Howdy gents! I am a new 2017 SL550 owner (actually, it is my 16-year-old son who purchased the car with our permission from the proceeds of his new AI startup company) who previously made a post here about three days ago which vanished. I don't think I did anything against the forum rules (maybe the moderators held it since I am new, ... not sure), ... so here goes attempt #2. (If I have overstepped some rule moderators, please send me a quick message and I will correct the post.) The SL550 has 34,000 miles on it and was driven by only one former owner, an older guy who took exceptional care of it. A PPI was performed and came back with no problems except needing new wiper blades (which were replaced).


(Day of purchase from Mercedes of Monterey! Extremely happy 16-year-old!)



(My son driving his new baby near our home in Carmel, CA)

A few questions we have for all the R231 experts are:

1 - There are two or three small paint nicks that we will have touched up. Any peculiarities that we should be aware of with respect to Mercedes paint jobs?
2 - Rarely, there appears to be a small amount of condensation in the left front headlight lenses. Can I caulk or reseal the lenses without removing the front bumper unit? (Fairly advanced mechanic skills but I have not worked on any Mercedes.)
3 - I have read so much on MBWorld about the ABC suspension problems. My son's SL550 has ABC and we would like to know what we should be looking for down the road with respect to failure? With the 2017 facelift models, were all the ABC problems finally worked out?
4 - The car did not come with the Magic Sky Control liquid crystal sunroof and I can't seem to find any replacements online. Can I purchase the MSC aftermarket? ... and if so, ... who do you recommend?
5 - A few of the driver side door and steering wheel buttons are losing their finish. I can replace the door ones easily but can I pop out the steering wheel ones or do I need to disassemble the front of the steering wheel?
6 - Down the road, we may have some tuning done to the car. Is Renntech the best?

Thanks for any help you might offer! - J

 

Very nice car. An ABC flush would be excellent preventative maintenance. Reading your post, I'm quite happy to hear the latest generation still appreciates these classics.

I haven't taken the SL steering wheel apart, but a similar vintage E350 has screws inside that hold the buttons in. You'll probably need to take off the air bag cover (middle horn) first, then you should be able to get to the button screws. As always, disconnect the battery when playing around an air bag.

 

Beautiful car! Congrats! Your son has great taste.

I can’t answer all of your questions, but will try on a few. First, go to www.lastvin.com and enter the car’s VIN. That will provide the data card (build sheet) for the car. It includes the paint code for touchup paint. The SL’s body is mostly aluminum, so rust is not a big problem. Use a magnet to identify which panels are steel. The problem with aluminum body panels is that door dings are not easily corrected and should be done by a professional body repair shop.

I have the condensation in my driver’s side headlight, as well. You may want to try putting a small packet of desiccant inside the housing rather than caulking anything.

Early ABC suspensions (i.e., previous generation R230) were problematic and expensive to repair. I believe the newer generation of ABC is much more reliable. Just check and follow the recommended maintenance.

Magic Sky Control is nice, but I doubt there are any aftermarket kits to replace what you have. Keep in mind that the roof with MSC is probably north of $35,000. Honestly, I keep mine dimmed all the time anyway and don’t notice it. Plus, with Mercedes, there are few things that are plug-n-play.

Something to be done, if it hasn’t already. The tranny fluid should be changed with the filter (drain and fill; not flush) every 75,000 miles or so OR every five years. If the previous owner was meticulous about maintenance, the tranny service may have been performed. Check with a Mercedes dealer and they may have a record of it.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

Just got together with a bunch of old friends yesterday and we told all the old car stories about growing up in the 80s. One theme we touched on was how lucky we were that the cars were not that fast, as there would surely not be as many of us around the table if there were.

A twin turbo SL550 is way way way way too much car for someone that young. Young men's brains are not fully developed at that age and they lack the wisdom to make great choices consistently.

Either your son is an anomaly and will drive it like an old lady, or the car is bound to hit things or maybe take an off road excursion.

Get rid of it now and get him something with a lot less power to learn on.

 

I agree with the ABC flush, but when you do it, you should also replace the accumulators, which are a part of the ABC system that fails most often.

