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350 SL, R230 - 300 SL, R129 - 1964 Corvette Sting Ray Sport Coupe - Porsche 911 Twin Turbo (sold)
Any problems with the ABC suspension on the SL, R231?
I have been thinking more and more of buying an SL, R231.
The thing is that most of the SL, R231`s listed for sale comes with the ABC suspension which i far from is a fan of.
I own an SL, R230 and a Sl, R129. The SL, R230 with ABC suspension is nothing but problems if you ask me weven that my SL R230 came original with coileovers suspension.
A friend of mine owns an SL, R230 and there is always some ABC suspension problems with his car and on the SL, R230 forum there is a lot of threads about ABC suspension problems.
Is the ABC suspension on the SL, R231 built like the SL, R230 and is there a lot of problems with the ABC suspension on the SL, R231?
Also is any years of the SL, R231 better than other years? Off course i know the newer the car the better it is.
Last edited by TheSaint; Aug 13, 2024 at 04:09 PM.
Being they the 231 is now going on 12 years old, the suspension issues are cropping up. I don’t think they are close to the 230 issues when it was 12 years old. All hydraulic suspensions are problematic, even the Lexus LX470 I have needed to be replaced with non hydraulic. The r230 is a different kind of nonsense
I thought ABC was a relatively rare option on most SLs sold in the US. Perhaps I'm wrong.
That's certainly the case in the UK! I spent ages waiting for an ABC equipped car to come available but after 6 months or so I bit the bullet and bought a SL on springs. There are times I wished I waited longer.
I watched the Autotrader for eighteen months to finally purchase a 2020 SL550 with ABC Suspension, Magic Sky and B&O Sound in April 2024. Actually, she has every option available, the original MSRP was $136,110.00. I found a 2020 with 179 miles , and some with anywhere from 2000 to 8000 miles, pristine condition but with no options. Some had one or another of my must have options, but not all three. I just couldn't pull the trigger on them. It was worth waiting for the right one to come along. Incidentally, I wouldn't touch a R231 without ABC Suspension. It's what makes the whole car. The R231 ABC system is completely different than the system in the R230. I had a 2013 SL550 I purchased in Sept. 2014 with ABC Suspension and the only issue was the pulsation damper was replaced under the CPO plan. I owned the 2013 for seventy-five months with no other issues with the ABC Suspension. My tech friends at the MB dealer told me that the system in R231 was the best it'll ever be and is good for 80,000 miles before any issues.
That's certainly the case in the UK! I spent ages waiting for an ABC equipped car to come available but after 6 months or so I bit the bullet and bought a SL on springs. There are times I wished I waited longer.
That's also true in the US. You'd have to really search to find a non-AMG SL R231 with ABC. I think ABC gives the car a better ride, but it does come with more maintenance.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
To me, ABC absolutely transforms the R231 SL’s from merely having decent ride quality, to riding like a MAGIC CARPET! I had a new 2004 SL500 with ABC. When I sold it and bought a CPO 2013 SL550 without ABC, I foolishly thought I could live with it, but that was not to be. I was so disappointed in the base suspension that I sold the otherwise perfect SL550 and ordered a new SL450 with ABC. Absolutely DAY AND NIGHT better. Coupled with the lighter V6, the ride quality is off the charts. It is easily “THE” best riding convertible I have ever driven.
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