SL/R230: To all SL500 (R230) North American owners (Canada and USA)
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2003
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To all SL500 (R230) North American owners (Canada and USA)
I'm from Canada, and would appreciate if all current owners of an SL500 (R230) can help me.
1) I would like to know how this car is as a daily driver.
2) Have you had minor or major problems since your purchase? (If so what were they please)
3) If any of the above problems had re-occured again?
4) Are the electrical system working fine or is there issues there? (Ex: windows, power adjustments etc etc)
5) Your dealer experiences where they good or bad, when your car was brought in to fix these problems.
Was service dealing with technician was good or bad, or did you have to get on the techs case to get problems resolved.
6) Have any of you driven this car in the winter and has there been any problems as such? (Ex: Winter starts etc etc)
7) Who paid for the repairs, warranty or you?
8) How would you rate from 1 to 10 your satisfaction level with this car? 1 = very poor 10 = excellent
9) How would you rate dealer service?
10) Is there anything I should look out for?
Thanking you all in advance for your time.
John
1) I would like to know how this car is as a daily driver.
2) Have you had minor or major problems since your purchase? (If so what were they please)
3) If any of the above problems had re-occured again?
4) Are the electrical system working fine or is there issues there? (Ex: windows, power adjustments etc etc)
5) Your dealer experiences where they good or bad, when your car was brought in to fix these problems.
Was service dealing with technician was good or bad, or did you have to get on the techs case to get problems resolved.
6) Have any of you driven this car in the winter and has there been any problems as such? (Ex: Winter starts etc etc)
7) Who paid for the repairs, warranty or you?
8) How would you rate from 1 to 10 your satisfaction level with this car? 1 = very poor 10 = excellent
9) How would you rate dealer service?
10) Is there anything I should look out for?
Thanking you all in advance for your time.
John
Junior Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: PA
2003 SL500 Sport Package
Hi John -- I will put my responses in line below:
1) I would like to know how this car is as a daily driver.
I had my new SL delivered to me in early April 2003 -- and have driven it every day since then. It has 9300 miles on it now (August 5th) -- and I intend to drive to car at least 25K - 30K each year and then shelve it for a new daily driver car.
2) Have you had minor or major problems since your purchase? No problems encountered at all since I got the car -- except for the distronic on one rainy day disabling itself because the computer wasn't happy with it -- I wasn't even using it and the computer came on and told me it disabled it since there was a sensor malfunction or something. NOTE: I had A LOT of dead bugs on the distronic lens splatered all over the place and wouldn't be surprised if that caused it. The malfunction disappeared after I restarted the car and it came back on again. After I was done driving for the day I wiped the lens down and the malfunction hasn't come back since.
3) If any of the above problems had re-occured again?
See above.
4) Are the electrical system working fine or is there issues there?
No issues with my systems -- only thing I would say is the NAV system has 'rebooted' on me once and froze up on me twice for a little while. It didn't prevent the rest of the COMAND system from working though.
5) Your dealer experiences where they good or bad, when your car was brought in to fix these problems.
Was service dealing with technician was good or bad, or did you have to get on the techs case to get problems resolved.
Haven't had to deal with the tech on this car yet --- but my dealership serviced my prior SL500 (99 model year) and I never had probs with them on it -- I drove that car from 23 miles to 148K miles.
6) Have any of you driven this car in the winter and has there been any problems as such? (Ex: Winter starts etc etc)
Not done it yet. Though I would definitely recommend changing the tires to something else for the winter -- or better yet purchasing and extra set of RIMS and getting some appropriate tires on there for your climate. -- TireRack is a good place in the US.
7) Who paid for the repairs, warranty or you?
Not Applicable yet -- but any issues up to the warranty should be covered by them -- except for normal wear and tear. I also purchased the extended warranty -- since I knew I was going to abuse the car .. I mean use the car.