 

Gents, I really appreciate the information!

@Chad500sl - Thanks for the helpful reminder on the battery! I am fortunate to be a fairly experienced mechanic but it is always good to be reminded!!!

@fun33 - Yep, I have been reading about the accumulators. Great tip! That will be my first stop over the Thanksgiving break. Much appreciated!

@TripleDown - Man, ... you are so right. When our son first mentioned his car ideas to us (back when he was 15), his mother and I looked at each other and then looked at him, ... "Nope, ... not gonna happen." Both of us were raised in families where we were not allowed to get our full driver's license until we turned 18 (id est, ... we both drove for almost two full years on a learner's permit with one of our parents always in the car with us). My father would always tell me that this was my, ... "apprenticeship." I remember vividly during one of our first driving lessons when he asked me, "What is a car?"
A bit perplexed, I looked back and answered sheepishly, "... A four wheeled method of transportation?"
He smiled, ... "Wrong, ... it is a four wheeled rolling coffin. And it can become your coffin, ... or the coffin of some cute girl next to you. Treat it like a potential coffin and you might be around years from now."
The first time I was allowed to drive solo was in April of my senior year and that was only four blocks to the grocery store, LOL. It was a big deal during the prom of my senior year when I got to drive my date in my parents car solo. Both of us finally began driving on our own when we went to university and we had planned the same for our son.
Day to day, our son drives an old Nissan Rogue inline four because as you rightly mentioned, he has no rear wheel experience and certainly no experience with a performance roadster. A small, front-wheel drive, four is exactly where he belongs. That said, and with no one wishing to hear about another's exploits, ... our son is not a kid we expected to have. When he was two-and-a-half-years-old, we would sometimes bring out little colored blocks to teach him the colors. Despite babbling at 5 months, walking at nine months, and using simple sentences at 11 months, ... he never seemed to get the idea of colors. It grew so bad that we thought he might be color blind and took him to see the opthamologist at two. Our son was not his usual talkative self during the appointment and strangely looked at all the medical accoutrements (we thought he might possibly be autistic) but nonetheless, the physician said, "I can't see anything out of the ordinary that would indicate damage to the eyes or retina. Optically, everything is in great shape. He seems quiet when it comes to color but without identified referral (self reporting), we won't know." We nodded politely as parents but were still worried that either he was color blind or possibly autistic (or both).
Over the next few months, we would occasionally pull out the colored wooden blocks and he would usually grow irritated. Finally, one day, about four or five months after the doctor's appointment, we were sitting at the dinner table with him in his high chair with the sunlight streaming in from our back patio. I pulled out the blocks because he seemed in good spirits and laid them out on the table. I asked him, "Can you point to the red one?" He looked at us angrily and said, "No!"
I kind of shook my head and put the blocks back in his LEGO tub. His mother told him that colors were an important part of life and that some colors can alert people to danger.
He looked at us irritated, "I know colors, ... see, ... red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet!" and then he pointed his finger at his water cup which was sitting on the table. We looked at the water cup and didn't see any colors. We turned to each other with a look of perplexity. My wife said, "There aren't any colors there cutie."
He pointed again, "Look deeper ... "
We looked at the water cup again and this time, we noticed that the cup was acting as a prism, and had taken the sunlight streaming in from the back patio glass doors and spread it out into a tiny rainbow on the table's surface about ten inches in front of the cup.
Needless to say, my wife broke out in tears and began sobbing.
When we looked back down at him, he repeated, "I knows color, ... now leave alone!" It was a pretty crazy moment, ... one of many that this wonderful person has introduced to our lives.
As the years passed it became apparent that he did not suffer from autism and that he could literally absorb information. In kindergarten, we introduced the violin to him and he took off with that like, ... well, ... a Mercedes roadster. We introduced computer programming to him in fourth grade and he took off with that like a missile as well. In eighth grade, he became determined to stop being skinny and to make the tryouts for JV football in ninth grade. (The one sport out of all high school sports we counseled him against because of concussion risk) It was pretty funny to see this rail thin kid lifting weights in the garage all the time. Fortunately, he did make the team as a wide receiver and then he became determined to become a self-sufficient millionaire before high school ended. He started up first an online clothing brand as a fourteen-year-old which failed miserably. At fifteen, he started up an online company to sell supplements, which did make some small money but it bothered his ethics, so he moved on to a company which uses AI modeling of the Black-Scholes equation to estimate derivative pricing.
When he started telling us about his ideas to own a roadster, our common refrain was, "If you produce the funds and display the maturity, we'll work with you." Needless to say, we never expected that he would actually generate the 50K needed to buy his own Mercedes. Our original plan was to turn over the beater Nissan to him in a few years.
So, in a manner too long-winded TripleDown, you can probably see that this kid is indeed that rare person who will quite probably drive the care responsibly and not gun it into a tree.
Time will tell, ... but I can say that my wife and I never expected a kid like this. Everyday, he brings something wonderful to our lives.

