Used 1997 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Consumer Reviews

AS GOOD AS IT GETS!

Had this for a year. After investing for minor items [about $3,000] it is a new car. The lines are timeless. Great performance at any speed. Rides like a magic carpet. This is one great vehicle. No regrets.

6 month toy

The looks this car gets are off the charts, but they come at a hefty price. I only drive my SL500 6 months a year. Therein lies the problem; already expensive cost of ownership, exacerbated by spreading the costs over only six months. That said, I still keep it, and wait for the spring to bring nice weather. The thrill of hitting the accelerator on this 300+ HP beast is beyond compare. Driving with the top down on a nice day is one of the finest auto experiences around. Then, pulling into valet parking of a crowded cafe or club is bound to stroke the ego of any redblooded American male.

My SL320

This is my 5th Mercedes. Have had an older 230SL, 2 diesels and my most recent large sedan 300SE. Have sold my 300SE and Miata convertible and combined the features of both in SL320. This car is fun to drive, very comfortable and quick (even though it is only a large 6 cylinder). I got the SL320 because it had the same engine as my 300SE.

Love my buggy

This is my 1st SL and I am having fun, Purchased it to be a weekend toy but find myself driving it more and more. i have had no maintenance issues and she is 19 years old.....finger crossed. Everything is expensive on this car so when it breaks I am mentally prepared to deal with that. All in all...just a great and fun car!

jjeworley33

A delight to drive. Power plus with plenty to spare. Smooth shifting auto transmission. Superb sound system with cd pack etc. A sports car with out the outlandish looks of other sports cars. Has more than enough excelleration at any speed. Holds the road with trenesous control at all speeds. Even the wife loves to drive it over her Town Car.

The Best

I totally enjoy driving this car. It handles like a dream. Any questions the dealer has taken care of promptly. A better "fun" car you will not find.

A True German Classic Roadster...

I came across my SL320 after the hurricanes took out my Mercedes ML with a 32 yr old oak tree. I can't say enough good things about this car. The car demands attention, a true head turner. I usually only put about 5k miles per year as a leisure car. This car is a blast, I leave my BMW at home and have racked on the miles-12k. I haved the hardtop stored, and the storage compartments behind the seats accomidate my briefcase. The best feeling to crank the A/C to 60 and drop the top, turn up the Bose system and let my cares fly off with the wind in my hair. Handling is surperb. Power is very impressive, and am thankful I got the 320 over the 500 and 600-with gas at 3bucks+, & lower insurance

1st Mercedes SL

This car is fun to drive. Lately it is winning out over the Harley. The looks that you get, and the enjoyment of driving it makes it one of the best cars I've owned.

Beautiful Car, Ugly Payment

I've loved this car; it's my sixth pre- owned Mercedes. It's red and gets a lot of attention; it has been reliable and fun. I bought a 1991 Mercedes station wagon for the dogs to ride in; I'm picky about my baby! It flies and is beautiful inside and out. I'm cautious about parking it -- it gets door dings and scratches and white paint, so it's touched up once or twice a year. People apparently are jealous and vandalize it.

Love It

This is my second Mercedes but first SL. I purposefully purchased the 320 over the 500 and consider I made an excellent choice. This car has performed far above expectations.

Suprised by Reliability

I have owned 3 other MB's, 2 New and 1 used. This 500 SL was puchased from a reliable dealer. (non-factory) I have always had good success with MB but this older, two owner SL has surprised me with its reliability. All systems have performed flawlessly. Many reviews have spoken disparagingly about this series of SL so I had some concerns about its longevity. So far it has been perfect after 18 months of ownership. The performance is exhiliarating but my best surprise is my fuel mileage. In the city I get a consistent 22MPG while on the road it is 26MPG or better. This model year (1996) or perhaps the care given by its previous owners had provided me a car that's a joy to drive.

what would you expect

We all know the mystique behind the name Mercedes and its the same mystique that porsche and bmw and now the audi's have. Engine power and design and the blue print of a car that is/was ahead of its time. My SL is what it was when it was 100,000 of the showroom floor, an engineering marvel. Just as the porsche's I have owned. If you spent $100,000 on an American made car in the mid 90's the only ones that would be worth a damn today would be the ones never or rarely driven. German or Japanese and you cannot go wrong. Stay away from the audis however, they havent figured out the turbo debacle yet

Awesome car!

