03c4s

Thank you in advance for the help, i am considering purchasing
an 03-05 SL500, can i get your inputs on reliability on the different years and what your thoughts are in price ranges.

Thanks for the help and advice, much appreciated, I'm located in San Diego.

johnny5

03 to current has its little flaws here and there. Just make sure if you can get warranty with it than your all good. If not at least make sure its up to par and than try to get extended with someone else. There has been talk about this before so do a search.

I have an 03 and so far nothing has given me any problems....knock on wood. Just got to make sure you keep up to date with all services and maintain it well. Oh wait I take it back I had a Command issue that I ended up fixing myself.

Price wise here in Cali your looking around $50k- $55k. You may be able to get it lower but you really have to hunt for it. Now if your looking to buy an out of state car than you can find them under $50k easy.

Best of Luck

03c4s

Tx for the insight.

allminesl550

thats interesting J5, one would think the price would be better in Cali since there are more cars for sale there, more competition. Do you mean cheaper in northern states (not Florida fx) bcause chance of salt damage or whatever?
What part of country do you think the used sl's are cheapest?

DannyM383

Dont worry about the problems it has just get one under factory warranty and then extend it for 3 yrs for around 3-4K and just enjoy the hell out of it.....I bought an S550 last yr and my gf loved it so much she took it everyday and left me her audi a4.....i got fed up and 3 months later bought an 04 SL55 to be my daily driver since i knew the S550 was now hers, so she started taking my SL55....and i just conceded and bought her an 03 SL500 a week ago and now nobody uses the 550 and i dont want to take a 20-30K already bc its got 17K miles and sports package and its an unfavorable color andorite gray, so now it just sits bc she loves the sl500 way more....trust me you wont regret your decision, i honestly dont mind driving the 500 but the 55 is way way way more amazing, i think you should shoot for one if the price difference of 10-15k is negligible which im sure it is bc your buy a SL period!!!

bltserv

No matter what.

Get in a SL55 and do a test drive before you make a purchase.

For the extra money you go from a nice looking roadster to
a full on screaming monster. The $$$$ is worth the extra 200HP.

Enjoy !!!

srice

My 2004 SL500 has been relatively flawless. Any little issues have been minor enough to wait until normal service, and were fixed right the first time, with no additional time in the shop.

If I were buying used, I would probably look at an SL55 or SL600. After driving my E55 for 15 months, and now driving an S63, I don't think I'll ever own another MB that is not an AMG. The performance - both power and handling - are just night and day.

That being said, I do love driving the SL occassionally. The top-down experience in and SL is the best, and the car still draws stares and "thumbs up."

03c4s

Tx for the insight. I will be on the hunt for either an SL500 or SL55, since this is going to be the wife's car and SL500 will be enough nut you never know if the right AMG shows itself.

allminesl550

So you already have an 08 car? When did that happen? Are 08 sl's avail too?

I wish they would put one of those 63 cars like the s63 on the track, run either by EVO or THE Stig, so we could compare it to other cars. Apparently the sl's are not the fastest track cars, for instance the cls55 blows it away and i reckon the 63 would too. I guess i assumed the two seater benz would make the better race car, but it doesnt seem to be the case. Why this is i wish someone would explain to me.
Even the sl55 & 600 cant keep up with some other benz cars, i mean on the track. They weigh the same too just about.
If they made a fast sl with a better suspension and dropped in a 5-spd manual and that 6.2 motor, id trade my 550 in a blink. As long as the folding hardtop stays.

JBSL

There have been nice discounts on '03 and '04 SLs lately. In fact, I might be selling mine. I'm the original owner of an '03 SL500 w/ AMG Sport pkg, Keyless Go, Parktronic, Panoramic, Massaging/AC Seats and some other options. After all these years, we only have 8,000 miles on it and it is pristine. I'm just struggling whether or not to take the 50K depreciation hit to buy an SL55/600 etc (or maybe something else).

Mine is Silver w/ Charcoal interior. If you have any interest, just let me know.

Thanks!

JB