Wolfman

Congratulations on your new acquisition! Even though it isn't Mars red, I hope you enjoy this beautifully spec'd SL; along with the ABC, exclusive Nappa this is a very rare one indeed.
I look forward to more posts with pics and your first impressions.

Streamliner

First of all, thanks again, Wolf, for your help. Very much appreciated.

I took the car on a little ride this morning, on a circuit I take whenever I feel the need to just take a brief cruise with the top down. I drove it many times in both my ‘04 SL500 and my ‘13 SL550. My very first impressions of this new car are this:

1. This car is an absolute BARGAIN, as Wolfman declared it back in 2017. There is absolutely nothing available today, at anywhere even close to the $104K MSRP of my car, that can compare with the SL450. The Exclusive Nappa interior is an incredible bargain at $1,900.00 and is close to Bentley territory and perhaps even better in some areas. Virtually all surfaces are wrapped in leather. Here’s a photo.

2. I am astonished at how good this car rides, even on the base 19” wheels & run flat tires. The RFT technology has progressed by leaps & bounds, having gone from HORRIBLE, to definitely acceptable, in only a few years. Of course, the absolutely fabulous ABC must take a lot of the credit here as well. From someone who went from an ‘04 with standard ABC, to a ‘13 without ABC and then onto this new car, I simply cannot believe the utterly sensational difference in ride quality. German engineering at its finest!

3. The Harman-Kardon Logic7 sound system is just HORRIBLE! I know this topic has been discussed here at length and I will definitely pursue an upgrade, but this issue, it would seem to me, just screams out CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT! How MB could continue with this system unchanged, for so many years is just beyond me. How HK could put their name on this piece of junk just boggles the mind. Can you just see an audio engineer on the stand, testifying as to how bad this system is and how it is completely misrepresented by MB as being “wonderful.” Any lawyers reading this?

4. The ‘13 SL550 I had, was a great car. I bought it CPO for only $59K. It was a bargain. That said, to me and others, there is a HUGE enjoyment factor in ordering a brand new car, just the way you want it. CPO is great and I would never knock someone from going that way. However, do not “discount” the sensation of a brand new car. The experience is just wonderful. Depreciation? Definitely something to think about, but to some of us, it is just the price of something very enjoyable. Some folks spend huge sums on watches. I wear a Seiko. Some have boats, airplanes, motorcycles. I don’t have any of those, I LOVE brand new cars.

That’s it for now. I’ll post more as I get to know the car better.

Dino333

^ Love that interior- total high class

.LMS.

Gorgeous

eddieo45

Have you decided what you want to do about mats? I know you wanted mats that snap into the OEM spots but I'll make another recommendation for the diamond quilted mats. The set I bought from another vendor don't cover the little strip of carpet visible forward of the sill when doors are closed, but I believe this vendor's do....


https://www.customein.com/products/c...Fp-J1twsEih4gw

Dr. Manhattan

Streamliner, when you were ordering the car, did anyone at the dealership try to talk you out of ordering ABC? I hear about them doing this all the time, and it just doesn't make sense to me.

Streamliner

No, they didn’t try that. I have ordered cars there before and they know that I want what I want.

Streamliner

To me, “leather” and “floor mats” just don’t go together. I like keeping the car as MB as possible and will actually just get a set of OEM black mats, at least for the time being. Thanks anyway for the referral.

Streamliner

We were out of town for a few days, so I did not get a chance to drive my SL again until today. It now has about 80 miles on it and I must say that I just LOVE it! The car is just SOOOOOO smooth, so comfortable and it rides SOOOOOO much better than my 2013 non-ABC SL550. The muffled sound of the V6 is quite mellow and nice. I put it into “Sport” mode for a bit and was pleased with the sounds and the way the transmission shifted, but I’ll mostly drive it in the “Curve” setting.

When you hit something like a speed bump, you are reminded of the run flat tires, which I will be replacing shortly, with some reasonably cushy, conventional tires. The wheels—that I disliked at first—are growing on me, so I’m thinking of keeping them. I will also be looking into upgrading the sound system, as has been extensively discussed in another thread here. I have even come to love the look of the car. The bright white,with the Espresso Brown wrapping around the cockpit is very good looking, to me.

Not that this means anything, but I am a “glass half empty” type of guy. I often have second thoughts about new cars, thinking that I have somehow made a mistake with my choice. Since I first got behind the wheel of this “lowly,” V6 SL, I have only had thoughts of “why didn’t you get this car sooner?” For me, this is the perfect convertible.

rorywquin

Known phsycological phenomenon - "buyers remorse". You'll get over it - it is a fabulous machine. - I'm 2 years into mine and still love it.

I've read all the complaints about the sound system....my hearing in my left ear is quite bad (military & firearms) and I can hear the rear centre speaker clearly (which is on my left) and I find the sound quality perfectly acceptable. I believe that the facelift sound system is better than in the launch R231 - however I don't see the point of a fancy sound system in a roadster.

