Hello friends, um about to purchase a pristine 2005 SL600 with 15K miles. No warning lights. Everything seems to work properly. This forum is filled with reports of ABS related failures (and frustrations). All things said, is ABC sufficient reason to take a pass on these cars?

gosh….!

There is sooooo much more than ABC. These are some of the most complex cars ever built and are now closing in on 20 years old.

Spend more time searching the forums and learning about the car.

If you don’t feel like doing that, this is definitely not the right kind of car for you, unless you are fine with paying a shop 5-10k per year for maintenance.

Especially with a v12 with 2 turbos. At this point age will be the repair cost factor. There’s a reason you can buy r230s for so little money.

If the price is right everything could be fixed! 15K in 17 years seems like nothing....perhaps was a Sunday morning car.! How much is the cost?

Thanks for all the feedback, appreciated. I’m more concerned about getting stranded and access to an expert mechanic than the cost of maintenance.

Wondering do ABC issues surface mostly with high mileage cars or with them all? My car is coming from California so no harsh winters. Is that likely to be positive factor on the hydraulic suspension system and the electronics?

gosh, I want to believe in MBZ engineering excellence…..!

You can believe anything you like, unfortunately the common and expensive issues are related to rubber parts and hydraulic seals in the two systems that give the most problems. The ABC is usually first accumulators or valve blocks, accompanied with pump and hydraulic line failure. The top is just seals that deteriorate and leak accompanied with various other plastic parts that fail like the flaps.

With the 600, motor mounts may be past their service limit, and that requires an engine out, which is not inexpensive. At a certain mileage, these things fail, but with a car that hasn’t been used and is just as old they may fail as well, as the seals and rubber are most of the failure.

If you are under the impression that a low mileage sl600 is going to give you no problems until a certain mileage, I would not bet on it. The 600s are more costly for parts and labor in anything close to the engine.

All of my r230 cars have or had ABC issues amongst other issues. Since the inception of hydraulic suspension with Mercedes it has been an issue in all models, same goes for the hydraulic top. Some call it maintenance, call it what you like, it requires expensive fixing.

Like was said above, if you’re getting a great deal on it then go for it, but paying top dollar for a 17 year old car maybe not. As for either the top or suspension stranding you, this is a common concern for r230 owners. The suspension will drop to the ground, and the top will not operate. Manually operating the top is a challenge, and driving it with dropped suspension almost impossible.

Let me put it this way….

I have a 2005 SL65 that I bought with 45k miles in November 2019 from a reputable Mercedes dealership that did quite a few repairs prior to putting it up for sale. The car now has 49.5k miles on it.

I’ve had to get it towed to a shop one time. ABC pump died, which might have partially been my fault.

I’ve spent over $15k on parts and repairs. I’ve done 75% of the repairs myself and the other 25% were done at an independent shop.

Of the $15k I’ve spent, roughly $6k was on ABC related problems.

Based upon what I’ve learned here I think I’ll preventively flush the ABS fluid and replace a;l of the accumulators. Make sense/

5-10k a year? Lets be serious.

I had (just sold) a 2009 SL550 with 28000 miles. Never had an issue. I have a 2007 SL65 with 88K miles it doesn't have any issues.
You're looking at a car that was close to $150-200k new. You don't mention the price but probably around 30-35k so a little maintenance
isn't a big deal. 2007 and newer have ABC 2 which is a little easier to get to that pecky hose that need to be replaced sometime.
If the price is right I say go for it. and enjoy.
Another thing you can do is find someone with a Star to check things out. Alot of members on here have them. Give your location. maybe one is close to you
Also check the ABC fluid. should be light green.

I’m averaging 5k/year doing mostly diy repairs and using discounted parts bought online.

If I was getting everything done at the dealer, it would easily be $10k/year.

This is not unusual.

But hey OP is gonna flush their “ABS” fluid, replace the accumulators, and enjoy years of Camry-like reliability….so who cares what I think.

Lol.

I just put my 2003 (with 26,000 miles) in the shop with the ABC light coming on intermittently. They told me it is under factory warranty for another few years. They said any repair would be covered.

I hope they didn't confuse the ABC with your SBC braking system which has a 20 or 25 year warranty in North America, (but sadly not down here I think).

I've never heard of anywhere offering a 20 year warranty on the ABC. If so, I am going to migrate there.

Put Coilovers on and forget ABC forever. That would be my first move.

I recently bought a 2004 SL600 with only 22,000 miles, so very similar to yours. Came straight from Florida. The MB installed new spark plus and the super expensive coil packs. Price was under $30K. I definitely enjoy it, especially after installing a tune.
Due to the low mileage I'm not too concerned about problems, although all rubber parts deteriorate with age.
Even though my ABC works perfectly, I already bought 4 new accumulators and fluid from FCP-Euro for about $1200. (There is a great Youtube video channel where a failed accumulator clogged the ABC system and caused a MB expert mechanics to spend months chasing it down).
Next just to keep spares on hand, I found rebuilt ABC valves on ebay for $389. These are fractions of what a MB dealer charges. My hoses all look fine with no weeping. Probably will buy a spare ABC pump if/when I see a good price.
HOWEVER, I'm very mechanically experienced, have a hoist in my home garage and own auto repair shops. An engine-out would annoy me, but I would still tackle it myself.
So, if your budget allows for repairs, these are really great cars. Any other twin-turbo V12 is going to cost you $400K+ for an exotic which is much less reliable and 5x more expensive to fix.

Next just to keep spares on hand, I found rebuilt ABC valves on ebay for $389.

Could you send the link to that vendor possibly? I would be interested in that too.

Sure. Its currently: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115027690041 Seller's name is "autohubshop" and they are located in Pleasant Grove, California. I'm pretty sure they rebuild them.
The price did go up to $419. The item I received looked absolutely clean and perfect.
There were cheaper units on ebay, but they are rebuild in China and cheaper for a reason.

Thanks. Funny they don't offer an exchange service that I could see. I wonder where they get them from if they're not doing swapovers?
I rebuilt mine but it's no better - I might have messed something up. Might bite the bullet and get one of these.

Oops trying to delete this.

This is a 200+ mph roadster with massaging seats...the engineering excellence is there.

Your wild cards here, however, are age, what was really maintained in that stretch and some complex maintenance needs.

An R230 outside of warranty is for someone who is A) mechanically and technically sound with some funds reserved or B) someone with a blank check who doesn't care.

Regarding the ABC system, a few items to consider:

• ABC 1 cars generally have more problems. However, a big advantage is that the valve block can be rebuilt.
• The V12 cars are tougher on that high pressure line than the V8 cars due to the extra weight up front.
• A silver lining is that if down the road you want to delete the system, the R230 is the only V12 ABC car that has an option on the market for sway bars.

Guys, I have learned that there are tree kinds of "expensive" car buyers:

1.-The guy with unlimited funds who buys the car new and enjoy the factory warranty. He likely sells it when the warranty expires and maintenance becomes a sizable expense
2.-The guys who likes the car, but cannot afford the "new" price and buys it for 50% off. He will inherit the maintenance issues. If he is not a DYI, at one point in time he let the car deteriorate and accumulate issues. Then he sells it.
3.-The DYI guy who knows how to fix the issues himself but not willing to pay a high price for it. Then he buys it at a good discount spend little money on it and keeps it rolling for a long time!

So depending to what group you belong, you evaluate the opportunity and your chances to do well!

3
is
me !

I'm a mix of 2 and 3 but I have never let any car I've owned deteriorate. I usually fixed everything that needed to be addressed. Every car I've bought and sold, I considered the buyer lucky- they purchased a vehicle that was cared for and very healthy

I don't think there has ever been a car I've purchased used that didn't need something addressed- even used vehicles I bought from the dealer. All they do is basically take trade-ins, wash them and put it right back on the lot. They may do minor work like blown bulbs and brakes, but they are not looking to replace maintenance items. You're basically inheriting a car that may need plugs, gaskets, tires, brakes, rotors, sensors etc replaced. (depending on age and mileage)

I'm perfectly fine with purchasing an older vehicle with high miles- as long there's some type of history that the car was cared for and I don't see any major red flags, I'm fine with pulling the trigger. Some cars are just built to be bullet proof even with age and high miles (Lexus- especially the LS). Than there's our SL that even with excellent service history, you're going to run into major expensive issues no matter what (ABC)

I don't blind buy vehicles- I usually research and do my homework so I know what I'm dealing with if I decide to pull the trigger. A simple google search "common problems with XXXXX" and you get your answer