18 years with a 2003 Mercedes SL 500
Discussion
It is hard to believe how quickly the time has passed since the the SL arrived at the dealer for pickup.
Although I had had plenty of sporty cars in the past, this was ( for me) a much more expensive car than I had ever bought previously and was intended as a birthday present for the OH who is a Mercedes person and had been driving one long before meeting me.
My bias was towards BMWs and later Porsches..
Still, when the car was announced it looked very attractive. It had an odd gestation. I had been in NYC very shortly after 9/11happened and when I returned the new edition of Automobile magazine was had been delivered- the SL test was the cover article. The article had been shot days before 9/11 , and when I opened the magazine, there was the new SL with the World Trade Centre still standing…something I had never seen in the metal and something I would never see again.
.
Demand for the car was high so it would be a while before it would show up. There were some desirable extra features - a glass panorama roof, Xenon headlights, heated and cooled massage seats and better wheels. This was always intended to be a cruising car and not a hard edged track car, so the added performance of the SL 55 was not necessary.
The glass roof was only in black, so it made sense to have the whole car painted black. Interior was red leather with the standard wood trim deleted and replaced by metal, and a black steering wheel instead of wood. Also ordered a fitted overnight case which was designed to use the luggage straps behind the seats. I took the interior pic this morning.
It was always a spare car and never saw the vicious Canadian winters, being stored in winter for the first seven or eight years. Then for a period I would trailer it down to the Arizona house so it could be used in winter and trailer in back in Spring. Eventually the right answer was to import it into the US and leave in permanently in Arizona.
At this moment it has covered 29,500 miles and is in very good shape.
However, all of the storage for extended periods, particularly the 120 degree Arizona winters has been hard on the car.
Replaced one set of tires after one tire blew and a second set after they permanently flatspotted in the heat. Wiring harness needed replacement after also cracking in the heat, front struts leaked as did two sets of rear trunk struts. One Xenon bulb went and whole RH light unit had to be replaced. Plastic trim around the seat bases became brittle in the heat and cracked and needed replacement. Yet, apart from the wiring harness that went on a long trip and resulted in a one night stopover in Pasadena Cam it has been reliable. The car is is generally as new apart from some paint chips. The same old story applies with cars like this - they are not worth much money but the parts remain the same price, so maintenance costs relative to value are non trivial. The replacement light unit was over $2,000 for instance.,
It is a relaxing and very civilized car to drive with the top down on a warm evening, quiet and refined. Fully deprecated I expected to there is no reason to ever part with it.
Although I had had plenty of sporty cars in the past, this was ( for me) a much more expensive car than I had ever bought previously and was intended as a birthday present for the OH who is a Mercedes person and had been driving one long before meeting me.
My bias was towards BMWs and later Porsches..
Still, when the car was announced it looked very attractive. It had an odd gestation. I had been in NYC very shortly after 9/11happened and when I returned the new edition of Automobile magazine was had been delivered- the SL test was the cover article. The article had been shot days before 9/11 , and when I opened the magazine, there was the new SL with the World Trade Centre still standing…something I had never seen in the metal and something I would never see again.
.
Demand for the car was high so it would be a while before it would show up. There were some desirable extra features - a glass panorama roof, Xenon headlights, heated and cooled massage seats and better wheels. This was always intended to be a cruising car and not a hard edged track car, so the added performance of the SL 55 was not necessary.
The glass roof was only in black, so it made sense to have the whole car painted black. Interior was red leather with the standard wood trim deleted and replaced by metal, and a black steering wheel instead of wood. Also ordered a fitted overnight case which was designed to use the luggage straps behind the seats. I took the interior pic this morning.
It was always a spare car and never saw the vicious Canadian winters, being stored in winter for the first seven or eight years. Then for a period I would trailer it down to the Arizona house so it could be used in winter and trailer in back in Spring. Eventually the right answer was to import it into the US and leave in permanently in Arizona.
At this moment it has covered 29,500 miles and is in very good shape.
However, all of the storage for extended periods, particularly the 120 degree Arizona winters has been hard on the car.
Replaced one set of tires after one tire blew and a second set after they permanently flatspotted in the heat. Wiring harness needed replacement after also cracking in the heat, front struts leaked as did two sets of rear trunk struts. One Xenon bulb went and whole RH light unit had to be replaced. Plastic trim around the seat bases became brittle in the heat and cracked and needed replacement. Yet, apart from the wiring harness that went on a long trip and resulted in a one night stopover in Pasadena Cam it has been reliable. The car is is generally as new apart from some paint chips. The same old story applies with cars like this - they are not worth much money but the parts remain the same price, so maintenance costs relative to value are non trivial. The replacement light unit was over $2,000 for instance.,
It is a relaxing and very civilized car to drive with the top down on a warm evening, quiet and refined. Fully deprecated I expected to there is no reason to ever part with it.
Edited by RDMcG on Thursday 20th January 23:59
bolidemichael said:
I really like this interior and the characterful red mats.
Is it common in the N American continent to see a GT with a V8 being trailered to a holiday destination by another V8?
Pretty much anything can be trailered and when the Cayenne is full of dogs the case is made for itselfIs it common in the N American continent to see a GT with a V8 being trailered to a holiday destination by another V8?
........I also do a bit of trailering of cars to the track more locally. The Cayenne was chosen because it has 7700lb towing capacity. Unburstable.
Mr Tidy said:
18 years with the same car is impressive!
I haven't owned a house that long.
Keep enjoying it OP.
Thee are some cars I will keep indefinitely such as my GT3s, but over the same period of ownership for the Benz have had two Touaregs, a BMW 645ci, an E63 M6, and a 997.2RS (huge mistake to sell that). I do not need the latest car of the moment but at this stage I only have two cars on order, both keepers and a couple that will go away.I haven't owned a house that long.
Keep enjoying it OP.
Lovely I fairly recently bought one of these myself, coming from a 996 previously. Mines done a lofty 56k of mileage but it still feels very fresh - unfortunately its not convertible weather in the UK at the minute. Jealous of that interior, I'd love that - but it probably wouldn't suit my blue/silver paint!
I fairly recently bought one of these myself, coming from a 996 previously. Mines done a lofty 56k of mileage but it still feels very fresh - unfortunately its not convertible weather in the UK at the minute. Jealous of that interior, I'd love that - but it probably wouldn't suit my blue/silver paint!CornedBeef said:
Lovely I fairly recently bought one of these myself, coming from a 996 previously. Mines done a lofty 56k of mileage but it still feels very fresh - unfortunately its not convertible weather in the UK at the minute. Jealous of that interior, I'd love that - but it probably wouldn't suit my blue/silver paint!
Hope you have fun with it;) I fairly recently bought one of these myself, coming from a 996 previously. Mines done a lofty 56k of mileage but it still feels very fresh - unfortunately its not convertible weather in the UK at the minute. Jealous of that interior, I'd love that - but it probably wouldn't suit my blue/silver paint!When I ordered the car the dealer was appalled at the interior. No wood and all red. Told me it would cut resale value. I showed him as I never sold the car
I think once you accept that it is a cruiser and not a hard edge FT car the virtues are clear. Ideal for a slow relaxing cruise on a warm day or a relaxing weekend trip.
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