Xeron

I've been having mucho problems with my 04 SL55 and am considering trading it in. Saw a 05 DB9 and thought Hmmm...

any input?

jettie1767

I would go for a Continental GT over a DB9. The DB9 is a looker but I heard it has its own set of reliability issues.

IngenereAMG

I drove a DB9 last week. It was a beautiful car and wonderfully finished, but I don't think I would swap it for my SL55. Now add it to the garage...........I think so. I think it might be better to wait for the V8 Vantage.......that is going to be a hot car!

Jackj42

First post here.....I traded a 911 turbo for the SL55. I was using the Turbo as an almost daily driver, and use the SL the same way. Glad I made the switch, but only because I wanted a better daily car. The 911 certainly has it's advantages, especially if you spend time at the track...Anyway, new dealership in Charlotte opened a couple of weeks ago, and the GM wanted me to drive the DB9, so I did. Really a different car- depends what you want. Beautiful, inside and out, geat engine sounds- different sounds than the SL55, but still good. Felt like more of a sports car than a GT car relative to the SL55. Stiffer suspension. Didn't feel as quick, but did feel lighter and quicker to move around. Seemed smaller and tighter inside. No convertible of course. Almost as much money as an SL65. I wouldn't trade, but that's just me. Depends what you want. I have an '05 SL55 that hasn't given me a bit of trouble- I would worry a lot about a new model intro by a UK car company...Don't know the numbers, but I would suspect there are a lot less DB9's than SL55's around. Hope this helps and good luck

Jack

naadp

Stan Briggs is the man :p

It scares me they have so many of them sitting there, though. Especially considering not very many have been brought to the states yet...

Juice it

The convertible DB9 aka the Volante should be arriving soon. That will be one hot car. I think the SL55 does everything equal if not better but the fact that you probably wouldn't see another Aston for months at a time makes it a bit more special.

IanSL55

I agree... though I've always felt that with the SL, you had a car that wasn't out of place be it the valet stand at a five star eatery or at the local Taco Bell drive through... I love that about my 55. Not sure I'd be taking the Aston out 1/10th as much as I do the Mercedes... and that would be a shame.

~ Ian

blueSL

I have a DB9 on order and can certainly confirm that it's more of a sports car than the SL55 which remains the consummate GT. The paddle shift puts the cheap buttons on the SL55 steering wheel to shame and is the car's strongest feature. It is more hard riding but has much better body control than my 911 which bobs up and down constantly.

If anything, my concern is that the DB9 is too close to the SL55 to justify having them both and I expect the V8 Vantage will sit nicely between the soft SL55 and the hard-edged F430 at the other extreme.

There have been differing reports on the number of SLs being made, but it's safe to say it's in the range 30 - 50000, not bad when the previous generation did 220000 over 13 years. That compares to 2000 DB9s, 7 a day, and 20 or so Bentley Continental GTs. They all have their plusses and minusses, biggest of the Bentley is the tiny gas tank which is strange for what is quite a large car.

The Aston and the Bentley will always be much rarer cars than the SL in all its forms - 5 models here. As for the UK thing, the Bentley is basically a VW Phaeton, a still born luxury sedan which is selling in tiny numbers and it's said the new sedan version of the Bentley (which to my eyes is a happier styling mix with the front and rear better balanced) will be made at the German plant to soak up spare capacity.

The Aston is a much more hand-made car than the SL and certainly there are a few elements of the build which grate but no more so than in a Ferrari. What you can say is that the paint and leather job are significantly better than the SL - Aston take longer to paint the car than Mercedes do to make it.

They're made just 20 miles up the road from where I live in the country and there is a real buzz about the place when you visit, a real commitment in an architecturally interesting plant, a far cry from the low rise in Bremen where the SLs are made. Aston is headed up by the former engineering director of Porsche and owned by Ford which puts lots of resources at their disposal. The V12 engines are made in Germany, in a Ford plant in Cologne, I believe.

So if you have visions of the cars being made in some cow-shed, you're wrong and I expect the reliability record of them to be at least as good as Ferrari. Keep in mind too that the DB9 lacks some of the gizmology which Mercedes are busy de-contenting in the current SL model year. If the car doesn't have it, it won't go wrong.

VinceB

Curious as to the problems you are experiencing? I'm thinking of a 55 and want to use it as a daily driver. A little concerned about reliability vs. the 500?

Thanks for any feedback

blueSL

No reason to believe there's any significant difference in reliability between the models. Unlike over at Porsche, where there's a problem of oil leaks and engines blowing, you won't find tales of woe over engine reliability here. Can't think of a single instance of someone here having significant problems with their engines.

Most of the rest of the differences between models is down to simple things like trim and easily installed parts like brake discs (rotors). All the cars are made on the same line anyway (apart perhaps from the '65, don't know about that) using the same bodyshell, so what starts life at a body in white could metamorphose into an SL350 or SL600 just depending on the model mix that day. If Fritz can't be bothered to tighten a brake union, he's just as likely (not) to do it on one model as another.

I think you can buy an SL55 now with confidence, you won't regret it, it's a fine car to have as a daily driver.

Xeron

Well,

The problems I've had are as follows;

1. Transmission slippage and leaking

2. Strut failure

3. SBC and ABS problems

4. Airconditioner failure

5. Minor fit and finish problems

The car has been in the shop 35 days since I've owned it (6 mo.). However, it appears to be functioning well now. I am however, going to ask for an extended warranty from M.B.

drunkenoldman

1. Who is going to service the dam thing?
2. Who is going to service the dam thing?

sprins

Who do you think? The Ford shop around the corner of course!

blueSL

I agree that's a pretty dismal experience but they could all have happened to any SL.

