Mercedes SLR McLaren Servicing And Repair Costs Are Predictably Hellish

$180,000 for a Mercedes SLR McLaren might, you think, sound like a bit of a bargain. Serial Cannonballer Ed Bolian snapped up the mid-noughties supercar for the low sum, beating Tyler Hoover aka ‘Hoovies Garage’ to the punch, and what’s more, he’s got himself a car with history.

This SLR was once owned by Paris Hilton. It’s the car featured in that famous paparazzi shot with Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears all crammed in the two-seater cabin, and the vehicle Hilton was driving when charged with driving under the influence in 2006.

Unfortunately for Ed, the outlay won’t end at $180k. He took the car to get an ‘A service’, which consists of little more than an oil change, and that alone is $2105. It’s far from the only thing the car requires - all told, the bill to rectify everything is $34,565.

We’ll let Ed detail the horrifying prices, but highlights include $1350 to replace both batteries, $500 for a washer jet nozzle, and $2200 for a new power steering pump. If the car’s weird steering requires a new rack, that’s $6272.

Amongst the SLR’s unusual features is an electro-hydraulic brake system, which inevitably isn’t the easiest thing to work on. So, it’s $1200 to flush and renew the fluid. But hey, it could be worse - a full set of the carbon ceramic discs is $20,000. To be fair to the SLR, that’s a fairly typical price for fresh supercar ceramics.

Bolian won’t be paying the full $35k bill, instead only getting the most necessary work done. But still, it proves the point that an SLS like Hoover’s is probably a better buy. There’s less in the way of weird stuff to throw up scary bills, and it’s much more unique - the Mercedes Mclaren does, after all, start off as an SL.

Which would you have, given the choice?