This has probably been asked before, but I'm trying to be very careful and really check things out, before I buy. I can't afford to spend a fortune on repairs and maintenance. Currently I drive a 2005 Lexus 430SC with 42k miles. It is comparable in size, weight and features to the SL55, but certainly NOT in performance. There's my problem, love the retractable and other features; but it could use another couple hundred horsepower. My Subaru Forester XT easily out runs it and out handles it.

An SL55 AMG from 2004 - 2007 really appeals to me. But, not if it costs more to fix and maintain than my Lexus. The Lexus is very reliable, but I think repair costs are high. Examples: the electronic cable that controls all your steering wheel features and horn cost $670 to fix, replacing the rear struts is $1800.
I would like to get an idea of how the SL55 compares. Any help would be appreciated.

 

they are very high quality cars, the ride and feel would blow any jap. car away. But complicated, expensive to fix. Any car can break at any time . Any car you buy , you have to take it to a MB dealer, have a complete cpo inspection, look at the mercedes master sheet, their complete history of the cars service. and look at car fax. Then decide if you want to buy it. You can find alot of cars with 20 to 40 K miles on them.

 

No, not reliable. Yes, crazy expensive to fix. If you want Lexus type reliability, you need to look at a C or CLK class. Most models with the standard spring/shock setup will be reliable. Lots of moving parts to break in an SL.

With that said, there is a shock/spring conversion available for the SL55. If you had that installed, the reliability would improve by ten fold.

 

On my 65 I computed operating costs $ 1.00 a mile including gas excluding depreciation..........do a search on annual maintenance costs for the run down......

 

Thanks for the replies. I never realized there were websites that gave you annual costs. Interesting reading. SL55 seems to be about 50% higher than average, my Lexus about 10% higher. I drive a lot less than average, so the SL55 costs would not be a "deal breaker", if I found one that didn't need a lot of work to start with. I'm still looking and still thinking.

 

2005 SL55 with 110,000 miles here. No issues aside from religious routine and preventive maintenance. Still looks and feels like a 20,000 mile car. Not a rattle, creek or squeak in her. Everything still feels like new. The build quality of these cars is truly fantastic.

Remember these were $115,000+ cars new in 2003 and the maintenance costs do reflect this. The Lexus is a fine car but as another poster mentioned the build quality and ride of a SL completely blows it out of the water. Not bashing at all just comparing two very different cars.

Best of luck with your search

 

It all depends on the car and it's history.

I have had my '03 since new and it has been extremely reliable, with only a handful of problems over the past 12 years. As with most things mechanical, it's about the quality of the service work and religious maintenance. If you find a car like that, pay the asking price (which will probably be higher) and enjoy the car. If you buy a bottom feeder car, expect big bills and not to have a good experience.

 

I was thinking of buying from Carmax. They have a 30 day warranty and 5 day money back guarantee, so plenty of time to get it inspected. There are no local dealers who have anything close to what I'm looking for, so my only other choice is the Chicago area. I might save a bit there, but the risk is a lot higher.

As for Lexus quality, it's a fancy Toyota with lots of electronic and mechanical bells and whistles, that are now obsolete.

 

You might take a look at an aftermarket warranty. That way you won't get hit with an unforeseen big ticket item. Most of our cars (R230s) are getting ready to hit the service threshold on the SBC braking system. Unless you are very handy, it is pretty much a dealer item to replace. The cost of that alone is about 2k. I know, I just had it done.

By the way, I never agree with ingenere on this point. He must have gotten the absolute best SL55 ever made. I do agree maintenance is important especially the maintenance we all now know is needed on the ABC system. Here is a list of parts that I have replaced that had nothing to do with maintenance: SBC unit, clutch pack, loose fuel baffle, SRS, Bi Xenon components, worn retractable roof components and that is just off the top of my head.

 

Wait a minute, you are going to get the car checked out AFTER you buy it. Those used car salesman are going to love you.

 

Carmax stands by their 5 day money back guarantee; especially if you find issues they didn't. You get some hassle if you bring it back for no reason, but you just have to stand your ground.

As for maintenance, my son-in-law is my "ace in the hole". He loves to work on all kind of imports; he finds it relaxing. He would love to get his hands on an SL55! Especially if there are any good mods available.

You said "clutch pacK". What kind of transmission is it? I'm also curious about the roof components, how well they hold up. Do you put the roof up and down a lot? I would probably average at least twice a day.

I still have so much to learn and it's not like you can run down to the neighborhood dealership and check them out!

 

+1. It may be that he owns a 12 year old car with less than 50,000 miles. I would expect little to no issues from any car with less than 50,000 miles.

 

It's a (very strong) conventional Automatic. I'd imagine he's referring to the clutch pack on the supercharger. They (or, more likely, the bearing) tend to fail. Easy fix and well documented though. My bearing went out at about 100,000 miles.

Roof's have proven to be very robust. They are well engineered with quality components. The most common issues with the roof's seem to be annoying rattling that can develop over time. There are adjustment procedures documented in the factory repair manual to eliminate them. Lube the hinges and joints periodically. Also, keep the weatherstrip seals well lubricated with a quality dressing like Gummi Pfledge.

Be sure to look into the SmartTop module. it's a small simple to install module that gives you additional function of the top like operating the top when the car is moving (a feature that later R230's have from the factory but earlier R230's lack), ability to operate the top with your key fob, and more. One of the best mod's I've done to my car.

The biggest issues with these cars tend to be the ABC (Active Body Control) suspension. It's a very sophisticated hydraulic based suspension system. There is a wealth of information on this forum about ABC be sure to study up.

