Mercedes SL350, SL500 - thoughts and experiences

[Pentoman]

I just felt like posting up my thoughts on the SL from 2002 - 2012, and see if anyone wants to throw in their input, or just to read and see what I've learnt.

I decided I wanted one of these towards the end of last year and have spent quite a bit of time researching and looking at cars for sale. I'm trying to discover how they drive, whether they keep you interested when taken for a spirited drive, and of course how reliable they are (or aren't). They are pretty expensive for the age of car you get, and seem to come with the expected running costs, so this stuff is all highly relevant when purchasing.

I learnt that as with any car they change over the years:

- In 2002 it launched with 245 or 306 bhp on 5-speed automatic gearboxes. I have driven each of these and found the v8 surprisingly tepid until given some revs. I was a tad disappointed. The V6 felt in the powerband more of the time but slower overall.
- Late 2003 they put a 7-speed in the v8, which must really help how it drives. More of the power, more of the time. I would love to try one and this surely makes the early V8 undesirable.. Also at this time came the more modern DVD COMAND system which looks nicer in the dash.
- 2006 came a facelift and the downside of £400 tax. But the plus side is now 4 valves per cylinder on both engines. This brings 272 from the V6 (is it 5 or 7 speed?) and a huge 388bhp from the now 5.5 litre V8. That power figure really piques the curiosity and I would like to try one on the road and see if it manages to be interesting to drive. I would be gutted to find it too cosseting and lacking drama.
- 2009 brought a completely new front end. The V6 hit 300+ bhp. The rear end remains the same and I think looks dated.
- Then came the all-new lightweight model. Interesting technology but my lord is it ugly!

So that's the main model range. Which is best? Well the interior seems to have become better quality over the years but that may not be true. A lot of the early examples have grubby, rubbery-looking interiors while the late ones look like a Mercedes should. Early cars have rust on the front wings (mercifully the rest is aluminium - any possibilities for hidden rust?). The engines have improved in time and that near 400bhp v8 is very close to an e39 M5. But what does it drive like, I wonder? I have driven a number of luxury barges and they never get you excited regardless of the power figure.

However condition seems to be the important thing. I have seen low mileage cars that turn out to be rough, and others that I expected to be rough yet felt incredibly clean and tidy. Unfortunately the tidy cars are always thousands extra on some dealer's forecourt - I wonder if they sell?

One of the reasons I haven't bought yet is the wait for the right model at the right price. Reservations remain about reliability (already discussed at length elsewhere) and I'm currently unclear about parts prices. Early cars are old and from the dreaded low-quality period - could you find yourself spending thousands on parts? Even a wooden centre console seems to be hundreds on hundreds of pounds. So the age, reservations and the questionable condition of some cars - combined with some tempting and younger competition such as Audi TTs, BMW 1-coupes and even the M3 - is what makes me wait. If the right car comes along, I'll be in one, but I am beginning to think the 'right car' will appear overpriced and still have reliability/cost/sportiness concerns. Shame because something about these is unmatched by any competitor.

[Dog Star]

I could go on about this at great length; I've just got rid of my absolutely immaculate 2002 SL500 - the thing has over the last four years cost me absolutely thousands, most of which is down to poor quality and poor design. (It's the rear wings that are steel by the way ). I've got a good well paid job but the parts prices and continual trivial things going wrong (at nevertheless huge cost) broke me in the end.

I think the SL350 is a far better ownership prospect as the main thing that goes wrong on the 500s is the ABC. Shocking expensive to fix - and you will need it fixing. Worth considering is the cost of a new ABC pump - about 2K - and I have heard of Mercedes turning down the free replacement ....

Personally I'd stick with a more recent 350 or something else entirely; I wouldn't recommend an early R230 to someone unless I really didn't like them. Someone else will pipe up now telling you how theirs has never gone wrong, but the other side of the coin is what I have experienced - I've cancelled two holidays due to that car emptying my piggy bank Do you fancy taking that chance? Seriously: buy something else.

[Davel]

I've also looked at a few SLs from the new'ish 300 variant to the 350.

Of course a brand new model has just been released, which is outside of my league at the moment.

I went to look at both versions this week at Warrington and, whilst there, had a good look at the new model SLK.

In the past, I would have avoided the SLK and probably for the wrong reasons but I really like the new model and there are some cracking deals to be had.

So, for the time being, I'm quite tempted to take the cheaper and newer, and more butch now, SLK.

[Dog Star]

Davel said:

So, for the time being, I'm quite tempted to take the cheaper and newer, and more butch now, SLK.

Which is what I've done; I got my fingers very badly burned with my SL, it wasn't just the running expenses, it was the whole worry about what was going to go wrong next, simply starting it up had me crapping my pants about what was going to fail.

[Pentoman]

Dog Star said:

Which is what I've done; I got my fingers very badly burned with my SL, it wasn't just the running expenses, it was the whole worry about what was going to go wrong next, simply starting it up had me crapping my pants about what was going to fail.

Thanks dog star. Interesting to see that you have sold yours. Have you owned anything else of similar type/expense that you can compare your SL experience with? And yes of course it's the rear wings that are steel! Lucky you reminded me before I went checking the wrong parts for rust. Did you use it as a daily drive or weekends only? Was it garaged or parked in all weathers? What have you replaced it with?

I would be interested too to hear from owners of newer, e.g. 2006/2007, cars and see if those can be as problematic. I like to think that they refined things and improved the quality. Certainly over time it seems they upgraded the keyless go from a card to a more normal in-key system. The COMAND was upgraded, the gearbox, and all the engines through the lifecycle. My gut feeling is the quality improved as well.

Maybe a 300bhp V6 model is the one to have - you get the power but not the ABC suspension, but I'm not sure I would settle for that.

[Dog Star]

Pentoman said:

Thanks dog star. Interesting to see that you have sold yours. Have you owned anything else of similar type/expense that you can compare your SL experience with? And yes of course it's the rear wings that are steel! Lucky you reminded me before I went checking the wrong parts for rust. Did you use it as a daily drive or weekends only? Was it garaged or parked in all weathers? What have you replaced it with?

I would be interested too to hear from owners of newer, e.g. 2006/2007, cars and see if those can be as problematic. I like to think that they refined things and improved the quality. Certainly over time it seems they upgraded the keyless go from a card to a more normal in-key system. The COMAND was upgraded, the gearbox, and all the engines through the lifecycle. My gut feeling is the quality improved as well.

Maybe a 300bhp V6 model is the one to have - you get the power but not the ABC suspension, but I'm not sure I would settle for that.

Previous car was a 2000 SLK230 which was much better put together and nothing ever ever ever went wrong with it. Then I got the SL. I've replaced it with a new shaped SLK250CDi AMG sport which I think is fantastic - it's missing a lot of the toys but I really don't care - most stuff on my SL I can live without.

Regarding my SL - never had problems with engine or gearbox. My keyless go was fine too. It was very very mollycoddled, always garaged, did use it as a daily driver also a lot of euro roadtrips.

Don't get me wrong it was a fantastic car - lovely thing. However I wouldn't touch a complex German car without a cast iron warranty ever again.

[SFO]

Dog Star's SL was of 02 vintage, which means it was one of the very first R230s.

They got better in later production as MB sorted out the gremlins.

[tonys]

If you aren't already aware, you might want to read about the sensotronic braking system (SBC), which I believe is fitted to the 500s. Quite a few threads on the various merc forums. Not necessarily an issue, but it was something I looked into with regard to another 500 Merc.