I've driven several of these cars and just bought one. They are extremely powerful and smooth driving. I also drove the Lexus SC400 and SC430, the Porsche Boxter and 911 and several others. They're all fun, but for my money the SL500 is tops. Driving with the convertible top down and the Bose stereo up is quite an experience. Try it!

over achiever, what's missing ? Love it

Well i guess ive owned every brand . I bought it for my wife but i cannot get out of it . I was stunned how a 1996 could have things new cars don't. How solid how it eats up the miles . And the attemtion it gets . Think back what was on the road in 1996 ! A chevy or ford or you pick . Nothing comes close in looks. I tead spec, on it no.huge hp numbers . But it pulls and pulls always has power available , a quiet smooth car or push it ot becomes an angry car like an animal kept caged and let free . It never gives you the feeling your over your head driving it . Why did i wait so long ,driving pony domestic cars ?? Now since review added 6000 miles . Replaced the oridginal top window was shot . Took it on day trips we both enjoyed it . It continues to get attention and comments . I have done any work on it myself . It truly is hard to find anyone to work on even simple things ? They German cars have such a reputation for being hard to work on . I think it's because there way ahead of other cars. Think about it 23 years ago rolling into a local garage in need of some kind of work . They open the hood and see a car with fuel injection varible cam timing , covers over everything. Back than. Fuel injection was just starting to come in . That continued the to complicated legend

Dream with a smile

For the past 30 years I've always wanted a Mercedes SL and finally after all the years of the desire, I have no disappointments. It's truly a dream car. I chose the 320 to not have to spend so much time at the gas pumps, but it still burns more than I expected. That might be due to the fact that I can't seem to slow it down. I really love this vehicle!

Great Sports Convertible

This is my 8th Mercedes, including 3 turbo-diesels, and 4 gas-sedans. The build quality is excellent. The ride is somewhat firm but it sticks to the ground and handles turns easily. It quietly reaches 100+mph and there's no wind-noise. The top and rollbar operates with 1 button. The auto-pullup windows are kind of awkward. The break- pedal travels toofar before stopping making easy stops difficult until you get used to the car. It can use a backseat and a larger trunk. The gas mileage is around 16 in city and 22 on freeway, as high as 26 on straight freeway. Car is a bit too heavy at 4170 pounds which affects it's acceleration. 6.3Sec 0-60 is a bit slow for a 315HP $90,000car. Parts overpriced

Roadster Rules!

I've owned my '95 sl 600 roadster now for a couple of years. The performance of the 12-cylindar engine is beyond compare! With the computer chip the previous owner had installed, the horsepower rating goes from 389 to 432! Things to watch out for... seems like these cars are prone to need new catalytic converters at around 40k miles. Mine did..and fortunately it was covered by mercedes 8-year, 80k mile e/c warranty--thereby saving me $4k! ! low mileage '97 or '98 will give you a $130k car experience for half the price!

Love Her

This is our 3rd Merc. All have been trouble free. We bought this SL from the orignal owner with 89,000 miles. She has gone 5,000 trouble free miles.The performace is surprising for an inline 6 cylnder. She is 10 years old and still receives admiring glances. She is a beauty!

Buy One

This is a great car to buy pre-owned. New ones are $85,000 or more, save $60,000 and buy a '95.

1997 Mercedes SL500 with 38,000 miles on

This car is solidly built, handles extremely well, and is a pleasure to drive. The design is one of understated elegance. Mine has very low mileage for its age and all original paint with no mechanical problems. These are a bargain if you get one without issues as new they cost $89,000 w/o options. The r129 type from the pre-Chrysler era is desirable. The mileage is what one ought to expect from a two ton car driven with a big V-8; if you are having this much fun is has to cost a little money! Skip the non-factory wheels as they really do nothing for day-to-day performance.

Affordable Luxury

Smooth Power, Value and Quality

Hello all: I have found it to be a fast and subtle commuter/touring machine. I traded over to it from a 97 993 (which was a great car) as my wife was adverse to the Porsche ride (a very good ride in my opinion). This is my second SL and my 3rd Mercedes. As all SL’s it is quietly fast and comfortable. The handling is greatly improved from models of the late 70’s and the dealer service has been equal to that of Porsche (excellent). As with the 993, I would recommend a dealer extended warranty as these cars can disrupt your budget if something major malfunctions after the original one expires. My wife is found of the panoramic roof in the rain and enjoys the heated seat.

Terrific

I have owned my 1996 320 SL for for 4 years and 20,000 miles. I have never been more pleased with a car. Performance, reliability, etc. are superior. It gets 24 mpg. and is serviced by an after market shop. If I ever sell it, I will buy another.

