Advice on buying a MB SL350 or SL500 06,07 or 08 plate convertible

[Murras224]

Hi,

I'm considering buying an SL 350 or SL 500 06 or 07 plate convertible.

I have never owned a Merc before as I want to change my trusty family Toyota Verso, 238000K miles and still going, to something for myself since the kids are now grown up etc.

I have been looking between the two models of the SL 350 and SL 500 and just wanted advice on which in peoples opinion would be the better option with regards to fuel, running costs and reliability. I have test driven both models, an SL 350 3.7 and SL 500 5.5 and both seem great, with the SL 500 feeling more refined and comfortable but of the two models I am slightly concerned about the Active Body Control having problems and costly to fix on the SL 500, which was on the model I test drove, so would I be better off with the SL 350? It will be mainly used for weekend trips and leisurely drives out of town etc,

The SL 500 seems tempting but would I be wasting money on a car such as this for what I intend to use it for.

Also any advice on getting the cars checked out i.e. , bring car to MB garage for health check, MB independent inspection any contacts would be grateful and HPI check.

I have done a quick VOSA check for MoT on the car Registration which seems to check out OK but welcome any advice as this is a big purchase for me as I want to try and avoid any costly issues.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Murras224

 

[BIRMA]

A good friend of mine has just bought a 2012 SLK 350 which is the facelift model. He brought it round Friday and I have to say it is a very nice car, roomy with a good turn of speed plus £200 road tax and an average of 29 MPG over it's 16K miles.

 

[lordlee]

I'm biased but the SL500 was the one to have for me. The V8 is a lovely torquey engine and the ABC suspension makes the ride and handling so much nicer. We've been test driving possible replacements for ours and haven't come across anything that rides as well or as quietly. If you're only using it on weekends then the V8 can be bought bought with head as well as heart - it feels very special and can be bought to life by removing the secondary cats and letting the engine sing a little louder.