Greetings all!
I acquired my 2007 sl550 in May with 45000 miles on her. I named her Bernadette.
When everything is functional, I love driving her,BUT she seems to need some time at the repair shop every month! So far mostly for convertible roof issues.
From reading this page I have learned that these vehicles need about $1200 per month for maintenance. I have no problem with the $$ amount. I have an excellent, honest MB mechanic who owns his own shop. My question is Are the headaches worth it???
Just looking for opinions and advice.
Thanks,
Bob

 

In my opinion these cars aren’t worth owning if you cannot do repairs yourself. Even then it’s questionable, as they require lots of repairs. At some point it’s throwing money away

 

The MOST important factor to consider when buying an R230, is buying a fully sorted example. If you have to chase and repair roof, ABC and electrical issues, you will go broke or insane (or both) in short order. This is NOT the car to consider "fixer upper" examples. Run far and fast from those....

 

Never name your car a female name. The car will become a gold digger.

 

Maybe you could change the spelling, “BURNadette” would be much more fitting. Either the car or the burning hole in your pocket.

 

My SL55 has not needed any work in about two years, I drive it about three days outta the week unless the weather is bad. After purchase it took a bit to get to the point where all the things that were due, got attention though. It had 92K miles and when traded in, needed accumulators and new engine & trans mounts, and I also got new brake discs, pads and fluid, and trunk lid struts. Took some work chasing the MAP sensor (manifold absolute pressure) since this engine doesn't have a MAF. Car is nothing short of fantastic. I love it!!! though!! Really phenomenal.

 

tonylinc,

Have you posted your love for your MB in the thread “What do You Love About Your MB”?

 

needed nothing after I bought it and immediately dumped $15,000 into it. Love is blind.

 

Well, it was about ten grand... LOL
The ABC hose cost about $1800 to have replaced but that was a "good deal" since dealer wanted nine grand and family owned indy shop wanted five grand, for that job! So, I felt good paying what I did.
More expense happened when the engine wanted to idle at 4000, or bounce all around, it was not driveable doing that. A new gas pedal solved that for a time but it started that up again, then a new throttle body fixed it again... for a time. Then it started idling at 4000 again and I learned the M113K doesn't have a MAF sensor but instead has a MAP sensor, and it's located where you'll never reach it! Code readers will not tell you when this SOB is going bad!? Because it's located so impossible to reach, I had the shop with the engineers replace that... it seemed like the only thing left that would cause idle/run issues. I believe the guys had to remove the intake manifold to reach it. Voila! New MAP sensor and it's run beautifully ever since. I made sure to get parts NOT from eBay or Amazon, but either AutohausAZ or FCP so I wouldn't get any counterfeit junk.
I did spend about a grand upgrading the steering wheel and trans control module, which was an unnecessary expense, but it's done now. When I got the car I knew it had a few needs, of course some other needs popped up that I wasn't aware of... I certainly have a little more money into the car than I'd planned on. I guess it's lucky for me that I love driving it so much!
I wanted all new plugs and wires, the parts cost $400 bought right, and I installed them myself, then learned a MB dealership would have done the job for me.... for $3,950!!!
These cars can offer challenges, but once you've got "everything fixed", you have some miles to go (usually) before something else becomes needed. Good luck. Most important, try to do work yourself that you can, and have someone who's honest and capable for the rest, and stay away from MB dealers!!! My ten grand in repairs could easily have cost a whole lot more.

 

The cars with V12 twin turbos have coolant lines for the turbos that can start to leak around maybe 85K miles, and they have those coilpacks that need replaced or rebuild after about the same miles. Those cars should have new spark plugs at about 50K miles to help keep the coilpacks from breaking down; worn spark plugs gap increases even slightly, makes the coilpack work harder to make the spark happen. So new plugs on time, is cheap insurance against having to work on your coilpacks. As opposed those problems that can happen to the V12s, the supercharged V8s in the SL55, have pulleys at the front of the engine that you want to pay attention to. My SL55 had 92K miles and the pulleys were worn out: A previous owner had replaced the alternator with a cheap junk one from Autozone and that thing failed so when we took it off the car, obviously checked all the other pulleys and the water pump bearings were like gravel. Put it all back together and the belts did not ride right, visually had a problem. The crank pulley, the big one at the bottom, on these SC engines, has a molded rubber configuration it drives 2 belts I think, and the rubber in that pulley disfigured from time and heat. That one costs about $500 from Mercedes. The idler pulley is a dual pulley as well and that one also costs about $500 from Mercedes! When replacing alternator or water pump on any of these cars, always use only genuine OEM parts (Bosch) no cheap alternatives! Also whenever replacing a water pump, do the Thermostat as well. These engines are legends, and need to be taken care of right. I feel great knowing all those pulleys and belts, etc are new (now a year and a half old) in my SL55. I can go anywhere without a worry. If you own one of these cars and the miles are getting near 85K or so, it is a good idea to look at your belts while the car is running see that they are tracking perfectly in the grooves on the pulleys, if you can see visually they're not, it needs to be addressed. You can take the belts off and feel the water pump action and if it's not perfect, better get a new water pump. It is crucial to the engine, I hate to think what would have happened if my water pump had been allowed to fail on a highway.

 

Yes, many owners feel the enjoyment of driving a 2007 SL550 outweighs the maintenance headaches, especially with a trusted mechanic and the budget to cover repairs.

 

Mine is still trouble-free near 2 years after I replaced those things which usually are due after 90K miles. Just month after month of no repairs whatsoever, enjoying all spring and summer... No repairs in sight!!

 

Too bad the OP never posted again on this thread, but I see 500+ people have read it.
It is important to remember that not only miles, but also age will wear out parts. Basically if its rubber, it probably needs replacing after 20 years. That includes rubber in internal parts, such as the ABC accumulators.
Unfortunately everyone has ABC hose problems due to mileage and/or age. Some (most?) can be very labor intensive to replace.