R231 Ownership Experiences
Discussion
Hey MB boffs,
Does anyone have any R231 ownership experiences, around running costs and similar? A lot of the info is US-centric as there doesn’t seem to be as many of these cars in the UK.
FWIW I’m considering an SL63 although similar experiences would be helpful particularly of cars a little older, e.g 2012-2014 vintage.
Thanks
Does anyone have any R231 ownership experiences, around running costs and similar? A lot of the info is US-centric as there doesn’t seem to be as many of these cars in the UK.
FWIW I’m considering an SL63 although similar experiences would be helpful particularly of cars a little older, e.g 2012-2014 vintage.
Thanks
I have a 2013 SL63 which I bought in 2019 with 8k miles. It has now done 18k so as you can see its not a daily driver, more a summer plaything which we use(d) to go touring on the continent, a task at which it excels. Hoping to get back to this now that Covid seems less of an issue.
My car is ex Mercedes Executive Fleet and is loaded up with almost every option and also has the Performance Pack which gives a bit more power but more importantly a limited slip diff.
Its been very reliable with only a couple of electrical niggles requiring attention, which I sorted myself.
One thing you need to be careful about is that early cars (2012 and some 2013) had an issue with rattling on start up owing to oil drain down. This was fixed by adding oil check valves and a twin roller timing chain. I don't have details to hand but if you Google "M157 engine rattle" you'll get affected engine numbers. A quick check is to look at the chain through the oil filler cap hole to see if its single or double but this won't tell you if the check valves are fitted.
Battery condition is crucial so keep and eye on this. Low voltage will create lots of weird errors.
Servicing at an Indie is reasonable and it will get low 30's touring. Give it some beans or round town and you will drop to low 20's.
All in all, I think its a great and often overlooked car which can tour and also be great fun on the track. See Chris Harris' Top Gear video on Youtube if you don't believe me!
I've found the best source of information is MBClub.co.uk. Their forum is excellent and members very helpful.
Russ
My car is ex Mercedes Executive Fleet and is loaded up with almost every option and also has the Performance Pack which gives a bit more power but more importantly a limited slip diff.
Its been very reliable with only a couple of electrical niggles requiring attention, which I sorted myself.
One thing you need to be careful about is that early cars (2012 and some 2013) had an issue with rattling on start up owing to oil drain down. This was fixed by adding oil check valves and a twin roller timing chain. I don't have details to hand but if you Google "M157 engine rattle" you'll get affected engine numbers. A quick check is to look at the chain through the oil filler cap hole to see if its single or double but this won't tell you if the check valves are fitted.
Battery condition is crucial so keep and eye on this. Low voltage will create lots of weird errors.
Servicing at an Indie is reasonable and it will get low 30's touring. Give it some beans or round town and you will drop to low 20's.
All in all, I think its a great and often overlooked car which can tour and also be great fun on the track. See Chris Harris' Top Gear video on Youtube if you don't believe me!
I've found the best source of information is MBClub.co.uk. Their forum is excellent and members very helpful.
Russ
RussJ said:
I have a 2013 SL63 which I bought in 2019 with 8k miles. It has now done 18k so as you can see its not a daily driver, more a summer plaything which we use(d) to go touring on the continent, a task at which it excels. Hoping to get back to this now that Covid seems less of an issue.
My car is ex Mercedes Executive Fleet and is loaded up with almost every option and also has the Performance Pack which gives a bit more power but more importantly a limited slip diff.
Its been very reliable with only a couple of electrical niggles requiring attention, which I sorted myself.
One thing you need to be careful about is that early cars (2012 and some 2013) had an issue with rattling on start up owing to oil drain down. This was fixed by adding oil check valves and a twin roller timing chain. I don't have details to hand but if you Google "M157 engine rattle" you'll get affected engine numbers. A quick check is to look at the chain through the oil filler cap hole to see if its single or double but this won't tell you if the check valves are fitted.
Battery condition is crucial so keep and eye on this. Low voltage will create lots of weird errors.
Servicing at an Indie is reasonable and it will get low 30's touring. Give it some beans or round town and you will drop to low 20's.
All in all, I think its a great and often overlooked car which can tour and also be great fun on the track. See Chris Harris' Top Gear video on Youtube if you don't believe me!
I've found the best source of information is MBClub.co.uk. Their forum is excellent and members very helpful.
Russ
Really useful. My car is ex Mercedes Executive Fleet and is loaded up with almost every option and also has the Performance Pack which gives a bit more power but more importantly a limited slip diff.
Its been very reliable with only a couple of electrical niggles requiring attention, which I sorted myself.
