320 or 500 SL?? your views appreciated

[TallBloke]

Hi all

Firstly, great site with some helpful info.

Have 2 questions which I would like peoples valued opinions on

1 - should i pay what seems to be extra money to pick up a more economical 320 SL rather than the 500 SL?? (am looking to spend between £8000 and £12000)

2 - have looked into replacing the rear lap belts with 3-point belts (pre-requisite from 'er indoors to let me buy one!) - any recommendations on where to get this done?? (in London/Surrey area)

Many thanks all and sincerely hope that i will posting more threads when i finally get my hands on an SL (only been waiting 6 years!!) :grin:

Thanks

Tall Bloke

 

[kkmfo]

Get a 500. See here:

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=17590

and re seatbelts here:

Quickfit Safety Belt Service Ltd
Inertia House, Lowther Rd, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 1EP
Tel: 020 8206 0101

I used them for mine and they did a great job.

 

[merc300e]

Sl500

Hello - I bought a 1997 SL500 with 70k miles & FMBSH. If I'd have paid the original £83k I would have taken it straight back. It was noisy ( with softtop @70 mph,) I had to fight it to keep a straight line on town roads ( merc dealer said they were like that -nothing wrong.) The roof failed and Merc wanted £3200 for new module even thought it was only a mounting out of alignment. On a good smooth surface it was ok but for everyday it was a pig. Sold it after 3 months bought a C class which is quiet, smooth (V6) and cheap. Test drive first essential! Regards.

 

[TallBloke]

ok - so no merc salesmen on here yet then saying that is the best thing i will do! hey all, they really that much of a pain to own??? should i forget it and go for a newer 2 seater like a BMW Z3 or something??

 

[R129]

All comes down to money in the end, with a little luck thrown in.

You will be buying a very complex vehicle with in the case of the 500 almost supercar performance for its day. Everything wears out eventually its just that it takes longer on Mercs' than other cars. As an example Mercedes have a reputation for weak automatic gearboxes based on the fact that they sometimes break after 150k to 200k miles, no one seems to mention that most other cars have been scrapped long before these mileages.
When wear and tear strikes you have the choice of paying the new Mercedes price for a part or taking your car off the road while waiting for a used or recon part. A timing chain failure will cost 3k to 5k if sorted properly, which soon makes 8k for the car in the first place look not so cheap.

If money is no object they are a truly great car, as a second car they can also be a good buy even on a tighter budget as the fixed costs like insurance are reasonable and you always have the main car to fall back on.
As a main car you really need to have several grand lying around just in case as well as a good garage.

In terms of luck you will hear tales of people buying cars without history and it turns out they are absolute minters with a millionaire owner who could never be bothered to get the dealer to stamp the book. Likewise cars have been bought with low mileages and impeccable histories from main dealers which have then suffered major failures out of warranty.

Will probably get kicked off for this but perhaps a BMW 3 series (full rear seats - you mentioned decent belts in the rear?) might suit you, also they are built almost well as the older Mercedes!

 

[pascal]

R129 You wont get kicked off, but my brother had a 02 325CI, and its is like chalk and cheese.


TallBloke, regarding which engine 320 or 500, that would be down to individual choice. I find the 320v6 fast enough for most situations though, and it will leave most cars on the road sitting.

But for 10k, I feel you may struggle to get a good car. There is no such thing as a cheap SL. I have mine for nearly eight months now, and the only money I have spent is fuel, shampoo, and an air freshener.

Pascal

 

[davidsl500]

Hi Tall Bloke.

A few things spring to mind. Now firstly, your name suggests you are a tall bloke ! so the question is , have you sat in an Sl yet? The only reason is that despite the size of the vehicle i find there isnt that much room behind me - like my backrest is 2" off the back seat edge and so nothing is going to be sitting in the rear behind me - I note that you are talking about replacing the rear belts which is why I bought it up. I know Pascal has had someone in the rear (dont go there people!) and I presume this would be behind the passenger seat with a smaller passenger up front (leprechauns?).

