SLS AMG vs 599 GTB

[vpr]

Personally I don't think the Roadster looks as dramatic......Could almost be mistaken for an SL.

Either way...great sausage...just feel a bit of a plum getting out of those doors

[TISPKJ]

sealtt said:

I do remember having an SLS roadster a year or so ago and driving it through the centre of a small town in the Cotswolds (maybe 30k population) and I was quite shocked at how few heads it turned! However, go to a more populated area and I think that probably the SLS and certainly a 599 (in louder colours especially!) will garner more attention than all but the most insecure of egos could desire.

In any case, the most important thing is what the driver finds exciting to look at, and I really love the looks of both of them. The endless bonnet on the SLS is just magic. Though of course I didn't buy either as I found the F430 Spider the more exciting purchase proposition overall, looks included, as it is totally different to any car I've previously owned.

The supercar meeting yesterday had plenty of 430's 458's gallardo's aventador etc etc and as you say even the 430 just seemed more exciting, in fairness both SLS were in black among a sea of reds and yellows so maybe a bit unfair to judge them as dull.

[notax]

Interesting thread for me, I've been considering swapping my Vantage S roadster for either a F430, SLS or 599. And today I've bought an SLS roadster I collect it in a coupe of weeks (once garage door widened!) In spite of being silver it certainly turned a lot of heads on the test drive, including a couple of people getting out their phones to film it. Apparently there are only 75 in the UK so I hope values will remain firm. Time will tell, but I'll enjoy it in the meantime If anyone wants a mint, pearlescent white AMV8 S roadster at crazy PX price let me know asap.

[sealtt]

notax said:

Interesting thread for me, I've been considering swapping my Vantage S roadster for either a F430, SLS or 599. And today I've bought an SLS roadster I collect it in a coupe of weeks (once garage door widened!) In spite of being silver it certainly turned a lot of heads on the test drive, including a couple of people getting out their phones to film it. Apparently there are only 75 in the UK so I hope values will remain firm. Time will tell, but I'll enjoy it in the meantime If anyone wants a mint, pearlescent white AMV8 S roadster at crazy PX price let me know asap.

Congrats on the purchase, an excellent choice even if for that glorious exhaust noise alone!! I think silver is probably the signature colour for it. You didn't by any chance get it from salisbury??

[notax]

Thanks, yes it is the silver one in Salisbury. Seemed good value given the low mileage and nice options too. I wasn't quite sure about the colour, but with the red roof it does at least stand out and I agree that silver is the signature colour which should help come resale time...

[sealtt]

notax said:

Thanks, yes it is the silver one in Salisbury. Seemed good value given the low mileage and nice options too. I wasn't quite sure about the colour, but with the red roof it does at least stand out and I agree that silver is the signature colour which should help come resale time...

Well I guess it's good for you that I went for the F430, because that is the SLS I was actually looking at and test drove! The red roof is perfect on it and really brings the whole thing together, makes it stand out way more. The one I had to test previously was a darker silver with a black roof and although still pretty, it wasn't nearly as exciting to look at.

Are you based in this area? I am in Sandbanks, so if you are ever passing through drop me a PM so I can hear that exhaust again!!

[notax]

sealtt said:

Well I guess it's good for you that I went for the F430, because that is the SLS I was actually looking at and test drove! The red roof is perfect on it and really brings the whole thing together, makes it stand out way more. The one I had to test previously was a darker silver with a black roof and although still pretty, it wasn't nearly as exciting to look at.

Are you based in this area? I am in Sandbanks, so if you are ever passing through drop me a PM so I can hear that exhaust again!!

Small world - I hope you made the most of your test drive as I did! Poor salesman was a bit taken aback by my enthusiasm

I actually head to Sandbanks every Wednesday night for mountain biking (so sadly I won't be taking the SLS, although last week I did turn up with the bike in the back of my TVR!) I know another F430 owner in Poole so perhaps we could arrange to meet up sometime? I collect the car in a couple of weeks once I've had my garage door widened!

[exceed]

Camlet said:

599 GTB = cool chic, awesome driving machine.

SLS AMG = pure bling, nice exhaust sound.

In 2020 = 599 GTB loved. SLS AMG forgotten.


There are no major gremlins. Find a great 599 GTB from a Ferrari dealer with FFSH and full warranty and enjoy pure class.

Disclaimer: I'm hopelessly biased

Agree on this one, and the recent Ferrari's barely have any issues outside fairly regular service intervals (~10-15k miles/2 years).

Only thing is fuel can be a bit ridiculous, but why buy a car like that and worry about fuel consumption!

[vpr]

exceed said:

Camlet said:

599 GTB = cool chic, awesome driving machine.

SLS AMG = pure bling, nice exhaust sound.

In 2020 = 599 GTB loved. SLS AMG forgotten.


There are no major gremlins. Find a great 599 GTB from a Ferrari dealer with FFSH and full warranty and enjoy pure class.

Disclaimer: I'm hopelessly biased

Agree on this one, and the recent Ferrari's barely have any issues outside fairly regular service intervals (~10-15k miles/2 years).

Only thing is fuel can be a bit ridiculous, but why buy a car like that and worry about fuel consumption!

Tell that to my Sister In Law who is now on her third (Nutter) first two...a Cali then a 458....were nothing but grief...backed both of them....made of cheese.

[sealtt]

notax said:

Small world - I hope you made the most of your test drive as I did! Poor salesman was a bit taken aback by my enthusiasm

I actually head to Sandbanks every Wednesday night for mountain biking (so sadly I won't be taking the SLS, although last week I did turn up with the bike in the back of my TVR!) I know another F430 owner in Poole so perhaps we could arrange to meet up sometime? I collect the car in a couple of weeks once I've had my garage door widened!

Sounds good! Drop me a message when you've got the car and would be convenient.

[exceed]

vpr said:

Tell that to my Sister In Law who is now on her third (Nutter) first two...a Cali then a 458....were nothing but grief...backed both of them....made of cheese.

Really? What went wrong on them??

[vpr]

exceed said:

vpr said:

Tell that to my Sister In Law who is now on her third (Nutter) first two...a Cali then a 458....were nothing but grief...backed both of them....made of cheese.

Really? What went wrong on them??

Not entirely sure except ONE of the issues with the Cali was it spewing PAS fluid all through the air con system into cabin staining the Cream leather amongst other stuff...And they didn't want to know under warranty

[TimJMS]

erics said:

Go test drive an i8.

Agreed if you dont mind the ultimate in performance.

[andy355]

In terms of reliability on Ferrari California vs Merc sls

California 2010 circa 10k miles

Rear led light strip replaced
Door sill trim replaced
Fixed under warranty, no quibbling

Merc SLS 2011 3k miles

Front parking sensors malfunctioned - fixed under warranty after argument. Merc Dealer tried to get me to pay £700 saying warranty wouldn't cover
Battery went flat - fixed by mobile merc service
Rear wheel hubs rusted - refused under warranty

[sealtt]

Well I picked up the F430 yesterday and it's great fun!

I would think that the M6 is actually notably faster in a straight line, but with the roof down & that awesome engine screaming in your ear, the F430 feels SO much quicker. Hitting 80mph in the F430 is as exciting as doing 130mph in the M6. The actual driving experience around corners is of course in a different world as you can imagine comparing a 2 tonne GT cabrio with a focussed sportscar.

The car rides great and is very nice to be in, my only complaint is that the seat is pretty damn uncomfortable - maybe due to having done a lot of weight training a few years ago and being 100kg & 6'1" now.... I'm sure the one with daytona inserts was more spacious than the one with the left/right line inserts. Well not much I can do about that now, probably not worth changing that as I'll only have the car a year or so.


Great new car ownership experience though, and quite funny how much attention (positive) that the car attracts, it's kind of like a month of driving one of my previous cars rolled into one drive.

[Numptie]

I have owned 911s for the past 12 years and fancied a change. Most recent was a 997 turbo. Like others on this forum i looked around. Tried a Gallardo but i could not sit comfortably in it perhaps as it was the superlaggera varient. Seat only goes back and forth.
Ferrari 430 nearly got there not much room for luggage etc. servicing costs were a consideration.
Looked at an R8 got confused with the variants available on the R8 V10. Again room for luggage not so good.
Porsche is so versatile for this.
Tried 3 times to look seriously at Aston Martin. The dealer kept telling me that servicing costs depended on what it needed done. He took me through the workshop to look at a V12 vantage and here i saw 4 cars with bits of engine hanging out of them so that was enough for me.
So what did i eventualy buy----- an SLS Coupe. Silver with red leather. This was the 3rd SLS i tried to buy. Some of them advertised on pistonheads classified are sold and the adverts are left on for some reason. Theres a red one on there now at £108k its been on there around 10 months now. Anyway when i bought mine people were buying them over the phone without seeing them and i missed the first 2 by 24 hours in each case.
I have owned it for 6 months now and love it to bits. The engine note is awesome. Space for luggage (tent etc when we went to LE MANS. Boot gets really hot quickly from the exhausts so no frozen food shipping. Gear change could be quicker and there is computer orientated fix for it at £1500 but the car has to go to the factory in Germany to get it done. New AMG GT will not have gull wing doors. The SLS will be an icon and hopefully hold its price. The dealer i bought it from offered me £5k more than i paid for it last week.
Not everyone wants to drive around in a green lambo or red ferrari. My son drives a Nissan GTR thought i was daft looking at an SLS. But he has changed his mind big time now he has had a drive in it.
570 horses with pure grunt (no turbos etc) only. 1600 miles to le mans and back at various speeds = 21mpg overall. No one notices it really when you drive in for fuel-- until you open the doors.
Great car in my opinion and goes like hell.Cant compare it with the Porsche as they are completely different cars.

[Ballistic]

Numptie - I concur with everything you've said about the sls
Some interesting comments regarding your purchasing experience and now being offered more than you paid.
You don't have to go to Germany/Affalterbach any more for the gearbox software upgrade. If you complain to a UK MB dealer about the slow manual gear-change performance, MB will upgrade the software under warranty.
If you haven't already seen this http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... thread over in the Mercedes forum. it's well worth a read.
I hope you enjoy your new car, great aren't they.