kalantar

Well after weeks of searching and researching, still no luck finding the price range, options and mainly the extended CPO option!

Dealer buddy says there are plenty at the auction with my price range and options but NOT the extended CPO. He says get the aftermarket extended warranty but talked to the local service advisor and he says stick with factory CPO those after market warranties arent reliable!

Anyone else having a hard time?
Should I juss say screw it and get the aftermarket warranty and prey for the best? I plan on keeping the car for at least 5 years, maybe longer if there are no issues.

jmf003

My advice would be to keep looking. Especially in late December when sales tend to fall off, you might find someone willing to deal.

Good luck!

AMGNSX996TT

Just keep looking...the hunt is just as fun as the car itself. It seems the right car always come along every six months for me

G_KATS

u guys are acting like this car is a FORD . just buy the car , SL 55 are reliable cars . Ive had my 500 for 4years and never had a problem besides changing oil/brake pads . 2nd owner bought her with 70.000km . no warranty

just have urself a good trusted mechanic and ur good .

BENZ = RELIABLE = my experience

DFW01E55

Last year the number of SL55's on Ebay almost doubled during the Christmas/Channukah holidays. Be patient, I think you'll see the same thing this year as the "toys" are returned from their leases.

As far as warranties, some companies are unreliable but I've had excellent experience with the Daimler Chrysler product from Michael Case and the Platinum warranty from Mercury Insurance.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to get another from them.

bltserv

I agree with the post above. Take your time and enjoy shopping for the car.
Its really part of the fun of owning this car. Finding the one that you want
and doing the deal at a good price. My suggestion as far as the warranty is concerned is ask your SA who he suggests for extended warranty. I have the same issue on my CL500 exteneded. I have to pay then wait to get reimbursed. I too agree with the above post about SL reliability. Mine has been rock solid from 22K miles to 42K miles. Just tires and brakes. But if you wind up with an out of warrnty 03-04 SL55 that has issues it can bury you in bills. I know a few people here and some personally that have gotten slammed
with the 03 model in particular. My suggestion is 05 and later with the remaining warranty at a minimum. Its way worth the extra money.

SDSL

I don't understand your dilemma. I purchased a CPO SL and purchased the extended Starmark warranty on the spot (I believe you have to buy the extended at point of sale) for @ $3K, and believe you can do this with any CPO car including AMG models. Obviously this entails purchasing at an MB dealer.

This gives you 3yrs/100 K on top of the original 4/50 warranty.

Info is here, however, it appears they replaced the pricing scale that they previously had, a few months ago, under the pricing hyperlink with the generic "ask your dealer".

http://www.mbusa.com/pre-owned/about/warranty-info.do

I bought near you at MB-Laguna Niguel, and had a good overall experience (never seen a dealership that big).

JosanK

Consider yourself very lucky. Many people on this forum have not had such good fortune on reliability.

Consumer reports will no longer review Mercedes products because of owner reported reliability problems. 10 years ago that same publication regarded Mercedes as their gold standard.

I've averaged more unscheduled service events on my SL55 in one year than my other cars (Lexus and Acura) combined in 5 years.

I really like the SL55. I've put up with its issues until (knock on wood) it actually all works.

But, Mercedes as a company, they have issues. What is WRONG with them that they ship so many flaky cars?

BENZ = FLAKE = my experience along with many others

07ContiGT

If you're looking for a loaded 04, mine is for sale. I think you are looking for black, mine is silver w/ black interior. MBCertified until 4/09. 132k sticker, no mods, every single option available in 04. How do you feel about silver?

kalantar

Thanks for the responses!

Ironically had some luck today, received a call from a dealer I low balled 2 weeks ago (03 sl55, 20k miles, blk.blk,listed 79k) told them 55k out the door with extended warranty, he laughed at me. He called today to tell me "the boss" accepted my offer, and I told him things have changed since then and will call him back (which I havent yet).

Still might consider the 03, but rather have an 05. Will wait and see, I dont plan on paying retail price but more or less a few k above trade in value.

Will wait and see what happens.....

DFW01E55

Well played.

SL2003driver

What does it matter 2003 or 2005 if it has a 3 year 100K mile CPO warranty? At $55K you can drive it for 3 years worry free.

kalantar

The 03 will have a 3 year warranty, the 05 will have a 5 warranty. If I purchase an 05, I can keep the car till 2012 with my conscious at ease, for hopefully 10k more than the 03 price.

DFW01E55 had a great point, now is a crappy time to be selling an SL and with the state of the economy you can get some really good deals in the next month.

SL2003driver

Very good reason to go with the 2005. Can't beat 5 years of warranty on a low mileage SL. Now is the time to buy. Good luck.

bltserv

Excellent choice. Get the latest year you can afford. The 05 has most of the bugs worked out over the 03. Also the DVD based command is in the 05.
Its worth the extra $$$
Let us know when you get your new AMG !

chosun sl55

check your pm... Im selling my sl55

MikeySL500

I agree, the Navigation in the '05's are 1000X better than the previous generation ('03 & '04)...

rbtronnie5

I disagree...the nav on the 05 up cars suck. not that the one in the 03-04 cars doesn't....but it is still worthless.

DannyM383

'03-'04 have a much better sound system if thats important to you at all

blazinginder

Glad to see you've decided to go with the 05 over the 03/04...wait it out and you should be able to find a nice deal in the winter months

SL2003driver

I agree the sound system on my 2003 SL is better then the Mark Levinson system that got all the awards for best OEM system that I had in my Lexus LX70

kalantar

How much better than the 05? I was planning on keeping the factory head unit and adding some bass in the trunk (or spare tire area).

phonetics

i think u should consider yourself very unlucky... i have owned 10+ MB in different lines and as far as i remember, all of them were great in reliability... they never gave me unacceptable problems.... small things happened of course but nothing big over the years.... (touch wood)

DFW01E55

I've been watching the SL55 for some weeks (really months) and I'm really surprised that there's been no increase in the number of cars listed on ebay. As mentioned earlier in the thread, the numbers doubled last year.

Since it's the same cars listed for the past few weeks, could it be that the cars aren't moving at auction and therefore there is no increase in listings?

It just may be that the economy for high end used (oops, pre-owned) cars is slow and getting slower.

IngenereAMG

It is possible that there were allot of lease returns last year and now more cars are in the hands of owners, not renters.

Hopefully, as the number of cars dwindles (especially good ones), and people realize what a great car it is......values will firm up....and maybe even rise. Well its good to dream!