8) How would you rate from 1 to 10 your satisfaction level with this car? 1 = very poor 10 = excellent
8.5 out of 10 is my satisfaction. The items they can and should improve on are the following:
1. The COMAND UNIT really needs to be DVD based instead of CD based.
2. They should have given an option for Sattelite Radio -- Preferably XM Radio -- or a clean way to integrate it into the 2003 Model Year Vehicle -- without using an FM Transmitter or making a mess out of the glovebox. [BTW -- If anyone else has any suggustions on how to do this NICELY -- please PM me.
3. They should have had more choices on the cell phone instead of the v.60 from Motorola. I am hoping UHI is available soon and can be retrofitted into the 2003 Model Year -- because I prefer the Nokia phones.
4. The braking -- in stop and go traffic -- requires a little getting used to -- and they should and can improve the software / code that brings the car to a final stop -- it requires a little time to get real comfortable with it where you aren't thinking about it as you drive in stop and go traffic.
9) How would you rate dealer service?
Not applicable on this car yet -- but get to know your service rep and the techs -- wouldn't hurt.
10) Is there anything I should look out for?
Slow moving cars .... and trucks that are kicking up pebbles on the road -- you will get chips on your hood and pillers.
Thanking you all in advance for your time.
Good Luck
John
- raj
1) I would like to know how this car is as a daily driver.
I had my new SL delivered to me in early April 2003 -- and have driven it every day since then. It has 9300 miles on it now (August 5th) -- and I intend to drive to car at least 25K - 30K each year and then shelve it for a new daily driver car.
2) Have you had minor or major problems since your purchase? No problems encountered at all since I got the car -- except for the distronic on one rainy day disabling itself because the computer wasn't happy with it -- I wasn't even using it and the computer came on and told me it disabled it since there was a sensor malfunction or something. NOTE: I had A LOT of dead bugs on the distronic lens splatered all over the place and wouldn't be surprised if that caused it. The malfunction disappeared after I restarted the car and it came back on again. After I was done driving for the day I wiped the lens down and the malfunction hasn't come back since.
3) If any of the above problems had re-occured again?
See above.
4) Are the electrical system working fine or is there issues there?
No issues with my systems -- only thing I would say is the NAV system has 'rebooted' on me once and froze up on me twice for a little while. It didn't prevent the rest of the COMAND system from working though.
5) Your dealer experiences where they good or bad, when your car was brought in to fix these problems.
Was service dealing with technician was good or bad, or did you have to get on the techs case to get problems resolved.
Haven't had to deal with the tech on this car yet --- but my dealership serviced my prior SL500 (99 model year) and I never had probs with them on it -- I drove that car from 23 miles to 148K miles.
6) Have any of you driven this car in the winter and has there been any problems as such? (Ex: Winter starts etc etc)
Not done it yet. Though I would definitely recommend changing the tires to something else for the winter -- or better yet purchasing and extra set of RIMS and getting some appropriate tires on there for your climate. -- TireRack is a good place in the US.
7) Who paid for the repairs, warranty or you?
Not Applicable yet -- but any issues up to the warranty should be covered by them -- except for normal wear and tear. I also purchased the extended warranty -- since I knew I was going to abuse the car .. I mean use the car.
8) How would you rate from 1 to 10 your satisfaction level with this car? 1 = very poor 10 = excellent
8.5 out of 10 is my satisfaction. The items they can and should improve on are the following:
1. The COMAND UNIT really needs to be DVD based instead of CD based.
2. They should have given an option for Sattelite Radio -- Preferably XM Radio -- or a clean way to integrate it into the 2003 Model Year Vehicle -- without using an FM Transmitter or making a mess out of the glovebox. [BTW -- If anyone else has any suggustions on how to do this NICELY -- please PM me.
3. They should have had more choices on the cell phone instead of the v.60 from Motorola. I am hoping UHI is available soon and can be retrofitted into the 2003 Model Year -- because I prefer the Nokia phones.
