Finally found a dealer who was willing to come as close as possible to MSRP on a brand spanking new SL55 (3k over,) though its in NY and I'm in Chicago. I am flying out on Wednesday, and driving it back.

Its a Black/Black SL55
Alu Trim
Panorama
Park Distance
Tire Press. Monitoring
Vented Seats
BiXenons
Keyless Go
Turbine Wheels
-But Inden BBS 19" LM's on the way
Will post pictures soon.

I am thinking about replacing the Interior trim to a dark birdseye maple wood trim (not stickers,) if possible. Also was wondering if hey made a birdseye maple wood steeringwheel (mb aftermarket) that the dealer can install.

 

You made the same bad mistake that i did with my E55 W211.
Tire pressure monitoring doesn't work with those 19" rims

 

But can you still install the rims without the tire pressure thing working or will you get a constant error code?

****.

 

I'd rather have the 19" rims anyhow. The Tire Pressure Monitoring system hardly works with the stock rims half the time.

 

Wait til you see the aluminum in person, it is outstanding and looks great with the charcoal interior and also coordiates with the rest of the aluminum in the car. The dark bird's eye maple won't be seen. Also, the pressure sensors will work in the 19 inch wheels if they are properly installed and calibrated.

 

carcrazy, you CANT install monitors if you have 19" rims.
www.hole.fi/jk/photo/e55amg

 

Is there any matching Aluminum trim steering wheel you can get for the SL55?

I have Inden Design 19" bbs LM's on the way, and whether the tire pressure monitoring works or not, I'm putting those rims on.

 

Congrats Shankar!!! Cant wait to see some pics of that bad boy...

 

I was told that you can install the tire pressure monitors of the SL55 (2nd generation monitors) on the 19"rims from AMG. That may not be case with other brands like Brabus or BBS...

Btw, maybe I'm just lucky but my tire pressure system works as advertised

Wolfman

 

I know that the Lorinser LM6 20" wheels are able to accept the sensors and do read out fairly accurate.

 

Shank,

Can I Ask what dealer in NY?

They are all a PIA here but would like to know one that is actually somewhat reasonable.

If you are not comfortable about posting, Please PM me.

Thanks

 

Shank, why opt for the "Inden BBS LM" wheel instead of getting "BBS LM" wheels? Who sells Inden in the U.S.? Thanks.

 

Hi,

I couldn't find one company in the US that made the same offset as BBS makes for Inden Design.

I wanted to achieve this look. Now I do still have to get the fenders rolled.

Here's one off inden's site....

 

SL Shank, congratulations on the car
Please post pictures before and after the birds eye maple!

 

Hola,

Just picked up the car on Friday from Helms Brothers Mercedes Benz. I have yet to find a dealer in Chicago that matches this NY Dealers Service reputation, and my experience with them. They follow through on every phone call and every question or conern I had from the get go. Cheers to Helms Brothers and salesman Ken Melendez.

Initial impression: Neutral (haven't pushed it yet)
I am not sure what the break in period is yet, so with 33 miles on the car I really didn't punch it. There is no "red zone" or redline on the car, so I am curious where to manually shift it if I had to.
The sound of the car reminds me of the 87 IROC Z / Trans Am GTA, with its deep V8 Burble, and instant torque feeling. Usually with supercharged cars, you hear a supercharged whine, and I haven't heard it yet....perhaps it comes on at higher RPMs???

Strengths:
Throaty Exhaust sound, Steering wheel grip, panorama, keyless go, bi-xenons, black paint quality, and Acceleration.

Weaknesses:
The aluminum trim is hiddeous. It doesn't look like the quality of my 911 turbo alu accents, or other alu trim I've seen on cars. MB should have called it the "Stucco Trim." The surface has a rough texture and it looks like plastic. I definately want to change out the trim on that. In my SL500, I had the wood trim including wood on the steering wheel and shift knob which made the whole interior look very elegant.

Then there is the Turbine wheels. It is simply too bland for the car. Though it makes the car look a bit mean when in motion, at a stand still, it has a way too conservative look.

Then there is the "It has Vented seats? option." I have had experience in the rear seats of the Lexus LS430 where the Vented seats are very effective. You can feel a cool breeze on your back. On the SL, you dont' feel anything. Perhaps it was the thickness of the shirt I was wearing?? NOT. Anyone consdering this as an order option should save money and reconsider.

Opportunities:
I can't wait to put the 19" BBS LMs on, as well as the lowering module. If anyone recommends any tuner that has other interior trim available for this car, please post their info.

Pictures coming soon.....

 

Fianlly a review that actually throws out bad stuff about the car!

Awaiting reviews once the break in period is passed. I've heard numbers from 1000 miles all the way to 2500 miles.

 

i agree that the aluminum trim is awefull and has no place in a car of this caliber. mine came with the aluminum by mistake as i ordered the black wood. the dealer changed it for me but not before asking me to look at it and see if i would like to keep it. it made the interior look so cheap.

that aside it seems quite obvious that as a complete package, the sl55 (or sl500 for that matter) is hard to beat.

realcanuk

 

tire pressure monitoring system can work installed on after market rims. the bbs rims dont really match the SL......

 

What do you mean it doesn't match the SL?

 

bbs is so..... 20 years ago.

 

Uh, Captain Packard.....Can you clarify in 21st century language? What doesn't match? you mean silver on a black car?

 

no, its not that.... its just that the design is so old and mundane... perhaps something newer and aggresive would suit the car better?

 

I kind of agree with CarlssonCR, those BBS don't do much for me either, you might want to consider HREs or iforged

 

Polished alum HRE look to pimp on a classy SL. IMHO

Also, in Chicago, where the roads suck (next to NY) I need a strong wheel. BBS has proven to be strong. I had 20" HRE 547's on my Vette, and each major bump or pothole costed a replacement, approx 1k each. The outter rim was too weak.

 

I think he meant that BBS is behind the times by 20 years.

T