Back in the fold!

gez

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
155
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63
Location
South Coast
Your Mercedes
R230 SL350; R231 SL400 (SOLD), W211 E320 CDi Estate (SOLD), R129 Brabus SL500 (should not have SOLD)
After over a year without owning a Merc I'm now back in the fold, so once again will be leaning on forum members for information and advice.

About 18 months ago I sold my R231 SL400 for an offer I could not refuse, and early this year sold my workhorse W211 E320CDi estate that was getting rather tired.

I then took delivery of one of the first Tesla Model Y's into the country, a car which, despite being pig ugly, has proved a great buy and I just love the cutting edge tech, it's green credentials (OK I know it took a lot of carbon to build it) it's practicality and performance. With the daily workhorse sorted I then needed a summer convertible and bought an Alfa Spider 3.2 Q4 Q-tronic. While it's a great looking car that attracted a lot of attention it just proved unreliable (no surprise there!) and I lost all driving enjoyment while I waited for the next warning light, error message, misfire and wondering if the roof would manage to complete its cycle. They say everyone should own an Alfa at some time in their life, we'll I've ticked that off the bucket list and won't be going back!

So, then hankering after another convertible, but not with too much to spend, I thought about an early R230 for £5k or less, but then found a facelift 2008 SL350 at less than £10k in my preferred Palladium Silver with options I wanted: Airscarf, bluetooth, DAB, Harman Kardon, power trunk plus it also has distronic cruise. It's relatively high mileage @ 87k but with full history, all main dealer except the last 2 being merc indies, gearbox serviced about 25k ago, engine number not in the chain/balancing shaft issue range, good MOT history plus a new one, refurb'd alloys, new rear tyres and I will probably not add more than 3k per year.

It has a few things to tidy up and fix, so I will post some questions in the appropriate tech forum areas. I viewed it under cover and ensured the boot and inside were free of damp, but drove home in heavy rain and found a little water had got into the boot, so that is the first area to read up on.

It feels good to be back!

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sonic

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
3,818
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2,700
Location
Staffordshire
Your Mercedes
E350CDI, SLC250d, FJR 1300
Looks very nice, welcome back.
 

Blobcat

Moderator
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Messages
40,152
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29,780
Location
Grange Moor
Your Mercedes
R171 SLK280, Smart R451, Land Rover 110 County SW, 997 C2S, R1250 GSA TE 40th, CBR600FP
Nice, welcome back
 

00slk

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
10,313
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10,629
Location
Cambridgeshire UK
Your Mercedes
2002 SL55 AMG, 2005 E320 CDi, 2014 SLK250 CDi, 2003 SLK200
Excellent choice to come back with :)
 

SmartAmg

Senior Member
Joined
May 19, 2018
Messages
16,677
Reaction score
7,485
Your Mercedes
2011 E class coupe 350 CDI
Nice motor! and Welcome (Back) :)
 

harrye500

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2017
Messages
695
Reaction score
625
Location
Cheshire
Your Mercedes
2010 A207 E500 (the Summer Car and Winter Garage Queen)!
Welcome back. Palladium Silver is a nice shade of silver. They're a funny proposition the Tesla's but yes, I'd love to sample the tech in one.
 

malcolm E53 AMG

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2005
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7,524
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Lovey car and package quite fond of Palladium as well hope it gives you good service
 

Teem50

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
10
Reaction score
1
Location
Cambridge
Your Mercedes
Used to have 2007 SL350 and a 2016 SL400. Currently have a 2009 SL500.
engine number not in the chain/balancing shaft issue range
For someone who's just considering getting yet another SL, what is this issue? (I guess it's discussed hereabouts somewhere...

Thanks,

Edited to add: Don't worry, I found it. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

A.J.

Senior Member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Messages
21,258
Reaction score
9,586
Location
Norwich. UK
Your Mercedes
UnMerc - 2020 VW Polo 2.0t GTi Plus, DSG. Flash Red, Traditional VW GTi Tartan seat trim.
Welcome back Gez :)
 
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