BigApe

Hey Fellas

I'm infatuated with this damn car and I need to buy one! I've been scouring the internet looking for the right car but before I pul the trigger, I thought I'd reach out and get the good, bad and ugly about this car. Please weigh in with your ownership experience, common problems or issues that I need to be aware of? what options should I have vs. stay away from etc?

This care will be one of 3 in the garage so it won't be used daily (maybe maybe not?) and will be tracked maybe once a year for a DE day.

So drop it on me fellas! give me the straight scoop and if you happen to have a line on a clean white or silver car please let me know that too.

thanks in advance

cls55

Buy it,the Good outweigh the Bad...A Lot.

jrcart

Not sure what your budget is but if you can make it work go for a Black Series.

BigApe

Budget aside, BS is overkill for my preference and use of this car.

BigApe

Hey! Just noticed in your sig line that you have Diavel AMG number 269 here!

jrcart

Nice, I have a little bit of work done to mine. Cant' wait for the new MV Mercedes bike, I will be adding one of those to my bike collection.

BlkE63AMG

The car has been great for me. Sits in my garage too for much of the time. I am embarrassed to tell you how many miles it has on it for 2.5yrs of ownership. I do not track, so can't help you there....

Wanted something that was very sporty, sounded great and still didn't sacrifice too much ride quality. Also wanted something that would be rare and a short run car. This has more than fit the bill. If you have driven a 458 Italia (the ride comfort on that thing is amazing around town and highway), the SLS is the same. The sound of the 458 is intoxicating in a different way than the SLS, but the AMG is pretty awesome still. One of my issues with noise was that I owned an M3 w/ Supersprint exhaust and a 997 C4S w/ sport exhaust and both droned horribly. The SLS never gets on your nerves even on long journeys.

Responsiveness is great (after the FREE update SLS GT software flash) and usability for day to day things is pretty amazing (grocery store, Lowes, work etc). I did get mine with the very rare AIRMATIC suspension which offers Comfort/Stock/Sport settings for ride firmness. B&O sound is great if you love music (for the times you are either in cruise or slowly going along in traffic) otherwise you will be intoxicated by the exhaust note.

Still gets looks and even most AMG owners have never seen one (at least in my neck of the woods). Getting ready to do some minor tweaks to mine and scared to death it will ruin anything. I guess worst case scenario I can always reverse a flash/tune if necessary.

Sorry for all the jabbering, in summation LOVE IT, GET IT!!!!

BigApe

EXCELLENT write-up and precisely the kind of feedback I need right now thanks much and keep'em coming!

bteasley

If the car was new I wouldn't waste the money on the upgrade version of the stereo. It isn't worth what they charged for it. BUT when buying used, I would try to get a car that had the upgrade stereo (it will have tweeters that stick up in the front dash/window) since most people won't factor that into the price.

No problems for me other than the dealer messing it up when I took it in for a "required" service B.

BigApe

Good feedback! keep 'em coming SLS owners

Tjandegi

I just bought a 2012 yesterday loaded with every option. I've been looking for a long time for a well optioned car. Very surprising how many are low optioned/no optioned. I'm waiting for it to be delivered in the next few days so I will give an update after awhile but the car still puts a smile on my face when I look at the pictures. Just through the test drives, the carbon ceramic brakes are amazing. I would try to find one with the cc brakes if you plan to track. Carbon fiber parts are nonfunctional but look amazing. Mine has the carbon fiber engine covers, an option rarely seen but really love it and great to look at if in the garage.

If you looking to get a used one I would just wait around and find a heavily optioned car. I've been following the prices for over a year now and the low end has stayed around 130 which influenced to me to finally buy one. Good luck finding one!

BigApe

Congratulations!!!! that's excellent! happy for and jealous of you all at the same time

I agree with you on the options. I too am finding some bare bones cars out there (saying SLS and bare bones in the same sentence just seems wrong!) and my non-negotiable on this car will be a CF interior. Although I am not a huge fan of CF in all cars, on this particular dash and center consul it really does make a big difference.

Would you mind sharing the experience or process of buying out of state and shipping etc? Did you buy just off the ad or did you travel to test drive? please share f you're comfortable.

Lastly, I would love to hear your initial thoughts etc. when your car arrives.
Thanks for the post and congrats!

Tjandegi

Thank you! The carbon fiber interior, especially with the extended carbon fiber does look amazing. Even though you don't see it, the carbon fiber seats are eye candy and look great. First thing I'm going to do is put a clear bra on the cf door sills because I personally sit on them a little to get in the car. I did it on my R8 cf side blades and you can barely tell it's there.

