Hey guys new to the website. I am in need of some help, I am considering buying a 2006 sl 500 with 80k miles..... That's right I said 80k miles. The car has a clean cafax and only 1 owner. I am in need of some advice I really wanted to stay away from the 03-05 models but do you think 80k is too high? And please let me know any common problems people experience with the 06 sl500.... Any advice will help thanks....

 

How much? I just bought an 2006 with options only 16K miles for $36K. A proud owner for 2 weeks. Trade in 2004 Porsche 911 Cab. From what I have read, all have common issues and should buy extended coverage from 3rd party.

 

27k.. What warranty coverage did you use? I know most third party extended warranties do not cover electronics which is my number 1 concern other then the suspension. My budget for this car is 20-30k. So trying to make this happen let me know what think thanks...

 

Is there any specific reason why your staying away from '03-'05? I'm a proud owner of an '03 I have 39K miles and I haven't ran into any issues yet. I personally disagree buying a 80K car unless its Japanese mostly cause of electronic reasons and because I plan on keeping the car for a while so i get paranoid about any motor issues, but welcome and i hope you find what your looking for.

 

I bought a 2006 SL 500 a little over two years ago. It was from a MB dealer and Certified Pre-Owned by MB. It only had about 16k miles on it then and now I am up to about 53k. Bought an extended warranty from MB, underwritten by National Warranty Corporation. You can negotiate the price for these warranties. Most routine work (brakes, oil, filters, plugs) is done by an independent shop who I have known for years, they worked on my far from stock BMW without any issues and thier labor costs are $30 less per hour than the dealer, plus I really trust the guys, 2 older German brothers and they really care about cars. I really love the car, great styling but I have read too many horror stories on this site (which by the way is an excellent resource) to go without an extended warranty which will cover me until 2/11/15 or 85k miles whichever comes fiirst. So far, brakes done at about 24K miles (ceramic pads reduced brake dust by 90%), malfunctioning transmission valve caused hard downshift mainly when cold -replaced by MB under original warranty. Leaky valve cover gaskets, covered by the extended warranty ($350), and the all too common flaps on the boot cover (terrible engineering and cheap plastic), considered a trim piece and not covered by extended warranty. I am having some aluminum hinges fabricated to solve this problem as I refuse to pay MB $400 for the part only for it to probably fail again, shame MB for this part, its design and refusal to admit to their poor design. MB should offer repair at cost due to systemic problem, but first they would have to admit there was a problem, good luck with this. The care is great fun to drive (silver with red interior, AMG appearance group), top down whenever possible. Love the Pano roof, gives me at 6'3" a bit more head room and does not feel as claustrophobic as the metal roof.

I don't know how many miles I would feel comfortable with but I would heed all of the repair estimates and threads on this site. It is an expensive car and consequently expensive to maintian and repair, but unless you go really exotic, it's hard to beat the styling and comfort. Good luck.

 

If you guys need quotes on warranties I can help you. I have dozens of MBWorld members that got their warranties from me.

Just email me VIN# and odometer reading to brucem105@comcast.net. Full coverage including ABC, top hydraulics, electronics like COMAND nav, etc.

Bruce