I’m hoping that if MB has not hit “ROCK BOTTOM,” that the decline continues until they do. They need to make some significant changes in the way they design, engineer & test their vehicles. The new vehicles they release need to be tested, retested and then tested again. They need to be completely sorted and “ready for prime time” before the first one goes to a paying customer. And they really need to own up to the pain, expense and inconvenience they have caused their customers in recent years, many of whom have been very loyal for decades. It’s time they pulled out all the stops and put the sparkle back on the 3-Pointed Star so they can once again proudly proclaim “The Best or Nothing” and have their customers wholeheartedly agreeing.

 

Fwiw, I no longer see any mention of the slogan "the best or nothing" on MBUSA, am I missing something/blind? Why did they remove it from the site?

 

There was a 2022 SL55 with 581 miles on BAT........no sale at $92K. I can't imagine the depreciation on the myriad buy back cars. Comments are telling, one called it a "depreciating machine". A few others mentioned questionable design issues. The market is speaking. The only SL I ever sold was a 1990 500SL........bought it for $80K and sold it 6 months later for $115K------replaced with a 600SL. The days of SL adulation are past.

I wonder if the MB leaders have gotten a clue yet????

 

interesting delivery numbers for SL :

https://www.motor1.com/news/736870/m...sales-q3-2024/

 

Not surprised. Mercedes reliability is in the toilet.

 

It truly is and I am so very sorry to see it.

My personal opinion is that MB reacted much more severely to the Covid fiasco than other German automakers and that many long time, senior employees decided to retire. This resulted in less seasoned employees and executives greenlighting designs & engineering before they were properly tested, & fully vetted. Several new models debuting after the 2020 model year have suffered staggering issues. It gives me absolutely zero pleasure to say this.

 

What’s more unfortunate is that many of these models were already frozen and largely decided on before 2020. It’s only within the last year that we have started to see the actual “COVID models” enter production.

 

So is the design language, lazy and uninspiring. EQ and SL numbers are horrendous. S is down 30%. People actually got paid lots of money to ruin this legacy brand. Corporate dimwits.

 

That of course is true, but I feel that the response to the vast number of issues that affected so many post 2020 new models was dismal and often seemed as being done with a “head in the sand” approach. How else do we explain the way truly significant issues carried over from one model year to the next, to the next, etc.? The all new 2021 W223 S Class “flagship” was released with a staggering number of issues, from simply annoying to potentially life threatening and those issues continued into the 2022 & 2023 models. The jury is still out on the 2024’s. We only need to read this forum to understand the significant issues plaguing the R232 SL’s.

 

It is disappointing and sad to watch one of the premier automobile marques decline in both engineering and design. Mercedes dove too far into the EV market and is watching their sales drop significantly. I hope they can work their way out of the abyss.

 

Data comparison is always a little challenging as the SL was the result of MB killing off a variety of convertibles/cabriolets.

Comparing numbers with the R231 never made sense due to their vastly different price points, with its majority of sales deriving from sub 100k prices.
The S-class cab buyers didn’t care for a smaller cabin and likely went the Bentley route so that leaves the AMG GT roadster buyers as the target audience. While some switched, most hung onto their more expressive predecessors.

But then Mercedes as part of their strategy has/had the lofty ambitions to go upmarket.
A loaded AMG SL or GT coupe or S63 is a good example. All pricier than their predecessors by a good margin.

The issue occurs when there are too many problems with their cars. Wether serious functionality or just annoying software problem almost doesn’t matter.
Not offering quick resolution, impersonal service without clear escalation and communications paths or timelines will deteriorate the goodwill of even their best customers.

Given how much software drives the experience in modern cars, MB has to pickup its pace to get its software Devlopment under control.

 

Yes. IF the R232’s had performed at least “near” flawlessly, their owners would have had that wonderful experience to offset the huge price—not to mention the ADM insanity that took place early on. As a long time SL owner—I’ve had 8–I lament the change from the more luxurious oriented SL to a more performance oriented one, but I guess that at my age, I am no longer any automaker’s target demographic. Oh well.

 

to be fair - if you count the SL and GT together, it softens the year over year decline considerably. However, the SL numbers for the 3rd quarter are really quite pitiful.

 

I'm not a marketing guy but there are simple solutions to the MB dilemmas.
1. Build a reliable car
2. Ask previous buyers for input
3. Fire the CEO, Senior Managment teams and entire BOD

I'd be shocked if there is a future SL..........

 

Yes. They need to take a step back, slow down and fix things, before trying to move forward again. They keep throwing new product at the marketplace, while functionally & reliability issues are still infecting the brand like never before.

 

How is it possible that mediocre to incompetent CEOs get huge compensation packages, and huge golden parachutes, for negligent performance? I don’t get it. I would do better for less. Why isn’t their performance tied to results, like the average worker in the same company? Poor performing employees get fired, with little to no severance.

 

Reliability, choice of materials (lessej the cost cut by using hard cheap plastic) and customer service should be the 3 things they should work on now.

I am not expecting 1900s era reliability but at least way better than what it is now.

 

In general, roadsters and to some degree sporty coupes have fallen out of favor. BMW has axed the Z4 which means Toyota won't have a Supra either. The MX5 is doing OK but it's in a class by itself. I agree that the SL may be in its death spiral. It's a shame.

 

The MX-5 certainly is the definition of more fun of driving a slow car fast.

 

I see this a bit like a twofold problem: yes, many of these vehicles were indeed largely ready to go before COVID (Dr. Z era), but unfortunately, the current management has tried (and arguably failed) to address the problems they inherited. Failures on both parts, if you will.

As for model years (at least US model years), they do not really mean as much as people think (unless it’s software issues solvable over-the-air like the current GLC). I have no reason to believe the SL will be any more reliable for model years 2025 than 2022. I believe the 2025 S-Klasse, despite only having very minor changes, may improve some. Even when small changes like that are made to a model, underlying reliability changes, while likely, are not something Mercedes-Benz will want to disclose in the press release. Similarly, the C-Klasse and GLC will likely benefit from MBUX 3.0 for model years 2025 with the software and whatnot.

Back when the W220 (1999) and W203 (2001) (some of the McKinsey and Company era cars that DaimlerChrysler inherited) were new, they had all sorts of issues that didn’t see any clear resolution or improvement until 2003 and 2004 respectively. I see this situation very similarly, as despite DaimlerChrysler’s much-greater resources and ability to make good vehicles themselves (starting with the W211), they too did a poor job of handling the issues on the cars they were left with.

This whole situation is disheartening, but I have hope for the SL and S-Klasse facelifts that should be coming relatively soon. Unlike say, the W206 and W214, Mercedes-Benz had to start entirely from scratch with e R232 and W223 compared to their previous models, which doesn’t make the situation less frustrating, but (at least to me) seems more understandable.

 

FWIW, I have gone back for 3 recall visits (probably took longer than it should have) for my '23 SL63, have had 2 app critical battery warnings (in Feb '24), all my recalls done and not-a-single issue other than that. Maybe I'm lucky, I have had nothing but good luck; loving my SL-- KH