Used 2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Convertible Consumer Reviews
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As good as it gets
This is it, 07/20/2010
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL550 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
While growing up heading into NYC, I would see the Sl 500's and told myself that some day I would own one. Went to get my wife an E 350, and this car was sitting along side it. Having MB handle the depreciation, it was still above my range, but what the heck. Yes, the Corvette and the BMW are faster, but what a way to get there. I don't need to feel every break in the pavement. The transmission is superb and gets out of the way. The engine is silent. The breaks keep it safe (the one thing I miss on my 335i). I don't know what people don't like about the Bose Stereo, and I am an audiophile. If you have the bucks, this is the car.
SL 600
Dan Newton, 04/15/2015
updated 10/16/2017
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL600 2dr Convertible (5.5L 12cyl Turbo 5A)
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
I purchased my 2008 SL 600 new back in 2009; this was my first purchase of a performance luxury car. I just love everything about the car. The engine torque is amazing; when the twin turbochargers spool up the acceleration is scary fast. Cornering is flat and feels very secure. Interior noise is very low and luxurious. The overall build quality is second to none. I have owned the car for six years now and the only expense has been standard maintenance. The car did not have a single warranty repair during the warranty period or any repair required to date. I have owned the car for 8 years now and still no repairs, just standard maintenance. Slightly disappointing resale value, since only 110 units were sold in the US in 2008 you would think the car would hold resale value better.
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Sports car morphs into luxury car
LovesToDrive, 08/19/2020
updated 08/22/2022
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL550 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I have been lucky enough to have owned many sports cars. From the context of a “sports cars” perspective, my 2008 SL550 is not really a sports car. It is much too heavy and too focused on creature comforts. BUT, at 69 years young, I no longer yearn only for testosterone boiling speed, but perhaps for a tad more subtlety. This car is gorgeous. It can go far faster and harder than you would think based on its weight because it is a technological marvel. That’s really good, and also a bit daunting. This car borders on over-complicated, but it plays the role of luxury-sport car very well. It has two distinct personalities. It can be a boulevard cruiser whisking you to the opera, and it can be a blast in the open-air mountain twistees. It’s target demographic is not a sports car for a 20- or 30-somethings. It is a car for a 50- or 60-somethings that simultaneously says you’ve arrived, and also you also still know how to play. Oh, it also signals that you have the financial backing to maintain it. When it runs, it runs well. When it breaks, it breaks expensively, at times very expensively. But in all, it is my favorite car, my favorite luxury car, and my favorite sports car all-in-one. When I close my eyes and imagine the perfect car, this car is where I am when I open my eyes to drive. PROS: beautiful classic design, excellent materials, exhilarating acceleration, wonderful exhaust song, transforms from real coupé to real convertible in 16 seconds, brilliant suspension that allows a very heavy car to respond like a lighter car. CONS: expensive to operate, breathtakingly expensive to fix (example: new MB battery is $650). Heavy. Seat level is quite low so getting in & out is “challenging,” electronic controls are aging poorly (COMAND system ugh). Final take: every car design is a compromise between many factors. I think the key is finding a car that fits “your needs and wants.” Even then there will be points that rub you the wrong way. The SL is not a perfect car, but it’s compromises place it in a subtle niche between performance and luxury that few other cars can attain. This is one car you must live with awhile to decide if the price of entry and maintenance is worth the exhilaration for. you. For me, it is. Happy Driving!
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Kinda like a beast in a little black skirt
jlrm, 10/24/2017
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL550 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
When you are riding or driving in this car it is so luxuriously quiet and comfortable it is easy to forget what a beast it really is when you are obey the speed limits and driving along with everyday traffic. It is just is quiet and comfortable and in control at 45 mph a it is at 135mph. If a passenger was blindfolded they would not be able to tell the difference if you were driving at either of those speeds. The ABC option seems to defy the laws of centrifugal force when you whip it around corners at speeds other cars would lurch to the side and throw passengers in your lap, you hardly notice any effect at all. I get better gas mileage than the 21mpg the sticker says it gets on the highway. At a cruise controlled 79 mph, I average a decent 23.5 mpg. This car is more fun to drive, top up or down, than any car I have ever driven before; whether it's just around the corner or 800 mile day trip.
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Experienced Mercedes Man
Alan, 11/24/2007
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL550 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I have owned several Mercedes in the past. I mostly prefer AMG models over the standard ones. This car is just gorgeous. I could have opted for the SL55 amg or the SL65 AMG, but to be honest they were very expensive. This car is not exactly cheap, but it sure is beautiful!
I expect better
rbmain, 08/31/2009
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL550 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
10 of 16 people found this review helpful
If you returned to your car in the hardware store's parking lot to find the center rear stop light lens from the trunk lid laying on the ground, you'd think a vandal tried to pop it to mess with the door lock. Right? Nope, they just fall off, and the Dealer has seen lots like that. Now the little flap wing that comes out from the left front trunk lid edge when the retractable hardtop is put down just droops and messes up the top raising and lowering cycles. You have to press it back into position to get top function.
2008 SL 550 is the best Car Ever.
UDevilU , 12/21/2022
2008 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL550 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
All car companies have been trying for Years to make a car like the SL. Nobody has ever come close into the Speed, Design, Shape, A Retractable Top,,, ( we all know it hard ). Even this web page don’t know this car enough and they call it a SL convertible,,, (stupidity on Edmunds part - just call it SL Class ). This SL in 2008 was the first 5.5 liter V-8, naming the car SL 550. It has 400 HP, but when you really drive this car, it seems more HP under the hood and the torque is high up too. Plus,,, this car is not a Sports Car, it’s GT car ( grand tour ),,,AMG version maybe a sports cars to be more run against Porsche or maybe a Vet competitor. SL 550 is to be Luxury and Fast,,,, training on the Audubon to drive. Sunny and over cast or rain, up the mountains to throw around on the curves or a run to the Beach at the Jersey Shore or down 95 South to Fort Lauderdale. Let’s not forget that the best looking SL 550 in Mars Red gets the best rating for looking fast, sexy, hot and no competition. ( that’s just seeing the car sitting still ) Even to Today cars,, this car keeps up with M40, Hemi, and most engines at 500 horses and still the best looking. Remember Car and Drive put a cap on their award issues and at the time of the SL Years since 1982, there was nothing better than an SL. The car been around longer than any other car label. Today the SL is the top of line car for Mercedes. The SL is a history making vehicle, major competition that no other car company could make a car like this. This was the car that rich or poor, people dreamed about. Even if you did not know about cars,,, this was the luxurious car out there.
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