I actually think it's more striking now than when it was unleashed 16 odd years ago.... some car designs are timeless, they simply don't age....very very rare but sometimes the designers just nail it ! The R230 SL500 is a piece of art, shame they totally f@cked up the front of the newer SL's from 2011'ish on, in 10 years time the newer SL's (basically a hashed up R230) will look like any other high end aggressive looking car around today. The front of the original R230 SL500 you have there now elegantly stands out from a very boring generic batch of £100,000 big front grill aggressive clones..... Audi's, Mercedes, Lambo's, Bmw etc, I'm sure they've all been using the same designer the last 8 or 9 years :))
I just bought a 2007 SL550. Years ago I had a ‘99 CLK430 and last week I decided I was finally ready for another Mercedes after owning Kia, Toyota and Chrysler. I have to say I did not fathom how beautiful and complex this car was until I actually bought it. I got it and have been so intimidated by it that I have come back to you tube to find other owners like you just talking about theirs. An overview, the ups and down, but mostly how they use the ABC suspension, adding Bluetooth to the head module for iPhone, when and how much they drive it. Those things. More so than with my CLK years ago I feel like I have joined a special fraternity. Owners of a modern classic. My respect for it. I hear it in your voice too, Rich. So thank you for the great video, brother. Cheers from Texas, USA.
The ABC system should not be intimidating ....... Hydraulics systems have been around forever, pretty basic and do not require advanced mechanical ability to work on. All in all the R230 SL500 is a very reliable car if the basic service requirements are carried out.
@@murraycarton3792 Agreed! Things have changed in the 4 months since I wrote this. Now I wonder why others sweat it so much. Mine is in top top condition and the weather here is perfect right now for top down 24/7. Cheers.
@@grxengine6188 When doing regular servicing please do not overlook the SBC brake system. Flush with new brake fluid every 18 months ; at least. This will ensure max life of all rubber components
I have an 07 too as a second car but am thinking of trading up to a 16 or 17 as an only car. My wife has a C class so I can get by with owning a 2 seater as my only car. ... just have to find the right deal and be ready to pony up the extra dough 😳😳. But I’d really like the blind spot monitor and upgraded GPS - not to mention the twin turbo V-8!
I just purchased a 2006 SL 55 AMG and found your review very informative. The dealer had to replace two leaking struts and will sort the roof out in the spring. I'm in Canada so she is tucked away for the winter with her trickle charger connected. Thanks for the great detailed review.
Absolutely brilliant video - very informative. Thank you. I own a ‘94 4.0 Jag XJS - very simple but absolutely brilliant. I have felt like a chance to an R129 but then thought of this generation. Your comments are extremely helpful. Good work!
Thanks for the kind words. I too looked at the R129 along with the R230. It just felt like I’d missed the boat with buying the R129, as the pristine cars had appreciated above my budget and they just felt a little too dated inside, hence why I went with the R230. And I have say, 4 years on, I still don’t tire of driving this car. It can really test your patience at times, but I have to say, it’s a fabulous car 👌
Yes I have a 2002 SL 500. Let me tell you a story. I was in Florida on the patio in a restaurant. I had the latest Mustang Ragtop, absolutely beutiful, my girlfriend with me absolutely beutiful. Then a silver SL500 drives up and parks, oh he was a bit younger than me, nice girlfriend but the car... I had been upstaged... I knew it and never forgot it. Big enthusiast of MB, I use a Classe E for day to day, indestructable, cheap to run it i called Rommel. They are doing everything to outlaw Diesel so I decfded to get a Petrolhead. SL500. I got one in Black. I call it Tyson. Absolute luxury, women love it, when you push the button and the hood unfolds like a piece of art their eyes roll. You can drive it slow they will look at their image in the reflection on the shop windows. Recent girlfriend had a boyfriend with an aston martin, she said the Merce'des was just SO better. However, the Active Body Control is a dream when it works, 1500 euros a strut when it dosnt 3000+ when the central control gets upset.
Hi there, very honest viewing there mate, thank you for that. Next week i pick up my very first sl500 (2003), with only 34k miles driven , I’d like to keep you updated if that’s ok ?
I have a 07 r230 350 v6 ,same colour as yours ,I’ve had it 5 years now ,and love it it’s more than faster enough for me , I updated the head unit last year far better now ,only use it weekends most of the times apart from normal wear and tear not really cost me stupid monies only thing I wish I had is a garage to put it in ,but got a half cover which works fine,I’ve never had that leak problem In the boot ,if you have it’s the seal on back windscreen needs looking at ,which you can do ya self look on the Mercedes forums Uk and it will show you how to do it ,I’m glad I ain’t got abc that’s the main cost on these cars ,road tax is expensive £500 a year at the mo ,but I love this car
That’s the benefit of buying a pre-06 car because road tax is only around a half of the cost. But I do have the ABC which works wonderfully but is such an unreliable and expensive system to maintain. It’s certainly one of the benefits of buying the SL350 (not having it). But I just had to have the V8, stupid old me!!!!
To be honest with you I’ always wanted a r230 ,just because of the look of the car the shape never looks old to me so when I had enough monies to buy one I didn’t really to bothered which one I got at the time , first one I was going to buy was a sl55 but someone just beat me to it ,next one was a 500 but not enough Service history so this one I got was the third one from a guy who sells sports and prestige cars and it was spot on ,full service history full mot and full service ,before I picked it up he rang me to say they had found a small leak in the boot and I couldn’t have it till they fixed it ,I was quite impressed with this as he could have said nowt about it,anyway in the end he sent it to a dealership and had a new seal fitted,which I thought was fantastic service ,cars been spot on since ,was that impressed I brought another car off him for the wife ,I do try do a few things my self on the car ,but I have a really good Merc indie by me ,half the price of Merc ,was thinking of changing it to a r231 but change me mind don’t quite like the shape of the front plus’s the mrs said she will kill me if I do lol ,I’ve just ordered a aftermarket grill for it,just to bring it bit more up to date ,I’ve prob used it more than I thought I would as we’ve not really had that many bad winters like we used to get ,hope I never have to sell it but if I do at least I can say I had one of the most beautiful cars ever made
@@kevinjackson6387 I think you’ve hit a very important point - Service history is critical to these cars. Fully receipted, robust service history will limit the risk you carry with buying an expensive (when new) Grand Tourer. Enjoy 👍🏻
Thanks for the comment. To answer your question I don’t think anything can be done to prevent water ingress into the boot. I just think it’s a really poor design
Apparently, charging the rear battery on the R230 does not trickle charge the starter battery located at the front. Two separate trickle chargers battery conditioners are needed - one for the front and another for the rear.
Hi, that’s not my understanding. I’ve only ever connected my CTEK to the consumer battery (in the boot/trunk) during 5 winters and never had an issue with the starter battery. This is what my MB Indie garage advised 👍🏻
@@FastandFun From what I understand, the starter battery is only used for starting the engine and the electronic brakes. Nothing else consumes the power from the STARTER battery. This is the reason why it can sit so long (months) without the need to be sat on a trickle charger. I own an SL55 which I have owned since 2008 - 14 years! I have two C-Tek type chargers which are each constantly connected to the two batteries. The rear consumer (which should be type AGM) battery, which powers everything else, tends to need charging if the car is not driven for about 3 weeks. Even when the car goes to sleep, the various electronic components are still consuming - hence the need for two batteries (to make sure the car will start even if the rear battery goes flat. The SL55 has a split charging system (regulator) which charges the front and rear batteries differently. The front battery is a lead acid battery, while the rear battery is an AGM battery which is capable of deep discharge then recovery. The AGM battery is charged differently to a led acid battery. I have come to find out that Mercedes Benz dealers no longer sell the AGM battery for the SL55, they sell you a standard lead-acid for the rear. However, you will find that SL55 owners who are enthusiasts will replace the rear battery with a VARTA type 096 AGM battery. The reason why the R230 Mercedes were fitted with the AGM battery from the factory was because they knew that these cars were not going to be used regularly - especially during the winter, so AGM batteries were fitted (and an AGM charging system to match) as lead-acid batteries loose their charging capacity each time they discharge deeply. It could mean that each time the lead acid battery goes flat, it's life span is steadily reduced. Just saying.
@@avinstallations thanks for all the info. Greatly appreciated. By sharing our understanding and experiences we’ll become better owners of these great cars. I fully support the use of AGM battery in the boot (truck) and I’d suggest connecting to a CTEK (which has an AGM charging function) for any periods of non-use of more than a week.
I believe the wider 285s on the rear were part of the sports package,also i think your side and bonnet vents are not totally original as the fins should be the same color as the body instead of chrome.but its still a beautiful car.
I wasn’t aware that there was a sport package. Thanks for the info and I’ll see if I can find any further info out on it 👍🏻 not sure you’re right about the side/bonnet vents - all that I’ve seen are chrome!
The standard wheels and tyres are 17' and 245 section. The Avior staggered 18" wheels on your car were options. My 2004 SL500 has 19" wheels. There was also an expensive AMG bodykit option fitted at the factory which matches the bodywork of the SL55, my SL has this option. The chrome on the front wings and bonnet vents are 100% aftermarket. My car has no boot discolouration on the carpets so not every SL suffers this as long as the rubber boot seals are not leaking. ABC struts can now be bought for a little under £400 which I think is much more reasonable.
I think they’re both very different cars (R107 & 230). Not sure I’d call the most technically advanced car in the world (back in 2002) a plastic car, but we all see different views .....
@@FastandFun have you ever been in an R107, have you seen an R107 bumpers , switches, the metal around the windows the hard top, if you touch the switch which turns the lights on, you touch the side door compartment, that noise was so horrible, in General i am talking about materials not technological, the bumpers of that car are plastic, and the price of an R107 is much higher today in an exellent condition
@@frankiegregoriou2271 there is no doubting the build quality of the R107, but the R230 is a beautiful cabin also. If you are talking price, then of course there is the “bathtub” curve, as seen across all cars, which bottoms out normally after 15-20 years. R107 prices were rock bottom c. +5 years ago but good ones are now climbing strongly whereas the R230 is (I would predict) at the bottom. However, R230 prices will soon start to climb, as the R107 have done, like the W113 did before that!