I bought the car out of state and flew there twice to test drive and view the car. It's definitely worth it to pay for an airline ticket to make sure you can view everything in person and drive the car. It was a private seller but I had the car inspected twice by different mechanics, one being a mercedes dealer with a sls mechanic and the other a trusted dealer I know personally. Would also recommend this. If you can find one at a mercedes dealer I would try to force a cpo on it. I've heard mixed answers on whether a sls can be cpo but if it can, I would highly recommend that. Mine had higher mileage than others but nothing extreme, about 5k a year. I had to pick between a low mileage less optioned car and a "higher" mileage heavily optioned car, both about the same price...I picked the the highly optioned as after all it is a Mercedes and should run forever and still has over a year of factory warranty. After all, the cf options add up to about $20k so that added something in my book. The transaction was very smooth and we both were able to agree upon a number that made us both comfortable.

As far as shipping, I lucked out. A good friend of mine owns an exotic car dealership nearby and his trusted shipper was able to pick up the car the same day and deliver it to me within 5-6 days but should be more like 3-4 days if there are no major stops along the way. We called him the day I purchased it and he was able to pick it up that afternoon.

I will share my experience once it arrives. First thing I did once I signed the papers was floor it around the corner with the windows down the amg suspension option is also a good one to look out for if you're going to track.

The only things I'm thinking of adding are an aftermarket cf wing (same as stock but just in cf), cf steering wheel (mine has the alcantara steering wheel so not sure if I'll go through with a cf), maybe a cf rear diffuser by renntech (just can't believe it's nearly $5k!!), and updating the interior lights to LED (also did that on my R8 and looks great).

BigApe

Good stuff man! thanks again!

emericr

I love the car as well and was about to pull the trigger but I have been following the AMG GT closely. The new Chris Harris video is a must watch.
The GT will be overall better than the SLS, have a 4year warranty and be less than a used 3 year old SLS.
Unless you have to have the GW doors and do not like the look of the new GT, then go for the SLS but I would be concerned about resale value once the GT hits the floor. My 2 cents is that the SLS will take at least a $15K hit.

Tjandegi

But you could say the same as purchasing a new sl63, similar stats to the amg GT. I personally feel that you can't compare the amg GT to the sls, TT vs na among other things. The amg GT is a beautiful car but the gullwing doors, while they may be somewhat gaudy or too flashy for some, are one of the main reasons I purchased the car. It is a tough decision between the two, and among many other cars, but once you become infatuated with the sls I feel that it is difficult to buy something else. Hoping the market feels the same way and the GT doesn't cause the sls to take a major hit!

Wolfman

The GT is a direct descendant of the SLS using many of the same components, so a comparison is appropriate unlike the SL. The SLS was a limited production car and the gullying doors are a class act.
I am certain that the GT-AMG will be a great success but will not really impact the SLS prices.

BigApe

Appreciate the thought process and I am hoping to GAWD that the release of the GT will effect the prices of the SLS but I don't think it will (here's hoping cuz I haven't bought one yet) That said - the SLS will always be in a class onto itself for me. The Gullwings are absolutely one of the reasons why I love the car and for me there's not a substitute to the SLS

BigApe

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Benz-SLS-AMG-2dr-Coupe-2014-mercedes-benz-sls-amg-black-series-weistec-supercharged-825-hp-/151502811138?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2346457002&item=151502811138&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
that thing is SO bad man!! sorry to see you have to part with it. GLWS

ced357

Yeah, I was surprised to see him selling it as well. Wish I could pick it up

BigApe

Have any of you had experience with adding CF to a non-CF car? I have found a couple of cars that could work but they have the aluminum interiors and I am wondering if it's a fool's errand to do anything aftermarket-ish to the interior to the SLS? Have any of you done it? thoughts??

ced357

I also wanted a fully optioned car when I was in the market and the only one I could find at the time with CC Brakes, BO Sound etc, had aluminum trim. I picked it up and quickly looked for CF interior parts only to see it very doable, but extremely expensive. The cheapest I was quoted was $5k without labor. I had a hard time rationalize the cost vs pleasure ratio. Now I don't plan to keep the car too much longer so I gave up the search for cheaper options. Maybe try contacting vendors that specialize in CF trim and play them against one another

Tjandegi

I got the car the other week and all I can say is wow!!! I love everything about it. It can be a little difficult to get in and out of at times but it's well worth the trouble. Cc brakes are amazing, touchy at first but I've got used to them now. I've bottomed out a few minor times so I'll be adding skid plates soon.

Every time I press on the gas I'm losing traction! Does anyone else have this issue/blessing? I'm not on full throttle and still lose traction. My tires are at 50% so I'll need new tires soon but didn't expect to be spinning this much. I love it but just wondering if it's the car or the tires are running low. I took it in for the state inspection and tried to get the software update but got the runaround. I'll keep going back and complaining until I annoy them enough and they give me the update.

I activated the mbrace but will be canceling soon because it's absolutely useless to me. Only reason I wanted it was for the virtual key which I soon came to realize it can take up to 90 seconds to send the info to the car. Useless if I'm walking to me car and have to wait for it to unlock.

Haven't found any complaints yet.

Tjandegi

Some more pics. The German fleet. Purchased the AMG key housing as well.

DATURK

absolutely stuning...i'm really having difficult time making a desicion, GT, SL63, or SLS, haven't test drove SLS and GT is not out yet....