4. The braking -- in stop and go traffic -- requires a little getting used to -- and they should and can improve the software / code that brings the car to a final stop -- it requires a little time to get real comfortable with it where you aren't thinking about it as you drive in stop and go traffic.
9) How would you rate dealer service?
Not applicable on this car yet -- but get to know your service rep and the techs -- wouldn't hurt.
10) Is there anything I should look out for?
Slow moving cars .... and trucks that are kicking up pebbles on the road -- you will get chips on your hood and pillers.
Thanking you all in advance for your time.
Good Luck
John
- raj
Junior Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: PA
2003 SL500 Sport Package
Hi John -- I will put my responses in line below:
1) I would like to know how this car is as a daily driver.
I had mine new SL delivered to me in early April 2003 -- and have driven it every day since then. It has 9300 miles on it now (August 5th) -- and I intend to drive to car at least 25K - 30K each year and then shelve it for a new daily driver car.
2) Have you had minor or major problems since your purchase? No problems encountered at all since I got the car -- except for the distronic on one rainy day disabling itself because the computer wasn't happy with it -- I wasn't even using it and the computer came on and told me it disabled it since there was a sensor malfunction or something. NOTE: I had A LOT of dead bugs on the distronic lens splatered all over the place and wouldn't be surprised if that caused it. The malfunction disappeared after I restarted the car and it came back on again. After I was done driving for the day I wiped the lens down and the malfunction hasn't come back since.
3) If any of the above problems had re-occured again?
See above.
4) Are the electrical system working fine or is there issues there?
No issues with my systems -- only thing I would say is the NAV system has 'rebooted' on me once and froze up on me twice for a little while. It didn't prevent the rest of the COMAND system from working though.
5) Your dealer experiences where they good or bad, when your car was brought in to fix these problems.
Was service dealing with technician was good or bad, or did you have to get on the techs case to get problems resolved.
Haven't had to deal with the tech on this car yet --- but my dealership serviced my prior SL500 (99 model year) and I never had probs with them on it -- I drove that car from 23 miles to 148K miles.
6) Have any of you driven this car in the winter and has there been any problems as such? (Ex: Winter starts etc etc)
Not done it yet. Though I would definitely recommend changing the tires to something else for the winter -- or better yet purchasing and extra set of RIMS and getting some appropriate tires on there for your climate. -- TireRack is a good place in the US.
7) Who paid for the repairs, warranty or you?
Not Applicable yet -- but any issues up to the warranty should be covered by them -- except for normal wear and tear. I also purchased the extended warranty -- since I knew I was going to abuse the car .. I mean use the car.
8) How would you rate from 1 to 10 your satisfaction level with this car? 1 = very poor 10 = excellent
8.5 out of 10 is my satisfaction. The items they can and should improve on are the following:
1. The COMAND UNIT really needs to be DVD based instead of CD based.
2. They should have given an option for Sattelite Radio -- Preferably XM Radio -- or a clean way to integrate it into the 2003 Model Year Vehicle -- without using an FM Transmitter or making a mess out of the glovebox. [BTW -- If anyone else has any suggustions on how to do this NICELY -- please PM me.
3. They should have had more choices on the cell phone instead of the v.60 from Motorola. I am hoping UHI is available soon and can be retrofitted into the 2003 Model Year -- because I prefer the Nokia phones.
4. The braking -- in stop and go traffic -- requires a little getting used to -- and they should and can improve the software / code that brings the car to a final stop -- it requires a little time to get real comfortable with it where you aren't thinking about it as you drive in stop and go traffic.
9) How would you rate dealer service?
Not applicable on this car yet -- but get to know your service rep and the techs -- wouldn't hurt.
10) Is there anything I should look out for?
Slow moving cars .... and trucks that are kicking up pebbles on the road -- you will get chips on your hood and pillers.
Thanking you all in advance for your time.
Good Luck
John
- raj
1) I would like to know how this car is as a daily driver.
I had mine new SL delivered to me in early April 2003 -- and have driven it every day since then. It has 9300 miles on it now (August 5th) -- and I intend to drive to car at least 25K - 30K each year and then shelve it for a new daily driver car.
2) Have you had minor or major problems since your purchase? No problems encountered at all since I got the car -- except for the distronic on one rainy day disabling itself because the computer wasn't happy with it -- I wasn't even using it and the computer came on and told me it disabled it since there was a sensor malfunction or something. NOTE: I had A LOT of dead bugs on the distronic lens splatered all over the place and wouldn't be surprised if that caused it. The malfunction disappeared after I restarted the car and it came back on again. After I was done driving for the day I wiped the lens down and the malfunction hasn't come back since.
3) If any of the above problems had re-occured again?
See above.
4) Are the electrical system working fine or is there issues there?
No issues with my systems -- only thing I would say is the NAV system has 'rebooted' on me once and froze up on me twice for a little while. It didn't prevent the rest of the COMAND system from working though.
5) Your dealer experiences where they good or bad, when your car was brought in to fix these problems.
Was service dealing with technician was good or bad, or did you have to get on the techs case to get problems resolved.
Haven't had to deal with the tech on this car yet --- but my dealership serviced my prior SL500 (99 model year) and I never had probs with them on it -- I drove that car from 23 miles to 148K miles.
6) Have any of you driven this car in the winter and has there been any problems as such? (Ex: Winter starts etc etc)
Not done it yet. Though I would definitely recommend changing the tires to something else for the winter -- or better yet purchasing and extra set of RIMS and getting some appropriate tires on there for your climate. -- TireRack is a good place in the US.
7) Who paid for the repairs, warranty or you?
Not Applicable yet -- but any issues up to the warranty should be covered by them -- except for normal wear and tear. I also purchased the extended warranty -- since I knew I was going to abuse the car .. I mean use the car.
8) How would you rate from 1 to 10 your satisfaction level with this car? 1 = very poor 10 = excellent
8.5 out of 10 is my satisfaction. The items they can and should improve on are the following:
1. The COMAND UNIT really needs to be DVD based instead of CD based.
2. They should have given an option for Sattelite Radio -- Preferably XM Radio -- or a clean way to integrate it into the 2003 Model Year Vehicle -- without using an FM Transmitter or making a mess out of the glovebox. [BTW -- If anyone else has any suggustions on how to do this NICELY -- please PM me.
3. They should have had more choices on the cell phone instead of the v.60 from Motorola. I am hoping UHI is available soon and can be retrofitted into the 2003 Model Year -- because I prefer the Nokia phones.
4. The braking -- in stop and go traffic -- requires a little getting used to -- and they should and can improve the software / code that brings the car to a final stop -- it requires a little time to get real comfortable with it where you aren't thinking about it as you drive in stop and go traffic.
9) How would you rate dealer service?
Not applicable on this car yet -- but get to know your service rep and the techs -- wouldn't hurt.
10) Is there anything I should look out for?
Slow moving cars .... and trucks that are kicking up pebbles on the road -- you will get chips on your hood and pillers.
Thanking you all in advance for your time.
Good Luck
John
- raj
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
RajS, Thank you for responding. Your input helps me with my future decision.
As luck would have it, Road and Track September issue has a Convertible GT Comparison test.
Needless to say I bought this issue to read and see what they say.
The cars they are testing are the
Cadillac XLR
Jaguar XK8
Lexus SC 430
Maserati Spyder GT
Mercedes-Benz SL500
Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet
Again thanks for your time and input.
As luck would have it, Road and Track September issue has a Convertible GT Comparison test.
Needless to say I bought this issue to read and see what they say.
The cars they are testing are the
Cadillac XLR
Jaguar XK8
Lexus SC 430
Maserati Spyder GT
Mercedes-Benz SL500
Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet
Again thanks for your time and input.