Servicing low volume cars in the US must be a nightmare for those owners who live away from the hot-spots. Even in the UK, dealers can be thin on the ground. I've just spent the morning travelling 60 miles and back to pick up my 911 after a clutch replacement.

SL55406

Based on all the things I've read about MB in the past 5 yrs, I wouldn't buy a MB today without extended warranty.

I'm also carefully researching Calif's lemon law before I buy my SL55 as well. Seems like the things I've read on the net point to MB trying to get out of fixing things and giving the customer a hard time.

jasab

If you have had problems with your SL and are looking for a better built and more reliable machine the DB9 may not be for you.
Hand build cars are a good way of forming a close relationship with your dealer and mechanics............
How long will these Astons be hand build, times are changing.

Plus whats the waiting list the the Aston?

MersAMG

DB9 is fabulous looking car. And as Jeremy Clarkson (TOP GEAR) said, its also good highway long-distance car.

liveseyd

BlueSL,

Will be interested to hear how you get on with the DB9.
We've run the SL55 for 2 years now, and it's been a great car. My biggest disappointment has been the depreciation, although I would hope the next year or so will be slightly less painful.
The DB9 is exquisite, and as the wife's car, looks alone make it an easy decision to swap from the SL.
I had an early deposit down for a Continental GT but sold it on (one of the very few profits I've made out of cars!).
Or it could be the new aston V8 for weeknds and something sensible for her for during the week to put the mileage on!

David

blueSL

Depreciation for the any V12 is savage no matter who it's from. My old style SL600 depreciated by 85% in 9 years and a recent article in Autocar says the Aston V12 DB7's are much more expensive to run than the old straight-6 DB7. The higher running costs scares buyers and higher initial cost make the depreciation savage. I can't believe there's anyone who bought a DB7 Vantage (V12) who is happy with their depreciation. The time will come when DB9 owners bemoan their depreciation. It's not going to be good.

Same will be true of the SL; V12's will depreciate quickly and the SL55 is widely regarded as the most desirable of the SLs here so should be better; there is of course the SL350 which will be the best of them all. I believe the V12 SLs will be selling in tiny numbers here.

The issue with the DB9 for me is that it is too close in form and function to the SL55 and I cannot justify having both. I also don't like the packaging, it's interesting that the most usable trunk space of the 3 cars I own plus the Aston is... the F355. So that's why I'm beginning to think the AM V8 will be better with its hatch-back, great for weekends away and a useful cost saving. My ownership experience of the 911 has got off to a bad start, so I'm most likely to switch the 911 for an AM V8 in due course.

Don't blame you selling the Conti on, it's one ugly car. I actually think the new sedan is a more balanced design. Strangely, the car which is giving me the most satisfaction at the moment is a new Subaru Imprezza, cheap, Japanese so nothing will go wrong, 4WD and 230 bhp in a lightweight car, completely peerless on the country roads I drive on most. Never thought I'd say that about a car where GM has its fingers in the pie...

drunkenoldman

Laugh. Its true! Isnt the vantage 8 going to be on a mustang chassis?

blueSL

Errr.. No. The AM V8 is based on the same bonded aluminium technology as the DB9. It's basically a smaller car with a V8 instead of a V12, just two seats and better packaging. Same grotty headlamp switch though.... Fortunately, it looks like Ford are leaving well alone, so that the Aston will bear little resemblance to a Dearborn Dumpster.

shoes

So, BlueSL are you officially not getting the DB9? You were its staunchest fan a little while back. I just had an opportunity to get a Gilles Green DB9 here near my town and it was hard to pass it up, but I fear the depreciation and was let down by the driving experience. It still sure it good looking though.

One thing you haven't mentioned is how similar the upcoming Jaguar XK8 replacement is to the DB9. I cannot imagine this will help resale on the DB9.

blueSL

I have mentioned it elsewhere, and I agree it's a real problem.

The DB7 was designed by someone called Ian MacCallum who has now moved to head up Jaguar design (effectively just moving offices with Ford's Premier Autmotive Group (PAG)) and talented designer though he is, both the evolution of the DB7 into the DB9 and the same design influences in the new XK mean the cars look very similar. It's time for that particular designer to come up with something fresh rather than play safe by warming over an existing design.

In interviews, he insists the cars are different but to my eyes, in detail only. Put the two cars side by side and they look pretty much identical. Good if you are buying a Jaguar, bad if you are buying an Aston Martin and if I was Aston Martin, I would be shouting "Foul!" Underneath, they are very different cars but why spend double on an Aston Martin when the Jaguar at half the price looks so similar?

I was involved in a clinic for the new XK in August 2002 against the SL, 911 and SC430. At the time, it was difficult to decide whether it was an Aston Martin or Jaguar I was looking at (we were not told), but now the XK has been shown with the hatchback and the flat nose, I'm convinced I was looking at an early prototype of the XK.

So where does that leave the Aston Martin? Likely to depreciate savagely as you suggest once the Jaguar appears. My name is still on the waiting list and I have more than a year to make up my mind unless lots of other people in the queue get cold feet. Mine are feeling a tad chilly right now...

naadp

I have confidence that Aston Martin is going to become a much more interesting brand than Jaguar now that a former lead designer from Porsche is their CEO...

blueSL

I think you're correct, and the DB9 rivals the best in world; it must be galling for them to have such a similar design produced by Jaguar.