Sometime (probably) within the next year, I'm going to be looking for a "new" car (which will be an old car). I'm looking for something sporty, with all-wheel drive for under $20K. I had pretty much narrowed my choices down to a 996 model Porsche 911 Carrera 4/4S or an Audi TT Quattro, both of which can be found to meet those criteria (takes more patience with the Porsche, but they do come up). In the course of looking, though, I've come across a few ads for 2003-2004 SL500's which claim to have all-wheel drive. Everything I've read says that this was before 4Matic was introduced and that, in any case, 4Matic has never been offered on SL-Class cars and there is no indication that AWD was offered on them prior to its introduction. Yet, more than one listing says that the SL500 for sale has AWD. Is this just a case of clueless sellers who are confusing AWD with anti-skid or traction control, or was AWD really offered on these cars? If so, that's a game-changer for me. I know that SL's aren't really sports cars like the Porsche or Audi, but they're classic and probably more suitable for the kind of driving I do these days. By the way, I need AWD because the car will be a 4-season daily driver. I live in the mid-Atlantic (Maryland), so we usually don't get a lot of snow in the winter, but I need to be able to get around when we do. Both the 911 and the TT, with appropriate snow tires, are reputed to be very good in snow (given their ground-clearance limitations). If there really are AWD SL's, how are they in the snow?

 

Hello and welcome to the forum! Those are erroneous listings, there is no AWD SL platform. If going for the 996, make sure that the IMS issue had already been addressed or have it checked out during the PPI report. Please let us know if you have any questions - we're happy to help out.

 

Thanks!

 

you can get a coupe with sunroof, c and e or cls s. not really so bad. test-drive all the cars. a friend sold his tt and after driving my slk got a 170 slk and really likes the 2wd slk far better. so much so he bought mine for his spoiled favorite niece. have a 4wd truck for snow. leave the sl in the garage. would be nice to find a low mileage rig with service records, a dipstick, drain plugs on the torque converter and oil pan. take your time for the right deal. don't be impulsive like me.