SL/R231: In the market for new SL
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From: God's County (Yorkshire)
Shanks’s Pony
I wonder if there is a similar reference for the car's ridiculous mechanical top...that scares me as much as ABC does (not).
Seriously though, the car's top is one of its "claims to fame"...that is, a reason for me to consider an SL over a 911. ABC is another, similar reason. It's an option that Porsche doesn't/can't offer. Is it complex? You bet it is. So is that retractable hard top. Life is a crap shoot. You pays your money and you takes your chances. For some, the benefits of ABC will simply outweigh any ostensible potential problems.
Seriously though, the car's top is one of its "claims to fame"...that is, a reason for me to consider an SL over a 911. ABC is another, similar reason. It's an option that Porsche doesn't/can't offer. Is it complex? You bet it is. So is that retractable hard top. Life is a crap shoot. You pays your money and you takes your chances. For some, the benefits of ABC will simply outweigh any ostensible potential problems.
It is like owning two different cars. Feels very different in the two configurations. I'd like a 911 just don't have the $$$
Last edited by rorywquin; Aug 10, 2018 at 08:17 AM.
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From: Phoenix, AZ
2013 SL550
Problem is you will only hear about all the people with ABC problems online. If you count them up how many are there really and how many SLs have been sold?
MB will have a continuous improvement programme and would not persist with ABC if it was truly rubbish.
The SL is one of their flagship cars.
MB will have a continuous improvement programme and would not persist with ABC if it was truly rubbish.
The SL is one of their flagship cars.
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From: God's County (Yorkshire)
Shanks’s Pony
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From: Arlington VA
'24 CLE 53
Problem is you will only hear about all the people with ABC problems online. If you count them up how many are there really and how many SLs have been sold?
MB will have a continuous improvement programme and would not persist with ABC if it was truly rubbish.
The SL is one of their flagship cars.
MB will have a continuous improvement programme and would not persist with ABC if it was truly rubbish.
The SL is one of their flagship cars.
Last edited by BigHat; Aug 10, 2018 at 01:58 PM.
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From: Brookshire, Texas & Cat Spring, Texas
2019 SL550/2023 EQS 580 SUV
One of the problems with ABC was MB’s insistence that the ABC side of the pump system did not need the fluid replaced until a huge amount of miles and was a non maintenance item. I bought my original SL, a ‘2008 in 2015 with 25k miles, and the original light green fluid was already black in color.
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From: God's County (Yorkshire)
Shanks’s Pony
Sorry. Not looking to pick a fight, but what you have here is a thin slice of MB owners that care enough about their cars to join and participate in a forum. To claim some magical higher correlation between ABC problems and posting them here is just plain silly. I suspect less than 1% of SL owners even know this board exists and half of them don't care. Love the car, willingly opted to order it with ABC and simply shared my personal experiences with the system when the question was posed. A 2013 car with under 12K miles and over $5k of ABC related warranty work (thank God) that was deemed to be minor by the maint. dept. They too informed me the system doesn't age well. I don't claim it to be anything more than a data point and don't make any declarative statement about the system. But again, it's nonsense to claim more cars have no problems because their owners would have otherwise posted them here. The logical conclusion is that if this site's membership is statistically significant, it mirrors the population. If not, claiming ABC is a problem or not is a waste of time. Only MB really knows. I'd buy the option again and hope MB continues to make it better and more reliable at every turn, but I PERSONALLY wasn't expecting repairs at under 12K miles.
However, let's agree to differ!
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From: Brookshire, Texas & Cat Spring, Texas
2019 SL550/2023 EQS 580 SUV
One has to keep in mind that the SL is I believe the lowest production/sold car in the MB line at least here in the US. I found a site last year that lists production numbers for all cars sold in the US and the SL was listed near 1250 units which is minuscule compared to most other cars. I do know at our 5 local dealerships here in Houston, Texas they list 45-50 C class for sale for every 1 SL. They are as rare as hen’s teeth so all the discussion on the 230 Forum on ABC problems May be accurate. Who knows....
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From: Land of 10,000 lakes
AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
The whole ABC discussion on the R231 has become a complete waste of time IMO.
99% of discussions come from people that don't have it and don't care to hear from people that do.
So far, this has been a complete non-issue (same as the MBC equipped S-Class models).
99% of discussions come from people that don't have it and don't care to hear from people that do.
So far, this has been a complete non-issue (same as the MBC equipped S-Class models).
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Finally!
