Overview & Reviews
Everything. A new SL debuts to replace the previous version, which dated back to 1990.
- Seductive style, retractable hardtop, commendable performance, ride and handling.
- Heavy for a "sports car," limited cargo capacity, nav system is old-tech CD-ROM format.
User Reviews:
Showing 21 through 30 of 113.00-
none better - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By tomd - October 3 - 2:00 amAfter owning 9 new Mercedes, in 18 years, I finally bought my first SL. Sell you rfirst born male child if you have to, because driving doesnt get any better than this.
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The Best - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By Driver23 - September 7 - 10:00 amBest Car in the Market
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THE JOY OF DRIVING - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By DOUG CELAJ - June 22 - 10:00 amTHIS IS TRULY AN AMAZING MACHINE. FROM THE SECOND YOU PUT UR FOOT DOWN YOU CAN FEEL AN ADVENTURE EVERYTIME YOU DRIVE. THIS CAR DRIVES AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS AND BELIEVE ME IT LOOKS GREAT. YOU CAN TELL WHEN PEOPLE JUST TURN AND STARE AT YOU.
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My new car - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By lks - May 17 - 10:00 amThis is the most amazing car I have ever owned!
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Best car ever built - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By Frank Girardi - April 8 - 2:00 amBest Mercedes ever built
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Fast, Gorgeous & Fun - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By Merl - March 2 - 2:00 amTruely the most fun to drive. I have fun every time I drive it. I saw a recent review that said that the arm rest was too hard and in another that the truck was too small. Get a life! Ive looked at all the coupes out there. This one will travel with two sets of golf clubs and the top down. This car leaves all of them in the dust and is great to look at standing still or on the move.
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SL500 - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By wind beneath wings - January 2 - 10:00 amIt is the best car and the road. It is fun to drive. Great speed. We love the new look of the SL500 too.
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SL500 - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By kmke - November 4 - 10:00 amLove this car - but for the GPS and Audio which are archaic.
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Its Been a Great Car to Own - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By Vincenzo - June 1 - 8:21 pmI have owned this car for almost a year now, and I was expecting it to cost 3-5k a year to maintain. I had an emergency fund in place fully funded and so far its been in the shop for some ball joints in the suspension, an intercooler pump (which is upgraded so it shouldnt break for a while) and couple of new rims because the 2 left got bent. Ive replaced the alternator, crank shaft position sensor, engine and cabin air filters, a few pulleys and a valve cover gasket. Its going to need trunk struts, accumulator spheres, engine/transmission mounts and a few cosmetic touch ups (but overall my car is in really good shape). This car has costed me $2,000 in the first year to get caught up on maintenance which is cheap for a car like this at 14 years old. The engine was shutting off on it when it got warmed up not too long ago. I was able to diagnose the problem in less then 15 minutes at a cost of less then $28. It was the CPS and it was a breeze to install once I got it (took 10 minutes) and every local auto part shop had it in stock. I replaced the alternator myself on it as well and once you know the procedure its easy to replace. You need to remove the fan shroud and it will make it easier but it was a breeze as well. This is a very easy car to work on. The hood opens 90 degrees and theres a lot of room to work almost like an old muscle car. The struts and brakes cost a lot retail but you can find them so cheap to nothing if you shop around so the parts are usually very cheap and sometimes free in my experience if you send the old ones in. The engine parts are almost all metal and you dont have to worry about anything breaking unless you over tighten stuff. The car gets terrible overall fuel economy but its very fast and the acceleration is brutal in a way. There are a few quality problems but theyre very small and the average person wouldnt be able to find them. The quality of materials and build quality is overall extremely high for this vehicle especially when you consider its from the DaimlerChrysler era. Its got a tank like Mercedes-Benz build quality to it. It feels very solid and heavy and the doors are very heavy. The transmissions in these vehicles shift very slow and are a bit cumbersome but are basically the same as youd find in a Sprinter van or almost any other Mercedes in this time period and is found in almost every V12 Mercedes until 2014 or so. You can also find it in many Chrysler vehicles like V8 Grand Cherokees, 300s, Chargers, Challengers, Durangos, you name it. Its even in some Jaguars and 911s. Its a very heavy duty unit and can run for 100s of thousands of miles. When you need to replace it just make sure it has the correct torque converter and youre golden. The unit should be pretty cheap. This is a very intuitive car. I am not a technician or expert and I can easily diagnose anything in this car in 15 minutes or less. Make sure the hydraulic fluid has been getting changed though before you buy one because the car rides on a fully active hydraulic suspension and one pump runs the suspension and steering. If the fluid is not changed before 50k miles at least, the pump will fail, the lines will get clogged and it can ruin your struts. It can total out your car if someone is careless about this and should be done every 30k along with the transmission fluid or even 20k if you can. This is the only thing you have to worry about. The engine mounts go out early because theyre filled with fluid and are soft to make the car ride and settle better so thats normal. Supercharger oil should be done every 20-30k as well and make sure you lubricate the seals and the top. Overall if you listen to what Mercedes tells you to do and do more than what is expected and are good to your car you will be rewarded with one of the most reliable vehicles on the market. 1,000,000 miles on one of these is not uncommon and can go possibly 2,000,000 miles between rebuilds. Its a very solid and simple single overhead cam engine. Its not hard to maintain. Make sure you have an emergency fund in place though. You should have one anyways and it should have at least $12,000 in it.
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Perfection - 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
By Bruce E. Cook - May 28 - 10:00 amGerman engineering has reached the ultimate level. The Mercedes 500 SL in the 2003 model comes as close to perfection as is possible. After driving this car for ten months, I believe that this is the finest car Ive ever owned. Every aspect of the automobile is a thrill to look at and to drive. It has the look and the feel of what a $100,000 plus car should have for the owner. Well worth the price.
