SL55 or should i jump ship and get a 996 turbo

[st4]

no it will not, if the road is wet and greasy with leaves on it in the autumn you do need handling like that on the public road if you do not want to drive at 20mph all the time and please stop implying that i am driving recklessly on the public road

I would suggest not, as you know it will squeal on you to big brother....

 

[bigyin1]

neither, go for a slightly older 911 RS, will be much more fun to drive (if marginally slower) will retain its value much better and looks superb.

with the rack of (potentially) expensive fixes on current cars even more so on the 996tt and 55k i'd be very tempted by a classic style porsche. However it does depend on what you're going to use it for?...

 

[barrieeld]

both of these cars suggested would be used as an everyday all weather vehicle.

Reliability would be paramount also.

 

[Alfie]

both of these cars suggested would be used as an everyday all weather vehicle.

Reliability would be paramount also.

Then it has to be the SL55. It will be a lot more reliable and cost a lot less to repair/service if needed.

The SL55 would be worth it for me just for the engine noise alone.........

 

[recycled]

Then it has to be the SL55. It will be a lot more reliable and cost a lot less to repair/service if needed.

The SL55 would be worth it for me just for the engine noise alone.........

No chance it would be all be more reliable. and it would not cost less to fix either.
you cannot say that with 100% certainty,
my service costs about £400 for minor and £500 for major.
the turbo adds about £300 to the major service but the same for the minor

 

[Alfie]

No chance it would be all be more reliable. and it would not cost less to fix either.
you cannot say that with 100% certainty,

Not with 100% certainty no but Porsche labour rates and parts costs are amongst the most expensive in the business with little or no chance of discounts.

The Mercedes V8 engine is one of the most reliable out there. I'm not saying the Porsche would be unreliable, it probably wouldnt be but I would bet, and will look up, that the Mercedes would be more reliable.

Both are very nice cars and a lot of fun.

 

[recycled]

Not with 100% certainty no but Porsche labour rates and parts costs are amongst the most expensive in the business with little or no chance of discounts.

The Mercedes V8 engine is one of the most reliable out there. I'm not saying the Porsche would be unreliable, it probably wouldnt be but I would bet, and will look up, that the Mercedes would be more reliable.

Both are very nice cars and a lot of fun.

I have no concern about the merc V8. it is the rest of the car i am scared of. Electrics, sensors, trims, brakes and that auto gearbox

 

[stats007]

No reason to be scared, the faults are usually fixed with TSBs and recalls. Early cars had some issues with SBC and the leaking roof but nothing that would keep you awake at night. I'd be more confident with the SL55 that a 996. I had three common faults with my C4 (header tank, lower wishbones and rust on door locks) that are applicable to the TT and none of them were covered by the OPC warranty which has now rocketed in price. I had a brake master cylinder, aircon evaporator and lambda sensor fail as well but they were covered thankfully.

 

[gIzzE]

I heard a figure of £17K for a 730d from my pal. He told me it was on broadspeed but I went looking and couldn't find it. Are these closed auctions ex dealer cars that can't be sold? £14k for an ML280cdi, I really would have a 4x4 again at that price...

The closed auctions are BMW auctions, or any manufacturer for that matter, and only available to buyers from franchised dealers.

I am sure if they were open to everyone the prices achieved would be higher these days, which didn't used to be the case.

Dealer don't want stock, hence the silly prices things are changing hands for.

I guess they are only paying £14k as they know it will be marked up at £199950 and may not sell for 3 or 4 months, still loosing £800 a month means it could be down to £17950 in 4 months with the customer haggling another £1000-2000 off, so £16k less any prep work and less the VAT on the difference is only £1500 profit.

Gone of the days of buying them and selling them quick for top dollar.

 

[Adam230K]

no it will not, if the road is wet and greasy with leaves on it in the autumn you do need handling like that on the public road if you do not want to drive at 20mph all the time and please stop implying that i am driving recklessly on the public road

I'm not implying your driving recklessley on a public road, but if you took it that way then you have yourself to blame for feeling like that. I just hate it in general (usually M3 drivers say it too) when people commend handling even though its almost never needed on public roads.

Usually when u are next to a similar powered car at the lights and u have a bit of a nice clear straight, the car that comes off looking 'better' is the one that picks up quicker in a straight line, not the one that goes round the bends at high speeds. (I know i shouldn't say this, but there is some truth in it!)

If you're talking about wet conditions etc, u will notice that nearly every merc has traction control and other necessary measure to keep its driver safe (just like the porsche must have) .

Not a good reason to buy the porsche over the merc still.

