benzondubs

Deciding between the two. Is the cls more reliable? Would any of you buy
a sl500 without the maintenance booklet?

Any specific things to look for when inspecting/driving the sl500?

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

hyperion667

from style alone I'd choose CLS, being a bit biased however...........they look really good, even the 219's (CLS) still look great!

nikodavidoff

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Ghostty

I would say SL requires a little more attention maintenance-wise talking. But besides that these are two completely different cars to talk about.

IMHO i would buy the CLS just because it's newer and many hiccups were solved as they made the cars. 2003 for SL it's first year made so i'd say it's a raw car. Myself i bought a 2005 SL500.

Maintenance info required for both cars, get as much info on what was done. Or, if possible, get a multi-point inspection (or PPO - whatever is called). gives you lots of info on the car.

Nikodavidoff, what do you mean by abc-airmatic system for SL? Never heard of such on these cars (SL).

P.S.
SL has oil suspension, aka ABC, and CLS should have airmatic suspension. The second is more common, so i'd assume easier to find help on that.

Pick the car you want and go with it. It's MB, after all

BlownV8

CLS hands down will be more reliable. If you get an SL, make sure it has at least 600 hp or it is not worth the cost or aggrivation.