 

Gents, I really appreciate the information!

@Chad500sl - Thanks for the helpful reminder on the battery! I am fortunate to be a fairly experienced mechanic but it is always good to be reminded!!!

@fun33 - Yep, I have been reading about the accumulators. Great tip! That will be my first stop over the Thanksgiving break. Much appreciated!

@TripleDown - Man, ... you are so right. When our son first mentioned his car ideas to us (back when he was 15), his mother and I looked at each other and then looked at him, ... "Nope, ... not gonna happen." Both of us were raised in families where we were not allowed to get our full driver's license until we turned 18 (id est, ... we both drove for almost two full years on a learner's permit with one of our parents always in the car with us). My father would always tell me that this was my, ... "apprenticeship." I remember vividly during one of our first driving lessons when he asked me, "What is a car?"
A bit perplexed, I looked back and answered sheepishly, "... A four wheeled method of transportation?"
He smiled, ... "Wrong, ... it is a four wheeled rolling coffin. And it can become your coffin, ... or the coffin of some cute girl next to you. Treat it like a potential coffin and you might be around years from now."
The first time I was allowed to drive solo was in April of my senior year and that was only four blocks to the grocery store, LOL. It was a big deal during the prom of my senior year when I got to drive my date in my parents car solo. Both of us finally began driving on our own when we went to university and we had planned the same for our son.
Day to day, our son drives an old Nissan Rogue inline four because as you rightly mentioned, he has no rear wheel experience and certainly no experience with a performance roadster. A small, front-wheel drive, four is exactly where he belongs. That said, and with no one wishing to hear about another's exploits, ... our son is not a kid we expected to have. When he was two-and-a-half-years-old, we would sometimes bring out little colored blocks to teach him the colors. Despite babbling at 5 months, walking at nine months, and using simple sentences at 11 months, ... he never seemed to get the idea of colors. It grew so bad that we thought he might be color blind and took him to see the opthamologist at two. Our son was not his usual talkative self during the appointment and strangely looked at all the medical accoutrements (we thought he might possibly be autistic) but nonetheless, the physician said, "I can't see anything out of the ordinary that would indicate damage to the eyes or retina. Optically, everything is in great shape. He seems quiet when it comes to color but without identified referral (self reporting), we won't know." We nodded politely as parents but were still worried that either he was color blind or possibly autistic (or both).
Over the next few months, we would occasionally pull out the colored wooden blocks and he would usually grow irritated. Finally, one day, about four or five months after the doctor's appointment, we were sitting at the dinner table with him in his high chair with the sunlight streaming in from our back patio. I pulled out the blocks because he seemed in good spirits and laid them out on the table. I asked him, "Can you point to the red one?" He looked at us angrily and said, "No!"
I kind of shook my head and put the blocks back in his LEGO tub. His mother told him that colors were an important part of life and that some colors can alert people to danger.
He looked at us irritated, "I know colors, ... see, ... red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet!" and then he pointed his finger at his water cup which was sitting on the table. We looked at the water cup and didn't see any colors. We turned to each other with a look of perplexity. My wife said, "There aren't any colors there cutie."
He pointed again, "Look deeper ... "
We looked at the water cup again and this time, we noticed that the cup was acting as a prism, and had taken the sunlight streaming in from the back patio glass doors and spread it out into a tiny rainbow on the table's surface about ten inches in front of the cup.
Needless to say, my wife broke out in tears and began sobbing.
When we looked back down at him, he repeated, "I knows color, ... now leave alone!" It was a pretty crazy moment, .... one of many that this wonderful person has introduced to our lives.
As the years passed it became apparent that he did not suffer from autism and that he could literally absorb information. In kindergarten, we introduced the violin to him and he took off with that like, ... well, ... a Mercedes roadster. We introduced computer programming to him in fourth grade and he took off with that like a missile as well. In eighth grade, he became determined to stop being skinny and to make the tryouts for JV football in ninth grade. (The one sport out of all high school sports we counseled him against because of concussion risk) It was pretty funny to see this rail thin kid lifting weights in the garage all the time. Fortunately, he did make the team as a wide receiver and then he became determined to become a self-sufficient millionaire before high school ended. He started up first an online clothing brand as a fourteen-year-old which failed miserably. At fifteen, he started up an online company to sell supplements, which did make some small money but it bothered his ethics, so he moved on to a company which uses AI modeling of the Black-Scholes equation to estimate derivative pricing.
When he started telling us about his ideas to own a roadster, our common refrain was, "If you produce the funds and display the maturity, we'll work with you." Needless to say, we never expected that he would actually generate the 50K needed to buy his own Mercedes. Our original plan was to turn over the beater Nissan to him in a few years.
So, in a manner too long-winded TripleDown, you can probably see that this kid is indeed that rare person who will quite probably drive the care responsibly and not gun it into a tree.
Time will tell, ... but I can say that my wife and I never expected a kid like this. Everyday, he brings something wonderful to our lives.

