jmarkr123

Looking for some advice. One of the cars I currently own is a 2007 SL550. It's my 6th Benz
and at 95k the most reliable. Great car but not enough power and horrible brakes. I would love to step up to a 2008 SL55 or 2006 SL65. My concern is the reliability. I previously owned a 2004 E55 and it pretty much lived at the dealership. Are either of these choices worthy of approx 10k miles per year without stranding me on the side of the road? A couple thousand per year in maintenance is ok with me but some of the websites I've seen have stories of many times that in repair costs and is the 55 or 65 more dependable? Or do I just buy another Porsche? Turbo of course!
I love the power and torque of the AMG cars. It's intoxicating but obviously am concerned about outrageous repair costs.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

V12TTenthusiast

I've own both SL55 and SL65 and by far the SL65 is much more fun to drive then the SL55 but the cost in owning a SL65 is much more expensive

The ignition coils are like 1200 a pop, prob can get them down to 1000 if you looked and will need 24 spark plugs which is about 11-20 a pop but at most 480 for plugs

Doing an engine mount job on a SL65 takes like 25-28 hours and will easily cost 3k in labor even though the mount was $300

Brakes on a SL65 easy 3.2k-4k and there is no aftermarket brakes you can put on

Your already aware of the ABC and any hardtop issue that can occur

The parts on the SL65 are by far more expensive then a SL55, remember even if you are buying used your still comparing parts for a 120-140k to a 190-210k car and our aftermarket parts are limited compared to the SL55s

BUTTT,

A tricked out SL55 with everything on it up to stage 5, wont compete with a SL65 with minor tunes/parts and if you ever get turbo upgrades.... HOLY **** Just a tuned SL65 can hit high 10s

So my advise is get a warranty for either one, Fidelity would be your best bet. and if the mileage seems kinda high on the SL65 make sure the brakes were changed as warranty wont cover brakes or you will be in a rude awakening when you find out brakes can easily hit 4k.

Otherwise don't bother the SL65 eats up a lot of $$$$$ in parts

ttboost

Supercharged V8 or V12TT? No brainer if you ask me. New (2005) SL65 owner here. If you are handy and can do some stuff yourself...SL65 all day. I've owned my car for 4 months. Got it with 58k on it. I've already replaced both coils ($800 each) and installed a Bosch 010 IC pump ($100 shipped from Amazon). Both were about an hour job. I expected all of these to go at the mileage I had, so not really pissed. I had a 600whp heavily modified 996 turbo and couldn't get it in the 10's...My SL65 with a flash just went 10.99 my first time out with the flash. Again, SL65 all day...

V12TTenthusiast

One more thing I forgot to mention SL65 grabs a lot of attention and creams pretty much anything compared to an SL55

With my SL55 it would be a toss up when I went up against an M6, or some modded Evo or GT500, but an SL65 I've creamed cars from 350z and Genesis Coupes from little kids trying to mess with you, to the M3 - M6 owners up to the exotics like Ferrari 458's Maserati Gran Turismo's, Audi R8 V10s etc

When you tune the SL65 its a pure beast, the ECU tune dramatically raises the rwhp from 505 to 565 and the TCU response much quicker and is really fun when your already rolling and your doing a drag race or when your in a single lane with a slow guy holding up 4-5 cars and you just go on the other lane and pass them (I can see why Clarkson on Top Gear had a lot of fun passing people when the first CL65 AMG came out)

DangeRuss

I daily drive a 2003 SL55 I have put 8000 miles on it since August ( I drive a lot for work) and I have had NO issues!! Love everything about the car, this being said it will probably blow up tomorrow.

jmarkr123

Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm leaning toward the SL 65. I'll have a good PPI performed and have inquired with Fidelity about a warranty.
Thanks again...

coldhammer

I have an 03 sl55 with 100k miles. Been driving it hard for the last 5 years. Its a fun drive and even though it has kleeman headers/flash and pulley i do wish it had more power. The cost to add on significant power will easily cost more than the price difference of the 55 vs 65.

I have been going back and forth between getting a 65 or keeping the 55. The only thing really holding me back is that i keep getting mixed opinions on the handling of the 65 vs 55. Most people seem to agree that the 55 handles significantly better.

cnterline

I have an 03 SL55,things I had problems with were left front strut replaced it with an Arnott rebuilt,just replaced it,no rodeo required just cycled the suspension button on console, throttle switch inside car under acc pedal,engine mounts,heat exchanger water pump,clock on center console was dim so I replaced it,rear trunk latch wasn't locking down tight because of vacuum leak ,there is a DIY fix for that in here,
mods are ,Kleemann ECU/TCU tune ,headers,168 pulley,84pulley,82mm TB , extra heat exchanger, trunk tank,high flow air filters,quaife diff,Zeitronics wide band a/f , Dashdaq XL gauge, pilot super sports,

ttboost

Sounds like a heavily modded car...any performance measurments?

cnterline

Haven't got it to the track yet,

kustom2k1

Get the 65, even part throttle acceleration will amaze you. The SC'd cars are either on or off, if the SC is not engaged you can get raped by a 370Z!

vtvette

It would be interesting to see the weight difference between the SL65 V12 and the SL55 V8 engines. Most V12's are quite heavy. That would help explain why one would handle different than the other.

