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Comments
I am getting another SL500, because I was impressed by the new 7 speed tranny and the stock 18 inch wheels. The car is very lively. I am also ordering the 2005 SL 55.
Want to be really jealous? I will be in Germany in May and I am spending the day at the AMG factory. They have already offered me a test drive in the SL 65!
I've always preferred a behind-the-grille custom type unit. Any advice for what to put in this car?
Thanks!
Merc1, we gotta find a way to up our my income levels... I think that's one thing that we can agree on!
You're getting another SL500 and a 2005 SL55 AMG..! What about an SLR, the ultimate Mercedes-Benz? I really want to hear your thoughts on the SLR. Has the dealer confirmed anything as far as changes to the 2005 SL? I hope a SLR style nose isn't in the works. When does the SL65 arrive here? I know the CL65 is due in summer, not sure about the S65. Between the E55, CL55, CL600, SL55, SL600, S55, S600, CL65, SL65, S65 and SLR, Mercedes has enough cars with 450-600+hp! Enough!
sphinx99,
Agreed, you and I are far too poor to even post in this topic. I need a career change!
M
I have not heard confirmation on the SLR nose for the SL in 2005, but we should know in March when Mercedes tells its dealers about the next model year. I would be happy just to know if Mercedes will finally offer satellite radio in all the cars that have been prepped for it.
No firm dates on the 65 either, but it is a fair guess that September, 2004 it will arrive. Pricing has not been announced, but I hear $175,000 is a good guess.
The SLR? Beyond my budget unless they come up with an incredible lease deal. My dealer says they will only get one in the second year of production. Seems like the SL65 will have similar performance at half the price and with a retractable roof to boot. I don't think I want a $350,000 car with a seatback with limited adjustment.
Why aren't SL55s selling for tens of thousands over sticker? I would have expected them to be runaway successes but the vanilla 911 Turbo seems to have longer legs with owners. Nobody seems to be keeping SL55s for longer than a year or so. Any idea why, or am I just off base with this impression?
sphinx99,
The SL55 has been a runaway success, but what you're seeing are probably cars that were "flipped" for an early profit.
In the Chicagoland area this is done regularly, per the dealers that is. In all of the high-end car lots here there is also a glut of 911 Turbos too, also flipped.
What magazine did you see something about a E63 in?
M
Mercedes has made it clear to me that they won't be bringing any AMG wagons to the US where wagons don't sell as well as in Europe.
sphinx99,
Ok, thanks. I'll make a note of it. An E63 wagon...gee whiz.... This must be the new generation, direct-injection 6.3L V8 that I've heard so much about over the years. This engine is supposed to deliver 600hp in the next round of AMG S, SL (current SL w/facelift) and CL cars. I didn't think they'd drop it in the E-Class too! I see the next ML gets a version too, oh my.
That CLK with the DTM reference is pretty interesting too. Diesels???
M
One thing that has made me think I’ve made the right decision is the CD test result for the 600: 3.6 seconds to 60 and 11.9 for the quarter mile, although I agree with others here that the times are suspect. I think the truth of the matter is revealed by a comment in the review. They talk about the transmission having three modes, the third being a manual mode like the SL55. My understanding is that the US SL600 doesn’t have a third transmission mode, just the usual two. However, you the manual mode comes with Renntech’s ECU and transmission computer upgrade, so I assume CD’s test car had been modified in that way. The test result would then be just plausible. I agree with 600sltt that the 600 is ripe for modification, and I certainly plan to add those enhancements once the car is broken in.
Maybe you need to get the SL65 like me?
Wow, your experiences with the SL55 sound pretty awful. How many miles did you have on it when you traded it back to the dealer?
I put about 7k miles on the car over 8 months and sold it last July. My experience was actually very good until the electrical problem struck. The dealer gave me $113k, which I think was a very good price given the recent softening of used values.
Keep us posted on how you like the SL600 after making the transmission mods.
I love my car, but the 3.5l engine would convince me to trade up. I've owned the SLK230 and driven the SLK320, and both are basically the same -- quick but tame.
0-60 in 3.6s
1/4 mile in 11.9@120
Chavis10 suggested earlier that a Maybah 57 engine may have went down the wrong assembly line and wound up in a SL600.
What do you think?
M
The other thought I had is that it's easier to goof up 0-60 times but a 1/4 mile is a 1/4 mile. Unless there was some blatant equipment failure, covering a 1/4 mile in under 12 seconds is pretty impressive.
The SLK definitely carries the F1 styling theme much better than the SLR.
M
It is odd to think of someone outdoing AMG in terms of power output.
While I'm on a roll with vehicles from the elite Benz universe, behold the Mercedes CLS. The perfect sedan with which to park alongside your Coupe, Convertible or Sports Car.
