SL55 running costs?
Discussion
Hi all, I've been trying to brush it under the carpet for years but the desire to own an SL55 simply won't go away (I've been ignoring it for about 16 years…). I am seriously considering one as a second car in the near future and wanted to get a handle on real-world running costs. I've done my research so I know about the struts, ABC valve blocks, SBC, tandem pump, roof pump, roof seals, boot seals and intercooler pump, which I think covers most of the problems?! Realistically I'd only be doing maybe 3000 miles a year, which makes me think I could stomach the potential repair costs… I was thinking that if I had a war chest with a few grand set aside for emergency repairs that would probably be ok? Thanks in advance for any and all advice and guidance 
Edited by Buffy d on Monday 7th May 11:36
I have had two Sl 55’s,a 2002 that only had battery and boot seal issues and my currant one which ive had for about eight years ,its one of the last made a late 2005 and apart from some battery issues (spends most of the time on a conditioner) nothing has gone wrong with it.
However,it does live in a garage and has only done 40k.As far a running costs,tyres are reasonble as they are 18” ,servicing by mercedes averages at about £500 pa,tax is cheap as is insurance although I’m old!..there appear to be no real bodywork issues although the plastic panels of the rear quarter lights seems to deteriorate,the interior holds up really well to wear .
All in all ,in my opinion,a great car and if you find a good one,exceptional value.I hope some of this helps.
However,it does live in a garage and has only done 40k.As far a running costs,tyres are reasonble as they are 18” ,servicing by mercedes averages at about £500 pa,tax is cheap as is insurance although I’m old!..there appear to be no real bodywork issues although the plastic panels of the rear quarter lights seems to deteriorate,the interior holds up really well to wear .
All in all ,in my opinion,a great car and if you find a good one,exceptional value.I hope some of this helps.
Mine's been relatively trouble free but again it's a later facelifted 2007 car.
In a couple of years, I've had an EIS and ABC pump - unfortunate, but relatively cheap at about £1200 a go. Cheap if you compare the running costs against Aston's, Ferrari's etc.
A lot of the horror stories about running costs are largely unfounded imo. Make sure the car has a well documented history.
Car only comes out on sunny weekends and spends it's life on a battery conditioner.Over 500bhp, roof down all weekend - what's not to like? and far prettier than the later cars (IMO)
In a couple of years, I've had an EIS and ABC pump - unfortunate, but relatively cheap at about £1200 a go. Cheap if you compare the running costs against Aston's, Ferrari's etc.
A lot of the horror stories about running costs are largely unfounded imo. Make sure the car has a well documented history.
Car only comes out on sunny weekends and spends it's life on a battery conditioner.Over 500bhp, roof down all weekend - what's not to like? and far prettier than the later cars (IMO)
Edited by Candellara on Tuesday 8th May 14:29
Edited by Candellara on Tuesday 8th May 14:30
SebringMan said:
How much are things like tyres/servicing etc. for one of these? They are alot of car for the money!
I've just got the price for my annual service from my local MB dealer - £320Tyres are inline with Porsche / Ferrari etc as they're fairly wide on the back - 285/30 x 19
MPG is about 24 on a run. Spirited driving - circa 12
The SL55 is an absolute bargain in my opinion. Having had various Porsche / Ferrari's and perhaps more comparable Jaguar F Type V8 - the SL55 offers levels of refinement and brutal performance for less than £30k (F1 variants the exception)
Just to deal with the War Chest or Bork Fund idea, £4k will see you ok for years unless you are very unlucky or go to Merc dealers to get things fixed. 
From my research before buying, it seems that an ABC failure will happen sometime and there's not a lot of indication as to when it could occur.
Could be years away, or could happen within the first month of ownership (as happened to me!).
It's not the complete disaster that some make out and a pump is about £1k to get replaced at an indy.
I'm sure there are a lot of other performance car owners who would love their bigee failure to cost £1k to sort.