 

Gents, I really appreciate the information!

@Chad500sl - Thanks for the helpful reminder on the battery! I am fortunate to be a fairly experienced mechanic but it is always good to be reminded!!!

@fun33 - Yep, I have been reading about the accumulators. Great tip! That will be my first stop over the Thanksgiving break. Much appreciated!

@TripleDown - Man, ... you are so right. When our son first mentioned his car ideas to us (back when he was 15), his mother and I looked at each other and then looked at him, ... "Nope, ... not gonna happen." Both of us were raised in families where we were not allowed to get our full driver's license until we turned 18 (id est, ... we both drove for almost two full years on a learner's permit with one of our parents always in the car with us). My father would always tell me that this was my, ... "apprenticeship." I remember vividly during one of our first driving lessons when he asked me, "What is a car?"
A bit perplexed, I looked back and answered sheepishly, "... A four wheeled method of transportation?"
He smiled, ... "Wrong, ... it is a four wheeled rolling coffin. And it can become your coffin, ... or the coffin of some cute girl next to you. Treat it like a potential coffin and you might be around years from now."
The first time I was allowed to drive solo was in April of my senior year and that was only four blocks to the grocery store, LOL. It was a big deal during the prom of my senior year when I got to drive my date in my parents car solo. Both of us finally began driving on our own when we went to university and we had planned the same for our son.
Day to day, our son drives an old Nissan Rogue inline four because as you rightly mentioned, he has no rear wheel experience and certainly no experience with a performance roadster. A small, front-wheel drive, four is exactly where he belongs. That said, and with no one wishing to hear about another's exploits, ... our son is not a kid we expected to have. When he was two-and-a-half-years-old, we would sometimes bring out little colored blocks to teach him the colors. Despite babbling at 5 months, walking at nine months, and using simple sentences at 11 months, ... he never seemed to get the idea of colors. It grew so bad that we thought he might be color blind and took him to see the opthamologist at two. Our son was not his usual talkative self during the appointment and strangely looked at all the medical accoutrements (we thought he might possibly be autistic) but nonetheless, the physician said, "I can't see anything out of the ordinary that would indicate damage to the eyes or retina. Optically, everything is in great shape. He seems quiet when it comes to color but without identified referral (self reporting), we won't know." We nodded politely as parents but were still worried that either he was color blind or possibly autistic (or both).
Over the next few months, we would occasionally pull out the colored wooden blocks and he would usually grow irritated. Finally, one day, about four or five months after the doctor's appointment, we were sitting at the dinner table with him in his high chair with the sunlight streaming in from our back patio. I pulled out the blocks because he seemed in good spirits and laid them out on the table. I asked him, "Can you point to the red one?" He looked at us angrily and said, "No!"
I kind of shook my head and put the blocks back in his LEGO tub. His mother told him that colors were an important part of life and that some colors can alert people to danger.
He looked at us irritated, "I know colors, ... see, ... red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet!" and then he pointed his finger at his water cup which was sitting on the table. We looked at the water cup and didn't see any colors. We turned to each other with a look of perplexity. My wife said, "There aren't any colors there cutie."
He pointed again, "Look deeper ... "
We looked at the water cup again and this time, we noticed that the cup was acting as a prism, and had taken the sunlight streaming in from the back patio glass doors and spread it out into a tiny rainbow on the table's surface about ten inches in front of the cup.
Needless to say, my wife broke out in tears and began sobbing.
When we looked back down at him, he repeated, "I knows color, ... now leave alone!" It was a pretty crazy moment, ... one of many that this wonderful person has introduced to our lives.
