i'm thinking of buying an SL, i have heard alot of mixed reviews though. Some say they are very un-reliable and always in the shop. Since you guys are all owners what are your thoughts? I have a clk 500 and have had good luck with it.

 

I had a 2001 CLK 430 Cab for 8 years, 90K+ miles, enjoyed it! Last summer I took factory delivery of a 2009 SL550, drove it through Europe and now have 7.7K miles. It is a pleasure to drive, fast, responsive, tight, corners well, gets good mileage (18 city, 26-28 highway) and I like its looks better than before, although that is always a matter of personal taste. So far it has been bulletproof, absolutely no problems. All the Mercedes models (including my wife's 2008 C350) have made giant leaps in quality in the last few years. I wouldn't worry about that issue with a new one. P.S.: Our C class has 10K miles in one year, absolutely perfect.

 

My SL only has 13000 miles, but it's been trouble-free.

 

I purchased my 2007 SL used with 3,500 miles on it. In the past 3 months I've put another 5,000 miles on it, no problems.

Keep in mind that, unless you specifically ask about it (like you're doing here) you won't hear much from the folks who are having no problems. Not going to see a lot of spontaneous "wow, my car just keeps on humming" comments on the boards, but when someone has a problem, you better believe they'll talk about it!

 

2008 SL550, 4000 miles... Nada... no problems. As mentioned earlier, quality issues from the early to mid 2000's seem to have been addressed. (my 2004 E55 had numerous "issues")

 

I have a 2003 with a little under 60k miles. After my warranty expired, my rear right strut started to leak and the plug that sealed the vacuum brake hose (electronic brake system) fell out causing my car to stall. Those were the only major issues. Aside from that, runs great and still looks great.

 

Yea, I've said it before and will continue to say it probably for forever -- most of the people on these boards are either car hypochondriacs or just have nowhere else to turn to fix a problem they are having. Or they are like me and would rather do the work themselves than have some wrench monkey lean on and scratch their car in the shop. (Speaking of which, where is mikeinsf?) You're not going to see many people posting up threads of "my car is doing fine, nothing to report!" That's just not exciting in a car forum.

The 5.0L and 5.5L (5.4L) engines and transmissions are just this side of bulletproof. With the SLs (and some other Mercedes) the biggest problems are all the electronics and the adaptive suspensions. The SL in particular has another burr in its folding metal roof which is complicated enough to cause a few headaches if you are unlucky. Otherwise, there are thousands of these things sold every year and in the reliability reports it is rated quite high (not Lexus high, but still good). Just look closely at any potential purchases for leaks or funny noises. Test out all the switches and make sure you know what the buttons in the cabin do before you drive one so you can test them (or learn it when you take it out for a drive). Try to look for one-owner cars with full service history and definitely look at an aftermarket warranty. It will pay for itself as the car moves into middle age and old age.

Rook

 

It's funny -- Consumer Reports keeps reporting SL as being really unreliable. Maybe they look at the roof and go, "no f'in way can that last!" or maybe they're just pissed because they can't keep the test car they're given...

 

Actually is was some a-hole on the street that keyed it, then the body shop doing the repaint broke the roof. All fixed under warranty though.
So all's well now.

 

I own a 2003 SL55 which I bought used, CPO in 2005. The only significant problem in the 3.5 years that I've owned it was a tiny leak in the ABC system, which was fixed under warranty. The drivetrain in particular has been bullet proof, even with engine mods that have increased the car's horsepower to more than 600.

 

Had a 1993 SL500 for a number of years, and was as nervous as you when I considered moving up to the R230 for all the complexity and extra expense.

However, I bought a 2003 SL600 with 38,000km (23.600 miles) a couple of weeks ago which had been immaculately cared for in both body and mechanically - yet an idler pulley collapsed just 3 hours after I bought it.

Fortunately I hadn't done the final sign-off, so the seller covered it.

Up to that point I had been coasting along about considering a warranty... but you can bet I jumped into the dealer's office quickly to sign up for a 3 year factory cover.

That's the the secret - get a warranty. Instrument clusters are US$6,000 and up, and the warranty people said one needed repair in a SL500 a few weeks ago. The owner gave them a bottle of champagne to celebrate his saving!


--------------
~2003 SL600, black/black
~1999 SLK 230 silver/black
~2007 Lexus LS600hL, 5 seat, black/black
~2004 Lexus RX330 silver/black

 

I've had my '03 SL55 since new and it has been brilliant! The only challenge that I have had in the 6 years has been a failure of the AC compressor, and I had to replace some TPMS.

 

Haha, you took the bait Mike... I knew that'd get you back on the boards right quick!

I did have a damn tech f^ck up my sh^t by breaking one of the vent wings on the hood somehow. I still have no idea how that would have happened, though I can look at it and know that it did. Probably rough-housing in the garage. Now that makes me wary of bringing it in for dealer work now.

Rook

 

hehe, i'm way too easy.