If you do happen to go for a Performance Pack version (sometimes called the F1 as it is the F1 pace car spec) then you are not going to want to replace the fancy front brakes too often. £2k at a dealer, probably £1300 at an indy).
The good news is that although they are reasonably rare in the UK they sold pretty well in the US and there is good info to be had online and a far amount of aftermarket backup.
From my research before buying, it seems that an ABC failure will happen sometime and there's not a lot of indication as to when it could occur.
Could be years away, or could happen within the first month of ownership (as happened to me!).
It's not the complete disaster that some make out and a pump is about £1k to get replaced at an indy.
I'm sure there are a lot of other performance car owners who would love their bigee failure to cost £1k to sort.
If you do happen to go for a Performance Pack version (sometimes called the F1 as it is the F1 pace car spec) then you are not going to want to replace the fancy front brakes too often. £2k at a dealer, probably £1300 at an indy).
The good news is that although they are reasonably rare in the UK they sold pretty well in the US and there is good info to be had online and a far amount of aftermarket backup.
swisstoni said:
If you do happen to go for a Performance Pack version (sometimes called the F1 as it is the F1 pace car spec) then you are not going to want to replace the fancy front brakes too often. £2k at a dealer, probably £1300 at an indy).
The good news is that although they are reasonably rare in the UK they sold pretty well in the US and there is good info to be had online and a far amount of aftermarket backup.
Facelift car's 2006 on have the same front brakes as the F1 I think? Mine has floating discs as opposed to fixed. Can someone confirm this?The good news is that although they are reasonably rare in the UK they sold pretty well in the US and there is good info to be had online and a far amount of aftermarket backup.
Candellara said:
swisstoni said:
If you do happen to go for a Performance Pack version (sometimes called the F1 as it is the F1 pace car spec) then you are not going to want to replace the fancy front brakes too often. £2k at a dealer, probably £1300 at an indy).
The good news is that although they are reasonably rare in the UK they sold pretty well in the US and there is good info to be had online and a far amount of aftermarket backup.
Facelift car's 2006 on have the same front brakes as the F1 I think? Mine has floating discs as opposed to fixed. Can someone confirm this?The good news is that although they are reasonably rare in the UK they sold pretty well in the US and there is good info to be had online and a far amount of aftermarket backup.
I ran one for a couple of years and it really did not cost too much. Services were about what other posters have said. I also had to change a xenon headlight unit which was a PITA but not too expensive as a DIY. The car I had had Arnott struts all round so I did not have to worry about them, even then a new ABC strut is not terribly expensive in the scheme of the performance on offer.
I astutely sold about 18 months ago at the bottom of the market and would really like another.
I astutely sold about 18 months ago at the bottom of the market and would really like another.
When you look on autotrader most appear to come with the many spoke wheels which to me look notably inferior to the fat 5 spoke or the split rim from the F1 edition.
To think looking at the prices you could choose an S2000 or one of these.... to me choice is very easy SL55 K rules (well I say the 55k rules but the SL65 that’s the daddy)
To think looking at the prices you could choose an S2000 or one of these.... to me choice is very easy SL55 K rules (well I say the 55k rules but the SL65 that’s the daddy)
I have had a SL55 F1 (performance pack) for nearly four years now. Only used as a summer weekend car and does about 3k miles a year. Averages 20 mpg, two rear tyres were £150 each, a new consumer battery from MB was £130. You can get a value service from MB (effectively an A service) for £145. Have now signed up to a service plan which covers a full B service plus spark plugs, brake fluid etc and another A service for £850 total which with the mileage I do will cover servicing for at least three years. Payments are interest free over two years. Insurance covering 5000 miles a year with business use on a normal policy costs £200 a year.