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14 E63S Wagon, 16 GTS Edition1 (Sold), 17 SL450 designo edition
One has to keep in mind that the SL is I believe the lowest production/sold car in the MB line at least here in the US. I found a site last year that lists production numbers for all cars sold in the US and the SL was listed near 1250 units which is minuscule compared to most other cars. I do know at our 5 local dealerships here in Houston, Texas they list 45-50 C class for sale for every 1 SL. They are as rare as hen’s teeth so all the discussion on the 230 Forum on ABC problems May be accurate. Who knows....
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
Go here:
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales...cedes-benz-sl/
They have sales figures for pretty much everything...
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales...cedes-benz-sl/
They have sales figures for pretty much everything...
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Sold 06 CLS500. SL550 09. SL550 2013. Own C6 Corvette heavily customized garage queen 2005.
SO TRUE WOLF...........................Still waiting for news of new.
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From: Nothern Georgia, U.S.A.
'17 SL450, '25 Lyriq, '25 Sonata Hybrid, '96 Corvette GS coupe
I thought the new one was coming in 2020. A photo was posted somewhere here...I didn't care for the tiny headlights, but I suppose we'll all have to get used to them as L.E.D.s just don't need to take up as much room as what we're used to looking at. And, if the new car has the rumored soft top, I wouldn't be interested anyway.
Someone here stated that the ABC's hydraulic fluid was relatively easy to change out. If true, one could do so every 20-30k miles if one so chose. That '03 YouTube AMG that I saw couldn't possibly have had any ABC maintenance performed, as everything else on the car had been neglected, and the ABC was working fine at 117k miles. The car had a programmed-in warning displaying on the dash stating that the service life of the SBC pump had been exceeded and it needed replacing (even though the brakes were still working normally)...basically, the electric pump motor for the brake system was officially beyond its rated life. If Mercedes built that warning into the '03 SL, they must have also included something similar for the ABC...yet there were no codes/warnings for the still-functioning ABC. I think if I can find a car that has ABC, I'll be flushing the fluid from time to time...but that's just me.
One of the problems with ABC was MB’s insistence that the ABC side of the pump system did not need the fluid replaced until a huge amount of miles and was a non maintenance item. I bought my original SL, a ‘2008 in 2015 with 25k miles, and the original light green fluid was already black in color.
Last edited by Dr. Manhattan; Aug 12, 2018 at 03:51 PM.
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Sold 06 CLS500. SL550 09. SL550 2013. Own C6 Corvette heavily customized garage queen 2005.
Don't think so as there would have been more discussion. Just rumors but actual photos?
Someone here stated that the ABC's hydraulic fluid was relatively easy to change out. If true, one could do so every 20-30k miles if one so chose. That '03 YouTube AMG that I saw couldn't possible have had any ABC maintenance performed, as everything else on the car had been neglected, and the ABC was working fine at 117k miles. The car had a programmed-in warning displaying on the dash stating that the service life of the SBC pump had been exceeded and it needed replacing (even though the brakes were still working normally)...basically, the electric pump motor for the brake system was officially beyond its rated life. If Mercedes built that warning into the '03 SL, they must have also included something similar for the ABC...yet there were no codes/warnings for the still-functioning ABC. I think if I can find a car that has ABC, I'll be flushing the fluid from time to time...but that's just me.
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From: Corona Del Mar, CA
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
My best guess is that the new SL R232 will come out in mid 2020 as a 2021 Model. I think we will still see a 2020 R231 and if MB is smart, they will get a little creative with the last year car, possibly by offering some truly different colors/wheels, etc. Of course, the most likely result will be a “Special Edition” offering, which will probably be some less than appealing color combination at a highly inflated price. Anyway, we can only wait and see.
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Sold 06 CLS500. SL550 09. SL550 2013. Own C6 Corvette heavily customized garage queen 2005.
I think branmin inserted his text into your quote by mistake. JMO
Yes, I did..sorry about that.
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Gene
Gene
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From: South Florida
2013 SL550 (Lux Sport), 2006 CL55 AMG (Muscle). S550 (Wife's Sedan)
Very few new posts in this SL (231) section. Seems that interest in the 231 is waning. The SL 230 section is at least somewhat more active.
The SL Class in general just doesn't seem to get the same attention from Car Enthusiasts that it used to get!....Wondering just why that is?...
The SL Class in general just doesn't seem to get the same attention from Car Enthusiasts that it used to get!....Wondering just why that is?...
Last edited by bob55; Aug 20, 2018 at 03:16 PM.
