RLich8

We have a 2003 SL500 in the family.

The car has been quite troublesome, and the warranty just expired on the 4th of August.

The car has literally been in the shop 10 times (and I am NOT exxagerating) for the hydraulic trunk lid. It has also been in the shop maybe twice for the transmission. One day the car wouldn't come out of Park. There has been several other minor problems (door handles, AC issues, etc)

Is there ANYTHING we can do about this?

It's pretty frustrating to buy a $105k car and have it be a piece of ****.

Thanks!

CY

IMO: Get an extended warranty or sell it.

Murtaza

+1

djamer

If you're unhappy with it, i would recommend selling it and getting rid of your stress. At this point buying an extended warranty for your car will be around 2-4K, so it's not worth the trouble.

allminesl550

That often happens when more than one person is making use of a car, especially young adults who didnt work an hour to earn the money to buy it in the first place. One-owner/driver cars are often times nearly problem free after 4 years use.
What should you do?
Well if you fix it and keep it, just convert it from a family car to a single user car!

StapleGun

What kinda justification is that? A $100K car should ALWAYS work as intended - who cares who drives it. I'd sell it...

RLich8

I understand that you're trying to help here, but that doesn't really apply here. The cars in our family are one-driver cars for all intents and purposes. We all have our own cars.

There's actually nothing wrong with the car at this point. We had most of the issues sorted out before the warranty came to term. But it seems as if the car has now turned into a ticking time bomb (it's become a question not of "if" but "when"). It's my father's, a 50 year old man's, daily driver. He does not speed or beat on the car, he drives like an old man (brother was killed in a car accident).

I may be a young adult, but I respect my mother and father's belongings. They have worked nearly a lifetime to collect the fruit so to speak, and I can only hope to be as successful myself one day. I've driven the car twice for a few minutes, that's literally it. I certainly don't ever ask to drive his car, mainly because it's his, and quite frankly I also don't really like the way it drives.

Thank you for your input.

allminesl550

In that case it appears the car has provided your dad with plenty of notice to get an extended plan.

Ive got this theory that they build several things to last only as long as the warranty, thereafter they have all intention of making as much as possible on repairs. They know that once the car is sold that the chance it will be in active service for 10 plus years is very high.
For instance they may get fuel level gauge led's that are known to last for 50k miles, then if the second owner is determined to know how close he is to running out, well then she's got little choice but to take it in and have the dash pulled which aint cheap. That kind of thing.
Yeah, theres alot of economic thought that goes into the business of building and selling cars. They count on their estimates being right, and usually they are.

Do you think they needed to wait till 2007 to make these last great improvements on the body and internals of the sl car? No way. Everything car makers do, all changes additions and improvements, all ignoring of weaknesses, they are all part of the long term plan.

Thats why the smart ones make millions of profit and some salesmen drive around in 100,000 dollar cars. If your dad knew how much profit they made on that car he'd be sick.

gocargo

Sounds like you have a "dealership" problem, not a car problem. I've had almost no issues with my '03 car, very happy.

bltserv

I vote the stealership is the issue.

The trunk not "sucking" shut or the Trunk Assist feature is a common
problem on these cars. My CL500 has had this occur once.
Causes are normally the trunk being slammed or the pump that sucks it shut.
Going to the dealer "10 Times" for this trivial repair points to the dealer being a bone head. Does not sound that bad overall. No ABC or Electrical.
So the car is not cursed like some I have seen.

Get a fresh dealer and tell Dad to keep and enjoy his SL.

PS
Dont slam the trunk !!!

benzboy

I agree with the dealership comments. I have an '03 and my service dept. has kept it a pleasure to drive. Sure there were some problems but a good service dept. will keep you happy. Enjoy the car!

GOODENUF

If you had the trunk closing problem after the 4th time I would be jumping all over the service manager. No excuses after number 5.
If you have all problems fixed now, then get an extended warranty and enjoy the car.

BlackonBlack

Good Advice not to slam the trunk! I had the same problem and had it fixed yesterday. Took my mechanic all of 10 mins to replace the lock underneath the trunk lid with a new one. Part number is MBA230 750 01 85.
Hope this helps!

RLich8

I'd like to thank everyone for their input. It's much appreciated.