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Hello everyone need help first time ive ever posted on a forum iam looking to buy a sl55 amg around 2002 - 2004 model the guy who services my car says steer well clear but it might just be because he dont like working on them. I really want one for the summer if anyone owns one or knows about them i would be so gratefull for some advice heard roofs leaks and rust etc ive had rust on my current S500 so i know about that but any advice would be great what i wanna know is should i buy one thanks guys and girls if you can help
I own a 2003 sl55. In fact early 55's or any sl's for that matter did have a few more glitches - there is no doubt about that. Whether these are enough to put one off from buying is another question.
In my experience, apart from usual stuff you do on any car - brakes, tyres etc. Only extras have been intercooler pump, EIS switch, secondary exhaust pump, driver side electric window switch (which I broke) and I think thats about it.
So if you factor in the mpg, tyre costs etc then paying for the odd problem on the car (each costing about 100-200 pounds average) may not be significant. Remember an earlier car will save you a few k's in purchase price also anyway.
Best advice overall would be - go for a car as late as your budget allows (04 onwards, as there were build quality improvements every single year). Secondly get to know an merc indy specialist well if you don't already as it will save money - they will put the car on diagnostics for you and sometimes not even charge - I think merc charge 70-80 pounds +vat just to check the fault code!
In my experience, apart from usual stuff you do on any car - brakes, tyres etc. Only extras have been intercooler pump, EIS switch, secondary exhaust pump, driver side electric window switch (which I broke) and I think thats about it.
So if you factor in the mpg, tyre costs etc then paying for the odd problem on the car (each costing about 100-200 pounds average) may not be significant. Remember an earlier car will save you a few k's in purchase price also anyway.
Best advice overall would be - go for a car as late as your budget allows (04 onwards, as there were build quality improvements every single year). Secondly get to know an merc indy specialist well if you don't already as it will save money - they will put the car on diagnostics for you and sometimes not even charge - I think merc charge 70-80 pounds +vat just to check the fault code!
benzito said:
In my experience, apart from usual stuff you do on any car - brakes, tyres etc. Only extras have been intercooler pump, EIS switch, secondary exhaust pump, driver side electric window switch (which I broke) and I think thats about it.
So if you factor in the mpg, tyre costs etc then paying for the odd problem on the car (each costing about 100-200 pounds average) may not be significant. Remember an earlier car will save you a few k's in purchase price also anyway.
Correct.So if you factor in the mpg, tyre costs etc then paying for the odd problem on the car (each costing about 100-200 pounds average) may not be significant. Remember an earlier car will save you a few k's in purchase price also anyway.
I have a 2002 SL55 AMG and done about 40,000 miles in it since owning for two years. Budget around £1000 per year if something goes wrong. I'm not so sure about the build quality getting better post 2004 remark, I would need some evidence to support that statement. Is it general to Mercedes Benz or is it a certain model range?
Tyres are ~£150 for falken FK452 on the 18" wheel size
Front Brakes are ~ £450 for pads and discs.
Issues that I have had include
Tandem pump £1200
Electronic Selector Module £144 (got Mercedes to take out and give me the module to replace the faulty part and they fitted all for only £144)
Tyre pressure monitors coming to the end of their life and are ~£80 to replace each.
ABS/TCS failure ~£100 dealer fix
Intercooler Pump ~£300 (replaced with newer model as preventative maintenance not necessary at time)
I have not seen any rust yet and my car is not always garaged (lazy Gouki).
Best MPG 25 and worst 10. Average 19.7.
Regarding servicing the 2004 and earlier cars are approaching 7 years old and may qualify for £60+vat labour charge depending on the dealership that you use.
Yes forgot to mention about rust - I have not seen any evidence of this and don't know it to be an issue on earlier r230 sl's.
Also like Gouki I have done a decent amount of mileage, approx 18k in one year so it can definetely be used every day with relatively small issues,
with regards to build quality - this is actually a general merc issue for older cars (I have seen a little evidence of this on mine like interior switches,etc not as solid as you would expect), merc used to be in the bottom ten of manufacturer's back in 2002 (JD Power survey - covers reliability issues amongst other things), in 05 I think they were 19th best and last year they were 4th best manufacturer.
General consensus even from indy specialists is that there have been significant year-on-year improvements in build quality for mercs every year from 2000 onwards so later the better I suppose in general, however the r230 sl's have stood the test of time and for a performance car the maintenance costs are average.
Also Gouki mentions mpg 20+ (average 19.7) which I find surprising, I've hardly ever seen these on my car although only part of my work journey is motorway and I am always driving the car like I stole it!
