What questions would you ask another R230 owner?

[Conor]

Any big bills would be my first question conor

Yes that is exactly it.. I am curious about SBC/ABC bills and runners up are PSE/Roof repairs.

What is the stuff that is in the boot again? There is the PSE for pneumatics such as central locking, other locks.. what is the other?

I guess a cheeky question could also be, "How much did you pay to sort the arches...". Cheeky because they could be in for a nasty surprise if they don't know what I am talking about.

 

[bembo449]

Like the matrix conor , some arent ready to be unplugged ! , a customer of mine has a 211 with SBC its done 200k with no issues at so i dont feel it can be that fragile pal

 

[Conor]

Like the matrix conor , some arent ready to be unplugged ! , a customer of mine has a 211 with SBC its done 200k with no issues at so i dont feel it can be that fragile pal

Nice one... that is great to hear. I think it might be overblown a tad. My R230 is on 78k miles so I am not terribly worried. When I have it on STAR I will check number of actuations but I am not worried.

 

[LostKiwi]

What is the stuff that is in the boot again? There is the PSE for pneumatics such as central locking, other locks.. what is the other?

There's also the roof pump and amplifier if it has Bose.

 

[00slk]

There's also the roof pump and amplifier if it has Bose.

Don't forget spare wheel, jack, wheel brace, and lots of dirt at the bottom of the.............Pool

 

[LostKiwi]

Don't forget spare wheel, jack, wheel brace, and lots of dirt at the bottom of the.............Pool

And the compressor to pump up the folding spare.

 

[McDonald]

Any big bills would be my first question conor

These are top-end luxury cars. Mine & Conor's are both 16 yrs old. There will be bills. Some people count 16 spark plugs as a big bill. Someone referred to the price of pentosin. If the price of these essentials seems daunting, you haven't just got the wrong car, you've got the wrong marque.

 

[Herr Rosa Teddy Baer]

How much water do you have in your boot?? : )

Are those Guppies ?

 

[bembo449]

These are top-end luxury cars. Mine & Conor's are both 16 yrs old. There will be bills. Some people count 16 spark plugs as a big bill. Someone referred to the price of pentosin. If the price of these essentials seems daunting, you haven't just got the wrong car, you've got the wrong marque.

Yes im aware of that pal , my CL is 18 years old but i was only responding to Conors thread , wouldnt be much fun if we didnt join in pal

 

[neeklaus]

I'm not sure I would feel the need to ask any questions as long as they're not stopped on the side of the road with the hazards on and looking sad. Just an exchange of knowing nods, ideally with roof down.

On a serious note Conor I love the idea of creating some kind of r230 info portal. I've really enjoyed learning more about my car since I've owned it. There's some cool info to be found on the design of the car via its wikipedia page, but I'm sure there's plenty of history on development, design and following press reaction that hasn't made it online. Would be great to see what else is out there!

https://web.archive.org/web/20170418083854/http://www.mercedesheritage.com/2009/05/694/

 

[McDonald]

Yes im aware of that pal , my CL is 18 years old but i was only responding to Conors thread , wouldnt be much fun if we didnt join in pal

Apologies if I sounded rude, not intended. I'm just mystified by the carping about the SL500s, which seems boundless on this forum. They are superb cars but for some reason there's a chorus of naysayers every time they're mentioned. Anyone considering buying one is given a million reasons to move on. I've never regretted buying mine. I paid top-dollar but it brings me far more joy than expense.

 

[LostKiwi]

Apologies if I sounded rude, not intended. I'm just mystified by the carping about the SL500s, which seems boundless on this forum. They are superb cars but for some reason there's a chorus of naysayers every time they're mentioned. Anyone considering buying one is given a million reasons to move on. I've never regretted buying mine. I paid top-dollar but it brings me far more joy than expense.

I tend to agree. Whilst there are undoubtedly bad ones that cost a small house to out right there are many that don't that we rarely if ever hear about.
Many of the naysayers have also never owned one - probably put off by the scare stories they perpetuate!

 

[flowrider]

Theres really only one expensive issue with the R230 and that is ABC, it's a shame this one system is all that most people mention when discussing these great cars.

 

[flowrider]

If I met the owner of the SL below I would ask where he got the wheels from.

 

[LostKiwi]

If I met the owner of the SL below I would ask where he got the wheels from.

View attachment 59345

View attachment 59346

Lorinser RS8s aka AMG Turbines.

 

[flowrider]

Lorinser RS8s aka AMG Turbines.

Thanks, the RS8 is the single piece version, the LM6 is the 2 piece version but looks like only available in 20". The RS8 comes in a 19" version. Both very nice wheels.

 

[Wighty]

Lovely cars the SL’s , I’m always looking at them on AT as a form of relaxing . I hope to own one in the next few years . On the subject of ABC (which I’ve never had) , I still think it should be mentioned in any discussion about SL’s purely because of the “possible “ costs during someone’s ownership , as should leaky boot seal or pump failure

The mentioning of it to a potential owner is no different to mentioning other models “possible” faults .

Take the M271 engine (which I have ) , it has to be mentioned that some cars have cam chain issues/failures.
Take the om642 engine (which I have) , possible turbo , swirl flap, ilps motor , clogged inlet manifolds.
Neither of which have gone wrong in my 17 years of joint ownership for more than a few quid of diy cost .

I don’t think it’s having “a go” at the lovely car that is the SL , it’s just information . If I was joining the forum and asking questions as a new to MB buyer I would be pretty cheesed off if nobody mentioned the costs of certain things going wrong .

 

[Conor]

Lovely cars the SL’s , I’m always looking at them on AT as a form of relaxing . I hope to own one in the next few years . On the subject of ABC (which I’ve never had) , I still think it should be mentioned in any discussion about SL’s purely because of the “possible “ costs during someone’s ownership , as should leaky boot seal or pump failure

The mentioning of it to a potential owner is no different to mentioning other models “possible” faults .

Take the M271 engine (which I have ) , it has to be mentioned that some cars have cam chain issues/failures.
Take the om642 engine (which I have) , possible turbo , swirl flap, ilps motor , clogged inlet manifolds.
Neither of which have gone wrong in my 17 years of joint ownership for more than a few quid of diy cost .

I don’t think it’s having “a go” at the lovely car that is the SL , it’s just information . If I was joining the forum and asking questions as a new to MB buyer I would be pretty cheesed off if nobody mentioned the costs of certain things going wrong .

@Wighty I couldn't have said it better myself!

While I don't think the problems are common, if somebody is entertaining owning one those cars, then they need to be made aware of the pitfalls and consequences (big bills) of a run of bad luck.

But by and large I would say the chances of catastrophe are lower than "the internet" says... which is why I want to survey a bunch of owners and present that data.

 

[00slk]

The r230 needs to be used, I used my 55 every day for the last 3 years and apart from my intermittent performance issue (now resolved many thanks to AMF Automotive) it has been fairly well behaved. Now that it has been unused basically since lockdown it is starting to think it is a normal r230 and throw up a few issues. Throwing paddy's as one would call it

 

[peterws1957]

These are top-end luxury cars. Mine & Conor's are both 16 yrs old. There will be bills. Some people count 16 spark plugs as a big bill. Someone referred to the price of pentosin. If the price of these essentials seems daunting, you haven't just got the wrong car, you've got the wrong marque.

Only 16 sparkers? - luxury.