Daydreamer
Member
Picked up a 2006 SL for a good price about 1 month ago. I had resisted SLs in the past given the many stories about running cost. Came across a car which I felt offered very good value compared to others for sale, so spent some evenings lurking on here to get up to speed on what to look for, and did some research on the actual car in question. It had basic spec which meant to me a bit less to go wrong. It had had a boot leak (you could see traces of water ingress) but was dry when i viewed it. Everything worked, and car appeared genuinely well cared for (interior smelt fresh, seats looked like new, just a few stone chips, etc., all panels straight, OK service history, etc.). Having had it for a month and about 1k miles, i thought i would share my impressions in case of use to anyone.
My car has basic spec, and whilst it would be nice to have more gadgets, it lacks for nothing. EXCEPT, when i bought the car, it had not occurred to me that it did not have parking sensors, which we only realised when my wife parked it and could not see the rear from the drivers seat. Silly thing to miss when inspecting, but had simply not occurred to me that a car such as this would come without it. £350 to retro fit, next time I would make sure the car had it in its spec.
Command is clunky. Frankly no real point worrying about latest disks, etc. Using tHe VIN decoder on here, comandonline sorted the right bluetooth gadget, which includes an FM transmitter. Which brings me to the stereo. Which is absolute rubbish, unless the roof is up. Im am not generally concerned at sound quality, but with my wife's Audi having an singing all dancing BOSE system, and a long line of Volvo's which have outstanding systems as standard, I suspect I have gotten spoilt. The standard speaker system in the SL is inadequate even for me, particularly roof down at speed. Very expensive to upgrade so look for upgrades on the spec sheet when buying second hand.
My car is on 19" wheels, which look great, but suspect they adversely affect the ride. The body is not particularly stiff, and the front end tends to skip over bumps in corners with the roof down. Not more than a 3series convertible I had in the past, but noticeable. Having since driven an ABC suspended car, the difference is very noticeable in favour of ABC.
Around town the V6 is lovely. It is very smooth, easy to drive, acceptable fuel consumption (low to mid 20's), and plenty quick enough. Relaxing is the word my wife uses and i concur. The exhaust sound is very similar to how I remember my BMW 335i from a few years ago. Longer journey got over 30mpg, which is remarkable. However, on the open road, it lacks torque and has to be revved and worked hard. I drive sensibly (middle aged man with teenage kids) and my comment is not related to silly speeds on remote roads, but even outer lane give and take motorway traffic, where the reluctance to down shift combined with relatively low power to weight and lazy nature of the engine, means you feel you have to cane it more than you would like to keep up. Perhaps it is more that working the engine and gearbox hard is at odds with the very relaxed nature of the car and its controls generally. Its certainly quick enough on paper, but I think it lacks torque.
Having found that the roof leaked once my car was parked outside, I went to see Malcolm (Television on here) on the south coast (what a lovely man, who is an encyclopedia when it comes to these cars) and sealed the roof (as per his posting on here). No leaks any more, even in a powerwash. Malcolm very kindly took me for a spin in his SL500 with ABC, and I was surprised at how different his car felt from mine. He had smaller rims with higher profile rubber than my car, and his car rode significantly better and had less scuttle shake. The higher torque figure was very obvious. His car is a 2009 facelift, and my car a 2006 facelift, so there may be some additional improvements on his which created the big difference.
In summary, many cars (such as mine) are sold by owners who lose patients with electrical and systems failures and roof leaks, but I think these sort of forums de-risk that significantly if you know what to look for. Having spent a month sorting roof leaks, clearing drains, repairing split airpipes and getting a demo of STAR, my confidence in the car and how it actually works has grown. I think these cars offer exceptional value for money. Even at twice what I paid for my car, it would be exceptional value for money.
Would I recommend the car? Yes, wholeheartedly. The 350 lovely around town, and I highly recommend the car to anyone wanting a comfortable 2 seater convertible. It is also surprisingly economical, and I am hoping due to the lack of complex gadgets, relatively inexpensive to run. It is very easy to drive, incredibly smooth and a very refined and relaxing place to spend time.
