Guys,
I am in the very early stages of considering a change from my beloved 996TT. I have had the car for just over six years and have loved it. I rode in a SL500 the other day and could not get over how comfortable the car was. I would certainly want the power of the blown 55 as I hear they can be turned up to be fairly quick themselves. I know it is no where near the setup of my car for handling but the stiff ride of my car is one area where I could stand more comfort. I know it is not as good a all around performance car BUT. What I want to know is do any of you have experience with both cars or are there any negative things about the SL55 that I should know about. Looking to trade close to even 40-47K. If modded are they reliable. Is the handling decent. It seems they have been crushed in price and looks like a very nice car for 1/3 of the sticker price. I do think my turbo is close to bottoming out on price and would suspect the benz to depreciate a bit more. Any thoughts?

 

Mercs lost reliability since the Chrysler years...since 2006 reliability has increased quite a bit.

 

You have your years wrong on the xx55. The 03 - 05 xx55 are very reliable. I have an E55 and it is an amazing car. Hand built engine. Loads more torque that the TT. Instant power.

Can't comment on the SL, but love the E.

 

I've got a friend with an SL-55 (2005). Had it since brand new, and he still loves it. No issues with it. Such a nice smooth, fast car.

Im not a huge Porsche fan, like most, I defintly appreciate the Porsches and their abilities to perform. But their comfort for me are a big down side (ESPECIALLY if you are using it as a daily driver). Now, depending on your age and what you want out of a car. I think the SL is one of the best cars out there

 

Thanks for the input so far. My car is what would be considered around stage 4 so torque should not be much different. I do think blowers are more instant but car does weigh much less and and probably closer to 550-575 torque at crank. Some lag yes but not much. Regardless I appreciate all the responses and don't expect the merc to be quite as quick. I think my car runs around 11.7 or so as I ran a 11.9 with almost 100 less hp awhile back. Mainly trying to see if owners of 55amg feel like it is a sporty car and not just a cush luxo with hella speed.

 

I have heard that the ABC system is prone to having problems and is expensive to fix. This is something you may want to research. Also may want to get a warranty. There are a lot of gadgets on that car. Anyway not hating on it. I actually went through the same delema when I was looking to buy. The SL55 is one of my favorite cars.

 

I looked at SL55's and 996TT's when purchasing my most recent toy and went with the 996TT. I truly loved the sl55 but it was too similar to my clk55. Now if you are looking for something different than your 996 I think the sl is a great options. They are super comfortable can be tuned to be very quick and if the 55 isn't enough there is always the sl65 (not the bs) with the bi-turbo v-12 and you will lose zero in perfomranc (straight line) from your 996...I have seen tuned sl65's put out 700+ hp. If you want a luxurious fast car the SL's are the way to go. As mentioned ABC can be a problem so ppi for sure best if you could get a starmark certified car for some extra warranty.

 

My uncle has an 03 SL55. My impression was that the car is geared way too high. I'm sure more torque will help it feel faster. Besides modding it for more power, I think I would look into changing the rear end ratio to something a bit more performance friendly. Not sure if that is even an available option.

A very nice example is in the 30-40K range these days. SL65s are in the 60s.

 

+1 on SL65.

 

yea, go with the sl65.....738ft lbs, what is NOT to like about that...lol.......its a beast........

 

I just sold my sl55 to a buddy of mine. Its a great cruising car; has ton's of power and fairly fast. The ability to rip the top off with the touch of a button is a cool feature and the interior is a bit more refined than the Porsche. Really didn't have any problems with it other than the common faulty IC pump which is a relatively cheap fix.

If you compare in terms of performance, there is no comparison. I've ran against the sl55 several times in my TT and walked away from it each time as if it were stopped. After driving my TT I honestly don't miss it one bit.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I have done some research at another benz forum and the ABC seems common and expensive, IC pump and other minor electrical issues. The more I read the more I realize just how reliable and mod friendly the 996tt really is. Mine is very well sorted out and while not as fast as many on here it is certainly not slow. Any other cars that anyone would suggest that meets similar comfort and power levels? M5, M6?

 

'tis why I ended up with both 996TT and SL65

 

A good friend of mine has a 2006 M6 and we did ride swaps a couple months back with my 996TT. Although the M6 was decently fast and rode very comfortably, it felt like a really large car to me and didn't have reflexes anything near the order of a 996TT. I also didn't feel that it was really fast, but in fairness I think this is more the way the powerband felt than the actual speed of the car itself. The seats are incredible, and the luxury features overwhelmed me. It's certainly a really nice car, but I just feel it's so different from the 996TT that it's harder to make a comparison. I couldn't help but feel if I sold my 996TT to have a car like that, I'd probably miss the 996TT often. Just my thoughts, and good luck to you.

 

i owed one before here in south fl...the service was terrible at Mercedes of fort lauderdale. Liked the car anyway.