user z478747

My wife and I bought this 2005 SL55 ~1 month ago after I chased it down from an ad that showed up on autotrader.com which disappeared almost as quick as it went up. It was for sale at a dealer in Nashville, TN so I called them only to be told it had been sold to another dealer in AL! They were good enough to tell me who they sold it to and give me their phone number. The dealer was Red Mountain Rovers in Birmingham, AL who as the name implies specializes in Land Rovers. When I called I was told they had bought the car for one of their customers but that if I was interested he might sell b/c he already had an SL65. They checked with the owner (it was not ever titled in his name) and since he hadn't even seen the car he'd consider selling it. We went back and forth a couple times and put together a deal. The car was now in Dothan, AL so I flew to Brimingham, rented a car, went to RMR did the paperwork and then drove to Dothan to pick the car up. More than doubled the miles drinving back to NC.

Right about now you're asking why would you go through this much just to get THIS SL55? Well, this is literally a brand new car! When I picked it up in Dothan the car had just 420 miles. Besides the ultra low miles it is equipped with pano roof, xenons, premium pacakage and parking sensors (I think that's everything....) and the MSRP was just over $133k. I was told by the original dealer the car was part of a collection and that it was everything a car should be with only 370 miles (it had 370 miles when at the dealer in Nashville). My wife and I have bought and sold many cars over the years so we're always suspect of a used car's condition b/c NOBODY I've ever met takes care of them like I do..... Well, this dealer was correct, the car was stunning. Obsidian Black with Charcoal interior.

The first thing to do after adding the SL63 trunk spoiler was lose the fugly 18" multi spoke stock wheels and replace them with OZ Ultra Leggera HLTs. This has proved to be a long drawn out process b/c when I recieved the wheels the rears were a completely different color than the fronts. Luke at Tire Rack was great and we worked out a deal after the fact b/c I'd have to have two repainted at the very least and most likely all four. All four had to be repainted. I picked the wheels up yesterday at the body shop and they looked beautiful! Beautiful until one of the guys at the tire store dinged one with an air hose!!!! Back to the body shop for a repair and today all is good with the wheels but one set of the 10mm spacers I bought from Evosport didn't fit. So the rears have a 10mm spacer on each side but the fronts do not. The guys at Evosport are overnighting me another set to try. Seems the front hubs are just a bit different than the rears........ Fingers crossed b/c the fronts need to be pushed out just a bit.

Since the car already had tinted windows the only other thing we're going to do to it is drop it a bit so it looks less like a four wheeler and perhaps exhaust. In spite of that, I think it looks pretty good as is. The paint is like glass!

Rick SL55

IngenereAMG

Good lookin' car and a great find. I bet I am more neurotic than you about taking care of cars!

Now..... when you start thinking it's slow and that 155 limiter gets annoying, give me a call!

Havoc

She's a beauty! Congrats!

nick 55

Nice! Ironically, a business associate of mine picked up a 670 mile 2005 SL55 about a month and a half ago. The guy that owned it traded a 400 mile 06 E55 in at the same time downsizing his collection for an E63. Truely nice and rare finds.

Nick

Benz-O-Rama

Great story and great looking car. What kind of warranty?

santomen

chuck z, are you sure that's and 05 cause it looks like a brand new car!! totally amazing!!! Pat.

GFEAR

is your front right tire on backwards?

bunit89

how much did you get it for ? because im going to get one like your 05 sl55 amg. thanks

erichen

interesting notation, that tread does look backwards!
Wheels look great! I am thinking of getting a set. I have 3pc OZ's right now. You notice any changes in driving behavior by switching to these lighter single piece alloy wheels?

allenjdmb

get in there and press that suspension button till the lights go off. Then hit us with more pix.......

AMGfan

Bravo I like the wheels a lot!

SRQLAW

Great looking car. Where did you get the spoiler and how much if I may ask? I just picked up SL55 and am looking for one.

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

Dude what a SWEET DEAL.

mikesSL55fla

I think your effort was well worth it. The car looks great ,good choice on the rims

user z478747

Thanks guys for all the great comments! I forgot to mention a couple other options the car has above: It also has Hands Free Communication and Active Ventilated Seats. Can't wait to get out and drive it! Thanks again guys!

.......I don't see how that is possible!

Bought it from the dealer who will be doing the service on the car. I believe it's from Fidelity?



I don't think so since the tires do not say they are left or right only outside?

You might check with Luke at Tire Rack. I think the wheel is NLA b/c of the paint issues and I haven't been able to get him to give a straight answer about whether or not O.Z. is going to continue to build this wheel. It would be a shame if they didn't in my opinion. Haven't noticed any changes b/c I haven't driven the car yet with the new wheels. I doubt I'm going to be able to give you a good answer anyway since the car has right at 1000 miles and I just made the change last night.

Pictures were taken with the suspension setting at Sport II. Possibly b/c it's so new it hasn't had a chance to settle? In any case I'm going to be lowering it but haven't made up my mind yet whether to do it with links or a module?

I got it from the local Mercedes dealer. I paid ~$550 and it came pre-painted to match. Awesome super easy pc to install.

sound 8

Love the OZ wheels, this is how a 55 should come stock.

user z478747

Exactly the thought process when we decided on this wheel. I'm not much for all the bling and huge lip wheels instead, I like the look of a wheel that could have (perhaps should have) come on the car. Great comment. Thanks.

user z478747

Put the front spacers on tonight thanks to the guys at Evosport, when I called with my issue they jumped right on it and I had the right spacers at 8:30am this morning. While the difference is subtle with the 10mm spacer on each side I think it made a significant difference in the stance.

AMGTTV8

ok - im going to be the first to ask...

what did you pay for this thing considering it was new but 5 years old...

a range is fine too if you dont want to disclose the number

BEAUTIFUL car and even better purchase!

M-bENZ

very nice car you have there .

Andy

Thericker

Great story & find, I also love your wheel choice, the wheel spokes match the hood/fender fins brilliantly. I've had my eye on these OZ Ultra Leggera HLT too what rear sizing did you go with? (only reason I never got a set was they weren't offering these in 10"-11" wide rears)

I would love to see this wheel painted in SL65 style Anthracite on spokes only w/polished edge/barrel...

jeffreyy

I'm curious how those tires ride? I've seen a great deal on the web but few side-by-sides with say Michelin PS2's.

Vredestein Sessanta tires, right?

Your SL55 looks beautiful BTW. I had a loaded SL55 as well 2005. I loved the car aside from the pano roof squeaking.

Akademiks

I think I just found my new wheels... and at 24lbs per wheel...!

Akademiks

I too am curious how much it cost...