M
M
Don't care for the slab side styling as in the ES and the high beltline look that's in vogue now I guess. Their calling it a 4 door coupe, what the hey? I see the RX8 concept in a 4 door sports car logical, but a coupe is 2 doors and will be always be 2 doors. This is a sedan no matter what marketing is trying to put a creative spin on it.
M
But then came the first warm days in Chicago last week, and there it was again . . . that old longing to try an SL55. On Friday, I found a dealer who would let me test drive one with 1203 miles on it so that I could really get a feel for the engine. That was all she wrote. The car was astounding -- docile one moment and a roaring beast the next. So on Saturday I picked up my brand new White/Ash SL55. I only managed to get about 200 miles on the odo over the weekend, and the impatience to goose the throttle is gnawing at me. At least I've been able to play on a few curves and twisties. The AMG chassis set-up is a noticeable improvement over the already-rock-stable standard chassis set-up.
I had a '98 Corvette (that spent more time in the shop than in my garage), and it felt like a kit car compared to this one. I had an '02 Audi S6 with build quality and engineering finesse similar to the M-B, but its engine offered only a weak foretaste of what the SL55 delivers.
This car is amazing!
M
Thanks.
I thought the late-winter market a year after the car's introduction would make it easier to find a new SL55. Not so. Almost everything I could find had mileage on it. The closest I came was a car with 70 miles on it that someone had already titled and resold to the dealer -- who wanted $7K above MSRP.
However, I had seen a brand new white one at the dealer nearest me -- which they were selling at sticker. I've had a couple of white cars before and liked them. But sitting on the showroom floor the SL55 in white just looked too "present". The color accentuated the mass of the car and looked too stark, perhaps due to the flourescent lights in the showroom. (This is an old downtown Chicago dealership in dark, antiquated facilities.)
Finally, in frustration at not finding anything else before spring fever sent the market soaring again, I asked the dealer to move the car from the shadowy showroom out to the street. The car was TRANSFORMED. You see black SL500's coming and going in downtown Chicago, as well as lots of silvers. I had never seen this car in white before . . . and it was a stunner! The white brings out the muscularity of the fenders and accentuates the sculpting of the sides. People occasionally glanced at my black SL55. They gawk openly at this car (maybe they think it's ugly or over the top . . . but I don't think so.)
Anyway . . . that's my saga. 620 miles to go before I can open 'er up.
M
If you know Chicago dealers, you might find this interesting. The SL55 I test drove last week was at the Westmont dealership. They had two Maybach's sitting on the lot -- first ones I'd seen. It turned out they are both going to the same customer as part of an order he placed for five. One is for his Chicago home, one for his home in Florida, and one for each of his three sons.
Mercedes reportedly waived their rule of one-Maybach-per-customer because the purchaser is the single biggest private purchaser of Mercedes in the U.S. I've been told he will even buy cars solely for his kids to take on long test drives. (That would certainly explain the surfeit of big-ticket low-mileage new/used cars the area Merc dealers have.)
The dealership in Westmont - Laurel Motors is one the largest volume Mercedes dealers in the country, so that Maybach situation makes sense. Holy checkwriting...five Maybachs!!!! Gee moe netty.
The area on and around Ogden ave in which all these dealerships and private lots have so many Mercedes' and other high-end cars for sale is amazing.
M
From it's 268hp V6, 6/7 speed trannies, mini-SLR styling, and the much better looking and higher quality interior, it seems Mercedes really put some effort into this car.
The interior alone is a night and day difference from the old car.
What y'all think?
M
M
Here's a question about less-extreme mods. My SL55 has a black AMG steering wheel (the only wheel that comes on this car, and a strange design choice for a convertible). I haven't driven it with the top down yet, but I suspect the black wheel will get very hot in the summer.
I seem to have a choice -- get a regular Mercedes SL500 wheel in light ash (and thereby lose the gearshift buttons) or try the Renntech wood and leather wheel, which retains the shift buttons. Renntech says they build their wheels on the Mercedes/AMG wheel carcass and claims they are perfect fits. (They do require that I trade them my existing wheel as part of the deal). My dealer says he has never seen or put one on, but he is willing to give it a go.
Has anyone had experience with the Renntech steering wheels? Do they work well?
Right now, though, this is just worrying for worrying's sake. We're probably another month away from dropping the top in Chicago. Right now, I wouldn't mind getting my hands burned a bit.
I did order the Renntech steering wheel, though. I saw a picture of their wheel for the S-class on mbworld.org, and it was beautiful. However, I still cannot find anyone who has tried one for an SL. And Renntech says they have just switched vendors. Don't know if that bodes ill or well.