shoes

Maybe this is going to shock you all. Not only do I love my SL600, but I love my dealer and I love Mercedes corporate.

My dealer treats me like visiting royalty. The service department will do anything to make me happy. They make little additions to my vehicle at no cost to me (like a wood shifter or satellite radio). They send someone to my house to pick up my car when a repair is needed. They are always interested and responsive to my issues and concerns. They help me arrange special trips (for example, I picked up one of the very first 2003 SL500's in April, 2002, my birthday, at the factory in Sindelfingen).

Also, I have had numerous conversations with corporate people in New Jersey and Stuttgart regarding my cars and wants. I have been taken to dinner more than once by AMG people while I visited in Germany. I have received perhaps a dozen gifts from the AMG folks over the years sent to me from Germany. I have received special behind the scenes tours at AMG. I have driven cars well before their release dates.

Mercedes and AMG have done more for me than any other car company. I cannot convince companies like BMW to even paint a car the color I want. I visited Aston Martin last year, but it was pulling teeth to arrange this and when I was there, they would let me sit in a DB9 but not drive it (I found this particularly frustrating). Sure, they were polite and have a lovely building, but half my closet is filled with free gifts from Mercedes and all I got from Aston was a lousy little cap.

I cannot say enough good things about Mercedes, but since I am certain to be boring you all to death by now, I will shut up.

vkapoormd

I think most people's gripes withe MB is largely due to their specific dealer. Like you Shoes, I have been treated well by my dealership - when i had a brake problem, they drove to my home, picked up my car and dropped off a loaner - no questions asked. If MB could consistently provide good customer car like this, i think some would be a little happier, even as they were having problems with their car. Regardless, I love my SL very much...

david_101

you haven't bored me in the least.

david_101

my favorite dealership has treated me generally quite well.

as did your dealership, they've picked up and dropped off my cars. they've offered to do so many more times than i've accepted. they even delivered my most recent car to me at a restaurant in the middle of the city.

the little courtesies and conveniences are very satisfying, but the prepetual so-called issues are overwhelmingly irritating.

i cannot count the hours of what should have been productive time that were lost to unanticipated services.

so, in my case, discontent comes less from administrative inconsistencies than from product failures.

consider what would happen to a web-based merchant with continual service interruptions. surely, you know.

consider what would happen to someone in an area requiring personal transportation and dependent upon particular vehicles that were relatively unreliable. surely, you know.

the problem is that people expect MBs to be reliable, but every recent reliability rating demonstrates clearly that they are not.

i love my car. but love is not enough. how many people wish to have a relationship continually needing therapy to keep it alive?

if MB corporate were able to demonstrate an improving reliability trend, then i think there'd be far less frustrated criticism posted herein.

03SilverSL

My life took a turn for the better the day I swapped my unreliable SL500 for an '05 911. I no longer have the stress of dealing with an expensive car that doesn't run the way it was designed to run. I no longer have to explain to my friends and colleague what that rattle is coming from the undercarriage, or from the top mechanism, or worse, why the car is in the shop again.

I now have 2,100 miles on the new Carrera, and I haven't one rattle, malfunction, leak, or recall -- no complaints. The old SL (a new '03) was back to the dealer four times in the first 1,600 miles, and it only got worse by the time I traded 18 months later.

Reliability is terrible with Mercedes, and it's my opinion that a 100K car should be near perfect. You know the folks at MBUSA read this forum, and they should learn from our remarks -- happy and unhappy comments -- so they can one day fix their serious issues with their cars.

david_101

is road noice more noticeable in your '05 911 than it was in your '03 SL?

03SilverSL

Of course the SL was quieter -- they are two completely different cars. One is a sports car and one is a roadster. I got a six speed in the Porsche for that reason. There I things I can do in the Porsche I couldn't do in the SL, and there are things I miss about the SL. I am addressing the reliability issue.

david_101

yes, i understood the original context of your post.

i just wanted to learn your experience with the car because we'd considered it previously and decided against it partially because it was less quiet than hoped.

thanks.

03SilverSL

Sorry, David.

The SL was quieter, mostly because the engine is directly behind me in the 911. It's a coupe, and there isn't any wind noise from the windows. I got the standard 18s, and I don't notice unusually loud road noise when the windows are lowered. Conversations do need to be a bit louder on the freeway due to the engine noise as opposed to the road.

david_101

my GF needed a daily driver that would be at least a bit fun.

she decided against an MB SL because experience with her CLK, her father's CLK and my CLKs, and conclusions from reliability ratings, led her to believe MB reliability would be a gamble she'd rather avoid. unanticipated service time is something she cannot afford.

she chose a lexus sc430 mainly for reliability...because it's difficult to justify it for any other reason. <;-)

if i can be reasonably sure that an SL will be reliable, then i'll seriously consider surprising her with one. i just don't like the lexus, and i know she didn't want it but for the reputation of reliability.

so, i'm on the SL boards learning as much as i can from the experiences of the posters.

thanks again!

david

briansyphard

I traded my 2001 M3 Convertible for a 2004 SC430 about one year ago mostly for the appeal my wife had for the Lexus. The radio and interior materials were fabulous, but the smiles end there. I put 14K miles on the SC in 8 months and never could warm to the suspension, but my dad and wife loved the car. I traded the vehicle for an SL55 and have never looked back. The SC interior was finished in much nicer leather than the 55 and even the SL600's Exclusive leather is only comparable. The bottom line is the torque of the SL55 has corrupted me. Every time I crack the throttle I smile and that is what is important to me. Reliabilty has been great, although my car seems abnormal. I do not know if the SL500 would be a "don't look back decision", but any of the SL's with 450+ HP/Torque will. Those engines are like the auto equivilant of 36DD's. In conclusion, I preferred the M3 over the SC, but never compared either against an SL500. The SL was the only car of the three I visit in the garage. M3 value held up the best of the three.

david_101

thank you for expressing some of my thoughts about the sc430 for me.

in addition to the bewildering suspension, there is the steering that leaves me wondering whether i've made the right decisions, and blindspots that have caused us both to twist our necks twice before changing lanes.

the finish materials are quite nice, but we've found the seating far less comfortable than MB's multifunction seats.

the trunk requires a fairly stern slamming to latch. we've learned the hard way when twice security here has diligently come to our door to inform us that the car's lights were on. the first time, i discovered the lights remain on if the trunk isn't positively latched. but i couldn't find any other notification when first looking in through the driver's window. (of course, it was bedtime, i might not have been as attentive as i should have been.)

overall, the car just doesn't feel nearly as solid and connected as my CLK55 and as SLs tested.

as far as deciding between SL500 and SL55 for my GF, i'd firmly choose 300+ horses over 450+ horses, much to her chagrin. i doubt she'd complain...much. she's already got the 450+ horse equivalent, but doesn't yet have the SL. LOL.

thanks!

DaCeptak0n

Oh boo hoo, "making fun of mySL600, no complaints please." C'mon guys, stop showing off your SL6's...haha!

S-Clusiv

Nailed RIGHT on the head..GREAT post