One thing you need to be careful about is that early cars (2012 and some 2013) had an issue with rattling on start up owing to oil drain down. This was fixed by adding oil check valves and a twin roller timing chain. I don't have details to hand but if you Google "M157 engine rattle" you'll get affected engine numbers. A quick check is to look at the chain through the oil filler cap hole to see if its single or double but this won't tell you if the check valves are fitted.
Battery condition is crucial so keep and eye on this. Low voltage will create lots of weird errors.
Servicing at an Indie is reasonable and it will get low 30's touring. Give it some beans or round town and you will drop to low 20's.
All in all, I think its a great and often overlooked car which can tour and also be great fun on the track. See Chris Harris' Top Gear video on Youtube if you don't believe me!
I've found the best source of information is MBClub.co.uk. Their forum is excellent and members very helpful.
Russ
How do you find parts availability, any issues with consumables?
I've not had any real need for spare parts but Mercedes are usually very good at maintaining supplies for older vehicles.
Anything your local Dealer hasn't got in stock can usually be obtained from the main UK warehouse overnight or from Germany in a few days.
The oily bits are shared with other Mercedes models so supply shouldn't ever be a problem and of course you could always go the non OEM route.
Russ
Anything your local Dealer hasn't got in stock can usually be obtained from the main UK warehouse overnight or from Germany in a few days.
The oily bits are shared with other Mercedes models so supply shouldn't ever be a problem and of course you could always go the non OEM route.
Russ
I owned a non-PP 2013 SL63 for a brief period. No issues really. The air intake hoses are made from a strange sort of woven material nor dissimilar to reinforced cardboard. One of mine had torn at the end nearest the engine.I think it was approx £60 to replace.
I had a bit of water ingress at the junction between the A-pillar and the folding roof, but only in torrential rain on the motorway on one or two occasions.
Standard stereo is cr-p. A bit hollow and boomy - i'd say HK is a must.
Be careful on the condition of the brake discs. They are pricey to replace and very hard, if not impossible (from my experience) to source aftermarket.
They need good tyres on the back and to be driven with awareness of road conditions. They are a very, very quick car with a mountain of torque.
I echo what was said upthread about being underestimated as a driver's car. With the latter-gen ABC they are very capable indeed. I swapped an Elise Sports Racer for mine...they were like chalk and cheese but the SL certainly didn't disgrace itself on similar B-road journeys.
I had a bit of water ingress at the junction between the A-pillar and the folding roof, but only in torrential rain on the motorway on one or two occasions.
Standard stereo is cr-p. A bit hollow and boomy - i'd say HK is a must.
Be careful on the condition of the brake discs. They are pricey to replace and very hard, if not impossible (from my experience) to source aftermarket.
They need good tyres on the back and to be driven with awareness of road conditions. They are a very, very quick car with a mountain of torque.
I echo what was said upthread about being underestimated as a driver's car. With the latter-gen ABC they are very capable indeed. I swapped an Elise Sports Racer for mine...they were like chalk and cheese but the SL certainly didn't disgrace itself on similar B-road journeys.
KPB1973 said:
I owned a non-PP 2013 SL63 for a brief period. No issues really. The air intake hoses are made from a strange sort of woven material nor dissimilar to reinforced cardboard. One of mine had torn at the end nearest the engine.I think it was approx 60 to replace.
I had a bit of water ingress at the junction between the A-pillar and the folding roof, but only in torrential rain on the motorway on one or two occasions.
Standard stereo is cr-p. A bit hollow and boomy - i'd say HK is a must.
Be careful on the condition of the brake discs. They are pricey to replace and very hard, if not impossible (from my experience) to source aftermarket.
They need good tyres on the back and to be driven with awareness of road conditions. They are a very, very quick car with a mountain of torque.
I echo what was said upthread about being underestimated as a driver's car. With the latter-gen ABC they are very capable indeed. I swapped an Elise Sports Racer for mine...they were like chalk and cheese but the SL certainly didn't disgrace itself on similar B-road journeys.
It's posts like these that are encouraging me toward a 63 rather than a regular 500. Out of interest how much was it to replace the discs?I had a bit of water ingress at the junction between the A-pillar and the folding roof, but only in torrential rain on the motorway on one or two occasions.
Standard stereo is cr-p. A bit hollow and boomy - i'd say HK is a must.
Be careful on the condition of the brake discs. They are pricey to replace and very hard, if not impossible (from my experience) to source aftermarket.
They need good tyres on the back and to be driven with awareness of road conditions. They are a very, very quick car with a mountain of torque.
I echo what was said upthread about being underestimated as a driver's car. With the latter-gen ABC they are very capable indeed. I swapped an Elise Sports Racer for mine...they were like chalk and cheese but the SL certainly didn't disgrace itself on similar B-road journeys.
Gassing Station | Mercedes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff