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I'm considering buying a used SL400/450/550. Is there a model year (2013-2017) that's better in terms of reliability or issues in general? Is there a model year, in which, it would wise to avoid?
2020 S560 Sedan, 2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, '24 BMW I7 on order...
Well, this discussion will reopen a can of worms on this forum, as pretty much everyone will defend the car they own. Based on that, getting a straight answer is difficult, with the exception, of the answer you will get from me. I had a 2013 SL550 and now have a 2019 SL450, so I feel I can offer a good comparison of the 2013 to 2016 vs the 2017 to 2020, along with the V6 vs V8. I will not mention the AMG SL’s as they are a whole different story. Of course, this is all my opinion, so here goes:
1. I much prefer my 450 with a V6 over my 550 with the V8. To me the 369hp six has WAY more power than anyone could ever need in an SL. And, there is a huge difference in the ride quality. The lighter six gives the car a more nimble, “sportier” feeling. The eight felt front heavy to me. The V6 cars are virtually IDENTICAL to the V8 cars, in every way other than the engines, but they cost fully $20,000.00 LESS. The V8 cars are not overpriced, the V6 cars are simply an absolute BARGAIN! Many magazine reviews agree.
2. The 2013 to 2016 cars had a 7-Speed transmission, whereas the later cars got the new 9-Speed which is WAY smoother shifting. The extra gears really get the most out of the engines as well.
3. When the R231 was first designed, two models were offered in Germany and many other countries, a regular model or one with the AMG Sport Package. I loved the regular model and thought it was just lovely. Unfortunately, MBUSA never allowed their customers a choice, electing to ONLY import the Sport Pkg. models into the USA. The front end of these cars, again, IMHO, is odd looking. They look to me like MB spent little time in the final design of this front end, giving us a design that could have and should have been much nicer. This “problem” was dealt with in the 2017 “refreshed” models and I feel the later cars look much better. Many magazine reviews agree on this as well.
4. The 2017 & later cars have Apple Car Play. The earlier cars have a six CD changer. The earlier cars also had more speakers than the later cars. Frankly, I miss the CD changer, so I’d have to say the audio in the earlier cars was better. All that said, the sound you will get out of ANY 2013 & later SL is truly CRUMMY for a $100K+ car and does not compare favorably with factory systems in many, if not most new cars costing less than half the price of an SL.
5. I happen to feel that the exterior color offerings were better on the earlier cars, but that certainly is personal preference.
6. Lastly, I must mention that there is an amazing option on these cars, called Active Body Control or ABC for short. The option is $4K+, and VERY few 2013 & later SL450’s & 550’s have it. Read up on that feature, before you buy any 2013 or later SL. If ride quality is important to you, you’ll really want it.
me: 2015 SL400 & 2015 ML400; wife: 2022 GLC Coupe kid: 2017 GLC SUV
Originally Posted by tisdale
I'm considering buying a used SL400/450/550. Is there a model year (2013-2017) that's better in terms of reliability or issues in general? Is there a model year, in which, it would wise to avoid?
Originally Posted by Streamliner
Well, this discussion will reopen a can of worms on this forum, as pretty much everyone will defend the car they own.
Not me; I determined that my dream SL would be the facelifted 2017, but did not want to spend the money. I probably spent $12-15000 less on my 2015, which I told myself at the time "my first SL may not be my last..."
Originally Posted by Streamliner
1. I much prefer my 450 with a V6 over my 550 with the V8. To me the 369hp six has WAY more power than anyone could ever need in an SL. And, there is a huge difference in the ride quality. The lighter six gives the car a more nimble, “sportier” feeling. The eight felt front heavy to me. The V6 cars are virtually IDENTICAL to the V8 cars, in every way other than the engines, but they cost fully $20,000.00 LESS. The V8 cars are not overpriced, the V6 cars are simply an absolute BARGAIN! Many magazine reviews agree.
I agree. As many SLs as I "looked" at, I only drove 2: a 2013 SL550 and the 2015 SL400 I bought, both around the same price, so that $20,000 difference turns into a two model year difference which, for me provided about 6 months remaining on the original warranty. A dealer friend also told me at the time that service is less expensive on the 6 as well.
Originally Posted by Streamliner
2. The 2013 to 2016 cars had a 7-Speed transmission, whereas the later cars got the new 9-Speed which is WAY smoother shifting. The extra gears really get the most out of the engines as well.
I can only imagine, but as nice as the 7-Speed is it would seem obvious that the 9-Speed would be sublime.
Originally Posted by Streamliner
4. The 2017 & later cars have Apple Car Play. The earlier cars have a six CD changer....
My 2015 has no changer; single CD slot that allows recording to the internal hard drive. Play the CD once and you don't need it in the car again. I love it.
Originally Posted by Streamliner
5. I happen to feel that the exterior color offerings were better on the earlier cars, but that certainly is personal preference.
I've only owned silver and black MB's, and my first choice for the SL was white, but I also considered black (obviously) and silver. Now that I have my gorgeous black and red rocket I realize I could have been far more open-minded. Nearly every color of R231 (and R230) I see on the road looks beautiful to me, and I love the smiles, nods and waves from the other geezers when we spot each other!!
I'd say that if reliability and power are important, skip the 400/450 since those engines don't have the same reliability. The 2014 had a better audio system than the 2013, 2015, and 2016. The 2017 and upwards are obviously a bit better with more features and updated styling.
2014 was actually a 'carry over year' for the SL550, so no changes were made to the SL 550 for 2014 except for several new exterior color options that are mentioned below. The 2014 SL 550 is otherwise identical to the 2013 SL550 model, including the 14-speaker HK Audio System with a 6-DVD/CD changer.
2014 - Just a few color changes only, nothing else was changed: Specifically, the Pearl Beige Metallic exterior color was dropped for 2014, but Cardinal Red Metallic and Selenite Grey Metallic were added....So (13) exterior colors for 2014 verses the (12) colors available in 2013.
Note: FWIW, I recommend the 550 TT V8 over either of the V6 engines! The more
exhilarating performance is well worth extra money for the year's when it's necessary. The 550 V8 is the engine the 231 was intended to have when it was designed. The less powerful V6 engines which came later, (in 2015) ,were offered primarily to improve MB gas mileage numbers, and to allow a lower price entry point into the SL Class. IMO, a 231 deserves 'nothing less' than the powerful 550 Twin Turbo V8 engine!...
Aside from the recommendation above, I think all model years of the 231 are fantastic. Your enjoyment of the 231 driving experience will be virtually the same regardless of which 231 model year you choose as long as you choose wisely!
Of course, given the 'mind blowing depreciation' of the 231, it's quite difficult to justify buying a brand new one. So, should you decide to buy a used one, (like I did), just be sure to look for a clean, low mileage CPO from an Authorized MB Dealer. That's precisely what I did, and I am very happy with that decision. I was able to acquire a 'like new' used 2013 SL 550 CPO in October of 2018 for roughly 1/3 of the 'brand new' 231 price. It was a Palm Beach Florida Car previously owned by a 'Snow Bird' who only drove it during his winter visits to his 2nd Home here in the Sunshine State. It's a beautiful Palladium Silver Metallic Exterior with Ginger Beige/Espresso Brown Nappa Leather and Burlwood Trim including the Steering Wheel. Has all the goodies I wanted: including Magic Sky Roof, Driver Assist Package, Illuminated Door Sills etc,.Best of all, it had just 15K miles when I took delivery. Still feels and drives like brand new even now despite the bargain price paid!. Yet to need any kind of service!
With regard to just which model year year of the 231 is best, I reiterate that all years are great, but obviously the power train and the style of car was changed a bit in 2017. While I may be in the minority and just a bit biased, I prefer the original design of the 2013-2016 231's to the newer 2017+ 'face lifted' style 31 models. As mentioned earlier, I recommend either of the 550 TT V8's over either of the V6 engines. Furthermore, whilel both the 7-Speed and the 9-Speed Transmissions are excellent, the less powerful V6 engine benefits more from (2) extra gears than the very powerful 550 TT V8 does. As others on this forum have said, you may feel the new 2017+ 'bullet studded grille', lower grille fascia, and tail light changes actually look 'worse' than before the change. It's subjective of course, but I still prefer the handsome grille, lower grille fascia, and taillights from the original (2013-2016) 231's. I also think there were better exterior color choices to be had with the original 231 models as compared to the available colors we have to select now with the current 231. Last but not least, I think the best bargains are likely going to be found among the earlier (original style) models when shopping for used, low mileage, 231's. Keep in mind that aide from the obvious color and wheel choice variables, the 2013-2016 231's all look the same, just as the 2017-2020 231's all look the same. You can't tell which model year of the 231 you're actually seeing!. Even people that are very familiar with the face lift changes that occurred in 2017 seem to think my 2013 SL 550 must be a 2016 model...
Of particular significance when comparing model years of the 231 SL Class:
- The 231 SL Class 6-cylinder engine made it's debut in 2015 as the SL 400 and the Harman Kardon Audio System was modified. (No 6-DVD/CD changer and (3) fewer speakers on the 2015 models).
- SL 550's Twin Turbo V8 gained 20 more Horsepower for 2016....(Now 449 HP)..
- The 'face lifted' models appeared in 2017 but reviews are mixed as to whether the 231's appearance was actually improved. A 9-speed transmission upgrade was also announced and the SL450 replaced the SL400...(So more power is available for the 6-cylinder engine in 2017). On the downside, there are fewer exterior color choices are available for the 231 now, and new 231 sales have fallen quite quite significantly over the last few years.
To help with your search across model years, I've included Web LINKS below that you can click on to view MBUSA (pdf file) BROCHURES. These include the brochure files for ALL 231 model years, (2013-2019).. These brochure files are quite useful in determining the feature differences between the model years of the 231 and should be helful when comparing 231's that you are interested in.
Well, this discussion will reopen a can of worms on this forum, as pretty much everyone will defend the car they own. Based on that, getting a straight answer is difficult, with the exception, of the answer you will get from me. I had a 2013 SL550 and now have a 2019 SL450, so I feel I can offer a good comparison of the 2013 to 2016 vs the 2017 to 2020, along with the V6 vs V8. I will not mention the AMG SL’s as they are a whole different story. Of course, this is all my opinion, so here goes:
1. I much prefer my 450 with a V6 over my 550 with the V8. To me the 369hp six has WAY more power than anyone could ever need in an SL. And, there is a huge difference in the ride quality. The lighter six gives the car a more nimble, “sportier” feeling. The eight felt front heavy to me. The V6 cars are virtually IDENTICAL to the V8 cars, in every way other than the engines, but they cost fully $20,000.00 LESS. The V8 cars are not overpriced, the V6 cars are simply an absolute BARGAIN! Many magazine reviews agree.
2. The 2013 to 2016 cars had a 7-Speed transmission, whereas the later cars got the new 9-Speed which is WAY smoother shifting. The extra gears really get the most out of the engines as well.
3. When the R231 was first designed, two models were offered in Germany and many other countries, a regular model or one with the AMG Sport Package. I loved the regular model and thought it was just lovely. Unfortunately, MBUSA never allowed their customers a choice, electing to ONLY import the Sport Pkg. models into the USA. The front end of these cars, again, IMHO, is odd looking. They look to me like MB spent little time in the final design of this front end, giving us a design that could have and should have been much nicer. This “problem” was dealt with in the 2017 “refreshed” models and I feel the later cars look much better. Many magazine reviews agree on this as well.
4. The 2017 & later cars have Apple Car Play. The earlier cars have a six CD changer. The earlier cars also had more speakers than the later cars. Frankly, I miss the CD changer, so I’d have to say the audio in the earlier cars was better. All that said, the sound you will get out of ANY 2013 & later SL is truly CRUMMY for a $100K+ car and does not compare favorably with factory systems in many, if not most new cars costing less than half the price of an SL.
