dime.

I've had two S Class since then, a 430 on a 3rd party warranty and my current CPO 2010. My advice is to always go CPO for the full term as you have, and despite how attached you'll be, walk away when the CPO expires.

Nickthegreek

I agree, a used mercedes carries alot of risk and liability in hidden future costs and repairs. If you have no knowledge of doing your own car repairs and only have just enough money to pay for the mercedes, then run away from it because you need to be able to pay for the car and have a lot more left for repairs.

I chose to gamble and not get a CPO but because I did some homework, used my SDS to do a scan on my car (dealer wasn't too happy lol ), and repairing cars is a hobby/passion of mine. I have done repairs on prior mercedes benz cars like my 03 E320 and 07 ML350 So I chose to forfeit a warranty. The look on the dealer's face was priceless when I told him that. With that said it still isnt cheap even for a DIYer compared to other cars but still cheaper than a warranty but even then Im still taking a gamble if lets say my transmission goes on me. Parts are expensive for a mercedes benz. So know what you are getting into and do alot of homework.

shaon.deb

@mike5215 @snovvman @paule550 @carcommander @nickthegreek @alx
Hey everyone, thanks so much for your advice and feed back.

To start with, I'd just like to clarify that the panty dropping bit was just a bit of humour, keep things light and all that good stuff.

I appreciate the advice on finances and have been lurking on here for quite a while so I've seen the horror stories about audacious repair prices and the sort. The reason I've come up with the budget I have is after factoring in what I can pay for all the other expenses that go on top of the purchase price of the car. In addition to this, I'm no stranger to older luxury car repair costs as I currently own an 06 bmw x5 and have dealt with the host of electronic, suspension and engine (vanos system) problems that it comes packaged with.
Those were easily manageable with my current income. I'm not saying I'm well to do, seeing as I'm still a student and not nearly "a man with means" as @snovvman put it. However the overall budgetting both initial and long term are feasible, I was just looking for approximate amounts of either.

I was hoping for a clearer side by side comparison of the two and just general opinions of how you feel about either car. I realize they're hugely different vehicles and it's like comparing apples to oranges, but given the choice, which would you choose and why?

Nickthegreek

Personally I'd stay away from the SL550 especially if it has no warranty. Parts for ABC components alone are in the 1000's. The pump is like 3 grand new genuine mercedes. An airmatic pump for a S550 is 500 from the dealer (not including labor)