Buying an SL

[Carrie79]

I am thinking of buying a SL. Don't know anything about them apart from they look very nice. Can anyone advise me which one to buy, age, engine size, milage etc. I have never driven a sporty car before and it will be my commuting car, only 20 miles day though. I have also no idea about servicing, how often? how expenisive and what to look out for when buying one with regards to this. Any advise gratefully appreciated.

 

[Dave's E55 AMG]

Hello & welcome, really depends on your budget!

 

[Carrie79]

I think up to £6000, if that woud cover the cost of a decent one.

 

[Quick Silver]

I am thinking of buying a SL. Don't know anything about them apart from they look very nice. Can anyone advise me which one to buy, age, engine size, milage etc. I have never driven a sporty car before and it will be my commuting car, only 20 miles day though. I have also no idea about servicing, how often? how expenisive and what to look out for when buying one with regards to this. Any advise gratefully appreciated.

On your budget you will be looking at a 129 model .Servicing on the early models is every 6000 miles is relatively cheap as easy to work on .What engine size to go for depends on the size of your purse strings for fuel ,the 320 V6 and 300 Straight 6 are pretty much bullet proof engines and give reasonable fuel economy driven sensibly.The 300 24 valve engine has an inherrant head gasket problem as does the V6 320 TO A LESSER DEGREE. Make sure the car has a good service history and has been serviced regularly also make sure that the hood and hard top mechanism work ok. If the seller will not remove the roof to demonstrate that the hood is working ok walk away as can be quite expensive to fix as for the V8 500 engines I do not know enough about them to make a comment but suffice to say they use considerably more fuel , short journeys like 20 miles a day even more so.Hope this info is useful

 

[Carrie79]

Thanks. That's all been very useful. Feel bit more confident about what to buy. Any other advice still appreciated.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Always loved these cars, but It would have to be a 500, Fuel consumption has been reported of high 20's on a run, though does fall considerably around town 15ish. Besides you just can,t beat the exhaust note of a Mercedes V8.
But other members with first hand knowlege of these cars please feel free to correct me.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Always loved these cars, but It would have to be a 500, Fuel consumption has been reported of high 20's on a run, though does fall considerably around town 15ish. Besides you just can,t beat the exhaust note of a Mercedes V8.
But other members with first hand knowlege of these cars please feel free to correct me.

I think that is a sensible assessment. The 500 is certainly quick and not as thirsty as people might think. Mine has averaged 23.6 over the 4 years I have had it, although I do use it for touring and don't drive it much in town. Nevertheless, it has been in mega traffic jams (M25, Paris Peripherique) without serious degradation.

I am sure the SL55 is in a different league for performance but trying to enjoy the difference either practically (because of traffic) or legally would be difficult.

I read an account of the S Class that said the S 320 CDI is the best saloon car in the real world. Maybe for SLs the 500 could be seen in that light?

 

[Jack the Lad]

I'm not an SL expert, but have recently bought my first Merc within a maximum budget of £6000 and did a lot of research first. Perhaps it might help you...

At that price there are currently 74 SLs on Autotrader. Mainly 1985 - 1995 covering 2 different models of SL. The older ones are a slightly naff 1970's style' classic' car, the end of a line of cars based on old technology carried over from the 50s. The later model is by modern standards a slightly bland design but uses still up to date technology. Both nice cars, each in their own way, but be aware of the difference. At that price they all have lots of miles on them. If you stick to around 100,000 miles and buy on condition and history you could be OK for a few years regular use. Then there are SL specialists who can keep them going for ever if you are prepared to spend enough money!.

If you can up the amount you can spend to £8000, you can get something quite a bit newer, with much lower mileage (there are 22 on Autotrader with under 60,000 miles) and more history. Again, a well looked after car with a few more miles on it is better than a little used but neglected one.

I thought that SLs at £6000 were too risky to buy as my only vehicle and not good value, but at £8,000 they were tremendous value!

Unfortunately, I couldn't increase my budget that much so I had to take SLs off my shortlist. For other models of Merc you get much better value if you avoid diesels (which invariably have joke prices) and go for something relatively unfashionable. I ended up with a well specced and rust free year 2000 E320 Saloon, V6 petrol with 40,000 miles on it for £6,000. I don't regret it. It's a fantastic car to travel in and totally reliable for the 12,000 miles I've added so far in just 6 months. Later model 320SLs have the same engine as mine and should do similar mpg, mine does 17mpg in town, 27mpg on A/B roads, 34mpg on motorways and 29mpg overall. I think that's pretty good!

