A return to the fold

[flowrider]

Hmmm... Looks like ours needs replacing as it's complaining after a week.

Mine was worse than that, about 3 or 4 days and the parking sensors stopped working.

 

[gramey]

Some good news and some bad news, hopefully the bad news is only short term, my car came with a fully stamped service book but no invoices or receipts. I contacted my local main dealer who ran my car through the system and he confirmed all bar the service just before I bought, which was at Star Motors of Caversham, were with Mercedes dealers. He also stated that the SBC pump had been replaced in the not too distant past so should be good for some time to come.
The bad news is there's a drain on my consumer battery, which I've requested help with in the electronics section, which failing finding the cure for in the meantime , is booked in for a diagnostic check in a weeks time so hopefully this is a short term problem.
Other than that the S4 is a rapidly fading memory.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Top man!

 

[Wighty]

Welcome back to Merc , I take you know you have Alex Crow Indy in Stowmarket .

 

[gramey]

Welcome back to Merc , I take you know you have Alex Crow Indy in Stowmarket .

Thanks for that, I used Alex a couple of times for my R129, great bloke and excellent work although out of convenience I've tended to use Prestige Car Repairs in Ipswich. With Alex I need a loan car and it's a 36 odd mile round trip where as with Neville at Prestige I can drop it off walk home and then walk back to pick it up. They've been around for years, I used to use them for my W124 and 190E, Neville was originally an apprentice with Lancaster Mercedes Ipswich back in the day so has also been around Mercedes for quite a few years.

 

[gramey]

Well that's a relief with an R230, unusually I took my car to work today instead of my scooter as the forecast was woeful and they weren't wrong. Filled with trepidation with the car having sat out in pretty torrential rain for most of the day I opened the boot once I was home and it was back in the garage, it was dry, phew!

 

[McDonald]

Welcome back to Mercedes Gramey, the car looks splendid. People keep telling me there's a hint of blue in my car, but to my eye it's silver. Your car seems to have a blueish tint. Perhaps this is only visible when viewing other people's cars.

 

[gramey]

So just to resurrect this old thread a quick update which isn't really an update as there's almost nothing to report. After Martin at Chiltern Cars quickly had the consumer battery and petrol tank baffle issues sorted out, almost 6 months in I have spent the princely sum of £108 on my SL350.
This was to have the parking brake adjusted and the rear pads pulled, the calipers cleaned and the pads copper greased etc. as they were creaking slightly on light pressure.
I also spent around an hour driving around adjusting one of the stops for the roof, half a turn at a time, as it was rattling over sharp bumps and pot holes.
Other than that it's just been blissful cost free motoring, none of the worrying associated with my previous Audi's cam chain eating reputation or that of the ABC on the V8's however nice they sound, long may it continue.

 

[brick10]

Welcome back.

 

[Wighty]

So just to resurrect this old thread a quick update which isn't really an update as there's almost nothing to report. After Martin at Chiltern Cars quickly had the consumer battery and petrol tank baffle issues sorted out, almost 6 months in I have spent the princely sum of £108 on my SL350.
This was to have the parking brake adjusted and the rear pads pulled, the calipers cleaned and the pads copper greased etc. as they were creaking slightly on light pressure.
I also spent around an hour driving around adjusting one of the stops for the roof, half a turn at a time, as it was rattling over sharp bumps and pot holes.
Other than that it's just been blissful cost free motoring, none of the worrying associated with my previous Audi's cam chain eating reputation or that of the ABC on the V8's however nice they sound, long may it continue.

Welcome back buddy , I must admit I really want an SL V8 , and I keep looking at them , but like you the ABC stuff really worries me , it is so horrendously expensive to repair . I know the 350 (or 300/400) is where I will end up in a few years . I don't know if some of the newer ones don't have ABC , maybe the tech has changed ?

 

[LostKiwi]

I don't know if some of the newer ones don't have ABC , maybe the tech has changed ?

Nope, later ones still have ABC... Just ask John Laidlaw ..

 

[John Laidlaw]

Nope, later ones still have ABC... Just ask John Laidlaw ..

You betcha!

 

[sl500amgsport]

The R231 SL500 4.7l V8 doesn't have ABC and only loses 0.2 secs to 60 off the 5.5 SL63, a tuned SL500 R231 will match a standard SL63 R231 in performance with the same body/interior. If you want the AMG badge, louder exhaust, ABC and increased road tax and insurance then SL63 is for you.

The SL350 and SL400 also do not have ABC but are V6.

Finding an R231 SL500 is harder than an SL63 though unless you are in USA....

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[LostKiwi]

Maybe I should have been clearer.. all V8 R230 and R231 are ABC equipped.

 

[sl500amgsport]

Maybe I should have been clearer.. all V8 R230 and R231 are ABC equipped.

ABC is only standard on the R231 SL63 and up. My SL500 does not have it nor do I think it has ever been an option below the SL63 for the current R231.

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[flowrider]

Welcome back buddy , I must admit I really want an SL V8 , and I keep looking at them , but like you the ABC stuff really worries me , it is so horrendously expensive to repair . I know the 350 (or 300/400) is where I will end up in a few years . I don't know if some of the newer ones don't have ABC , maybe the tech has changed ?

Lots of cars can have expensive repairs so don't let ABC put you off buying an SL500. Even ABC is getting cheaper to fix with the option of reconditioned parts and strut rebuilds.

 

[sl500amgsport]

It put me off buying an R230, R231 seems trouble free (so far touch wood)..

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[gramey]

Lots of cars can have expensive repairs so don't let ABC put you off buying an SL500. Even ABC is getting cheaper to fix with the option of reconditioned parts and strut rebuilds.

The only problem is I don't want a car with expensive repairs hence why I took a bath on my S4 and steered away from the R230 V8 and so far it seems to have been the right decision. Yes it would be nice to have the V8 burble although I'm surviving without that 0.9 sec difference to 60 mph, so at the moment just happy pootling along in the snail.

 

[Jimbo1959]

All the best SLs are silver...

Cough cough...Isn't it that all the best Mercedes are silver?

 

[sl500amgsport]

Cough cough...Isn't that all the best Mercedes are silver?

Silver if you can't keep it clean otherwise black everytime

Mercedes SL500 R231