5. I happen to feel that the exterior color offerings were better on the earlier cars, but that certainly is personal preference.
6. Lastly, I must mention that there is an amazing option on these cars, called Active Body Control or ABC for short. The option is $4K+, and VERY few 2013 & later SL450’s & 550’s have it. Read up on that feature, before you buy any 2013 or later SL. If ride quality is important to you, you’ll really want it.
Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck!
Thanks, Streamliner, so much for your detail comparison/contrast of the various models. I was also wondering about Apple Car Play, but forgot to ask. However, you addressed that as well. Thank you, Sir!!
I must admit at this point the V6 has my attention partly because I think the power is more than sufficient for me and partly because I'm frugal ( my wife calls it cheap..Lol!!); thus, my questions concerning reliability. :-) I plan on keeping the vehicle long term.
Lastly, the experience one member (Dino333 I THINK) wrote about sent chills thru me. I'm thankful he shared his story.
2014 was a 'carry over year' for the SL550, so no changes were made to the SL550 in 2014 except for several new exterior color options that are mentioned below. The 2014 SL 550 is otherwise identical to the 2013 SL550 model including the 14-speaker HK Audio System with a 6-DVD/CD changer.
Pearl Beige Metallic was dropped for 2014, but Cardinal Red Metallic and Selenite Grey Metallic were added....There were 13 exterior colors for 2014 verses 12 colors offered in 2013.
Of significance;
- The 231 SL Class 6-cylinder engine made it's debut in 2015 as the SL 400 and the HK Audio System was modified.
- The 'face lift' models appeared in 2017 with HP and 9-speed transmission upgrades..
I've included links below to the MBUSA pdf.file brochures for model years 2013-2019. These can help you determine the differences between the various model years of the 231.
Thanks, Streamliner, so much for your detail comparison/contrast of the various models. I was also wondering about Apple Car Play, but forgot to ask. However, you addressed that as well. Thank you, Sir!!
I must admit at this point the V6 has my attention partly because I think the power is more than sufficient for me and partly because I'm frugal ( my wife calls it cheap..Lol!!); thus, my questions concerning reliability. :-) I plan on keeping the vehicle long term.
Lastly, the experience one member (Dino333 I THINK) wrote about sent chills thru me. I'm thankful he shared his story.
If it helps, there is no difference in reliability between the V6 and V8; both are rock solid.
2017+ offers a better exclusive Nappa leather package where the whole interior is covered with soft Nappa leather. Same can be achieved by finding a Designo leather package across all years.
2013 SL550 owner here. My car is six years old, has 41K miles, and is rock solid. IMO the 550 with the additional torque is the 'better' car for my driving; however either engine can deliver the speeds that we need in this country. So far, routine maintenance, which I do by the book; and some cases a little ahead. But you most certainly enjoy either version you elect to place in your garage. As a good friend of mine says, 'The SL is the car that all the others want to be when they grow up!' Enjoy the drive!
I’d strongly suggest driving all engine choices. As good as opinions are, there’s NO substitute for you being hands on. My SL is a 550, the V8.
Personally preferred it by a long shot to other engine choices.
As as stated above very accurately by another writer, due to heavy depreciation you can save a bundle on a pre facelift (2013-2016) car. The ‘16s are a great value now.
I’d strongly suggest driving all engine choices. As good as opinions are, there’s NO substitute for you being hands on. My SL is a 550, the V8.
Personally preferred it by a long shot to other engine choices.
As as stated above very accurately by another writer, due to heavy depreciation you can save a bundle on a pre facelift (2013-2016) car. The ‘16s are a great value now.
09-01-2019, 05:00 PM
Which SL Model Year is Better (2013-2017)
I had a 2013 SL550 and now have a 2019 SL450, so I feel I can offer a good comparison of the 2013 to 2016 vs the 2017 to 2020, along with the V6 vs V8. I will not mention the AMG SL’s as they are a whole different story. Of course, this is all my opinion, so here goes:
