rlucas

I've owned Mercedes in the past but not an SL. I'm looking at an SL500 (2005 Model) with only 23,000 miles.

1 - Consumer Reports seems to HATE these cars saying there are tons of problems?

2 - This car is a base model (still loaded with nav) but with no EXTRA options.

Is there problems with SL's in general or 05 models? Also - Are there any options that are a MUST HAVE on these cars that are extra?

Thanks for any quick replies!

JAYCL600

a must have on any preowned mercedes is an EXCELLENT warranty

Artyi

I have my SL500 (02') for like 1 year and I had few problems, some of them are still not solved:

1. A trim from a rear panel, which appears when the roof closes, one of it's parts broke somehow, when the roof was opening. It cost me about 650$.

2. ABC warning comes out time from time, but nothing serious...

3. A noise from the back, still doesn't know what it is, trying to solve this one, I guess it is a roof problem it become loose.

Only these problems, but the car is OK and worth it.

Otherwise, a friend of mine has S-class 03', so it crashes more, than mine SL.

rlucas

Oh... and the factory warranty would end 12/2008 but the certified adds another year or 100k mile. So warranty ($0 ded) is until 12/2009.

JAYCL600

pay to extend the warranty, best money spent, trust me

SDSL

Agree with Jay. I'd only buy a pre-owned SL that I was planning on keeping for awhile from a Merc dealer and only if it was certified (assuming it was near the original warranty) and only if I extended the warranty an extra two years for 3yrs/100K total.

Engine/tranny/roof (surpisingly) are generally sound. But there are some gremlins which can lead to annoyances and probably the not so great CR reports. Incidents aren't catastrophic but generally involve a dealer visit (at dealer prices if you're not warranteed) to resolve. This isn't a car you pop the hood on to fix yourself.

Aftermarket warrantys are suspect, sometimes difficult to collect on, and not necessarily cheaper than the Merc Starmark.

rlucas

Thanks for all the input! It scares me to be honest - sounds like these cars all have warranty issues????