Secondly, whilst I would reccomend that everyone should own an SL in their lifetime you do have to put it into perspective. £8k-£12k is going to get you an SL maybe 11-15 years old and what you have to appreciate is that these cars cost £60k plus when new - and their running costs can be in the same category as a result.

It also depends whether this will be your main car or an additional car that may persuade you into the 320 rather than the 500. My SL500 manages around 15mpg round the town, 22mpg out of town, 25mpg on a long run with cruise - and 6-8mpg if you want to have some fun..

My tyres are just about to come up for renewal - 4 tyres approx £500 and I need to replace the front disks and pads as well so thats another £120 ish if I do it myself or £210 ish from and independant. Last "engine" service was just over £500... Oh, and the tyres are probably good for 12000 miles.....

The engines seem to be pretty bullet proof so long as they are serviced on the dot, the body is galvanised and doesnt appear to rust so its the electrics which may give the most concern - and theres an awful lot of electrics to potentially go wrong. Enough of the scary stuff.....

Now I am totally biased and would suggest the 500 everytime, there is nothing like the stomach wrenching torque from the V8 or that glorious sound when you press the loud pedal hard....

If you think the 320 is more suited to your pocket then the golden rule is dont test drive the 500 !

 

[kkmfo]

If you think the 320 is more suited to your pocket then the golden rule is dont test drive the 500 !

Hit the nail on the head davidsl500 !!!!

 

[Flying Scot]

TOTALLY agree drove a 280 and 320 SL and loved my Volvo 850 when i got in it after the test drives - drove a 500SL with the 5 speed adaptive auto and i can honestly say it is the best car i have ever driven - within two days had a lovely 500SL sitting in the drive.

BIG Panic on day one with hood problems was playing with the hardtop and the hood BUT all it was - was the fuse on the passengers door window had blown.

NEXT BIG Problem water everywhere from the hardtop front seals - removed hardtop again with a bit of trepidation and a handful of spare fuses - cleaned the seals with WD40 on a rag - then used a straw to blow out the drain tubes and smeared Vaseline on both of the seals top of screen and front of hard top. DUN and DUSTED

AWESOME CAR

regards

David

 

[television]

The hard top leaking along the top is a standard issue the MB answer is to remove the rubbers and seal them. There is a lot of info on this floating around.

Malcolm

 

[abud]

Hi all

1 - should i pay what seems to be extra money to pick up a more economical 320 SL rather than the 500 SL?? (am looking to spend between £8000 and £12000)

TallBloke, go with the 500SL

 

[Flying Scot]

where will i find the info on curing the water leaks on the hardtop - not an issue at the moment as it is in the garage (the hardtop that is) and having fun with topless motoring - with the heater going hard and the heated seats too Sunny Scotland it might be but B%%%%%y Cold

 

[television]

where will i find the info on curing the water leaks on the hardtop - not an issue at the moment as it is in the garage (the hardtop that is) and having fun with topless motoring - with the heater going hard and the heated seats too Sunny Scotland it might be but B%%%%%y Cold

You can ask me.

malcolm

 

[Lewis]

Hi, my SL500 is for sale on the autotrader if you are interested. I'm not a trader and if you are looking for a good SL with full Mercedes main dealer service history then give me a call on 07889 104785 or reply to this message
Regards
Mark

 

[Flying Scot]

You can ask me.

malcolm

asking you PLEEEEESE

 

[rocket111]

Ditto!

asking you PLEEEEESE

Me too!! Mine has a tiny leak on the passenger side. In really heavy rain if sat outside there are a couple of drips settling on the passengers seat base.

Funny old thing, I am in sunny Scotland too

 

[Flying Scot]

Me too!! Mine has a tiny leak on the passenger side. In really heavy rain if sat outside there are a couple of drips settling on the passengers seat base.

Funny old thing, I am in sunny Scotland too

BUT Malcolm is in sunny sweeeden at the mo