DigitalKnight

So I am looking at some SL55 AMG's in the area and found a 2004 that I like. I have taken a SLK55 out for a spin but did not like the ride so much. It was a bit stiff for my taste and I felt a bit cramped in the seat.

I have read on another forum:

"If you want an SL get at least an 04/54, ideally newer otherwise you will have a load of really old tech in the car as in COMAND 2.0 old, plus the car might not be properly rust protected."

Not sure what the /54 means but I take it the 04 is 2004.

The 2004 SL55 I am looking at has just over 63K on the vehicle.

Any input/feedback for this MB newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-DK

maxabo

A few things that I know of;

- The new Keyless Go without the "credit card" came on mod 2004.

- The 16:9 Navigation came on mod 2005
(but I'm not sure what else that means in regards of high tech, other than it looks waaaay more updated).

- That problem some have with the ABC-suspension crashing, is supposed to be almost eliminated from mod 2005.
It anyway happens far more seldom, from what I've understood.
And since it obviously cost about 10,000,- dollars to repair (here in Sweden even more), it should be a serious matter to consider...

Good luck!

jmf003

Repair costs on SL55s can be very large. Most folks on this forum won't own one unless it's covered by a warranty. You'll want to think through that angle before purchasing.

Conventional wisdom is that recent model years have fewer issues but there are exceptions. My 2003 has 70,000 miles, numerous power adding modifications, and no major problems. Some folks on the forum (Dino comes to mind) have similar experiences with their 2003s while other folks have had serious problems with more recent model years.

Rust is not an issue. I drive my car year round in Michigan (except for days when roads are snow or ice covered) and there's no rust on my car.

The DVD-based nav system on the newer cars is not very good. The CD-based nav system on the older cars is worse. Both are old and limited compared to the Google routing app on an Android phone. If I was shopping, I'd leave the nav system out of my decision making process. You may feel differently, of course.

Good luck with your search! It's a marvelous car to own and drive!!

cal1

John brings up some great points. Some, like he and Dino seem to have nearly trouble free SLs and Dino tracks his frequently if I am not mistaken. Other SLs, like mine for instance has had its share of issues. ABC pump, SRS issues, Xenon light replacement, broken fuel baffle are some of the big ticket items. Lucky for me, I have a good after market warranty that covered most of the repair cost. The drivetrain does seem to be nearly bullet proof on these machines though. If you are interested, a search on any of the repairs I listed will reveal tons of info.

As far as the "/54", I really am not sure. The actual displacement on our 55k engines is 5439 CCs, maybe that is were the 54 comes from.

To me, the bottom line on the SL55 is that even after years of owning the car, I still grin every time I press the start button and awaken the little monster.

DigitalKnight

Thanks for all the good feedback!

Nav I am not concerned about as I have a smart phone that does that. I currently only take my 3000GT Spyder out about once a week... sometimes even once every other week, especially in the winter time. I have a company vehicle so my Spyder mostly just sits in the garage next to the HD-Night Rod which I put more miles on over then summer then I put on the Spyder in 2 years.

New "Keyless Go" sounds cool. My Spyder has remote start with the installed aftermarket module that lets be put the top dn/up from the remote and open the lid and check internal temp, etc... all from the key fob. I would like to add these functions to the SL55 which I believe I read there is such a piece for it? Perhaps even smart phone control?

So I take it I should start shopping for aftermarket extended warranty?

Thanks again for all the feedback,

-DK

IngenereAMG

SL55's have to be bought with the head.

I have allot of customers that bought 'cheap' cars, with no service history or an inspection, and have had some interesting problems.

I have had my '03 since new and it really has been brilliant. I take care of the car, but it does get driven.

As far as the ABC goes. There is a less expensive solution if the shocks go. There is a company that is rebuilding the shock and give a lifetime warranty. Instead of $2K+ per shock. They are ~$600 each.

We have been doing allot of 'concierge' cars over the past year. Guys are calling that want a car, with our tuning and delivered. As a result, I have relationships with a number of dealers.

