So my brother in England wants to buy a used SL

[alabbasi]

So I'm a car guy. I like to work on my own cars, and over the years, I've accumulated a bunch of tools, lift, building etc here in Texas so that I can enjoy my hobby which mostly involves tinkering around old cars in various states of disrepair over the weekend. I consider it good therapy as it's pretty much the exact opposite of sitting down in front of a computer with a headset on which is mostly how I spend my work week.

My brother being the sensible type owns just one car (2005 CLK270 CDI), neither has the space, tools or inclination to work on cars, but loves to drive them.

While he was visiting with me, he took a shine to my 2005 SL55. He's now thinking of buying an SL for himself as a second car and has asked me for some advice.

My suggestion to him is to find a nice SL350 in the 2007 age range. While I'm not familiar with this model as it was never sold in the US. I think that it would be a sensible choice for the UK for the following reasons.

• M272 engine makes about as much power as the M113 5.0 V8 so it should scoot
• Being a V6, it should get decent fuel mileage compared to the V8, especially when mated to the 722.9
• While I love ABC suspension, i don't think I would be as fond if I could not work on my own cars and prefer that he does not have to deal with it

I'm familiar with the balance shaft issue and have SDS/EPC and can help identify problem engine numbers.

Some questions:

1. What's a fair price for a low mileage, low owner R230 SL350 with the M272 engine? I'm not familiar with is the how to price these cars in the UK. SL prices have fallen through the floor in the US and you can find 05-07 SL500(550) for anywhere between $5000-9000 US at auction. I checked eBay UK and the for sale were all traders ads with buy it now prices vs auctions which give you a clearer picture of value.
2. Who provides vehicle history reports in the UK? Do dealers report service history or are people still using stamped books which can easily be forged?
3. Are MB dealers willing to provide VMI's to the public?
4. Are auctions open to the public and can you get a PSI on a car?

I'm planning to visit England in the next couple of weeks and have told him that I would help him look if he's interested. I'd prefer to find a private seller vs a dealer so that I can spend some time inspecting the car so I've told him to start looking for private sellers with low mileage , low owner cars.

Your thoughts would be gratefully appreciated

 

[ToeKnee]

Shame you don't want a SL500 as mine is for sale, good luck with your hunt.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

1. You'll find a tidy 2007 SL350 on 60k with a proper history (mainly main dealer) for around £10k. Autotrader is the definitive source for these cars in the UK. You'll see cars advertised for more that haven't actually sold, that's how car advertising works. 60k is a normal mileage for a 12 year old SL. These are normally second cars and we don't do Dallas Fort Forth Metroplex mileages - folks don't drive 80 miles roundtrip to see "Avengers Endgame" over here. Specs will be a bit "pauper" on the SL350, high specs are more normal on the V8 SL500.

2. We don't do vehicle history reports over here. You'll find its MoT history online for the last nine years (since 2010), but otherwise you're relying on a stamped service book, and copies of invoices. You might be able to cajole a dealer to look up its history online, but usually they can't be ...."bothered."

3. Can't talk about VMI or PSA because I no speak-a your language.. "British Car auctions" is THE major UK car auction house, although many smaller houses exist. Their mainstream business is about shifting volume or newer cars, but some dealers do use them to get rid of stock that has been sitting around for too long.

Talking of which, I noticed the car below on a dealer forecourt about two months ago. From memory, he'd had it in stock for half a year or more (sic). The colour is a bit "Marmite" (you like it or hate it), but overall the car is typical of what you get -sitting on a mileage of 50k, don't know what the history is like. (I haven't included the details, for fear of turning this into an advert, but you can find it yourself easily). For elimination of doubt, I have no connection to the car, I'm just aware of its existence.

Retail warranties, outside of the main dealerships, are as much good as a chocolate teapot. Like strapless bras, they look good but don't give much support. Think of them as insurance against a catastrophe but they're there to provide a pension for the hardworking car and insurance salesman.