I also hear the Sl55 has different software for the ABC system to give a firmer ride. I've read this in many articles but have no basis of fact. Than again, this may be SL55 vs. SL600 which I would be more likely to believe. If such a software change exists the SL65 being an AMG car would likely have the "sport" programming as well.

If going SL55 visit Weistec Engineering. They have a video of a SL55 with supercharger/header upgrades in the 10's all day long.

There is a SL600 or, SL65 that drives by the open air restaurant patio my wife and I frequent. Best sounding car I have ever heard. No idea what he's done to it but it's not stock. That car sounds incredibly wicked.

I love my SL55 but the V12's are awesome as well. Two totally different engines. For me personally the SL55 has all the power and potential power I will ever need and is less expensive to maintain. If I were looking for the most power possible I would definitely look to the V12's.

ttboost

Nothing like 750ft/lbs at the wheels with just a flash...V12tt for the win!!!

V12TTenthusiast

The nose is heavier in the front on the SL65 vs the SL55, thus better handling in the SL55, but I still prefer the mountain of torque.

It was prob the SL600 with the ABC that's different than the SL55, but SL65 and SL55 share the same hydraulic ABC

About the S/C if its not engage your right a lot of things can pass you, One thing I hated about the SL55 was when I was already on the highway and rolling and I wanted to downshift to kick in the S/C it would take awhile. I prefer the twin turbos over the S/C and the combination of a 6.0 V12 and TT that spool up very quick and is a beast at the high end as well makes the car amazing.

City Rat

Guys, while I know that the OP sought the 55/65 comparison how does the SL63 fair in this comparison regarding reliability, cost of ownership as measured in repair costs, after market parts availibility, etc. I have been looking at all three and while 06-08 SL55s seem more reliable, lower incidence of ABC probs, 06-08 SL63s seem to be the sweet spot. The cost of ownership of 65s just seemed stratospheric and out of my range. As such I'd love to hear your ranking of the 63s in this mix.

V12TTenthusiast

SL63 replaced the SL55 after 2009, the 2009-2012 was the last of the r230s with the facelift, new seats, new steering wheel, updated command unit etc. After that r231 was being made. With the SL63 you can do headers, turbo upgrade, etc and it will be bolt on, but idk if the transmission and axle can handle that much additional power.

I know some people that tried to do that with their 55s with new mods but had to limit torque output since the transmission couldn't handle it when they upgraded there cars

The SL65 have a different transmission and assembly then the 55s and 63s as the 65s have so much power and torque right of of the box and are more bullet proof in regards to transmission

Newzchspy

I doubt that, BUT carry on!!!


** When is the SC NOT engaged on the SL55?? When the car is turned off??? **

V12TTenthusiast

I think he means at higher speeds when your already at higher rpms, cause the s/c wont work as well compared to lower rpms. Idk about a 350z but in my old SL55 at higher speeds and rpms, an M6 would take me when we were already at a 60-70 mph roll

mb_21

Someone please tell me that this isn't true?!?

vtvette

I was under the impression that all SL's V8, V12, AMG use the 722.6 transmission up to 2009?

I know my 2005 SL55 has the 722.6 rated from Mercedes up to 796lb ft torque. Weistec has put over 1,000 lb ft torque through the 722.6 without incident. A version of the 722.6 was used in the McLaren SLR up to 2009.

vtvette

I'll tell you this isn't true. There is NO WAY a 350hp 370z is "raping" a SL55 anywhere.

This thread is starting to get a little ridiculous.

vtvette

I can't believe the cost of brakes for the SL65 vs. the SL55. Someone posted the front rotors run $1500? Genuine Mercedes rotors for my SL55 were $129/each from a Mercedes dealer online.

Are the brakes really that much different between the two?

ttboost

I've heard parts prices for this car are ridiculous, which they can be. I would expect them to be a little higher as they ARE rare.....If you know how to shop, and can turn a wrench...it's not horrible. Worth it to me , now that I own one...

V12TTenthusiast

Yep, I didn't think they were that much but dealer will charge you 1000-1200 per rotor. I was at Eurocharged and Benz Elite and they were shocked when the dealer told them it was that much.

The lowest I got my rotors for about 700 a pop. If you think that's bad if you have cats that go bad and you want to replace them, over 5k for both, online you can prob get them down for 4k but that's the OEM cost. And all the dealer will tell you is its a V12 and an AMG. (Someone should really make aftermarket rotors, evosport was going to until they went bust)

As for the transmission the 55 and 65 def have different transmissions, I was talking to RAWAMG about his stage 5 SL55 when Eurocharged had their open house and he had to limit his torque cause his transmission couldn't take it. They might have used the same platform but did more re enforcement in the 65s, I'm trying to find online now the exact difference

mb_21

Yeah that's what I thought! My old 05 S55 would murder any g35 or 350z, whether they were modded or not! I've seen SL55's run against Lamborghini and Ferrari staying right with them or better yet having the lead!