I learned from my dad who was a "hi-fi" (as it was known 60 years ago) nut, to simply enjoy the music. He used to build his own equipment (amps etc) and one day suddenly sold it all. He explained to me that he was listening for the faults, instead of listening to the music.

bob55

I'm curious!...Just what exactly are MB Dealers saying about ABC when they try to "talk you out ot it"?

Anyone care to share some of the comments about ABC that you've personally heard from MB Dealers?

I realize a lot of what the MB Salesman say about ABC may lack credibility because they never seem to have any ABC-equipped SL Class vehicles in their Dealer inventory, and are motivated to sell whatever vehicles they happen to have on hand. However, that said I'm still quite curious to know just what you've heard MB Dealers say about 'the ABC option' for the 231 SL Class!

Streamliner

1. That’s the point: I have ZERO buyer’s remorse with this car, but I usually do.

2. Different folks enjoy things differently. For many years, when I would take delivery of a new car, my first stop was Andy’s Auto Radio in Sherman Oaks, CA. Andy would tell me what needed to be done to give me great sound and I’d let him do it. But then, the auto manufacturers started including great systems in the kind of cars I was buying and I have not upgraded one since my 1987 560SEC.

The sound coming out of the HK in my SL is not nearly as good as the first “stereo” system I had in a ‘69 Corvette! As a matter of fact, I know that the old AM radio in my 1956 Oldsmobile sounded better. Anyway, it appears to be a fairly simple thing to cure, so I’m going to upgrade it.

Streamliner

Even though my dealer did not try to talk me out of ABC, I’ve heard it before. They will say it is a waste of money, that you don’t need it, that it can be problematic, that it’s too expensive, that you can’t tell the difference, blah, blah, BLAH!

The real reason they don’t want you to order it, is because they want you to take one of the cars that has already been built, that is in the system, that they can put you in immediately—if not sooner! They don’t want you to wait for a special order and possibly change your mind and buy something else—FROM SOMEONE ELSE—while waiting. They won’t order cars with ABC for stock, because 99.9% of the customers out there don’t know what it is, what it does and having an SL in stock with a $4K+ “price disadvantage,” means they can’t, in most cases, get the payment as low on an ABC car, to compete with non-ABC cars.

Mercedes-Benz has several vehicles with some fabulous available options, but almost nobody, other than enthusiasts ever hear about them, which is a crying shame. IMHO, the sales of the SL fell off dramatically with the introduction of the R231, due in huge part to two reasons: 1) The beautiful, non-AMG Sport Pkg. body was never imported into the U.S. and 2) ABC went from standard equipment to being a $4K+ option. In short, they went from the beautiful and smooth riding R230 to the odd styled, bumpy riding R231 and many SL owners changed and went to Porsche, Jaguar, BMW’s, etc. Of course, this is just my opinion, but this idiocy is the reason that the new SL will be a 2+2 rag top. If the R231 had been done right from the start, sales would be much stronger today and MB would be spending big money to engineer a new SL, without piggybacking it onto another car, which is forcing it to lose so much of what we love about it. Again, just my opinion, as someone who has bought or leased eight SL’s over the years.

allfortheunion

I’ve found it surprising how little MB sales people actually know about what they are selling. If you’re a reader of this forum and have carefully gone over the D.O.G. you without a doubt know more about the car than they do. (For instance none of them knew the difference between Nappa Leather and Exclusive Nappa Leather - I had to find out here). Talking to several salesmen over the past two years about ordering an SL, all but one advised against ABC when asked about it, but had no specific reason and certainly no personal experience with it. The one salesman who had personaly owned and driven older S class cars with ABC sent me, unprompted, a very long email describing the system and encouraging me to include it. So the one person who had actually driven one was for it, the others not. I think unfamiliarity may be one of the main reasons its not being recommended more often.

allfortheunion

And Streamliner is also right on.

bob55

hCome on now Streamliner, the statement above is a bit 'over the top' don't you think? There's no way the HK system is that bad unless the one in your SL somehow got 'really messed up', (i.e. audio settings askew or the sytem was improperly installed by the MB factory).

It's one thing to say your HK system 'should be better', (which a lot of people here would agree with), but quite another thing to suggest on this forum that a 56 Oldsmobile AM radio sounds better than the 231 SL's Harman Kardon Logic-7 Surround system....Congrats on your new SL, but 'Come on Man', there's no need to say the HK system is as bad as that!...

Full Disclosure: I must confess that I have never owned a 56 Olds, but like Streamliner, I did own an 86 MB 560 SEC and a 69 Corvette! IMO, the 231's Harman Kardon Logic-7 Surround System is far superior to the factory radio systems offered in either of those cars!


.

Streamliner

OK, let’s forget about my old Oldsmobile, as it was many decades ago. The sound coming out of my HK system, is HORRIBLE! My wife has the HK in her 2016 E350 sedan and her system sounds like a live performance in a concert hall, compared to the PAINFUL noise coming out of the system in my SL. Better?

allfortheunion

Let us know how your upgrade goes.

bob55

Regarding the HK system for the 231, I do suggest going to the Audio Settings and increasing both the Bass and Treble Output Levels to at least +8, if you have not already done so....(You will notice the difference) . Also, while in 'audio settings' ensure that the Logic-7 Surround Setting is actually turned 'ON'.

