I recently bought my 500SL which i hope to keep forever....
I looked at what feels like hundreds... They all seem to have rust in the boot, florrpans, around the seals for boot and where the soft top comes up... Look out for rust under the bonnet, in all the wheel arches and so on... Check the sills arent rotten etc..
After 85 was the facelift, youll notice the interior is slightly different and a few trhings on the outside.. If you can stretch, go for a later one...
Also, a lot of the ones i looked at missed at idle.. I think this is fairly common..The one i bought missed slighlty, but has been fixed with a new distributor cap which was badly pitted inside.. Remember leads are expensive for these..
Oil pressure should be around 1.5 or above in drive at rest... should rise straight to 3 when moving...
Electric windows are slow, so dont be put off, its not a fault!
Obviously the soft top is v important.. an aftermarket top is around £1000, and an MB one is £3000... Many say the aftermarket ones are better anyway...
On mine i have a small tear in the clear plastic - the part is £80 from the dealer, but is going to cost me £300 to have it fitted! So i just cleaned the screen up with Hindsight (which is excellent by the way, advertised in MB enthusiast and other mags)...
A/C - On the cars that did have a/c, it rarely worked properly, its an old system now and leaks, condensers etc are difficult to repair - there is little room under the bonnet! I think its 30hrs labour for a new condenser...
Many i saw also had the speedo clock replaced, its a common failure (the mileage register gets stuck), and as long as the docs are there to backup the mileage, i wouldnt worry... Ideally the old clock would be good!
Most important is the history...You really need to know the car has been well looked after.. these engines will last forever if looked after well...
gearbox - after 84 all were the 4 speed auto i think, just makesure they change nicely... The earlier 3 speed are not that good, they rev a lot higher and so fuel cons is really bad!
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