blueSL

I've been interested in the SL55 for a long time and have one of the first made - and that may be my problem - but I am just beginning to wonder if it is worth the hassle.

The reliability of my car has been shockingly bad, a series of faults mostly related to the fancy hydraulic and braking systems which are invariably expensive to fix. The sheer complexity of the car - and the capability of the diagnostics which lag it - means that problems can be difficult to diagnose.

Right now, my car has been in the dealer's workshop for a month without them fixing a loss of power problem above 50 mph. They want to replace two parts at a cost of $1000 (parts and labour) and there's no guarantee this will fix it. They are clutching at straws - stabbing in the dark - and MB Technical are no better. I've told them if the parts do not fix the car, I'm not paying for them.

The month before, the car drained its ABC fluid through a leaky valve block which cost $700 to fix.

The car needs new ball-joints and it will only be a matter of time before something goes wrong with the suspension struts at something like $1500 a corner. The wheels are corroding under the lacquer and need refinishing.

And on and on... The car is now worth 15% of what I paid for it 10 years ago, still less than 20000 miles.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to continue pouring money into this car. My Ferrari, much less complex, is more fun to drive and has never once let me down.

abiazis

Sell it and count it down as experience learned.....

WHTEVO

/\ Yeah i'll have to agree, just sell it, you have a much more fun car to drive. Although most of the problems you listed are the common issues with the car and i think most owners eventually go through all of them. Also sounds like you need to find a good indy shop.

Are they replacing the i/c pump?

Good luck.

Aaron

alx

the question is- when it works right- is it worth to you?

my sl65 is worth to me.

if you grow to despise the car and be afraid that it will leave you on the side of the road- get rid of it.

it is really that simple.

sprins

Good luck selling it. That'll really make a grown man cry...

rsr911

Sounds like the time has come for yours to find a new home.

damian155

I feel your pain.. I'm on the verge of selling mine for the same reason. My aftermarket warranty is bs... so its an endless money pit! Nice car on outside but people have no idea what it costs to maintain.

IngenereAMG

I'm sorry to hear of the SL55 woes. With only 20K miles, it wasn't driven much. As a Ferrari owner, you should be familiar with fluid changes, etc... regardless of miles. Have you kept up on this?

My '03 has been bullet proof. It gets driven a bit more, but more importantly, ALL fluids get serviced...... ABC, brake, coolant, oil, etc, etc

kustom2k1

My '03 has been bullet proof
Same here, I think you got a lemon BlueSL.

mcobinad

So true. People who do not know these cars have no idea how much it costs the owner on average to fix in a year. Buying a car because it is cheap does not equate to having the financial capacity to afford related costs of repairs mostly associated with these top of the range cars. I could afford to buy a Bentley Continental GT if I so choose to but can I afford the cost of parts & repairs should anything potential go wrong? I guess it would be a totally different answer altogether.

Back to the main subject ,if the OP did not love his SL, I don't think he will even spend a dime to fix any issues associated with the car. I think where he is beginning to give up is after series of money spent, the issues still persist and anybody in his position will feel the same way. There are people who drive cars for the sake of driving high performance cars but in return do not attach sentiments or show love to their cars and for such people it's straight forward "GET RID" of the car when anything potential goes wrong while the other types who I call the "real enthusiasts" who would do anything to get the car going even when the car is on the verge of collapse. I personally attach sentiments to my cars that I often persist with endless repairs even when my friends tell me to get rid of.

The cars I have enjoyed the most are the ones that drained my wallet to a certain extent if you guys know what I am talking about.

amok55amg

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-amg-...r-back-up.html

Either you love the car or not .........

Imawreck

I own an '03 SL55 and its been bulletproof...."so far". But I fully expect it to give me some financial burden at some point. That said, for a car of its caliber, (judged by pure fun of driving and head turning qualities), I've no intent of swapping for something else. I guess I'm even going the other direction and intending to test it's reliability by pushing it a bit. Was stock....but within the month is going to have MBH long tube headers, a new heat exchange pump, a 180mm crank pulley, an 82mm throttle body, and new tune. Of course....with all that I had to pull the trigger on a widebody conversion and custom paint as well with some new custom wheels. Excited as hell to give it a "rebirth"!

Anyway...the list of issues above seems like this car was, in fact, a lemon, or it was poorly maintained. Other possibility was it wasn't driven "enough"??

Good luck....but if you get it fixed and get it fixed "right", you shouldn't have to address the same issue again for a very long time.

MBH motorsports

I love my SL55. However it will be for sale soon with about 6k miles worth of warranty left on it. Its been pretty damn rock solid for me. with 55K miles on the clock.