So after much deliberation, and a bit of searching, I found the perfect Certified Preowned SL for me and brought her home this week. I had been debating between an SL and an S Coupe, and opted for the SL as it was much more comfortable for me to drive. The S Coupe was both too big for me (and truthfully, probably too expensive as well). The only "must haves" for me were Magic Sky, nappa leather and diamond white. I found a CPO SL in Sacramento, CA that had all of the above, but the mileage was more than I wanted (around 35,000) and it had a questionable Carfax report. As I had already sold my BMW, I was without a car and starting to get a bit desperate. I went to the Encino dealership to look at a 2019 with only 7,000 miles on it. It was a great price, but black, no Magic Sky and no nappa. Still, at the price it was offered with as much warranty as it still had, and low mileage, I was considering it. When lo and behold, all of a sudden, a 2017 SL550 in white, with nappa leather and Magic Sky showed up at Fletcher Jones in Newport Beach. Better still, it had only 6,000 miles on it. It also had a wood steering wheel and the illuminated door sills - both nice icing on the cake. So despite it having the original warranty up, I couldnʻt pass this one up and grabbed it (even though I had actually wanted a 450).

I want to thank all of you for your advice and support during this purchase. I also want to thank everyone for mentioning Jeff Jackson on this forum. Fletcher had quoted me $5900 to add two more years onto my CPO warranty and he was able to do it for a couple thousand less. So thanks for that as well!

When I went to look at it, it had chrome wheels on it and Iʻm not a chrome kinda girl (different strokes for different folks). So my salesman said he would swap out the wheels and get new ones or get these de-chromed. I signed the paperwork last week and picked up the car Tuesday night. All was fine and dandy until the low tire pressure indicator came on as I was getting off the freeway on the drive home from the dealership. I managed to get it into an Americaʻs Tire right as they were closing at 6pm. They told me they couldnʻt look at my car until the next morning, so it spent its first night with me at the bay of the tire shop. The next day, they called to say it was ready. When I went to pick it up, they told me it had been leaking from the valve and they repaired the valve (or was it rebuilt, I can't remember). I drove home and as I was pulling in, the light came back on. So I took it back to America's Tire. This time, they had me sit in the car while they lifted it, removed my tire and put it in the water bath. They came back to say no nails, no leaks, no nothing. So they refilled it and I reset the tire pressure indicator. It did dip down a little from 39 to 38 but has held steady since and no more indicator lights. (Still, I'm luckier than my mom who got her windshield smashed by an object on the 405 freeway on the drive home from the dealership in her SL).

On a more positive note, I adore this car. I think it is the ultimate car for me. After 4 previous Mercedes (three SLK, one CLK) and four previous BMWs, with a Land Rover, a Miata, a Saturn Sky and two Lexus' sprinkled in, I can honestly say I have never loved a car more. This had been my dream car since I was a kid when my grandfather used to take me for rides in his SL. Every time I bought an SLK, I had always wished I could afford an SL. And while this one is preowned, not new, at only 6,000 miles, it is practically new in mint condition. I'm also thrilled that it doesn't have the front plate on it. I hate front plates and am glad it was not already installed.

It isn't Diamond White, but I am fine with the polar. And this is the first time I have ever owned a non-black interior, and I really like it. The Magic Sky is as wonderful as I remember on my old SLK (and came in handy yesterday when it hit 90 degrees). And as for the engine, I'm a middle-aged woman, I'm not a fast driver (my max speed is usually around 80), so this is for touring and not racing for me. But I have to admit, I floored it to merge onto the freeway and it felt like I was on Space Mountain at Disneyland. This thing is fun! My skeptical spouse (who was against the purchase) does like driving fast and will probably love driving it (but never admit it).

If there are any weird quirks, it is only that I'm not used to the emergency brake coming on every time I turn off the engine. It took me some getting used to when I would start the engine and take my foot off the brake, only to find I had to gun the gas to get it to reverse or move forward (rather than the slight roll I'm used to on every other car). My mom's SL450 doesn't do this, and I actually asked the service tech about it when she took in her SL to get the windshield replaced yesterday. He told me I have to manually release the parking brake every time I start the car. Is that right? I've been doing it ever since he said so, and it does work but I feel like that seems rather odd to have to do every time? Are your SL's like that?

As for the only thing I thought I would miss from my BMW, it was wireless CarPlay. So I bought a 6ft cord so I could plug in my phone while still in my purse. Then I got the Carlinkit 2.0 and plugged that in. Voila! Wireless CarPlay. It does take a little while to boot up, and there may be a slight lag, but for me, to be able to keep my phone in my purse and not use the unsightly wire is completely worth it. Best $100 I could have spent. I also already swapped out the floormats for the Lloyd's custom ones in dark brown - a nice match for the Espresso dash. Thanks for the recommendation on those Streamliner.

As for future upgrades, I would still like to get that Alpine unit installed in the car if I can find a reputable stereo place willing to do it in SoCal. And I'm taking her in to get a slight window tint in a couple of weeks.

But on the whole, I love her. She's the one. I'm a dork that names all of my cars (I know, they don't come when you call them, but neither does my cat and he has a name). This one is "Poʻokela" which basically means best of the best in Hawaiian. I cannot conceive of another car I could love more. I debated between a Jaguar F-Type, a BMW 8, a Lexus LC500 and the S Coupe before choosing the SL. And while it may only be subjective, this car is the best of the best...for me.

And because I know pics or it didn't happen, here are a couple I snapped, they are not great as I just used my phone and I'm no photographer, but better than nothing.

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Congratulations! It's a beautiful car. Wishing many many enjoyable miles with "her".

 

Congratulations - I have a 17 as welll and am just up the 405 from you in Encino. 95 out of 100 times the Emergency brake turns off or unlatches when you go into a D or R and just give the car a little gas to break the 'Break Hold' feature. A feature I have come to enjoy. But once a month or so the E Brake does stay on and I have to pull the release.

Dave B

 

I really like the color combination. Hoping you have many miles of smiles!

 

Congrats on your new SL! Enjoy in good health and many happy miles!

The brake auto releases; just step on the gas...

 

What a pretty car! Wishing you many thousands of safe, enjoyable miles!

 

Beautiful motorcar! Welcome to the addiction!

 

Your car looks great. Congratulations and many happy miles.

Regarding the auto parking break.
If you do not want the auto break to set, pull and hold the parking break handle while turning off the ignition.

 

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful welcome for both me and the car. And hornethehandler - thanks for the tip, I'll try that.

 

Congratulations! Besides a safety feature the parking brake makes the SL a tiny bit tougher to steal with all four brakes locked.....

 

huge congrats ! enjoy !