 

vtvette is right, I was talking about the supercharger clutch that is electronically turned on under certain RPMs and possibly some other parameters. I am on my second clutch pack and third bearing. The bearings tends to wear out. Almost everyone with a 55k engine has had to replace a bearing. Here is the problem, if you are not handy enough to do it yourself nor can you find a trusted independent shop in the Milwaukee area, which I have not found yet, then you go to the dealer. The dealer will not replace the bearing for you. They will only sell you the complete clutch assembly often referred to as the clutch pack. If I remember correctly, they charge about $1,400 for that. Being a clutch, the clutch material itself does get worn out as well.

A good friend of mine from the boards says you need to be either rich and able to take your car to the dealer or be able to do much of the work yourself. I fully agree with him, but oddly fit in neither category. Amazingly, though, I absolutely love my SL. After all of these years, I still get a grin on my face the minute I crawl into the seat and press the start button.

If your son-in-law can work on cars, so much the better. The guys on the boards are very knowledgeable and helpful and have dealt with most of the standard SL issues.

 

I just decided to put my '03 SL55 up for sale.. It is a two owner car that has been pampered from day one.

The first owner is a good friend of mine.. and has two Bentley's, a Ferrari, and Aston Martin and some other cool stuff. Him and I are both total fanatics about keeping our cars perfect at all times.

What you might find really cool is that I have a Platinum Warranty that is transferable to the next owner.. ZERO deductable.. just sign your name!

The warranty literally covers everything... the only thing it doesn't cover are wearables such as tires and brakes... and I just put 4 new tires on last Friday. (Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's)

41k miles on it.. and the car is as close to perfect as you will find anywhere in the country.

If you want to check it out you can see a video walk-around and some high res images here: http://carguyz.com/sl55

The car has never had any paint work or damage of any kind at all... ZERO. Never been smoked in.. ALWAYS garaged.

It has all the options.. Pano glass roof, keyless go, parktronic, disctronic, active ventilated seats.. the wheels are two piece 20" Chrome Lorinser LM5's. (..as I said.. I just put 4 new tires on it last Friday)

Here's a pic I took a few days ago:




If you are still searching... you won't find anything in the country nicer...

Let me know if you have any questions!

Kurt

 

I checked your link, Kurt and it's a real nice car. But, I'm still in the learning process and your car has so many things I've never heard of. Generally, I like as few options as possible. I found out the hard way Lexus has a few I should have avoided. So, give me some time...

 

Who is the warranty through?

 

Ok.. no problem. However I think you are missing the point..

This car has a PLATINUM WARRANTY for another year and a half that covers EVERYTHING! ..just sign your name.

I paid $4200 for this warranty when I bought the car..

You cannot buy this warranty for any price now.. because you would need to be looking at a 2006 or newer car to qualify for this level of coverage.

This is not some crap warranty.. In fact after years of experience I learned that buying a LEXUS PLATINUM warranty was hands down the best warranty available anywhere.. so whenever I buy a car the first thing I do is cruise over to see my buddy Frank at the Lexus dealer and buy the Platinum warranty.. I don't hesitate for a second.

This warranty is good at any Mercedes-Benz dealership in the country... or any decent independent repair shop.

You could drive this car for a year and a half with 100% piece of mind knowing that ANYTHING that fails... (and I mean ANYTHING) is 100% covered.

This is exactly the same as a New car Warranty.

I cannot stress this any more than I already have.. you will not find a nicer car anywhere in the country than mine AND it has another 1.5 years remaining on the Platinum warranty!

Any other car you might buy will not be eligible for this type of warranty any longer... you would have had to buy it over 3 years ago as I did.

Also... when it comes to the options... they are only a PLUS on this car.

The Panorama roof is glass.. it doesn't have any moving parts.. it just looks bad *** compared to the standard painted roof.

The Keyless Go.. I won't buy a car WITHOUT this option..

Active Ventilated Seats.. same thing.. I would not buy a car WITHOUT this option.

This car HAS the DESIRABLE OPTIONS... you really don't want a car that you have to apologize for when trying to sell it.

Guys that buy these car LOOK for these options... and if it DOESN'T have them.. they don't want the car at any price!

..and everything is covered under warranty anyway!

Sorry for the rant... but I have bought so many cars over the years that I had to jump in here and emphasize these points for you.

This warranty also covers rental/loaner reimbursement as well.

I'm including a few images of the Warranty for this car:

 

Lexus Financial/Toyota

After years of experience I realized there is no better warranty on planet Earth than this one...

They never say no to anything... I just sign my name..

I replied to the OP above with some images of the warranty and more info.

 

Just curious, how many miles does the car have on it now? Apologies if I missed it somewhere.

 

It has 41,800 miles on it right now..

You can see a video walk-around and high resolution images by visiting this link: http://carguyz.com/sl55

Kurt

 

That was a good deal on the warranty. Appears to have been 5 years or 60k.

 

Yeah.. exactly right... it was 5yrs or 60K.. worth every nickle too!

 

they can be for certain. I had one of the coveted Chrysler warranties that expired a few years ago. A bunch of E55 guys were getting them and doing very well. Mine was a little under 3k and by the time the warranty expired, I had about $11,000 in repairs covered. All of the work was done at a Mercedes dealership i trusted.

 

SL55 AMG Reliability
Everyone should be aware that any car is going to require preventive maintenance. The higher Quality of the Automobile, more Costly Maintenance will BE !!!!
YOU, can not expect to pay Chevy Prices for a Six Figure Automobile. Get the Maintenance Report and CarFax on the Car of your choice. And make Sure that You begin a Maintenance routine that has You out in front of the required maintenance schedule. Don't forget your MB USA Member Discount on Parts. It has saved Me Hundreds of Dollars!!! I can't wait to acquire My SL55 AMG.
Happy Motoring.