As the years passed it became apparent that he did not suffer from autism and that he could absorb information at an astonishing rate. In kindergarten, we introduced the violin to him and he took off with that like, ... well, ... a Mercedes roadster. We introduced computer programming to him in fourth grade and he took off with that like a missile as well. In eighth grade, he became determined to stop being skinny and to make the tryouts for JV football in ninth grade. (The one sport out of all high school sports we counseled him against because of concussion risk) It was pretty funny to see this rail thin kid lifting weights in the garage all the time. Fortunately, he did make the team as a wide receiver and then he became determined to become a self-sufficient millionaire before high school ended. He started up first an online clothing brand as a fourteen-year-old which failed miserably. At fifteen, he started up an online company to sell supplements, which did make some small money but it bothered his ethics, so he moved on to a company which uses AI modeling of the Black-Scholes equation to estimate derivative pricing.
When he started telling us about his ideas to own a roadster, our common refrain was, "If you produce the funds and display the maturity, we'll work with you." Needless to say, we never expected that he would actually generate the 50K needed to buy his own Mercedes. Our original plan was to turn over the beater Nissan to him in a few years.
So, in a manner too long-winded TripleDown, you can probably see that this kid is indeed that rare person who will quite probably drive the care responsibly and not gun it into a tree.
Time will tell, ... but I can say that my wife and I never expected a kid like this. Everyday, he brings something wonderful to our lives.

 

Congrats and welcome also to R231 club! Sounds like you've raised a good one and would only remind him to be extra cautious in less than ideal conditions! We're going on days of rain here and witnessed numerous cars that lost control and got into accidents... decades ago, lost control in a RWD car in rainy conditions and that suspension was never the same again!

Anyway, while definitely not an expert, I've also done my share of research here and elsewhere to try learn as much as I could about these cars. Some thoughts below:

1) From your original post, I was going to ask about the paint color. Since you posted photos, depending on if it's 040 Black or 197 Obsidian Black might impact how easy it is to do the touchups yourself... I stayed away for the 799 Diamond White as it's apparently a very difficult paint to match exactly. I almost bought a 992 Selenenite Gray that had a clean carfax... but my body shop guy pointed out that nearly the entire car had been repainted at some point and that the door didn't even match the rest of the panels... once pointed out, couldn't unsee that and passed on it!
2) My understanding is that the headlights are vented and mine also had condensation inside when I first saw it... apparently the dealer had pressure washed the engine bay and all that moisture ended up in the headlight... fortunately, it did dissipate and so far so good.
3) ABC was more a R230 problem. The R231s are better (but rarer as most cars were sold without). I almost purchased a 2017 SL63 but PPI uncovered a bunch of issues including a leaking ABC strut but parts are available to repair (though costly) if things fail.
4) There was a post recently about trying to find replacement roof parts (https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...portion-f.html). I doubt a new one is available... would likely need to find a salvage part. Personally, I just tinted the sunroof to reduce heat and UV entering the cabin and will likely drive with top down most of the time when weather permits!
5) I also just discovered one of my steering wheel buttons bubbled up... I had the dealer replace the door ones before purchase. I am also trying to figure out if I can pop off the steering wheel buttons without disassembly... I will probably tackle it in about 2 weeks when I have some time!
6) Given how many people say the 450 has more than enough power, and these car already have so much power that I barely ever press the accelerator down more than like an 1/8"... no plans to tune...