However, for me, the 350 does not have enough accessible power, and the lack of ABC is much more noticeable than I thought it would be. The steel suspension of the 350 occasionally highlights the lack of rigidity in the body, whereas the ABC masks it (some of the issue maybe down to my 19" wheels). Having gotten more confident about the car and it systems, I would get an SL500 or even SL55 if I were buying again - the difference in acquisition cost is relatively low, and bought wisely ABC need not cost a fortune, particularly when using the resources on here - it is clear that it has real and tangible benefits to the ride and handling.
My car has basic spec, and whilst it would be nice to have more gadgets, it lacks for nothing. EXCEPT, when i bought the car, it had not occurred to me that it did not have parking sensors, which we only realised when my wife parked it and could not see the rear from the drivers seat. Silly thing to miss when inspecting, but had simply not occurred to me that a car such as this would come without it. £350 to retro fit, next time I would make sure the car had it in its spec.
Command is clunky. Frankly no real point worrying about latest disks, etc. Using tHe VIN decoder on here, comandonline sorted the right bluetooth gadget, which includes an FM transmitter. Which brings me to the stereo. Which is absolute rubbish, unless the roof is up. Im am not generally concerned at sound quality, but with my wife's Audi having an singing all dancing BOSE system, and a long line of Volvo's which have outstanding systems as standard, I suspect I have gotten spoilt. The standard speaker system in the SL is inadequate even for me, particularly roof down at speed. Very expensive to upgrade so look for upgrades on the spec sheet when buying second hand.
My car is on 19" wheels, which look great, but suspect they adversely affect the ride. The body is not particularly stiff, and the front end tends to skip over bumps in corners with the roof down. Not more than a 3series convertible I had in the past, but noticeable. Having since driven an ABC suspended car, the difference is very noticeable in favour of ABC.
Around town the V6 is lovely. It is very smooth, easy to drive, acceptable fuel consumption (low to mid 20's), and plenty quick enough. Relaxing is the word my wife uses and i concur. The exhaust sound is very similar to how I remember my BMW 335i from a few years ago. Longer journey got over 30mpg, which is remarkable. However, on the open road, it lacks torque and has to be revved and worked hard. I drive sensibly (middle aged man with teenage kids) and my comment is not related to silly speeds on remote roads, but even outer lane give and take motorway traffic, where the reluctance to down shift combined with relatively low power to weight and lazy nature of the engine, means you feel you have to cane it more than you would like to keep up. Perhaps it is more that working the engine and gearbox hard is at odds with the very relaxed nature of the car and its controls generally. Its certainly quick enough on paper, but I think it lacks torque.
Having found that the roof leaked once my car was parked outside, I went to see Malcolm (Television on here) on the south coast (what a lovely man, who is an encyclopedia when it comes to these cars) and sealed the roof (as per his posting on here). No leaks any more, even in a powerwash. Malcolm very kindly took me for a spin in his SL500 with ABC, and I was surprised at how different his car felt from mine. He had smaller rims with higher profile rubber than my car, and his car rode significantly better and had less scuttle shake. The higher torque figure was very obvious. His car is a 2009 facelift, and my car a 2006 facelift, so there may be some additional improvements on his which created the big difference.
In summary, many cars (such as mine) are sold by owners who lose patients with electrical and systems failures and roof leaks, but I think these sort of forums de-risk that significantly if you know what to look for. Having spent a month sorting roof leaks, clearing drains, repairing split airpipes and getting a demo of STAR, my confidence in the car and how it actually works has grown. I think these cars offer exceptional value for money. Even at twice what I paid for my car, it would be exceptional value for money.
Would I recommend the car? Yes, wholeheartedly. The 350 lovely around town, and I highly recommend the car to anyone wanting a comfortable 2 seater convertible. It is also surprisingly economical, and I am hoping due to the lack of complex gadgets, relatively inexpensive to run. It is very easy to drive, incredibly smooth and a very refined and relaxing place to spend time.
However, for me, the 350 does not have enough accessible power, and the lack of ABC is much more noticeable than I thought it would be. The steel suspension of the 350 occasionally highlights the lack of rigidity in the body, whereas the ABC masks it (some of the issue maybe down to my 19" wheels). Having gotten more confident about the car and it systems, I would get an SL500 or even SL55 if I were buying again - the difference in acquisition cost is relatively low, and bought wisely ABC need not cost a fortune, particularly when using the resources on here - it is clear that it has real and tangible benefits to the ride and handling.
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