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I have owned exclusively Mercedes cars for the past 10 years and I cant get enough. Having ALWAYS wanted an AMG, but never being able to afford one, I came across a used 2003 SL55 AMG with 59K miles and an excellent service record for only 14,995... I jumped on it. That being said I did a ton of research before purchasing and checked for all the major issues with the R230 and this car has none... Single owner... immaculate service record, and low miles for an 03. the only issue it had was some slow leaks in 2 tires and a stuck glovebox.
Either way I'm Ecstatic this this thing has it all, heated and cooled seats , pano roof etc. Its such an amazing machine I'm shocked at the price, but fully understand if anything goes wrong, its gonna cost a bunch. So without further ado.. here's my list of questions.
1. Does this thing have TPS sensors? I assumed yes, but maybe 2003 was too early? Either way I had a flat tire and it didn't go off, so any suggestions if it does have them as to what to do about that?
2. how do you use the heated/cooled seat feature. ( I mean the A/C control of it not the built in warmers I found those)
3. Wtf do those 3 silver toggles on the dash do? I assume they control airflow, but how?
Sorry I didn't know what to look for to find these answers
Thanks
Crehop
Last edited by crehop; Jan 4, 2017 at 06:18 PM.
Reason: added images
I have owned exclusively Mercedes cars for the past 10 years and I cant get enough. Having ALWAYS wanted an AMG, but never being able to afford one, I came across a used 2003 SL55 AMG with 59K miles and an excellent service record for only 14,995... I jumped on it. That being said I did a ton of research before purchasing and checked for all the major issues with the R230 and this car has none... Single owner... immaculate service record, and low miles for an 03. the only issue it had was some slow leaks in 2 tires and a stuck glovebox.
Either way I'm Ecstatic this this thing has it all, heated and cooled seats , pano roof etc. Its such an amazing machine I'm shocked at the price, but fully understand if anything goes wrong, its gonna cost a bunch. So without further ado.. here's my list of questions.
1. Does this thing have TPS sensors? I assumed yes, but maybe 2003 was too early? Either way I had a flat tire and it didn't go off, so any suggestions if it does have them as to what to do about that?
2. how do you use the heated/cooled seat feature. ( I mean the A/C control of it not the built in warmers I found those)
3. Wtf do those 3 silver toggles on the dash do? I assume they control airflow, but how?
Sorry I didn't know what to look for to find these answers
Thanks
Crehop
Hello and welcome. Nice car !
the tire pressure sensors were optional in 2003
also optional, were "cooled" seats. if you have the "cooled" seats (NO ac involved , just underwhelming fans in seat), it is controlled adjacent to your seat heater control in the door.
by silver toggles, I am guessing you are referring to the controllers for the upper vents. They are covered in the owners manual (which has a ton of great info). If you don't have one, you can likely find a copy on ebay ... or I can send you the PDF.
If you are curious as to what options your car does and does not have, you can send me a PM with your VIN and I can send you a copy of your cars "datacard" (your build sheet) .
Im pretty sure it has the cooled seats,because it looks like theres air holes in the seats, but I could be wrong. It "looks" fully loaded, ill pm you the vin tho
Im pretty sure it has the cooled seats,because it looks like theres air holes in the seats, but I could be wrong. It "looks" fully loaded, ill pm you the vin tho
For some reason, I am having difficulty getting into the mercedes EPC, so I will get your data card tomorrow...
The perforated seats are used regardless of cooling option.
if you don't have them, don't feel bad ... virtually no one who has them uses them as they blow so little it is hard to tell when they are on.
The button(s) for the seat heater will tell you for sure.
look at the attached pic (pages 96 and 97 from the owners manual)
That's a good deal! If I were you, I'd do a ton of preventative maintenance, then drive it like you stole it. There are a bunch of postings on things to look for, or just do.
Here's my short list: Flush the ABC with new fluids, filter and fluid for the trans, inspect front suspension bushings, potentially replace the nitrogen gas dampers in the ABC (age and mileage dependent), replace the shift lock with a metal tang, replace the crank position sensor and throw the old one in the glove box, get a battery tender for the rear battery.
