Hello, I’ve also caught the SL500 bug...

[Wighty]

Watching this thread ive never even considered a Mercedes as a muscle car. Up to now my favourite affordable muscle car was a ford mustang, 5 litre version of course. But now I find myself being very impressed by the 55 given that ive recently seen one and hadn't figured out what it was until now. Boy did that baby sound good taking off on fire

Somebodys going to be upset I described it as a "muscle car" I have a feeling

No one is going to argue with a Van driver buddy

 

[neeklaus]

Two words that are never heard together unless separated by the words “is not” are Wighty/specialist .
No , I was just trying it on to get a free day in a supercar (that I also hope to finally get ) .
I’m an ambitious diy’er who has been attempting everything on both my two 10 years old MB’s for the last few years . I enjoy the work and the plan is , when I’m happy I can do most of the work that can be accomplished with axle stands/ramps I will then be able to buy the sort of car you are currently looking at .
I’ll be following your plans with interest .
Hopefully you can start a Thread when you buy a car and detail all your work , much as Connor is doing as well.

Thanks Wighty – yes definitely planning to share the adventure of SLhood! And hopefully learn a bit more about DIYing too.

I bought a well sorted low mileage SL55 in 2012 and have so far enjoyed the ownership experience overall. The sound and performance is huge, as people say above. I have had to replace the ABC pump, but that's about it. I do about 4,000 miles a year, so it's perfectly affordable at those sort of mileages. Not a car I would consider if I was doing 20,000 miles a year, commuting long distance in it. The punch in the back at 50, 60, 70 etc is just immense. No other car I have ever driven delivers that, and I have owned 4 911s.

One or two caveats about car #3 above. It is a very early car on a '52 plate, and the early cars did seem to suffer a few more issues, (hence the post from Helen above). Also the mileage is quite high. I would go for something slightly later, they increased the power to 500bhp in 2004, and again to 517 a couple of years later, so worth having.

I must say the car in the photos looks stunning, I too have a black car with the red interior, and it just feels a bit more special than the usual grey/beige interiors.

I do not see why the supercharger has been replaced, I have never heard of that before. Normally they are trouble free. Maybe due to being an early car. Normally the belt needs replacing, and that's about it.

The suspension should go up and down evenly at all four corners, and stay up. If it doesn't the ABC system needs flushing, the fluid replacing, valve blocks cleaning/replacing, rodeo on star/whatever it takes.

Other than that, I cannot see why the '55 is not the right choice, but then I would, as I am biased.

Feel free to post up cars for sale on here and we'll have a look over them for you.

Hi Mark, interesting re the supercharger. The 55 did look stunning and was in pretty good condition cosmetically. It looked great and my girlfriend fell in love with the colour scheme! She also loved the sound it made...(uh oh, that's two of us now) but my gut feeling was that the ABC just wasn't working as it should. It did feel a bit unbalanced when I raised it.
A pity because it did look very nice!

Some interesting statics for you there and a great source to help you choose to better fuel economy or choosing between a 55 or 500

These gentle nudges into AMG world...

Watching this thread ive never even considered a Mercedes as a muscle car. Up to now my favourite affordable muscle car was a ford mustang, 5 litre version of course. But now I find myself being very impressed by the 55 given that ive recently seen one and hadn't figured out what it was until now. Boy did that baby sound good taking off on fire

Somebodys going to be upset I described it as a "muscle car" I have a feeling

Oh I'd put it in the muscle camp, with perhaps a dipped toe in the sports car pool. Like those American cars it's got a big ol' V8 in the front and weighs as much as a house!

 

[neeklaus]

Went on a long round-trip yesterday to investigate a certain member's classified ad. I think it’s fairly safe to say that I am now beyond the point of no return as far as the letters AMG are concerned.

I stopped by a dealer to see this one too, but unfortunately it felt rather underloved.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201808219720555

As tempting as it is I just can’t bring myself to buy an SL500 knowing how big a smile the 55 put on my face.

So I think I will bide my time, keep an eye out and save up a little more. It will be difficult not to have a car quite as soon as I had planned but I know the wait will be worth it!

Meanwhile this popped up recently, which piqued my interest. Done a heck of a lot of miles (141k) and more than that dealer is advertising but it’s one owner who seemed to get a lot of use out of it...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201911154388093

 

[neeklaus]

On a second look the dealer selling the red 55 does seem to be what you might call ... reputable.

 

[SL63 Mark]

The red one is certainly rare, I do not recall seeing another SL55 in that colour. 70% are silver, I would say, with most of the rest being black, and a few blue ones around. The price is certainly very affordable, £8k is among the cheapest I have seen, and from a dealer. Needs careful checking over.

The black one is sitting high ? Otherwise looks OK, from what I can see in the pictures. Again, needs a careful inspection at this price point.

 

[bembo449]

I love that SL F1 pace car that's currently for sale

 

[neeklaus]

The red one is certainly rare, I do not recall seeing another SL55 in that colour. 70% are silver, I would say, with most of the rest being black, and a few blue ones around. The price is certainly very affordable, £8k is among the cheapest I have seen, and from a dealer. Needs careful checking over.

The black one is sitting high ? Otherwise looks OK, from what I can see in the pictures. Again, needs a careful inspection at this price point.

The red one is being sold by a dealer that seems to have a very shady history, according to talk on other forums. Might steer clear of that one, though it is cool to see such an unusual colour for an SL55.

I test drove the black one but I didn't get a good vibe from the dealer and the ABC seemed a bit dodgy. I also heard what sounded like a fluid gushing noise coming from behind me on the drivers side. No idea what it was but overall I did not feel very confident, and there were no invoices more recent than 2013, aside from a single basic service in 2016. :/

 

[flowrider]

Probably worth looking at a couple of SL55's in the £15k-£20k bracket, these are very likely to be the ones that will be the most sorted. Don't look at cheap ones, I think you have already seen why.

 

[peterws1957]

On a second look the dealer selling the red 55 does seem to be what you might call ... reputable.

2 pieces of advice when considering a purchase from MotorHub:-
1 Don't do it.
2 No, really don't do it.

 

[fabes]

Yup. Agreed, but a pity as the red one does look really nice,

But no, just no

 

[peterws1957]

Yup. Agreed, but a pity as the red one does look really nice,

But no, just no

It does indeed, and on the balance of probabilities, their 4 (?) storey former multi storey carpark premises stuffed full of cars, must contain the occasional good one. I just wouldn't like to test the theory. They sell £11m of something every year though, so clearly some people are prepared to bite the bullet.

 

[McDonald]

Hi Neeklaus, welcome. A fascinating thread. I approached the thing quite differently. I was looking for very low milage and preferably one owner. Service History was the vital measure for me. I looked at four cars and bought the third one. It had 39,000 miles and two owners. The service history was fab.
I've never regretted spending 12K to get it, I feel a million dollars when I drive it. I've never loved a car so much. I put about 6,000 miles a year on it and tuck it away every winter. I've had it three years. I can't understand why people want noisy exhausts, that's not what these cars are about. They're cruisers not racers and they have more grunt than I'll ever need, the 5 litre engine rises to every occasion. I wish you the best of luck in finding the right Mercedes for you. I've got mine and hope I never have to sell it.

 

[rexemper]

Hi Neeklaus, welcome. A fascinating thread. I approached the thing quite differently. I was looking for very low milage and preferably one owner. Service History was the vital measure for me. I looked at four cars and bought the third one. It had 39,000 miles and two owners. The service history was fab.
I've never regretted spending 12K to get it, I feel a million dollars when I drive it. I've never loved a car so much. I put about 6,000 miles a year on it and tuck it away every winter. I've had it three years. I can't understand why people want noisy exhausts, that's not what these cars are about. They're cruisers not racers and they have more grunt than I'll ever need, the 5 litre engine rises to every occasion. I wish you the best of luck in finding the right Mercedes for you. I've got mine and hope I never have to sell it.

Great way to buy one! Take your time and be clear about what you want; would like but will compromise on etc. and just keep looking. That was the main advice I got (from here) when I was looking - and very good advice it was too.

 

[flowrider]

The red one is being sold by a dealer that seems to have a very shady history, according to talk on other forums. Might steer clear of that one, though it is cool to see such an unusual colour for an SL55.

I test drove the black one but I didn't get a good vibe from the dealer and the ABC seemed a bit dodgy. I also heard what sounded like a fluid gushing noise coming from behind me on the drivers side. No idea what it was but overall I did not feel very confident, and there were no invoices more recent than 2013, aside from a single basic service in 2016. :/

I was looking on AT today at the SL55's, what struck me is how for the cost of a 15 year old SL55 you can now get a 5 year old SL500! Tempting indeed.

 

[Conor]

I was looking on AT today at the SL55's, what struck me is how for the cost of a 15 year old SL55 you can now get a 5 year old SL500! Tempting indeed.

Wow, you mean something of the 2015 MY order? Hmm..

 

[flowrider]

Wow, you mean something of the 2015 MY order? Hmm..

2013/14 SL500's at under £20k-£25k.

 

[peterws1957]

I was looking on AT today at the SL55's, what struck me is how for the cost of a 15 year old SL55 you can now get a 5 year old SL500! Tempting indeed.

You can probably, but there's just something about an SL55 isn't there?

 

[flowrider]

2013/14 SL500's at under £20k-£25k.

Note "under" should have been deleted.

 

[00slk]

You can probably, but there's just something about an SL55 isn't there?

Totally agree

 

[100%Bitch]

You can probably, but there's just something about an SL55 isn't there?

Yup, there's massive bills when the legs leak, pump seals go, bottom ball joints on the front legs go, PSE pump gets water in it .............................................................