Impulse purchase - SL55 AMG
Discussion
A couple of weekends ago my dad and I popped along to the local Mercedes dealership with the intention of him test driving and potentially purchasing an R231 SL - in either the 400 or 500 format.
When we arrived, sitting there on the forecourt, was a 2003 tellurium silver SL55 with the multi spoke 18" AMG wheels - the very colour and wheel combination that I'd wasted many hours during my university years blasting around a virtual track on GT3 on the playstation.
Wary of the many, many potential faults (and huge bills) of this car I approached with caution - that was until the salesman told me it has a 1 year Mercedes warranty that was renewable as long as the car was serviced by them....
I was sold.
My bank account now significantly lighter - I signed on the dotted line and, after some expensive warranty work being completed on the suspension, I picked it up today.
And the long and short of it is... I love it! As docile as a c200 around town and as fast as my old V8 R8 in a straight line. And even though it's not as agile as the R8, its muscle car character of being angry in a straight line and hard to stop is exactly the contrast I wanted with my current weekend fun car - a 300BHP '04 uk impreza sti. And, importantly, it doesn't feel like it's always wanting to be thrashed.
The only current downside is the economy. The dealer gave me half a tank of fuel when I left. Now, 90 miles later, the fuel light is on. I don't know what the actual MPG is but the trip computer is saying 14.5... And I haven't even really thrashed it yet....
Anyway, I'm really happy so here are some gratuitous pictures I stole from the used car website... I'll add some fancy photoshop filtered ones at the weekend when the rain has stopped and I've had the chance to get the roof down.
When we arrived, sitting there on the forecourt, was a 2003 tellurium silver SL55 with the multi spoke 18" AMG wheels - the very colour and wheel combination that I'd wasted many hours during my university years blasting around a virtual track on GT3 on the playstation.
Wary of the many, many potential faults (and huge bills) of this car I approached with caution - that was until the salesman told me it has a 1 year Mercedes warranty that was renewable as long as the car was serviced by them....
I was sold.
My bank account now significantly lighter - I signed on the dotted line and, after some expensive warranty work being completed on the suspension, I picked it up today.
And the long and short of it is... I love it! As docile as a c200 around town and as fast as my old V8 R8 in a straight line. And even though it's not as agile as the R8, its muscle car character of being angry in a straight line and hard to stop is exactly the contrast I wanted with my current weekend fun car - a 300BHP '04 uk impreza sti. And, importantly, it doesn't feel like it's always wanting to be thrashed.
The only current downside is the economy. The dealer gave me half a tank of fuel when I left. Now, 90 miles later, the fuel light is on. I don't know what the actual MPG is but the trip computer is saying 14.5... And I haven't even really thrashed it yet....
Anyway, I'm really happy so here are some gratuitous pictures I stole from the used car website... I'll add some fancy photoshop filtered ones at the weekend when the rain has stopped and I've had the chance to get the roof down.
Thanks to everyone for the positive comments!
With regard to the warranty renewal - I have no idea - I'm just going going to enjoy it for the year and send it back to to the workshop if anything breaks and worry about the cost of renewal next year. As per the war chest - mainly it's filled with potential fuel receipts and that I'm going to try and convince the dragon that is our finance department that I could potentially use it for work. Time will tell!
Tbh I've been so enthralled with getting it that not only do I not know what tyres its on, I haven't even checked if the pressures are correct. To be fair, the tyres could be well beyond their legal limit and right now I just couldn't care! Roof up, roof down, roof up, roof down - and that exhaust note - is all I really care about!
With regard to the mpg - fuel prices will only ever (likely) go up so why not enjoy this car while I'm (relatively) young and can just about afford it....
... Now, onto exhaust upgrades, boost increases and more modern wheels
With regard to the warranty renewal - I have no idea - I'm just going going to enjoy it for the year and send it back to to the workshop if anything breaks and worry about the cost of renewal next year. As per the war chest - mainly it's filled with potential fuel receipts and that I'm going to try and convince the dragon that is our finance department that I could potentially use it for work. Time will tell!
Tbh I've been so enthralled with getting it that not only do I not know what tyres its on, I haven't even checked if the pressures are correct. To be fair, the tyres could be well beyond their legal limit and right now I just couldn't care! Roof up, roof down, roof up, roof down - and that exhaust note - is all I really care about!
With regard to the mpg - fuel prices will only ever (likely) go up so why not enjoy this car while I'm (relatively) young and can just about afford it....
... Now, onto exhaust upgrades, boost increases and more modern wheels
philmots said:
Daniel1 said:
... Now, onto exhaust upgrades, boost increases and more modern wheels
and kiss goodbye to the warranty! I'd leave as it is, specially the wheels, make the car IMO After my first weekend with it i have to agree - nothing on the car really needs changing, not enough to warrant the loss of the warranty IMO
To anyone who is in a possible position of getting one, dont hesitate, just do it. Its not that fast - it does weigh over two tonnes - but it does provide plenty of oopmh for overtaking. Its also not a sportscar. Any hot hatch could easily keep up with it on anything but a smooth sweeping a-road. But what it does do is burble around town as easily as a diesel yet have so much character to make every drive a little bit fun.
I do love it, even if it is only averaging 12.2mpg when driven around town.
IIRC the SL55 does 0-100 in 11 seconds where as the E55 does it in 9 - simply due to the weight.
Oh, it gathers speed quickly enough but the huge torque and tall gears means that it gathers speed quickly rather than pushes your head into the seat like something like my impreza.
Its definitely fast, saying it isnt is silly. It just heavy and torquey rather then outright power. Its also the way that once past 100mph most cars tend to slow down considerably. This doesnt
Oh, it gathers speed quickly enough but the huge torque and tall gears means that it gathers speed quickly rather than pushes your head into the seat like something like my impreza.
Its definitely fast, saying it isnt is silly. It just heavy and torquey rather then outright power. Its also the way that once past 100mph most cars tend to slow down considerably. This doesnt
Birdster said:
Matt Harper said:
Is it far too rude to ask what you paid for it?
Lovely, understated and classy car, by the way.
I did wonder the same thing. MB probably charge a premium for approved used and their warranty on top of what you find in the classifieds. Lovely, understated and classy car, by the way.
Very nice car OP. I see one of these in Angel Islington the other day, what a noise.
I paid £18,500 for it - 53 reg - 59k miles - 1 owner bought and serviced by the dealership. I haven't even looked at other prices as this was the car I wanted and I'd ring fenced the money for a fun car at the beginning of the summer, originally for a late reg E46 M3 convertible. The only thing it didn't have that I would have liked was AC seats.
The only thing I need to research is an iPod connection for my 50's rock n roll.
Other than that I'm a happy bunny
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