Buying Advice.. SL

[Joanna]

Dear All, I'm very keen to buy an eighties sl. I love the look..a very beautiful car, and in my opinion timeless. BUT, I know nothing about them. The pitfalls, weaknesses etc... but at first glance they appear to be within my budget.

My question is where can I buy a really good book re buying advice etc....?

Many thanks

Joanna

 

[Blobcat]

Hi & Welcome,

Best advice will most likely be from SL owners on this forum, there are quite a few on here and they are very helpfull

 

[Joanna]

Thanks for your reply and greetings Blobcat...I look forward to hearing from them

Joanna

 

[lord westerdale]

Hi Joanna

Best advice I can give you is "Buy Mine" its a 300Sl, red, 1987, origanel car with 87000 miles is in very good condition and getting better. £11,000

contact me if interested ilunn@ukonline.co.uk

 

[Myros]

That sounds like a bargain

My advice is don't test drive a 500SL if you aren't sure you want one, or can afford one. They are the automotive equivalent of pure addiction.
Treated gently I can get better than 27mpg out of ours. Last week, I had the roof down and had to use nature's air conditioning to prevent myself melting. This of course meant pressing on a bit. 14mpg, but that did include 2miles of stop-start crawl in a big city centre as well. I was still smiling when I walked back to the car after filling up. That says it all really.

Main things to watch for, Rust, Rust Rust Rust Rust Rust Rust Rust Rust Rust
and timing chains and gearbox seals. Everything else can be fixed pretty easily. Search this site for 107 or SL and see what pops up.
Watch out the softtop is in good condition, and the hardtop too. They are expensive to fix or replace.
Check everything works. Drive as many as you can, but beware the 500, it's irresistible.

There is a good book , Merecedes benz SLs and SLCs Ultimate portfolio,in the books section of this site. I bought it and then went and blew my stash on a 500.

Welcome aboard btw.

 

[Ed pies]

Joanna,
I have loved having my SL as it has stunning looks, combined with the reliability and performance one would expect from an 80's Merc. Also I have found mine surprisngly cheap to run due to the low insurance and reliability, with regular oil changes being the only increased cost compared to a modern car.

I have a for sale very beautiful 1987 300SL (the better facelifted one) 122,000 miles with full service history and in good original condition. It is diamond blue with navy leather and has the matching hard top and rear seats. give me a call if you are interested. £8,000
Ed 07799 842605

 

[Joanna]

Hi Ed, Myros and Lord Westerdale, thank you all for your advice and Offers. I'll get hold of one of those books Myros and study it thoroughly. Im intrigued by the 500. You've done it now...I'm just going to have to try one. Thanks!

Ed. at the moment I just don't have the time to get up to Yorkshire, but when I do I'll give you a call/mail. Lord W. where abouts are you in the country? £11,000 might be just too much for me at the moment.

Myros......is that the underneath shot of a russian mig 23 or 27? (flogger)...bit rusty but the swing wing seems familiar.

Oh by the way.........just looked at one sl and was quite dissappointed with the rust bubbling up on the wings just above the headlights.....if this meant new wings can these wings be sourced genuine or pattern?

Best Regards

Joanna

 

[Myros]

Joanna

the rust there is quite common. New wings can be had from Merc at about £400, or from Euro Car parts at about £100. The place to be frightened of it is in the firewall, where the air blower fan sits, you have to take off the cover and have a look and probe around. Water can collect in there and rot the metal through and that usually renders the car uneconomic to repair.
The sills, although made of old tanks, can go and are a bit pricey as well.
and also beware the structural componenents of the chassis. Younger cars were better rustproofed and will give less cause for concern. Post 1980 shouldn't be too much trouble
Anything in the sub 12k bracket is likely to have a bit of surface corrosion somewhere. If caught and treated, it won't matter too much. If allowed to continue, it will cost loads to put right.
I recommend you get hold of Mercedes Enthusiast next week when it's out and study the ads in there. Bear in mind all the trade cars are way over-priced and most of them have been up for sale for well over a year, if not more.
The aeroplane is a Tupelov TU-160 "Blackjack" bomber. I'm playing a subtle symbolic game with my oppos here and no-one has twigged to it yet, partly because I haven't finished the cycle.

 

[Joanna]

Thanks Myros....

..Ahhh a Tupelov....not a fighter at all!

Regards

J

 

[42847]

w107 sl advice

i too am a lady.....i have a 380sl v8 because of its burbling noise. it goes to shows every weekend and it wins trophys .its like my husbands v8 mustang..that also burbles and wins trophys ..i also drive a 5 yr old c200 merc elegance with full leather with starship mileage,but full history for work...a v8 is nice but at the moment there is a 6cyl 280sl on ebay 1985 c redg for only £5250 to buy outright it sounds good value very few are below £10,000 it is described as near perfect, although you usually find a few things that need doing....my sl was mediocre but it had full history with 22 stamps in the book.... and found i needed to spend £4000 on bodywork and soft top within first year but spent very little on it since....my advice is it must have full service history an sl without history will never hold its price.....any other questions you have you can send me a private message

 

[Joanna]

Thanks 42847......kind of you to post. I'm also quite keen on the V8 as it sounds just so gorgeous. Mind you the 6 sounds pretty good too. The agony of choice. I'll have a look at e-bay. Dream spec at mo is Dark Blue coachwork cream leather interior and V8 and matching blue hood.

Regards J

 

[Craneboy]

Joannas SL

Hi,
I would say stick to 300 SL, they are easier to work on, probably more reliable that the bigger V8 engines and parts are easy to get hold of, but do look out for rust - front and back wings and sills - check also jacking points