Don't forget that running costs for any 'prestige' or sports car will be quite high relative to those for a £6000 secondhand mainstream car. In particular insurance and replacing wide tyres that wear quickly because of the power and weight. Servicing costs don't seem that much worse than any other car but if anything goes wrong (and they are complex cars with lots of electrical gizmos) any parts you need will still be at 'supercar' prices even though you bought the car cheaply.

Personally I think the extra costs over running something like a Mondeo or MX5 are well worth it. I look forward to every journey, even commuting to work! My next car will definitely be another Merc but perhaps, over the next 5/6 years that I hope mine will last, and if it doesn't break down and bankrupt me, I can save up enough to get an SL or CLK Cabrio next time!

 

[Myros]

"slightly naff"

ouch. I'd say don't rule out the 107, as they are invariably easier to work on than the 129, should you have to get in there and replace or repair stuff. You could still find a 500SL for the kind of money you are prepared to spend, and in decent condition, but you might have to search far and wide and wait a while.
I'm on record any number of times saying the 500 is the one to have. The other engines are fine, but the 500 is special.
I get 22mpg and better out of ours when driven sanely. If I presson, it depends on how much. i have seen as little as 18 mpg, but not for long. I've also had 27mg abroad, on long and fast autobahn runs.

 

[Jack the Lad]

"slightly naff 70's style"

The R107 might be a nice car once you are in it (so you don't have to look at it any more ) and could well be a good buy for the reasons you give.

The problem for me though is that almost everything from the 70's is tainted with naffness. I was a teenager then and it's not far enough distant yet to have become quaint and anachronistic, so it is just dated. I have to be 'ironic' to engage with it at all! It's not just the worst period ever for car design, I'll add 'prog rock', tank tops, platform soles, pre-cast concrete buildings, Milton Keynes, Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher to the charge sheet too!

The only thing from the 70's that hasn't dated badly is punk rock, which was specifically a reaction to that all-pervading naffness. The originals still have the same energy and freshness as they did then and it remains an enormous influence on current popular music. If you want a 70s car that captures the punk spirit try the Saab 99 turbo. Born in an unfashionable part of town from unpromising stock, ugly but attention grabbing, thrilling, fun and highly desirable! It changed the 'sports saloon' for ever and its spirit lives on in M series BMWs, RS Audis and AMG Benzes.

 

[hairyg]

For regular use the 129 Sl is a much better bet than the older 107.

Even early 129s have most of the technology that current family cars have, ABS, airbags and so on, but no SatNav.

The 107 is a much older pattern and very much more a "Classic Car".

Because the 107 has better classic status it attracts a price premium so you are likey to get better value for your £6000 from a 129.

I have done 45000 miles in my 1994 SL320, my everyday (only) car. It has had the regular services by a local independent and I have had the soft top replaced by KHM in Germany at a cost of £1500 and the ignition/steering lock changed, another £450. It had 72000 miles on the clock when I bought it.

Everything else has been routine servicing. I had an LPG conversion fitted when I first bought the car but this paid for itself in the first 25000 miles and I now almost enjoy filling up with fuel at 58p/litre. There have been several threads on this forum discussing the merits and pitfalls of LPG but given your daily mileage it probably wouldn't be economic for you.

Hope this helps.

 

[Carrie79]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It has certainly got me thinking. I don't think I can stretch to the 500, even though you all rate it, purely because I only have 1 year no claims and on a quote for a 320 it came out as £750 so I would dread to think what the 500 would be. Any further advice on the 'smaller' engines would be great. I'm in no rush to buy so will definately be looking for the 'extra special' one out there.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It has certainly got me thinking. I don't think I can stretch to the 500, even though you all rate it, purely because I only have 1 year no claims and on a quote for a 320 it came out as £750 so I would dread to think what the 500 would be. Any further advice on the 'smaller' engines would be great. I'm in no rush to buy so will definately be looking for the 'extra special' one out there.

Don't despair. The insurance companies are very keen to get your business. Worth trying a broker rather than a web search engine - they may be able to get you additional NCB as an introductory sweetener.

It is also worth getting a costing on the 500, if that is what you would like. I set quite low mileages on my policy and have had to revise upwards a few times. It never ceases to amaze me how little these adjustments cost (e.g. increased from 6,00 to 16,000 on the S Class was going to cost an extra £48 per year). The 500 may well not cost much more to insure.

However, if you are looking for a 129 series SL320 there a number of excellent prospects with modest mileage (60,000 or less) FMBSH and even one owner examples. Heading into winter in the current financial climate, they will be hard to sell. Wearing their hartops they are completely weather proof (as are the soft tops) and would be super everyday motoring.

Good hunting.