1999 Mercedes-Benz Sl-Class Consumer Reviews
Most Helpful Reviews
Positive Review
Power ? eats vettes all day long. Everything in this car is power and for an original sticker price of 92 grand I expect no less. Put the top down with a touch of a button and the roll bar up and the heads never stop turning, what a great feeling at least in Florida to drive along the coast in a MERC drop top. Very expensive to repair and maintain but it's a Mercedes and you get what you pay for. Oil changes are very expensive but I do them myself for around 100 bucks for oil and filter. 0w-40 Euro formula is what you should use. Gas mileage is not great, around 15 MPG average. CD player is garbage and should be replaced with an aftermarket. Brakes are expensive as well but very easy to do yourself. other then the few odds and ends as any other car it is a real pleasure to drive and the top speed is incredible with no limiters :) the engine is bullet proof just keep up with maintenance and oil changes. You will not be sorry to own this car but do yourself a favor and find a good one with low miles and no problems. Always check the convertible for leaks as it is a hydraulic system. keep your battery up to date as it powers everything even when the car is off and if it goes dead or you disconnect it , you will need the radio code, just a tip for everyone, Mercedes dealers have to give you a new code if you don't know it or lose it for free as long as you own the car, even if you just purchased it second hand. Al free of charge and it only takes a few minutes.
VS
Critical Review
Spent $95k. Beautiful car, very nice ride! Temperature control LCD flakes out, had it replaced, flakes out again but now off warranty. Built-in garage door opener has no range (practically have to ram the door to get close enough). CD changer stopped working. If you pull into a parking spot too far, the plastic bumper literally rips apart as you scrape away from the curb (plastic insterts pop out too, so you leave parts of the car behind). Console lights burn out so you can't see portions of the display at night. Had issues with the brakes that Mercedes couldn't/wouldn't fix, ultimately had to go to independent shop and they fixed brakes right away. Received a Recall Notice from Mercedes regarding the Timing Belt being bad, took it to the Mercedes shop and they said mine wasn't one of the bad belts so there's nothing they can do (even though I described that the motor runs really rough at times, which is the described symptom of a belt going bad, Mercedes said for a fee they would fix the problem but not as part of the Recall). What started out as a great ride has turned into a major waste of $$. All of these cheap annoyances ruins the experience of owning a Mercedes. If you must own one, buy used for less than $20k, and plan on spending a lot more than that on maintenance.
1999 SL-Class Reviews
Showing 8 of 169 reviews.
Lots of fun to drive.
Car is in really good shape and runs like a champ. Car has been stored inside during winters, has never seen snow.
Fun to drive
Strictly a two seater
Very nice sports car. good handling in on the twisting roads paint quite nice. The removable roof works quite nicely
fun to drive great power awesome roadster
as comfortable as any roadster i've owned
no market for high-end performance cars = unbelievable value for the dollar typical MB w/ advanced design features a decade before its time vintage yet many miles remaining w commitment to essential maintenance an experience that costs many times what this car is available for
fun to drive great power awesome roadster
as comfortable as any roadster i've owned
no market for high-end performance cars = unbelievable value for the dollar typical MB w/ advanced design features a decade before its time vintage yet many miles remaining w commitment to essential maintenance an experience that costs many times what this car is available for
SUV great ride, reliable auto, garaged
Strong, smooth, quiet Grand Touring German convert
Maintain it; preferable to fixing @ big$
Red over tan. Turns heads. Powerful! Quiet with either top. Parts are available, but if OEM can be costly. Technically advanced but complex. Dealer repairs costly but good independent shops are available. Values are depressed because of many available but costly to fix. 2002 last of the "boxy" look and with lift-off hardtop. Should be in the $20-30K range!
Excellent MPG's - Great design - Powerful Engine
The 97 SL 500 is great for a daily. I avg 20 mpg in LA traffic and highway. This is way better than I thought I'd get. One thing I want to mention: Do NOT get a transmission FLUSH if you get the service. My mechanic did a flush accidentally and ruined my tranny within 4k miles. It skips and it'll cost $2k to fix. Heads up on this! It's not the car's fault so I won't hold it against her. Overall, I love my SL. It's so much fun to drive and everyone always comments on how nice it is, especially when I'm in the convertible mode.
absolutely perfect car. too much car for the money you pay