You really can't hurt this car driving it hard, so go have fun. Do donuts with your friends - they will enjoy it too!
Thanks Kbob, based on this carfax, it looks like all the services were done when they were needed. It also says the ABC and computer were reprogrammed, is this good? From this, do you see anything that they missed I should be looking for?
Thanks Kbob, based on this carfax, it looks like all the services were done when they were needed. It also says the ABC and computer were reprogrammed, is this good? From this, do you see anything that they missed I should be looking for?
there was a known issue with ABC ECUs that had software versions Q1 thru Q8 ... the recommendation was to replace with a newer ABC ECU (with Q9 or Q10 software). I am guessing that is what they did.
I don't see a trans service, or ABC fluid changed (which is LIFETIME according to the book...it's not).
If you can get an SDS scan...do that. It may uncover obscure things like HVAC motors that don't work, or previous faults that are not current. Check them out, then clear all the codes so you have a clean slate.
You are about to see a few things pop up, like leaky valve cover seals, which are easy to fix, maybe a top latch cylinder - medium difficulty, maybe a pulley bearing or 2 to replace. Plastic will get fragile and easily break. Small trunk panel flaps are common, as well as door glove box lids, or dash vent levers. Handle with care.
Just drive it a lot and know you have a $120K super car for a fraction of new.
The condition looks amazing. That interior is pretty clean as well. Just goes to show how a car that is well cared for can look almost 15 years later. Impressive history on the car and it sure shows. Continue the maintenance and like Kbob says, you have a $100,000 plus car brand new for a fraction of the cost. Congrats!
Very Nice! I haven't been to find anything close to that price.
Keep an eye out for me guys?
Where are you located? I cruise the ads regularly in central Florida. I wasn't in the market, but ran across an ad for my SL55 that I couldn't refuse. Although it's a high mileage car (158,000) the owner had a bit of the service records that I could study. On top of that, 2 days before I purchased it he had the following done:
Conductor plate replaced and transmission service.
Motor mounts and transmission mount replaced.
Control arm bushings replaced.
Replaced AC hose, dryer & compressor.
The only thing he didn't fix was the top actuation. Since my purchase I have:
Changed differential fluid.
Changed fuel filter.
Changed cabin filter.
Changed oil & oil filter.
Changed engine coolant.
Replaced wiper blade.
Had windows tinted.
Had the 2 locking cylinders and the trunk drive cylinder rebuilt for the roof. D
Installed a SmartTop.
Replaced engine pulleys (I've had pulleys/tensioners fail in 2 SLK's, so now that is a high priority for me)
Replaced the accumulators and the pulsation damper.
Flushed/replaced the ABC fluid and filter.
All the items/work above cost just a little under $2000. And about $450 of it was for the tint and SmartTop. I don't think that's bad to freshen things up and get the roof operational.
I do not see motor mounts on the service list. Note that was done on Tim's car. The hydraulic mounts leak down over time. Not obvious driving when they need replaced but it is obvious afterwards.
The other items that wear out with age are the trunk struts and the top mechanism cables. If the top and trunk lid each work fine nothing is required now.
Time as well as miles will take their toll on a number of these items. I think I've read somewhere that motor mounts may be good for 40,000 miles..... and I was told that the bad motor mounts allowed the engine to damage the AC hose the prior owner had replaced. Preventive maintenance pays dividends.
What should I be looking for in the engine mounts, and is the transmission mount change necessary? The car only has 60k miles on it
Time, and age take their toll. 10 years or 60K miles on this high torque engine means they are due for replacement. I replaced mine at 12 years and 85K miles and they were shot.
Replace the trans mount too. It is the easiest and cheapest of the mounts to replace, and known to cause weird symptoms in the car.
You can rest assured for another 10 years/60K miles that they are good.
If you haven't already gotten the glove box open, there is an easy fix for this. Do a searh on this web site, or the other frequented by SL55 owners. Takes about 10 minutes to do it, just need to tighten up the cable that attaches to the latch (the cover on the right end of the dash needs to come off, and only tools are a bright light and a LONG flat blade screwdriver to adjust the notched wheel.
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