That's what we all hope for.

Here are some good used SLs...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVrJWakIMnk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjrYvZsvqx0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m-ROJHS_cg

 

HAHAHAHAHA !!!!!

 

Are you going to wrap the seats up in plastic as well?

Dude! its a performance car... parts are going to wear out...the parts and labor just cost more. You cant expect the repairs to be the same as a civic?? Dont forget insurance rates on the car aint cheap either...

 

Iam probally gona just stick to the SL500 and not the SL55 AMG. I hear the insurance rates on the SL500 is a lot less than the SL55 AMG. No I wont wrap the leather.

I always wondered why some R230 have ABC suspension failure at low mileage while other people say they have had their R230 for a long time and no problems, I guess its because some drivers probally drove it way to aggressive and put way to much wear and tear on the ABC suspension.

 

It's the same reason why some domestic cars' transmissions give out at 100K miles and others continue to turn well into the 150K's. Machining defects, temperature differences, fluid changes, unknown/unseen trauma to the part, and possibly even uncommon or stressful usage of the part all contribute to the failure. It's not just as simple as "use it and it breaks". Many parts on the car are meant to be used and will only have a long and useful life if they are used as opposed to sitting idle. For example, tires have oils and chemicals in them that help to rejuvenate the rubber as it is used. Otherwise, the tire will dry out and rot before its expected useful life. On the other hand, hoons abound as is clearly indicated in the YouTube videos.

Rook

How does that old phrase go? "This must've been put together on a Friday afternoon!"

 

BamBam: Maybe the SL500 is not for you. I've never heard of anyone obsess so much about trying to lessen the wear on the airmatic/abc system.

If it fails, it fails and you pay to get it fixed. If you're lucky enough to catch a leaking pump/strut before it fails, then you can take it to the dealership. But out of pocket cost will most likely be the same. But do you want to visually inspect all the struts every single day/week?

Just try your best to enjoy your car. If the last six months has taught us anything, cars are just toys and you're better off trying to enjoy it instead of obsessing about wear n tear items.

Maybe getting a convertible without an air suspension might be a better choice for you.

 

Its the car for me. If the R230 didnt look so damn nice I would have given up on it, but it justs looks so nice!

Iam hoping that proper tires could also help the suspension, especially tires with a thicker sidewall they should help absorb some of the road bumps for a smoother ride which will put less stress on the struts.

 

BAM BAM Nothing is going to happen to your SL . just buy the dam thing and please please stop these negative thoughts as this thread is beginning to SUCK .

 

Ok heres the deal. I bought a 2005 SL500 a few months ago and i have a exclusionary warranty that pretty much covers everything but not Struts or top parts outside of the top motor.

I had a leaky strut and in a hard turn my ABC lmessage came on, it went away but i knew it was leaking and i wanted it fixed. A front strut from the dealer is 1500 and then they want a fortune to replace it. I got a Brand new NOS strut online for 399 and had it installed for 300, expensive still, yes but i have a great independant and there are great parts suppliers online and i have a perfectly functioning abc system again for 700 vs the 2100 the dealer wanted

The top should not give you issues, i did have a porblem with one of the flaps that mates up to the underside of the trunk when the top is up. It was covered under warranty (it should not have been but my dealer helped me) it would have been a 700 fix at the dealer. Again i think i could have had it done on the side for at most 350 if i had to

Motor mounts on these cars suck, i had those repalced under warranty

you need to drive the car regularly. I have 61000 on my 2005 and the full service history, the car has been pretty bullet proof

If you want to extend the life of the ABC system the only thing you really can do is leave it in comfort mode and not sport. The techs expalined to me that in sport the system is under extremely high pressre and it will accelerate getting leaks potentially in the struts. As i gotto know the car yes sport can be more fun but (and i dirve very aggressively and have driven in SCCA) you can do 99% of your driving in comfort and not really know the difference

These cars have terrible resale because in part repars outside of warranty are scary. It is similar but on a lower scale to what i learned about Ferraris, the Cheapest Ferrari you buy will be the most expensive to own. Find a solid car, a solid warranty and go have fun. If you can't afford both VERY comfortably then this is not the car for you

 

Once the mileage gets really high,and extended warranty is harder to purchase, are what concerns me the most.

 

Think of it this way: You're not making an investment when you buy a car, you're paying for a service. I saved for 7 years in order to buy mine cash, and I fully expect to continue saving just as rigorously for maintenance, and for when the inevitable happens and I have to pay for a repair.

Figure the cost of post-warranty maintenance and repairs into what you are willing to spend, because something will happen. (At least, I've yet to have a car that didn't need something 5 or 10 years down the road.)

She's a beauty, I'll give you that, but it sounds like you're just making ends meet to get one. If that's the case, wait a little longer until you have enough money saved up to where you don't have to worry about the ends meeting. Otherwise, the worry over the car is going to be the biggest buzzkill. Keep in mind how many home foreclosures and suicides there are because people ignored the simple reality that they were going beyond their means. Don't be one of them over a car.

Now, if you aren't stretching, and you are merely worried, don't ever get this car, because the buzzkill will be a permanent part of your experience.

 

Well said, mlandis..

 

I cant decide if this guy is serious about this or not. What happens if something else goes wrong with the car?

I know its almost impossible to predict what will go wrong and when but if you can't stomach the repair costs, its probably not a good idea to get one even though you can get one for a song right now.

mlandis...oh wise one...what other words of wisdom can you share with us?

by the way, I agree with mlandis fully...well I wont buy another car if I can help it. Leasing saves me the heartache of the plummeting depreciation.

Has anyone seen the deals on Astons and Lambos? They haven't taken as much of a dive like the SLs or the M6s.

 

I dont plan to buy an R230 in the range of $50K, Iam looking for ones in the range of about $25K-$28K. I figure the $50K R230 will eventually depreciate to $25K so buying one at that price might not be worth it for me. Sure you get one with lower mileage but these R230 are quality machines, the engine and power train are solid so purchasing a higer mileage one might not be a bad idea. If I buy a R230 in the range of $25K-$28K rather than a $50K the money I save can be put into a savings account and later be used on repairs, such as struts and what not.

Doin research on these forums just gives me more leverage when I negotiate price, lets me know what specfic parts of the car I need to pay attention too. The R230 I purchase will probally be higher in mileage and I probally need to know how to treat her right. If I eventually have to pay for repair costs I would rather pay for it later than sooner, especially if all it takes is just a little tender loving care.

The idea of knowing I paid $25K for a sweet looking R230, with out extended warranty, but because I treated her right, I have not had to fork over a lot of money for repairs is just so sexy.

 

OK this thread is getting ridiculous. I guess youre serious so when you get the car, don't open the trunk because the seals will wear out and the soft close mechanism will need to be replaced. While youre at it dont adjust the mirrors or the seats as well. Replacing the rear view mirror is expensive too.

Good luck on buying the car and treating it with love. I am sure the car will love you back and nothing will go wrong. I am just glad I am not selling a car to you.

I think your expectations are unrealistic and you're expecting more from the car than a person who paid >$100K and at the same time not willing to pay for it.

 

I kind of agree. Just buy the darned thing or don't. If you do buy it, then drive it and enjoy it. Hedge your bets with a warranty if you want, just stop worrrying so much

 

Oh man I hope he realizes that there's a chance that anything could break soon after you buy that thing. It's something that must be faced and dealt with appropriately. Yea, it feels good to get a good deal, but not everything can be a good deal all the time. Just roll the dice and hope they come up in your favor.

This reminds me so much of when I sold our old 27" tube TV. I just wanted like $40 for it and someone to haul it out of our garage. A guy shows up who wants it, and he was like "does it work?" Yea, I was just using it until a few weeks ago. I plug it in and show him that is was working just fine. (I'm sure it's obvious where this is going.) He gets it home and it works for about an hour before (for whatever reason) it just gives out. The tube or something just stopped working because the sound would come on just fine. He tries to come over to MY HOUSE and stand on MY PROPERTY and demand his money back because he thought I purposely sold him a TV that I knew would go out. I told him that I didn't know what he did to the TV but it worked just fine at my house for years and it worked when I plugged it in for him too. I told him that I wasn't going to give his money back because it worked fine when it left here and that on top of it all, he was just mostly being a dick about it all. The dumba$$ thought that there was a law that I had to give him his money back. I just told him "caveat emptor" and to go back home. It's a lesson we all must learn.

If you don't like for things to break, don't buy them.

Rook

 

Rook, dumbasses like him probally didnt do their research about the brand and model of tv. Mind you there is only so much you can reasearch on a tv. I guess that dumbass doenst know about buy beware.

 

LOL -- oh, man....

<off-topic>
How about "don't wait to put the top up until you think there's too much rain coming down"?

Seriously, talk about making me humble.... this is my first convertible, and I was driving around the Southern California coast this past weekend when it was raining on-again off-again. (Highly recommended, everyone, if you're coming from out of state -- CA-1 is a pretty road and damn fun, too.) There was this great sunny patch, and I thought to myself, "ok, I can always put the top back up if it starts raining."

So, of course, a little while later I can see some specks on the windshield. With the aerodynamics, I can't feel anything, so I'm feeling pretty smart. "Hey, cool, I can outrun the rain!" Then a little while later I can start feeling it. "Ok, well it's not too bad..." then I can feel it a bit more. So I finally go, "Well, I guess it's time to put the top up now."

So I stop. And the other 99% of the rain that I'd been outrunning poured into the car.

That was the longest 16 seconds I've ever experienced in a car, waiting for it to seal up. There were puddles of water splashing in the seats. I just had to laugh my head off -- and break out the box of Kleenex and turn on the seat ventilators.

So... about being wise...
</off-topic>

 

You are what we call in LA "Baller's on a budget".

You may only want to spend sub $30k on a SL500, but in reality, the maintenance and cost of parts on the car is priced for a $100K car.

I've seen bullet-proof regularly maintained MB's last for years with only scheduled maintenance. I've seen MB's with total engine or transmission failures with under 1000 miles on the odometer. Unless you have a crystal ball, you'll never know.

Instead of obsessing about what may or may not go wrong with the car, just try to enjoy the damn thing.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

I am feeling wiser already...I did the same thing a couple of times actually but the funny thing is all i got was a little run off that ran up along the side windows and into the car. It was actually quite cool watching the water go over and above me. I dont think it would work for my 6 though.

What else have you got in your bag of wisdom?

 

That's why I hate selling stuff. Guys like these want new warranty with used price...

 

There is a dealersship in my city that is selling and 03 R230 for $23K. Mileage is kinda high though(60K miles). Think Iam gonna wait like 6 more months then call them again, hopefully by then the asking price will be under $20K.

 

[QUOTE=jl88;3366374]You are what we call in LA "Baller's on a budget".


Baller on a budget!! LOL

That's awesome, JL88..

 

I buy and R230 because it looks nice, not because I want the status of being a "baller". Ballers drive Lambos, live in penthouses, and on weekends takes a luxury yacht from san francisco to hawaii and back, catching sunsets a long the way.

Driving an R230 like a maniac and paying for the repair costs does not make you a baller.