As others have said, make sure maintenance is up to date. Other than oil/filter, most other services are on a 2/3/5 year (20K/30K/50K) schedule and a 2017 with 34K miles should have had services completed based on time versus miles.

Enjoy!

 

Your 16 year old has a hard top convertible, unless I am sadly mistaken.
A convertible is perfect for top down driving year round in the climate around Monterey.
With the top down, you now have an authentic real, and actual sky to enjoy.
No need for that magic sky feature if you have the real one available.

 

Great information ASM777! We were fairly fortunate that the original owner got most of the options one could back in early 2017 (the Driver Assist package, the Designo leather interior, ABC, etc .... ) except the Magic Sky Control roof and ceramic brake options. I would have liked to have the vario roof but not if it costs some crazy figure to install Fortunately, I do a s*** ton of customization to almost anything I own. This may hurt viewer's eyes, but as an example, here is the first decent mountain bike I ever owned (which I restored in the fall of 2024 to modern standards):



I am also in the middle of restoring and resto modding the first car I ever owned, ... a 1968 Chevy Camaro SS with the 396 engine. One of our first projects with the SL550 will be to add some custom mods. I am thinking a chromed boot lip spoiler, some lettering on the side, and custom (possibly aluminum) side skirt foot plates (chromed probably). Playing around with ideas in Fusion 360 and Bender.

 

Congrats to him! Beautiful SL! Very rare to see a R231 with ABC. That alone is an accomplishment. Flush the ABC fluid 100%. Since there are so few R231’s with ABC there will not be many post here about it. the system is amazing as I have it on my CL600. The system needs to be upkept. The system will fail eventually so keep that in mind and do not think much when it does. Fix it and move on back to enjoyment.
I personally change all the fluids in abused car I buy regardless of how well the previous owner kept it unless I have records to prove it.

 

@JayHall0315 which Headshock insert does your Cannondale use? I have a hardtail Cannondale that I probably haven’t ridden for 20 years. The trails near me are very technical with lots of big rocks, tree trunks, hills, etc. After breaking some bones and skinning knees and elbows, I decided I didn’t want to spend my golden years in a wheelchair with back problems. I have both the pneumatic and non-pneumatic inserts. Not sure of their condition any more.

 

My old Raven uses a Super Fatty Ultra DL (released about 2005 or so) that came with 80 mm of travel but I custom machined it for an extra 10 mm to 90 mm total. I have two very recent mountain bikes in my garage (a Specialized and a Santa Cruz ... both four bar suspensions (Horst Link)) but still find myself riding my old Cannondale at least a few times each month on trails around Carmel, Big Sur, and Fort Ord. As to the SL550, some immediate changes that are coming in the next two weeks or so:

1 - The run flats are coming off this weekend and four new regular tires are going on. The ride is okay but a bit harsh in places with the run flats. Looking forward to regular tires.
2 - Already ordered the Airman tire repair kit you mentioned, GTI Black.
3 - Ordering the scanner you recommended as well!
4 - Already received new buttons for the driver side door and the steering wheel. I will make an installation post in the days ahead. Got to make sure my nose is not broken by an exploding airbag

Also, a big shout out to GTI Black who has been communicating with me behind the scenes. Quality individual who has provided me with a wealth of information about the R231 models. It is thanks to guys like him that I continue to remain a glass half full type of guy with respect to humanity

 

(For this post, you will have to excuse my crappy Photoshop skills, ... apologies.)

So my son and I are already looking at a series of mods that we can do to the SL 550 and yet retain that classic grand tourer and "gentleman's convertible" that we like so much. No weird muffle mods, decals, or abominations for us, but something that brings out the lines of the car just that much more. As such, we are looking at the chrome pieces of the 2017 AMG SL 65:



There are several things we like about the look of the SL 65 that just give it that extra oomph, ... but without crossing the line into gauche or tackiness. The chrome trim on the front, the side skirts, and the rear along with the chrome lettering on the sides. In comparison, here is my son's car at the moment:



Classy looking but we are thinking of "AMGizing" it a bit. So, ... apologies for the crappy Photoshop, ... but perhaps something like this:



We are playing around with ideas in Fusion 360, Blender, Paint, and Photoshop. The 2017 AMG SL 63 has a wrap around, boot lip spoiler that is not our particular style but the 2017 AMG SL 65 has a very nice, smaller, boot lip spoiler that perfectly complements the rear lines. We are thinking of using the same spoiler but making it entirely chromed. Playing with ideas at the moment ... but we are likely to take some elements of the 2017 AMG SL 65 as inspiration in the months ahead. One thing I can say is that it seems we will be doing a series of mods to the car. Stay tuned .....

 

The Carbon Ceramic Brake option was not available on the SL550. You had to jump to the SL63 or SL65 before you could get them. I have the lowly SL450–which is WAY faster & WAY quicker than I will ever want or need—and I had the CCB’s retrofitted to my car. They are VERY expensive—probably in the $20K area these days—but they bolt right on. I put them on because they produce zero brake dust, which was of great interest to me, as I am a “clean freak” about my SL. I also think they look nice.

Wishing your son many thousands of safe, happy, responsible miles in his beautiful car.

 

@Streamliner so you’re keeping your car?

 

For the past two years, I have only driven the car every week or so, enough to get it up to temperature, to keep the juices flowing and when I take it for servicing. I would very much like to find a new home for it, but I refuse to sell it for the price of a new C Class. One day, I will find someone who would love to order a brand new one, just like mine. He or she will probably truly dislike the current SL's as I do. They will appreciate the CCB, the forged wheels and love the color combination. At that point, we will probably come to terms on a price. Until I find that unique person, I'll keep her.

 

Guys, I am posting and responding to everyone but nothing is showing up. Not sure if this is an AI filter or what is going on but truly frustrating. This post is a test post.

 

I got an email with your response JayHall0315, but when I came to the site, your posting was not there.

 

Guys, please realize I am having real trouble at the moment getting past this AI spam filter. Thanks to Jeremy, an admin, some posts got restored but I am responding, ... it is just that those posts are not showing up. It may be because I am also a new guy. Working to get it resolved ....

 

Streamliner, thank you for making the post about your brake system! For ourselves, we are not sure what we are going to do but I am considering perhaps a full Brembo system with upgraded rotors, calipers, pads, and stainless steel lines. Something along the lines of:


(C220d with Brembo)

I can buy everything we need for $2000 to $9000 and end up with a better brake system than the AMG SL 63 or SL 65 models (... I think), ... and without paying the "AMG tax" so to speak. As my son and I begin to dive more into the world of Mercedes, I am finding that for every official part, someone often makes a high quality non-official part that is 1/2 to 1/3 the price with more features. Some OE parts like the spark plugs are needed but plenty of other stuff just seems like excessive cost. Not sure yet, ... still learning.

 

@JayHall0315 @GTIBlack Care to share more about the bolded items above? Will be looking forward to post about the steering wheel buttons in particular!

On related note to tire repair kit... would anyone have any recommendations for a jack to keep in the car? (might be something that you're also considering since you're taking the run flats off!)

 

With respect to the bolded items above ASM777, here is the (great) info that GTIBlack passed onto me:

1 - The Airman tire repair kit:
2 - The scanner: https://kingbolentool.com/products/l...c-tool-scanner

3 - The new buttons my son ordered from Ebay for both the driver's door and the steering wheel.

4 - I will be purchasing a decent jack in the next few weeks. Once I have a quality unit that fits in the under-trunk, I will post a link.

As to the steering wheel buttons, I will post a step by step guide here (and may make a new thread to go with the driver side buttons repair thread that is already up). That will be coming in the days ahead during Thanksgiving break.

 

This is what I have as a jack. A bottle jack is too tall to get under the car. I use it only to change wheels and never to support the car to do anything else.




https://a.co/d/gFHmEmC