Problems have been a failure of the gear module resulting in the car stuck in park. That cost £900 to fix at a specialist though to be fair I knew it was on its way out when I bought the car. Also took nearly six weeks to come from Germany as it had to be made and coded to the car as it is part of the security system. Crankshaft position sensor started going intermittent after a year, cost £50 and 2 hours of diy - could do it in ten minutes now I have done one. Last year got a ABC (suspension) failure. Rear left of car fully lowered, car effectively undriveable. Experts predicted many £000’s in repairs turned out to be £40 level switch which I got fitted at local garage as it was just so much easier on a ramp.
Overall considering the performance and complexity of the car I think costs are very reasonable and the best bit is that being a “F1” variant the car value has at least doubled in the time I have had it.
Problems have been a failure of the gear module resulting in the car stuck in park. That cost £900 to fix at a specialist though to be fair I knew it was on its way out when I bought the car. Also took nearly six weeks to come from Germany as it had to be made and coded to the car as it is part of the security system. Crankshaft position sensor started going intermittent after a year, cost £50 and 2 hours of diy - could do it in ten minutes now I have done one. Last year got a ABC (suspension) failure. Rear left of car fully lowered, car effectively undriveable. Experts predicted many £000’s in repairs turned out to be £40 level switch which I got fitted at local garage as it was just so much easier on a ramp.
Overall considering the performance and complexity of the car I think costs are very reasonable and the best bit is that being a “F1” variant the car value has at least doubled in the time I have had it.
Ive had my 2003 model for 3 years and 15k now (75k total) so thought id offer my voice too.
Costs can be huge.
I bought mine from mercedes approved with a tier 1 warranty package which covers everything apart from consumables (includes electrics oddly). Total retail price for the claims so far are over £25,000!
This includes all four shocks, 2 different pumps, dash binnacle (£4k!), some pipe work that had to have a new production run in germany (plus a 3 month s-class courtesy car), roof removal and seal replacements with rust repair, crank position sensor and various bits and bobs.
Servicing and consumables are not too bad but the A-service isnt cheap. I had an electrical fault due to a chafed wire, the donut support for the prop shaft failed and a few niggly bits. I get 14mpg pootling to and from the shops, 20mpg on a motorway and sub 10mpg if you put your foot down.
Best car ive owned in terms of fun though. Unlike my other "fast" cars its really well behaved in traffic and you dont get the feeling it just wants to be thrashed (my v8 R8 just constantly wanted to zoom). Its no sunday morning twisty lane dominator, rather more like a muscle car - rumbles everywhere with out any issues and makes a lot of noise in a straight line. Awesome machine.
Costs can be huge.
I bought mine from mercedes approved with a tier 1 warranty package which covers everything apart from consumables (includes electrics oddly). Total retail price for the claims so far are over £25,000!
This includes all four shocks, 2 different pumps, dash binnacle (£4k!), some pipe work that had to have a new production run in germany (plus a 3 month s-class courtesy car), roof removal and seal replacements with rust repair, crank position sensor and various bits and bobs.
Servicing and consumables are not too bad but the A-service isnt cheap. I had an electrical fault due to a chafed wire, the donut support for the prop shaft failed and a few niggly bits. I get 14mpg pootling to and from the shops, 20mpg on a motorway and sub 10mpg if you put your foot down.
Best car ive owned in terms of fun though. Unlike my other "fast" cars its really well behaved in traffic and you dont get the feeling it just wants to be thrashed (my v8 R8 just constantly wanted to zoom). Its no sunday morning twisty lane dominator, rather more like a muscle car - rumbles everywhere with out any issues and makes a lot of noise in a straight line. Awesome machine.
Thanks for the advice, everyone
Daniel1 said:
Ive had my 2003 model for 3 years and 15k now (75k total) so thought id offer my voice too.
Costs can be huge.
I bought mine from mercedes approved with a tier 1 warranty package which covers everything apart from consumables (includes electrics oddly). Total retail price for the claims so far are over £25,000!
This is slightly terrifying though! Costs can be huge.
I bought mine from mercedes approved with a tier 1 warranty package which covers everything apart from consumables (includes electrics oddly). Total retail price for the claims so far are over £25,000!
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