Sl55 vs Jag XKR (n/s 4.2)

[XKRSL55]

Hi all,

I'm a long term observer of the forums, but thought I'd make my first post to get some input on something that's been eating away at me for months. I'd love to hear some comparisons from anyone with direct experience of both cars.

Having driven the xkr, I absolutely love these, satisfying my want for a quick, fluid sonorous and stylish GT, the 4.2 having enough power to satisfy (tried the 5.0 which is ballistic, but out of budget).

I have always had a soft spot for the SL, particularly in 55 guise. I haven't had the chance to drive one, but love the sound and style. I understand they can be a bit of a nightmare in terms of reliability, but I would probably buy a dealer example of either car. My thinking is to look at as late an example as possible, preferably one with the newer widescreen command, most toys and I think they look stunning with the SL65 wheels.

Btw, I have a budget of around 30k, seemingly putting me in 2007 xkr territory vs significantly older 03-04ish SL55.

As I said, any input on either car for a daily driver in London would be much appreciated, things like ride, what they're like when pressing on and generally living with!,

Ps, I did find both cars, particularly the xkr a little too muted for my taste, would love to hear from anyone who has successfully altered the exhausts to good effect on the either.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to some replies.

[Gouki]

I cannot really comment on the Jaguar but one of my very good friends who is a vehicle dynamics engineer at Jaguar drove my SL55 on some country roads this past weekend. He was suprised with how well the car handled and in particular how the ABC suspension hides the cars weight also with TCS on it is set-up to understeer slightly but fairly neutral.

He said that the gearbox was slow and that the latest Jag ZF box shows where the 8 years of development had been invested. But all in all he really enjoyed it!

The SL55 amg (2002) is a great car and covered a 2500 mile euro trip with no fault whatsoever, it has a jekyl and hyde charater and be a laid back motorway mile muncher one minute and an animal the next. Since March 2009 I have covered 23K miles and the following faults occured:

Tandem Pump £1100
TPS Sensor (battery failure due to age!) £90 x4
Service A/B ~£600
TCS Sensor £200
Tyres £600 (4)

Extras: Vredstein MB Spare Wheel & Tyre £500

The roof also became stuck half-way which was quite embarassing but MB fixed it free of charge, one sensor had become unplugged. Since the car is greater than 7 years old MB offer a discount on labour rates.

Total Average MPG = 19.3
Highest MPG = 25 (driving mother to airport)
Lowest MPG = 10 (Route Napoleon N85 France)

I have debated going down the DMS route but since found that a friend of mine who had is BMW 335 tuned by another company, experienced issues in the Swiss Alps at alititude with 95 ron petrol (all we could get at the time).

I've driven a 2009 SL63 and the interior was almost identical to the 2002 SL55. I'm not sure that a widescreen sat-nav screen would be a selling point for a car but each to their own I guess . I've found that the 2002 nav is adequate for day to day driving but if you want to be adventerous a Tom Tom is still the way to go as I would still imagine a 2004 nav to be pretty appauling by todays standards.

Edited by Gouki on Wednesday 4th August 12:41

Edited by Gouki on Wednesday 4th August 12:43

[XKRSL55]

Thanks for your detailed reply,

I would imagine the merc box to be quite slow, I actually owned an old jag xjr which I understand uses the same box as the sl55.
Your post confirms my thoughts of generally the merc hiding it's age very well, I mean what else from 2002 looks even remotely modern (BMW e46, old shape xk). I suppose I will really have to drive one, which I'm struggling to do, being 26 and there not being a load of dealer cars around.
I have heard generally that 2002 and 03 models seem more prone to electrical faults and even rust? What would you recommend for a 25-30k budget?. My thoughts are to seek out a good low mileage example, whatever the year and get a warranty from warranty direct or the like.

[Gouki]

XKRSL55 said:

Thanks for your detailed reply,

I would imagine the merc box to be quite slow, I actually owned an old jag xjr which I understand uses the same box as the sl55.
Your post confirms my thoughts of generally the merc hiding it's age very well, I mean what else from 2002 looks even remotely modern (BMW e46, old shape xk). I suppose I will really have to drive one, which I'm struggling to do, being 26 and there not being a load of dealer cars around.
I have heard generally that 2002 and 03 models seem more prone to electrical faults and even rust? What would you recommend for a 25-30k budget?. My thoughts are to seek out a good low mileage example, whatever the year and get a warranty from warranty direct or the like.

The Merc box was fast enough for me in europe, just having the ability to paddle shift meant that I could overtake caravans safely while my friends were scrabbling about with their manuals and clutches and missing opportunities. Also it is a great auto when all you want to do is trundle about town or stuck in traffic.

I've not seen any rust on mine whatsoever, but as far as I'm aware Mercedes pre-2000 of that era tend to rust, I was once borrowing a 99 SL500 longterm and that had rust on the wheelarches.

I paid £26750 privately for mine last March with 23K miles and I had just turned 28. I found that every year newer basically added £10K on to the price hence why these cars are such great bargains when older.

1. If you don't like the interior (wood effect etc) do not assume that interior parts are cheap to replace with aluminium/carbon fibre costing ~£2000.

2. Mine was a nice low mileage example and I did experience a few gremlins (sticking boot, tandem pump) I believe because the car just sat in a garage most of the year round. It feels far fresher now at 50k.

3. I just emphasise that the tyre pressure monitors within the wheels will liklely need changing due to the battery age. It tooks both MB and a specialist and age to diagnose what the problem was because they had not seen it before (since my car is one of the first in the country).

4. I looked into getting a warranty from warranty direct but opted against in the end. To get the cover I wanted was pricey (labour rates etc.) and I though it would be better to put it into a pot and change all the furniture in my house to wood

5. The car originally had P-Zero tyres on which I thought were great in the dry and not so fantastic in the wet. I'm currently trying out Falken FK 452 tyres as recommened by the M3 CSL forum and so far so good!

6. At 28 I was dismissed at most dealers for one reason or another as they probably thought I was a time waster. I did however get a passenger ride in the car I bought prior to purchase. The only problem was that the brakes juddered a little when braking from speed (warped/dirt). They were fine for almost a year until I replaced front pads and discs for £440 before embarking on my euro trip.

[teen_cerbera]

Gouki said:

1. If you don't like the interior (wood effect etc) do not assume that interior parts are cheap to replace with aluminium/carbon fibre costing ~£2000.

Having the parts wrapped may be an option. I have never let dodgy wood put me off the car as wrapping is so common these days. You can even get "weaved" carbon Fibre wrapping which looks almost identical to the real stuff.