Also like Gouki I have done a decent amount of mileage, approx 18k in one year so it can definetely be used every day with relatively small issues,
with regards to build quality - this is actually a general merc issue for older cars (I have seen a little evidence of this on mine like interior switches,etc not as solid as you would expect), merc used to be in the bottom ten of manufacturer's back in 2002 (JD Power survey - covers reliability issues amongst other things), in 05 I think they were 19th best and last year they were 4th best manufacturer.
General consensus even from indy specialists is that there have been significant year-on-year improvements in build quality for mercs every year from 2000 onwards so later the better I suppose in general, however the r230 sl's have stood the test of time and for a performance car the maintenance costs are average.
Also Gouki mentions mpg 20+ (average 19.7) which I find surprising, I've hardly ever seen these on my car although only part of my work journey is motorway and I am always driving the car like I stole it!
Thanks for that advice guys ive had a S500 4 door for 3 years had the rust done and other bits so iam so excited about getting a SL55 hence all the home work i do have a independant guy for servicing went and looked at one Tuesday but didnt have a good start as the roof would close but the boot stayed up then the hand brake light stayed on so couldnt test drive it and the car wasnt that clean inside and this was from a main dealer plus not merc dealer but still main dealer so it put me off. So i tested a Bmw 330d convertible but that heart says Sl55 no much for horsepower i think
about what you mentioned, the roof problem is strange, you have to keep pushing the button forward to close and eventually it will, and the handbrake - when the cars been inactive for a while the brake can stiffen - you need to keeping pulling out the handbrake, then engaging the handbrake before disengaging again and do this a few times,
both sound silly but can probably explain the two probs you encountered, otherwise you are doing the right thing by viewing different options, given time of year it is definitely a buyer's market so be picky and negotiate hard as these cars are not always easy to shift for dealers being two seaters with more expensive running costs - thus there is a limited market for them.
Good luck!and in the meantime enjoy some youtube videos about sl55's just to wet your appetite, when you finally get one you will not be able to wipe the smile off your face - especially coming up to spring/summer!!
both sound silly but can probably explain the two probs you encountered, otherwise you are doing the right thing by viewing different options, given time of year it is definitely a buyer's market so be picky and negotiate hard as these cars are not always easy to shift for dealers being two seaters with more expensive running costs - thus there is a limited market for them.
Good luck!and in the meantime enjoy some youtube videos about sl55's just to wet your appetite, when you finally get one you will not be able to wipe the smile off your face - especially coming up to spring/summer!!
"Also Gouki mentions mpg 20+ (average 19.7) which I find surprising, I've hardly ever seen these on my car although only part of my work journey is motorway and I am always driving the car like I stole it!"
Like you, I only get 15.7 to the gallon.
But, everyone of those is with a smile.....
Like you, I only get 15.7 to the gallon.
But, everyone of those is with a smile.....
I asked this very same question just out of curiosity in the c63 thread - "don't play fuel light bingo in a c63", I don't know the answer, I always assumed the more modern the cars e.g the e92 M3 or 63 model amgs, then the better the economy because of improvements in efficiency, gearbox, etc
However, it seems as people have not seen this is in the newer cars for diff reasons, I assume the mpgs are similar and in terms of expense not significant enough to choose one model over the other but still - it just seems the older 55 amgs were a bit better maybe because of forced induction just like a tdi but really don't know, how good can mpg on a 6.3 litre car really be? even ferrari's don't have engines with that capacity in general
all i can say is that if you drive an sl55 like a saint then you will get 19mpg. Even if you drive it like a madman the whole time you will still see an average reading of around 14mpg at the end of the day which isn't bad either.
PS i have made many unnecessary journeys in the car just like I will today, sun's out
and I hope everyone is enjoying driving their cars! an amg will make you want to drive to excess so keep that in mind - if one is doing that then does the mpg matter???
However, it seems as people have not seen this is in the newer cars for diff reasons, I assume the mpgs are similar and in terms of expense not significant enough to choose one model over the other but still - it just seems the older 55 amgs were a bit better maybe because of forced induction just like a tdi but really don't know, how good can mpg on a 6.3 litre car really be? even ferrari's don't have engines with that capacity in general
all i can say is that if you drive an sl55 like a saint then you will get 19mpg. Even if you drive it like a madman the whole time you will still see an average reading of around 14mpg at the end of the day which isn't bad either.
PS i have made many unnecessary journeys in the car just like I will today, sun's out
and I hope everyone is enjoying driving their cars! an amg will make you want to drive to excess so keep that in mind - if one is doing that then does the mpg matter???Gassing Station | Mercedes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff