On 1st May this year I had a grin like a “Cheshire Cat” quite literally as I had just collected my 2004 350 SL with just 7800 from new at Christopher Jackson in Alderley Edge “Cheshire”
Earlier that morning we flew down from Glasgow arriving before Christopher had opened up and had to be back home in Ayrshire as I had a meeting the same evening.
It was a nice sunny day and I was tempted to put the roof down but as the “boss” was with me and she likes the heat I decided against it. I drove her cautiously most of the way as I wanted to monitor everything just in case but I needn’t have worried as the car drove like it was new.
Over the following days I gave the car a thorough check over with all four wheels off and the underside given a power wash, not that it was that dirty but that’s just me. It still has the original Continental tyres which were given a full check over and I’ve now done just over 2k with them but I plan to fit new tyres in the spring. I’m thinking along the lines of holding on to the original wheels & tyres and fitting a new set of wheels & tyres, ( the jury’s still out on that )
We have been lucky with the weather so most of the 2000 miles covered since purchase have been with the roof down and I have to say the comfort (warmth) has surpassed my expectations. Even on a dreich day the car is toasty warm with the hood down, even the “boss” agrees with me on this.
I have had very few issues with the car, replacing the dud alarm unit then just a few weeks back when the auto box sprung a leak I got it fully serviced and at the same time a new electric connector seal fitted. I had planned to get the gearbox serviced during the winter break as I have now placed it on SORN.
Just prior to my purchase a new MB starter battery (2018) was fitted and I note that a new auxiliary battery had been fitted in 2006 which believe it or not is still working ok but I have a Cetek charger coupled up to it to keep it conditioned. I may have to replace it soon though as I have the “Cetek traffic light connectors” coupled to both batteries for quick access and note the auxiliary battery goes to red within a short time while standing if un coupled.
I’ve also made up a spacer holding block to hold the roof in the semi open position to check and clean all the seals and drains which again are still as new.
The car has been an absolute pleasure to drive and at 15 years old it still looks and drives like new. One thing I have to watch is recently driving at night I am forgetting to dip my lights being used to the intelligent lights on the CLS.
Being me I’ve made up a portfolio of the cars history wher I even managed to get the previous owners details which were left with the car. Under new data protection this info is no longer available but In the portfolio I also have copies of all the Main Dealer services (annually) and every MOT plus full 12 month tax discs right up to 2015 when we went paperless.
The car is now SORN’d and over the coming days will be washed down and dried then tucked away under the new cover I’ve been promised as a birthday treat so maybe now I’ll get time to organise some photos on here.
My past history with cars have been predominantly Austin Rover, BL And MG Rover and Jaguar as I worked within the Main Dealer so I never thought I would move away and join the Mercedes fold, but after a very difficult time with both Jaguar and their local Main Dealer I decided to change and haven’t regretted it so far even though the MB Main Dealer has their foibles, I’ve found a very good local independent to carry out my service requirements for the SL and my 2017 CLS Shooting Brake now with 15k miles and is also a fantastic car but that’s another story.
Thank you for reading on my experience with my SL
Earlier that morning we flew down from Glasgow arriving before Christopher had opened up and had to be back home in Ayrshire as I had a meeting the same evening.
It was a nice sunny day and I was tempted to put the roof down but as the “boss” was with me and she likes the heat I decided against it. I drove her cautiously most of the way as I wanted to monitor everything just in case but I needn’t have worried as the car drove like it was new.
Over the following days I gave the car a thorough check over with all four wheels off and the underside given a power wash, not that it was that dirty but that’s just me. It still has the original Continental tyres which were given a full check over and I’ve now done just over 2k with them but I plan to fit new tyres in the spring. I’m thinking along the lines of holding on to the original wheels & tyres and fitting a new set of wheels & tyres, ( the jury’s still out on that )
We have been lucky with the weather so most of the 2000 miles covered since purchase have been with the roof down and I have to say the comfort (warmth) has surpassed my expectations. Even on a dreich day the car is toasty warm with the hood down, even the “boss” agrees with me on this.
I have had very few issues with the car, replacing the dud alarm unit then just a few weeks back when the auto box sprung a leak I got it fully serviced and at the same time a new electric connector seal fitted. I had planned to get the gearbox serviced during the winter break as I have now placed it on SORN.
Just prior to my purchase a new MB starter battery (2018) was fitted and I note that a new auxiliary battery had been fitted in 2006 which believe it or not is still working ok but I have a Cetek charger coupled up to it to keep it conditioned. I may have to replace it soon though as I have the “Cetek traffic light connectors” coupled to both batteries for quick access and note the auxiliary battery goes to red within a short time while standing if un coupled.
I’ve also made up a spacer holding block to hold the roof in the semi open position to check and clean all the seals and drains which again are still as new.
The car has been an absolute pleasure to drive and at 15 years old it still looks and drives like new. One thing I have to watch is recently driving at night I am forgetting to dip my lights being used to the intelligent lights on the CLS.
Being me I’ve made up a portfolio of the cars history wher I even managed to get the previous owners details which were left with the car. Under new data protection this info is no longer available but In the portfolio I also have copies of all the Main Dealer services (annually) and every MOT plus full 12 month tax discs right up to 2015 when we went paperless.
The car is now SORN’d and over the coming days will be washed down and dried then tucked away under the new cover I’ve been promised as a birthday treat so maybe now I’ll get time to organise some photos on here.
My past history with cars have been predominantly Austin Rover, BL And MG Rover and Jaguar as I worked within the Main Dealer so I never thought I would move away and join the Mercedes fold, but after a very difficult time with both Jaguar and their local Main Dealer I decided to change and haven’t regretted it so far even though the MB Main Dealer has their foibles, I’ve found a very good local independent to carry out my service requirements for the SL and my 2017 CLS Shooting Brake now with 15k miles and is also a fantastic car but that’s another story.
Thank you for reading on my experience with my SL