I'm certainly not an 'Audiophile' by any means, but after listening almost exclusively to Sirius XM, (Digital Satellite Music), since first buying my 231, my opinion is that the HK system in my 2013 SL 550 sounds just fine...Perhaps 'the source' of the music you choose to listen to has a much to do with your level of satisfaction!.

Wolfman

I will also defend the audio a bit. Arguably, the Burmester in our AMG GTC is quite a bit better than the HK in the SL but I find the audio quality decent but much depends on the settings.

The other question the source selection.
Sirius is junk of course due to its high compression rate and shouldn't be used for any comparison.
HD Radio, Disc or iPhone via USB. On the iPhone I use the equalizer setting which will also apply when using CarPlay, not just Bluetooth.

Most important; I also found that a friend of ours complained about sound but had only set the audio settings for one input and then played another. Settings only apply on one audio source, not to all sources. Audio controls need to be set for each input source separately; Radio, Sirius, BT, CarPlay, Disc, etc...

Streamliner

I have had HK systems in other cars & SUV’s and they were all GREAT. This system in the SL is unnecessarily complicated and even when everything is tuned and adjusted properly, the resulting sound, at least in my new car, is harsh, brittle and absolutely unacceptable. The audiophile idiot—like ME—should be able to simply insert a CD, and hear clear, crisp, melodious and simply BEAUTIFUL music, but that does not happen, at least to my ears. For what these cars cost, there is absolutely NO excuse for these systems. If I wasn’t concerned about being black-balled my MBUSA, I would give serious consideration to filing a law suit against them on this issue. However, since a “fix” appears to be only a few hundred dollars away, I’ll just go that route. WHY this system wasn’t reworked in 2014, is just a testament to my feeling, that if you look in the dictionary under “STUBBORN,” you’ll see a picture of a chubby fellow, hoisting a beer stein, wearing lederhosen!

In affluent areas, where SL’s are as common as Honda Accords, “fixing” the sound systems in R231 cars is a cottage industry. Talking about this problem is a bad joke. The fact that some members are satisfied with this horrible system is just amazing to me. Drive any upscale Toyota or Lexus car from the last TWENTY YEARS, and the audio will be day and night better than this piece of junk in the R231’s.

Wolfman

We may listen to very different music

I assume your 2013 SL must have sounded the same as MB never made a change to the R231 audio system. They just changed a couple comand-related screens...
Also, what is supposed t be the "fix"? Adding sound to the rear speakers? That by design can't be a fix to a crappy system.

eddieo45

That's a great point: "louder in the back" does not equal "upgraded audio quality."


That could be an interesting discussion topic, although it's been said that a majority of men listen to the music from the era when they became sexually active for the rest of their lives.

steve sl550

Real question to MB and HK is why have rear speakers if the owner can't use them as he/she wants to based on the owners preference !

That is the question.......what designer and manufacturer in their right mind would spend the money to put in rear speakers if they can't be used in all music modes and when all that is needed to use the rear speakers is a FW (firm ware) and SW (soft ware) fix to allow fader adjust.

NUTS to have designed w/o fader capability and really nuts for MB to not have done an upgrade along the way !!!

I'm an EE by training and my company supplies the majority of memory ICs to Bose. I have discussed this issue with Bose Engineers and they think it is NUTs as well that there would be speakers installed that can not be used except when using a non universal medium

If HK wanted the perfect system and only way to get it was to use a special source medium there were plenty of other design options they could have used to allow F to R fade BUT, default to what they wanted for "their idea of perfection" when using the "required" source.

BAD design.....bad group at MB human factors div as well

Steve, Based on my fix I now with a system that works like it should with infinite control F to R fade

Streamliner

Wolf, I listen to a vintage rock—which I know is not easily reproduced in good quality. But I also listen to much more recently recorded music, such as some country, smooth jazz, classical, etc. None of it played on the system in the new car comes anywhere close to what I heard in my 2004 SL500 and I never had to fuss with it. Turn it on and out came beautiful music, even with the top down. That’s how the R231 systems should work, IMO.

You know, that 2013 SL550 I had, was somewhat modified. It had SL63 resonators, the 19” wheels were replaced with 18’s, I now see that the inside of the glass roof was heavily tinted, as there is now SO much light coming through the screen over my head in the new car, and it would now appear that at least something had been done to the sound system. The sound in the 2013 was better than in this new one, but was still crummy. Knowing that I would not keep the car long term, I never looked into improving it.

Just for fun, I searched the web for “Mercedes SL Sound System Newport Beach” and I got several hits, including this one: https://www.socalautosound.com/mercedes/

I mean, if a company is out there actually seeking business to upgrade systems in one, particular model of car, there must be MANY unhappy owners. I’m sorry, Wolf, but saying that this HK System is not that bad, is defending something that just isn’t right. “The Best or Nothing,” remember? The systems should have been reworked with the 2014 model. There is no excuse for MB to have ignored the shortcomings of these systems for so long. Oh well, our opinions on this just differ.