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Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / September 2004Mercedes-Benz SL500
During a recent visit to my local MB dealer for routine service on my 00 C280 I noticed that they had a used 97 SL500 with 96,000 miles for under $25,000. The SL has always been a dream car for me an this one, at this price, looked interesting. I realize that the purchase price is only part of the cost of owning a car like this. Assuming the car has been well maintained, what can I expect - compared to a C-Class for example - in the way of service, maintenance, insurance, etc. costs especially given the car's high mileage. Will these items be a lot higher? Any advice would be appreciated. J How many miles are on your '00? If over 55K miles this SL isn't for you for its accumulated mileage, plus your usual driving will put too many miles on this SL, IMHO. But if your '00 car has but say, 35K miles then this somewhat high mileage SL may be OK, because you won't add that many miles to it. My observation is that SLs seem to be lower mileage cars (vs. sedans), perhaps because they're so impractical, IMHO, that they don't get high mileage use - like a trip half way 'cross country. Finally, forget about it if you have to ask about the cost, otherwise you'll hate the car whenever a significant repair arises. Remember, your current car was under warranty, this one won't be. The service records of the SL's like almost all models of late model MBs seem to show that there are few problems with the drive train (engine, trans, differential, etc.). The big repair items are the AC evaporator, electronics, etc. and all computer related items. MB, like most manufacturers, has loaded their cars with lots of goodies that you don't really need, and when these items fail they are extremely expensive to replace or repair. > How many miles are on your '00? > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > you'll hate the car whenever a significant repair arises. Remember, your > current car was under warranty, this one won't be. I should have mentioned that this car would be driven about 10k-11k miles per year. It sounds like you are suggesting that an older SL with lower mileage may be a smarter way to go. Any year/model better than the next? 300SL/SL320 vs. 500SL/SL500? Any comments about the 450-560SL models? J There are some specialty sites for SL and SEC owners. Suggest you find one and pose your specific questions to those afficianados but understand that they are in love with these models. |
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