 

[recycled]

I rather have 4wd with my traction control which the porsche has and the merc does not.
I have not had any issuse with my C4 except brake discs and pads and tyres some due to excessive track days.
Nothing mechanical and certainly no engine problems

I have not had an SL amg but my experience of merc in the early 00's has been dreadful to say the least e.g a roof closing 3/4 s in the air and refusing to go further hanging mid air.
Surface rust and corroded wheels plus numerous gearbox faults.
I take my porsche any day mate

 

[gIzzE]

I'm not implying your driving recklessley on a public road, but if you took it that way then you have yourself to blame for feeling like that. I just hate it in general (usually M3 drivers say it too) when people commend handling even though its almost never needed on public roads.

Usually when u are next to a similar powered car at the lights and u have a bit of a nice clear straight, the car that comes off looking 'better' is the one that picks up quicker in a straight line, not the one that goes round the bends at high speeds. (I know i shouldn't say this, but there is some truth in it!)

If you're talking about wet conditions etc, u will notice that nearly every merc has traction control and other necessary measure to keep its driver safe (just like the porsche must have) .

Not a good reason to buy the porsche over the merc still.

I'm afraid you are completely missing the point of why people buy and M3, 911, Evo, Scooby or even the new RS4, etc. etc.
It is not about pushing your car to the limit, it is the pure pleasure that you can get from a nice balanced chassis without having to take it to the limit, in fact it is the opposite, to get a thrill from an E55, SL55, CLS55 etc. you do need to be going at speeds that are stupid on UK roads, because trying to get a buzz from it any other way just isn't going to happen, that is not what they are designed for.

You need to own one of these for quite a while to get it, at first they don't make sense, I almost regretted going for the M3 CSL over a CLS55 for the first month, and then it clicks what they are about, it is not about outright speed, it is so much more than that.

 

[timskemp]

Then it has to be the SL55. It will be a lot more reliable and cost a lot less to repair/service if needed.

The SL55 would be worth it for me just for the engine noise alone.........

Ahh yes the noise. I'd expect though that body repair after an accident is likely to be more expensive for the SL - that roof mechanism is said to be interesting to realign.

 

[stats007]

There aren't any more 996 shells left, so on that front you're in a bit of bother.

 

[Howard]

Recycled ... you crack me up ( in a good way ) .....

Of course you are going to extoll the virtues of a Porker over all else , you own one !!! Likewise the merc owners are going to recommend the 55 ....

What i find strange is that you've had no problems with your Porsche , and yet the general concensus is that they are as problem prone as just about every other car out there ( including the MB ) ... Stats even kindly gave us a list of common problems ( including personal experience from his own Porsche ownership ) ...

 

[Adam230K]

I'm afraid you are completely missing the point of why people buy and M3, 911, Evo, Scooby or even the new RS4, etc. etc.
It is not about pushing your car to the limit, it is the pure pleasure that you can get from a nice balanced chassis without having to take it to the limit, in fact it is the opposite, to get a thrill from an E55, SL55, CLS55 etc. you do need to be going at speeds that are stupid on UK roads, because trying to get a buzz from it any other way just isn't going to happen, that is not what they are designed for.

You need to own one of these for quite a while to get it, at first they don't make sense, I almost regretted going for the M3 CSL over a CLS55 for the first month, and then it clicks what they are about, it is not about outright speed, it is so much more than that.

Thats why i said in the beginning of the thread "it depends on what type of driver you are". I personally like to drive in comfort the majority of the time (which is why i would not take an M3 CSL over a CLS55 as a daily driver), but i do get an occassional craving to drive a really 'raw' car.

Which is why when my financials allow it, i'll have a nice comfy car as a daily runner, and a weekend car thats just simply right-down filth, ie. Atom/Skyline/Porsche GT3/evo/subaru/Silvia/nsx/tvr for sheer driving enjoyment!

 

[recycled]

Recycled ... you crack me up ( in a good way ) .....

Of course you are going to extoll the virtues of a Porker over all else , you own one !!! Likewise the merc owners are going to recommend the 55 ....

What i find strange is that you've had no problems with your Porsche , and yet the general concensus is that they are as problem prone as just about every other car out there ( including the MB ) ... Stats even kindly gave us a list of common problems ( including personal experience from his own Porsche ownership ) ...

of course i have had a few problems or loads of them actually , but the driving kind of makes you forget them if you know what i mean. and it would not help my case if i state them here now would it?
No engine problems though

 

[barrieeld]

of course i have had a few problems or loads of them actually , but the driving kind of makes you forget them if you know what i mean. and it would not help my case if i state them here now would it?
No engine problems though

hhahaha i love !!! nothing better than being bias!

so you would trade your c4s for an sl55 then?

 

[JasM]

Go for the SL55, you can't resist that V8!!

 

[jeremytaylor]

What i find strange is that you've had no problems with your Porsche , and yet the general concensus is that they are as problem prone as just about every other car out there ...

The front suspension on my 996 would start to groan and creak after about an hours driving. Franchised dealer denied there was a known problem with the drop links (which there is - the problem is replacement doesn't necessarily stop the noise). Dealers, eh ... ?