 

[clk208]

Sounds like a good choice of car for your brother. I’ve had a Dec 2007 M272 CLS for over 7 years now and aside from replacing a couple of cam sensors early on which are super cheap anyway, the car has been super reliable, a bust coil spring being the only thing to strand it.

Not sure if they did the CGI flavour in the SL, is 292 rather that 272 bhp and adds some low end grunt also. I think the engine suits the nature of the car very well and is suitably brisk for my tastes when needed.

 

[alabbasi]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'm back in Texas now, but we did take a look at an SL550 that was advertised at a dealer in West London. It was an 06 model with the M273 engine, black with black leather interior, had around 81k miles and aside from a few stone chips on the bonnet that were touched up, looked perfect and had full service history. Price was 10995 GBP which in my mind is a pretty good price for the car but unfortunately, when I pulled the data card, I was able to see that the engine # was in the range of engines that had the problematic idler gear so we passed.

For those who are not aware, the M272 / M273 engines had issues early in their production with the idler gear (and balance shaft for the M272 engine) where it would wear out prematurely and could cause the timing chain to jump time. It was fixed in later engines but the repair does require the timing cover to be removed which is probably an engine out job.

Owning a luxury car in the UK is insane. Especially in London. No parking, congestion zone, 1.33GBP/liter fuel, you're now paying 500GBP/year road tax for the luxury of driving 20mph speed zones? While I have access to a car whenever I go there, I decided to walk everywhere this time.

 

[grober]

SBC brakes till R231 model 's runout 2011*- maybe check to see if the counter has been reset?
* unlike the W211 where they were removed post facelift in 2006

 

[alabbasi]

SBC brakes ?

I'm not so bothered about SBC as re builders are starting to show up and I got a letter in the mail regarding my SL55 from MBUSA indicating that there was a class action law suite that was settled recently extending the warranty on the braking system several years. My S55 now has 156k miles and I've not had any issues.

 

[grober]

US class action will not apply in UK afaik. Not a deal breaker I know but just something else to be aware of on a higher mileage car

 

[alabbasi]

You may be right. Here they extended the warranty to 25 years an unlimited miles.

 

[Merc220cls]

I’ve just purchased a real peach, it’s a 2004 350 SL which has done just 8,000 miles since new.
It has full Main Dealer service history ever year plus 13 clear MOT passes.
I paid a tad under 15k for the car and I think it was well worth it. It’s like a new car both inside and out.
I was told the colour was Tellar Silver but I think that should have been Tellurite Silver. It has a soft blue tinge to the silver.
With the lovely weather we’ve had this week the CLS Shooting Brake has been parked up as we’ve been enjoying the SL with the top down.

 

[Will]

Sounds like a great buy!

Happy motoring

 

[alabbasi]

Interesting, brother started switching gears and is leaning towards a shooting brake.

 

[Codger49]

I’ve just purchased a real peach, it’s a 2004 350 SL which has done just 8,000 miles since new.
It has full Main Dealer service history ever year plus 13 clear MOT passes.
I paid a tad under 15k for the car and I think it was well worth it. It’s like a new car both inside and out.
I was told the colour was Tellar Silver but I think that should have been Tellurite Silver. It has a soft blue tinge to the silver.
With the lovely weather we’ve had this week the CLS Shooting Brake has been parked up as we’ve been enjoying the SL with the top down.

My CLK500 is Tellurium Silver, code 762.

It was used on SLs from 2003 to 2008, although called Diamond Silver in 2003, and on CLKs and SLKs from 2005 to 2008.

 

[Merc220cls]

My CLK500 is Tellurium Silver, code 762.

It was used on SLs from 2003 to 2008, although called Diamond Silver in 2003, and on CLKs and SLKs from 2005 to 2008.

Thanks for that, I’ve just checked the data sheet and up on the right hand corner item 31 which I assume is colour is the number 762