jeffreyy

Whoohoo! I finally got my new car! It's beautiful! No creaks or rattles. Perfect paint finish. Pics below. Sorry for the fuzziness. I think I had the camera set to the wrong program based upon night shooting I was doing on vacation.

Anyway, it is beyond expectation and the dealer totally went above and beyond in making the experience memorable for us! I'll take more pics when the weather clears up here in Honolulu!

The first pic shown is actually the last pic time sequence-wise. We got to drive it off the showroom floor!

Jeff

MB AMG

Congrats! Please post some more pics!

jeffreyy

Thanks! I will. The car is Silver Arrow silver which is code 777. It was a special order item. Also, it has the black nappa interior although it is not as nice on the SL55 as LovinSL600's interior. The weather is dreary here which is literally raining on my parade. I hope it will clear up later this weekend. Bummer since Hawaii seemingly has 320+ days of sunshine that this weekend would be rainy.

The sales manager was saying that everyone that had come in that day (into the showroom) as well as their lot guys (who see Mercedes every day) were commenting on the combination of the color and the wheel color. The pictures really don't do the car justice.

The dealer was really cool. They have a separate delivery area in the back, but because they were so impressed with the way the car looked, they put it in the showroom and we got to drive it off the floor! When I walked in about 10 people were standing around the car looking at it.

I got every option except for the Distronic which I opted against due to traffic and the fact that you lose the 3D star in the front.

Jeff

CASL55

I notice they mounted the front license plate holder, so you don't have the option of not using it. That's the bad news. The good news is that it looks like it is body-colored, not black like mine. Is that right?

I'm sure you'll have a great time with it. Are there places on Oahu to turn it loose?

Jim

C55mOtiOn

Congrat on your new ride, Very hard to see AMG cars in oahu...my family bought 04 CLK320 and 05 S500 from there as well... traffic is so bad now in oahu!!!

jeffreyy

Yes, interestingly, I had asked them NOT to put the plate on. The salesperson had pulled the typical black plate mount in an attempt to avoid having the plate put on but the saftey check guy found a new one which is body colored which is good and bad. Now I have 2 holes in my bumper. I'm planning to try and get the holes filled and slight touch-up. I figure it it doesn't go well, I can always put the plate cover back on.

There are some AMGs in Honolulu. In the pics behind my car, there is a CL65 and I've seen an SL65. Apparently, a lot of the SL55 owners are trading up to SL65s, but I'm happy with the 55. More than enough performance for here. I just like the sound and the acceleration, and there are some twistys down on the east side where I'm building a house. It's sort of like a mini Big Sur on that side.

As for places to give it a good run, not really. There is a racetrack which I plan to go to eventually. Also, there is a ferry which is supposed to start which would allow me to go to the Big Island (Hawaii) which has much more space for a car to run.

The sun is out and the roads are drying, so I'm going to go out for a spin and I'll try and get some more pics!

Jeff

jeffreyy

I guess I'm torn. With the plate off, it looks cleaner but also like a rock magnet. The plate one would think would protect the center of the bumper. What's the verdict? Plate or no plate?

IanSL55

No plate! Good work on the new SL55! You mention the exhaust note - top down it's my favorite thing about the car!

~ Ian

PS: I also had a '97 540!

CASL55

Think you could post the part number? Probably different part numbers for different colors, but my car is silver so your plate holder would probably match.

Thanks,

Jim

CASL55

Looks better without the plate, even with the body-colored mount. I don't think the plate shields enough of the bumper to project against roacks in any significant way.

I put my front plate on (after about 8 months of internal debate) because, when I get pulled over for speeding, I don't want one more violation complicating my discussion with the CHP.

Jim

IngenereAMG

Speaking of the SL55 sound.....I was speaking with an AMG engineer, and he told me that the car sounds best (inside the car that is)with the roof on, front windows up and rear windows down. I tried it and it sounds fantastico!!

Enjoy your SL55!

jeffreyy

Sure, I should be able to get the part # tomorrow. I assume it's on the piece of plastic. It definitely looks better than the black one I originally was handed.

Jeff

jeffreyy

I'll have to try that. Out of curiosity. When I put my roof down, my front windows go up. The back windows go down. Is this normal?

Here are some pics from today for those that asked. It was late in the day when the sun came out, so I'll get better pictures soon.

Jeff

sprins

There are quite a few tunnels around Amsterdam, and I can tell you, that with the top down, driving into the tunnel slowly in 2nd gear, stepping on it and letting the gearbox upshift automatically at redline... WOW! Like you're at the Indy500.

Maybe I'll try to make a soundclip of this. I have to figure out how to get the best result (camcorder?, other sound recording device?).

Nice ride Jeff!

jeffreyy

That sounds like fun! I would think a camcorder would do a great job. Just make sure you keep the microphone away from the wind so that you don't get wind noise.

Thanks for the kind comments! I've wanted this car for a long time. I was holding out for the DVD nav.

Jeff

jeffreyy

Oh, so for those that are curious, that is rabbit island in the pics. If you notice, the rock sort of looks like a rabbit's head in profile.

Jeff

MBH

Very nice car
Can you please tell me what wheels are on your new SL55??

Best Wishes,
MBH
2005 E55

Juice it

Nice car. I love the upgraded black interior although I am still not sure why benz wouldn't offer all black as a no cost option. I like the DVD nav although I would think Hawaii would be all on one disk of the old nav anyway wouldn't it? Nice choice on the wheels as well. Congrats.

CASL55

The best thing about the 05 COMAND isn't the DVD Nav. It's a little prettier than the CD nav, but, at least where I drive in California, the data isn't as complete.

However, I find the soft-key-oriented interface-with-arrow-key-menu-selection of the 05 COMAND much easier to use with and without looking than the spin-and-press interface of the 04 COMAND.

Jim

C55mOtiOn

very nice pic, hmm.. take a nice pic at Diamond head too!! jeez, i forgot where rabbit island is located, near waimea area?? anyways, have fun!!!

jeffreyy

The wheels are AMG Style IV 19" staggered wheels with the Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires, if memory serves me correctly. They're nice. I didn't even try the stock 18's but the ride is nice with the 19's. A tiny bit of jiggle on really bad roads but the no creaks or rattles.

As for the black interior. Yes, after seeing LovinSl600's nice interior, I'm a little disappointed that mine is not more upgraded. But, oh well, it is more of a charcoal than a black which I really like and the leather is nice on the seats, cluster and in the doors. The dash though is still the coarser non-exclusive leather. More durable from my understanding but not as elegant.

Yes, either way, all the data would be on one CD. It's more the UI (user interface). Also, I'm burning a huge MP3 DVD. I'm not sure I'll really need an iPod.

Jeff

IanSL55

Just tried it and YES... but I don't think it's as sweet as with the top completely down... either way... awesome.

~ Ian

jeffreyy

Sorry it took me an extra day, here is the part #, I think:

A 230 885 04 81 DN 012821 476065

CASL55

Thanks. I'm going in to the dealer on Thursday. I'll ask about it then.

Jim

carlosfernandez

Conratulations on your new car, enjoy every minute on it.