PM/email or call me at 602-430-6671, and I'll make a few calls. I'll quote you a price, tuned and delivered to your door.

You will love the car. It's pretty versatile...

DigitalKnight

Sure....!!! Post some nice pics that make me want to buy it more!! Thx!

IngenereAMG

That's what I do!

DigitalKnight

Ok, so I went and did it. I purchased a 2005 SL55 AMG with the Panoramic roof with 75700 miles on it. The miles were higher then I was hoping for but for a 2005 in such good condition I could not pass on the price delivered to my house. KBB puts it at close to 34-37K depending on private owner or dealer and NADA puts it at about 36K for clean retail so I think I did ok at 30.5K delivered to my door (which shipping alone would have cost $700). Now I was hoping to pick up one for 28K but all of those were 2003 models with about the same milage give or take. So I am hoping by this time next week it will be arriving as a late Christmas present to myself... then I will just have to hope for an early spring.

Oh and IngenereAMG, I think you should have to pay for part of it since your pictures pushed me over the edge.... lol ;-)

cal1

Congratulations! You are going to love it. By the way, pictures are required or the members will petition for you to be banned for life.

DigitalKnight

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...9143a259#v4-50

See if this link works as it is the one I just bought. Lots of good pictures of it!

DigitalKnight

IngenereAMG

Well done. After those pictures, and when you are ready to 'go-faster', we'll be waiting.

Merry Christmas!

DigitalKnight

And a Merry Christmas to you also!!

'Go-Faster'???? I am going from a 1995 3000GT Spyder SL with a 3.0 liter V-6 that puts out a measly 223HP to a almost 500HP Supercharged V8! How much damn faster am I supposed to want to go?!?!?!?!

The soon to be ex-girlfiend... do to me buying such a... and I quote... "what to you need with all the power in such an un-practicable car" already thinks I am out of my mind...

IngenereAMG

That's one good reason for any GF to become an ex-GF! I've sent a number of car intolerant females down the 'road', so to speak.

It won't take long...... the power will feel 'normal'. I daily drove an F40 a few years back, and after a while, it felt normal. As a result, the other 4 Ferrari's I had felt 'broken'! The only car I had that pushed me was my Indycar when I had the F40!

Fortunately, the SL55 is very tunable, and there's lots of power to be had.

kustom2k1

Congratulations on the purchase!! I see 2 malfunction alerts in one of the pictures. Make sure you make an inquiry as to what the codes are and if they were taken care of. Did you have them send you a service history report?

55slamg

dino, do you have distributors in Southwestern Ontario, Canada?

jmf003

Ride looks sharp! Congeste!!

DigitalKnight

Nice catch. I looked back thru the pics and found the one you mentioned, downloaded it and attached it to an email back to them with the inquiry. I also asked about the service history report and will let you know what I hear back.

The Autocheck report looks like it had 2 owners. Looks like the second owner leased it and at one point in its life it was actually MUCH closer to me in Manheim, PA. which I could have drove too in about 2 hours and picked it up instead of having to pay to have it shipped to me.

In the mean time, who can tell me about this "Pulse Seats"? and will I like it... or at least with my bad L4/L5 back like it?

kustom2k1

I see the symbol for faulty light in one of the pics, looks like thats one and...
One of faults could just be the battery, its important to protect yourself and make sure you do not get a car with gremlins. That would ruin the joy of owning the car...Getting the cars service records is very important.

Pulse seats..I used them once in the first week and have not touched the button since. Hardly noticed it was on. I'm 6'5 and if the ride is longer than an hour I begin to shift positions, after 2 hours and its time for a pit stop.

DigitalKnight

I agree 100% on that protect yourself! I never, ever thought I would purchase a car sight unseen, and especially from eBay of all places... But alas, the price was just to sweet a deal to pass on.

Perhaps I should look at a warranty for it for at least the first year?

DigitalKnight

Never mind... Looks like AMGs are hard to cover: "You won't find many warranty companies willing to offer coverage on vehicles like Land Rover (poor quality, frequent and expensive repairs), Mercedes AMG ($20,000 engine), and some turbo engines like Porsche, etc.

From:
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/warranty.htm

Looks like my engine in 2/3rds the price of what I paid for the car! It must be fast! Lol ;-)

kustom2k1

I was lucky to have the year warranty. After a few months of ownership I had the transmission mount replaced, intercooler pump, some pieces of the suspension, bushings, battery replacement. Yea, its a great security blanket and it makes that first year of ownership that much sweeter!!


Email Bruce ask him for a warranty, lots of people here use him..brucem105@comcast.net

55slamg

DigitalKnight, congrates on the buy, you'll love it. My experience with the batterys, is that they need to be plugged in to tickle chargers. I purchased 2 "Battery Tenders" one for each battery. I visited many MB dealers in my area, even the new showroom cars are plugged into chargers. No worries. My pulse seats don't work, I'm assuming a pinched air line under the seat. I did some trouble shooting, then gave up after reading these forums as the "pulse" isn't that much of a comfort and wasn't worth taking to the stealer to remove the seats at $$$. I suggest as soon as you get it, get the on the hoist for an inspection of bushings, control arms, etc. as soon as possible. A star diagnostics at the MB stealer will cost you $125+/- and will identify any potential gremlins that may be lurking.

You got a great deal as I payed 43k with 112,000 km's on my 2005 sl55. I strongly suggest you purchase an used care warranty for the first 2 years, this will cover some $$$ issues should you have any, but not all.

Read these forums as I have, there is are a lot of great knowledgable members here, who are more than pleased to help you with troubleshooting. If you do have an issue, research it here first, then proceed to the stealer for repairs. If you don't, the stealer is going to jam you hard. When dealing with MB service mgr., keep in mind that there is the "Good", "The Bad" and "The Ugly" I took my car too 3 different ones before I found one that I could trust.

I wouldn't worry about the GF, my wife was the same until she started driving it. Now she doesn't say anything except for "Where's the Keys" I'm going for a ride! LOL

DigitalKnight

Yea, my 3000GT and my HD Night-Rod are both on Battery Tender Juniors. Since I drive a company vehicle everyday , my personal car just sits in the garage and only gets taken out once a week during the school year for my weekly father/daughter diner night and the occasional trip to the wine and spirit store for some red wine. I put way more miles on my Harley the past year then my 3000GT. Since the SL55 is only a 2-seater it will be driven even less as I won't be able to take it on long trips out of state since there are three of us in the family so we will be forced to take the GF car.

I of course was only joking about the Soon to be ex GF... since we have been together for like 25 years it is almost the same as being married.

I can tell you she would never drive the MB as she has a fear of driving cars and it is a miracle she got her drivers license (she was lucky and got a female instructor that just had a bad break up so all they did was chat during the on road test), but she might warm up to the car after I take her for a ride in it. Time will tell... I do know my daughter is excited about me getting the SL55 as she helped me pick it out and even talked me out of getting the SLK55 I was looking at for the same price. Of course she is 16 and a half and wants me to take her to get her permit soon.... hope she realizes I will be teaching her how to drive in her moms Audi A4 and not the SL55... I will wait till after Christmas to break that news to her....

Thanks for the email contact kustom, I already sent him an email.

My GF also has a client that owns a MB and she gave me her MB contact info. She said she was tired of getting ripped off by the MB stealers and now takes her car to C.S Cantlin MB Service in Conshohocken PA. Since they are reasonably close to me I thought that might be who I would use?

I am still waiting to hear back from Exotic Motors about the 2 error codes the service records, but my guess would be since it is a major holiday weekend I will not be hearing from them to at least Monday. They are supposed to send email me the purchase contract today also but nothing on that yet either.... I of course just want to drive it!

I do want to thank each of you guys for the positive feedback to my purchase! It makes dropping 30K on a car I have not seen in person a little easier!!!

So

-Mark AKA: DigitalKnight