Its not an oldmans car.

You can say that about almost any $100k+ luxury car.

Just because mostly oldmen can afford it, doesn't make it an oldman's car.

I have both (SL55 and an E55)and they are 2 totally different cars. I don't agree with you that the SL is an old man's car even though I am in that hallowed mature club. If you want something that is a great, good looking cruiser the SL is the answer. If you want a sleeper that is a hell of a lot of fun at redlights go for the E55.

$4500 off is a very good price. We bought ours in early July and got $3000 off which at that time was a very sweet deal.
Sport pkg is a must.

I have them both too (SL55 and E55) and I'd go so far to say that the E-CLASS is more of a old man car based on practicality alone.

As far as the E63 having HP issues... I'm extremely skeptical. And while I love my E55, if I could choose I'd go w/ the SL every day of the week. It's a GT. It's a roadster. It's sporty. It's classic.

~ Ian

The SL for sure. If helps at all, I have both and 05' E55 and an 03' SL500. The comments and pleasure for the SL are 5-1. If you enjoy kicking back and just enjoying the ride then the SL is the only way to go. More relaxing without the feeling of "how fast can I get there". Smoother ride and more versatility. Good luck on the choice.
Glenn

For me, E63 over SL550. Rarer. Coolness is subjective.

However, in your situation my first choice would be a CPO'd SL55 (with 65 wheels of course)

So you have a practical vehicle, why not get an SL then?
Get a used SL600 and you're looking at power to blow the doors of almost ANY vehicle on the road (of course, F16's don't count, they aren't on the road).

Honestly, like anyone really cares at this point?

Neither design is fresh off the presses.

Not to mention, there is the new Saks Edition E350 that looks pretty darn close to an E63....not that far removed.

You get an SL550 with the AMG package.....like 99% of the population will even know what they are looking at. Mercedes makes too many models for most people to keep up with. Just like the E63, most won't know what that is either.

SL>any benz

just got back from the dealer and bought an sl550 w/ amg package, p1, wood package. after the test drive, the 550 has plenty of power... i was surprised how powerful it was as i went into the drive not expecting much a used sl600would be nice but having all this power is just not necessary for me for everyday driving. i'm expecting it to come in next week.

thanks for everyone's input!

That was a very aggressive response and totally missed the point of what I was saying. The sentence "coolness is subjective" means that it is not really important as how does one define cool. Please refrain from quoting my posts unless you have both read and understood them.


amgme- congratulations on the new car. I'm sure you'll love it.

An excellent choice. I would have gone SL if I didn't prefer having 4 doors. I did the 2 seater thing some years ago and like the extra room even though I don't use them.

Why would anyone choose a new Sl550 over a used SL55 or Sl600? They cost the same, you can get a low mile SL55 and Sl600 for 70-80k. So why take the deppreciation hit when you can have a much, much faster car for the same money? I see freaking Sl550 for 115k! Isnt that rediculous that you can buy a freaking SL65 for 115k too? Hmmm tough choice, an SL550 or an SL65 lol

This is not an Ol man's car!

:o stretched tyres?

I think that is just the nature of Pirelli PZero tires....

nope you got me there i wouldnt say that is a old mans car.

How big are those wheels?

The Sl550 and the E63 are two different animals. If you are looking to make a statement and be different I would go with the E63. The AMG engine and sport design make the E63 an instant classic. The E63 is a vehicle you will want to hold onto and make part of a collection. Also definately consider the CLS63. Try to get your hands on a IWC special edition CLS. This vehicle is a sleek and sexy head turner.

That car is magnificent!
You'd have to have the personality (and physique) to match it........counts me out.
I wonder what it would look like with black wheels?

amg>any "regular" mb
id take a c55 over a sl550

Hmmm...kind of hard to decide. If I were you, I would probably choose between E63 & CLK63, one less factor to worry about, since both are AMGs.

E63...

I had a SL500 before my SL55, and if the SL550 is somewhere "in between" the two cars, it will have nothing on the E63 as far as performance.

That's not to say I don't love my SL... but it's a weekend/special driver... like going out to dinner or to a party. I find my E55 to be both more comfortable and fun to drive overall... and suspect you'll find that even more true comparing the E63 to the SL550.

~ Ian

Why would you spend this much money on a car and not buy an AMG car.

I got the chance one time to drive my auntie's SL500 (when SL firstly released the new body), after 2 weeks time I have to say the E class is more comfortable to drive around. Maybe Mercede changed the air suspension on the later year SL's to be more comfortable but a trip to Vegas from Cali (270 miles) was pretty uncomfortable for me in the SL. Fun factor wise it's pretty fun to drive, just what I expect from the car. Can't really compare to the E though because the E is in a different league (4 door).

Another thing I noticed maybe it's just on the 500 engines, it's noisy. I can hear all the engine noise inside the car. Maybe the 550's are different, never drove one before.