Love Her

This is our 3rd Mercedes. All have been trouble free. We bought this SL from the orignal owner with 89,000 miles. She has gone 5,000 trouble free miles.The performace is surprising for an inline 6 cylnder. She is 10 years old and still receives admiring glances. She is a beauty!

Unusable

1995 sl600 entire wiring is disintegrating the car has been in 4 different mecedes shops . The wiring harness is not avaible. Every time the car it touched or moved or driven something else wiring related goes wrong. It is sitting in a shop with check engine light on saying it is the mass air flow sensor , but replacing it did not help. Now the SRS light came on again. Last time that happened it went into limp mode and cost $5,000 to fix. Some throttle control which had to be removed sent out and hand rewired because even wiring inside the units were disintegrated. Stay away the reason a $125,000 car is $5,000 is because it will cost so much to own in maintenance and repairs. The only miles I get to drive this car are to and from the shop. Mercedes does not I repeat DOES NOT stand behind their cars or their mistakes. If you want to know the quality or lack there of , just get on the US gov. Recall list. Mercedes junk is recalled all the time on a very regular basis. I am on the list for Nisson, Chrysler , Ford , and Mercedes. Yes from time to time they all have recalls but mercedes is at least 10 times the others. Your money but much more valuable your time wasted. UPDATE Still in shop, still unusable, Don't buy Mercedes, they back their mistakes by thumbing their nose at you. They got your money, so screw you. Up date Still in shop, can't get parts, wires are shorting out everywhere, worst investment in my life.

19 yrs and going strong

Purchased this Maroon SL 320 in Colorado and drove it to Spokane, WA immediately at 80 MPH I managed 25.7 MPG, I was quite surprised. At 102,000 miles it has a few issues and they will be more expensive to repair but the wife and I shop around for missing items and repair parts. We have not taken the hardtop off yet, hoping to do so before it gets cold so far it is a lot of fun to drive.

Great car for the money

I bought this 1997 SL500 with the optional panorama roof in 2012 with 46.000 miles for a great price and since that I have driven it about 12.000 miles and had absolutely no huge issues. The only items i had to repair were 4 hydraulic cylinders for the top. These fail over time but I was able to have them rebuilt and did the work myself cost was about $500.00. I love the way this car drives (I only drive it in the summer) the handling is superb and it has plenty of power and it is definitely a car I can and will take on a longer road trip. I had absolutely no major issues just the regular maintenance costs. If you can find a car in good shape I can only recommend it prices will never be lower than they are now. Just make sure you stay away from older models (90-96) as they have bio degradable harness and the SL600 unless you have a lot of extra cash.

What else can go wrong?

After replacing almost all sensors, catalytic converter, conv.top oil cylinders, and $4,000 in charges, it looks like it will make beautiful planter!

excellent

this is it!!!it is the best on a planet! euroquality & comfort - what else? it is a fun to drive!

Bittersweet

Although I loved this car, we have since parted ways. I could not have been more dissapponted with my SL experience. For the 3 years I owned the car I found that there is a huge cost of ownership that comes with maintaining this car. Service costs were more than the payments. I was always told that these cars would run very high mileage, but that mileage comes at a heafty cost. I would not buy another unless it was under the Starmark warrantee.

1997 SL500 SL1 SPORT

This car is for a free spirit. Handles most superb. Never out of extreme power in any circumstance. Gets down and races anyone. An engineering feat. Most amazing car I've ever owned.

Pretty money pit

Have deep pockets. Almost every sensor failed,convertible top motors failed twice in 10 yrs. Paid 14k to purchase,have spent 11k to repair. This beaSuty is now valued at 2k! Sold in 2017 for $3000. Still beautiful to look at!

SL in Germany

The last MB ever built with the old wellknown quality of mercedes !!! A good cruising car also a good sportcar.

Sporty travel

You'll love driving this great sports car!

The perfect automobile

This is my second SL 500 and, like the first one, it has performed flawlessly. There is nothing like the solid feel of a Benz, and the convertible is the epitome of the MB design.

Little Al’s Ride

I am still really liking my 1995 sl500 Mercedes. The quality of the ride and construction are amazing

40th Anniversary Roadster

Fabulous car. Only 250 made of the Anniversary cars. Drop dead special blue color. Interior wood grey is "blue" also. Unique car. Hated to sell it. Sold it to buy a newer 2004 SL 500.