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Mercedes SL 450
I think everyone is out enjoying their SL ! - I am so glad I got the wheel and tire insurance when I bought my 2018 SL - as I have already
had two tires put on it - both front and rear on the drivers side - Buldges in the side wall - at around 600 a throw ( replaced many on my 2015 SL)
it is well worth the cost of around $2,000.00 for 4 years - Vehicle has only 4,000 miles on it since I got it last November. A joy to drive for sure !
Phil
had two tires put on it - both front and rear on the drivers side - Buldges in the side wall - at around 600 a throw ( replaced many on my 2015 SL)
it is well worth the cost of around $2,000.00 for 4 years - Vehicle has only 4,000 miles on it since I got it last November. A joy to drive for sure !
Phil
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From: Brookshire, Texas & Cat Spring, Texas
2019 SL550/2023 EQS 580 SUV
Very few new posts in this SL (231) section. Seems that interest in the 231 is waning. The SL 230 section is at least somewhat more active.
The SL Class in general just doesn't seem to get the same attention from Car Enthusiasts that it used to get!....Wondering just why that is?...
The SL Class in general just doesn't seem to get the same attention from Car Enthusiasts that it used to get!....Wondering just why that is?...
(1) The whole S Class used to have innovative items that the lower priced E and C Class did not have and this made the S Class exclusive.
Mercedes for some reason decided to make many of these innovations available in their lower priced cars so the S Class is no longer as exclusive.
(2) Mercedes now offers convertables at a lower price in there less expensive cars.
(3) Folks that just want a convertable for fun and are not as concerned about performance can buy 3-4 “ Miatas” for the same price as a SL.. There is also a version now with retractable roof panels. They are really fun to drive....
(4) Two Seaters in general are extremely impracticle for the vast majority of the public. Try going to Home Depot this weekend for a 8 foot 2x4 and a couple of sacks of concrete. Or when friends come over taking them for a drive......one at a time.
(5) Most folks do not have a extra 100k for a 2nd. Or 3rd. Automobile.
Having said all this I wouldn’t trade my SL for anything.....except another SL!
Last edited by Utopia Texas; Aug 20, 2018 at 08:07 PM.
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From: Franklin, TN
2019 E450 wagon: 2019 BMW 430i: 2013 Chevy Traverse: (departed)2013 SL550 & 2019 E450 cab
Well played UT, it is a great motor car. Not for the flash crowd, but a most competent vehicle that provides a coupe driving experience and a drop top driving experience, with equal aplomb. As a friend noted a couple of years ago, 'it's what every car wants to be when it grows up.' Just a joy to drive, and delivers that experience in a totally competent package. IMO the reason there is not as much input on the 231 site, is that the cars are newer, and quite simply, a better car than the 230. We have a MB tech that we have gone to for twenty years; when we asked him about the SL, he was quite succinct when the conversation came up regarding both models; 'Go with the 231' was his advice; which we heeded, and are now enjoying a car that does everything that we had hoped it would do. Want 130 mph? Got it. Want to go to the mountains for the weekend? Got it. Want to put a sheet of plywood in? Well, that's why we have the SUV. Drive on.
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From: Phoenix, AZ
2013 SL550
Lack of 231 chat is a case of "no new is good news". It's not a stunner but (to-date) lacks the problems of the better looking but older 230. If the 231 had a serious common problem I'm quite sure this forum would be blazing. The reduced chat may also be due to the fact more 230s were sold.
In any case, I enjoy enjoy my car very much. It has been better than I expected in every way. It's fast, comfortable, quiet, practical, and surprisingly economical. Can't wait for the next long trip.
In any case, I enjoy enjoy my car very much. It has been better than I expected in every way. It's fast, comfortable, quiet, practical, and surprisingly economical. Can't wait for the next long trip.
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From: God's County (Yorkshire)
Shanks’s Pony
Lack of 231 chat is a case of "no new is good news". It's not a stunner but (to-date) lacks the problems of the better looking but older 230. If the 231 had a serious common problem I'm quite sure this forum would be blazing. The reduced chat may also be due to the fact more 230s were sold.
In any case, I enjoy enjoy my car very much. It has been better than I expected in every way. It's fast, comfortable, quiet, practical, and surprisingly economical. Can't wait for the next long trip.
In any case, I enjoy enjoy my car very much. It has been better than I expected in every way. It's fast, comfortable, quiet, practical, and surprisingly economical. Can't wait for the next long trip.
