First ever mercedes

[Mark_S]

Im hoping to buy one of the smaller SL ranges. mid 1990s.

A lot of these cars are approaching 10 years old and are being sold with between 50,000 and 80,000 miles.

Ive heard about Mercs being capable of huge amounts of miles. Therefore are probably a "clockers" favourite for rolling back the mileage.
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Does anyone have an opinion on how realistic this kind of mileage is on these cars.
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Im aware I should be looking for comlplete and consistent servicing, and also signs of wear on seats and carpets.

Im reading through threads on this forum for advice on buying these cars as well, but if anyone is willing to shortcut that for me and add some useful tips/pifalls etc Id be very grateful.

Am I really looking at 25mpg for the 6 cyclinder models? Ouch.

Ive found some nice ones on autotrader - 1995, black,amg alloys etc. around the 15k mark, a lot seem to be owned by traders as "thier own car"....which makes me think that the chance of clocking is higher.

Thanks in advance. Im really very excited about this, and a little daunted as they are such expensive creatures to maintain, I hope it all works out.
Mark

 

[Keith]

Buying an SL

Hi

I bought a 1994 SL320 in December.

First thing to say is that there is loads of discussion on buying an SL if you use the search function on this forum but you also should look on Benzworld.com where there is a separate forum for each model and again there is loads of stuff answering your question.

I will give you a few thoughts here and leave you to do more searching.

Firstly the milage , 50 to 80k is chicken feed for a 6 cyl benz. I have another with 150k and its used daily and has a hard life. there are many with 200k plus on the clock and i fully expect both of mine to get well into that territory. Older benzes are gloriously over engineered and one of the benefits is longevity (i used to run Volvos before moving to benz's and I was surprised at how much more battleship like the Benz's were!).

As for clocking I guess they are as susceptable as any other but i would always buy private myself (with a professional inspection from an independent Benz technician) where you can see the actual owner in teh flesh. Many SLs are bought as second cars and have a very nice low mielage life. If you meet the owner you can assess this. The early 90s SLs (known as R129s) are in plentiful supply so you can shop around. Look at at least 6 -10 before deciding and any genuine seller should agree to a pre sale inspection which will be money well spent.

A few points on the R129 - mechanically they are excellent so the key thing is the physical condition especially the interior which shows wear easily . If its really tidy inside thats a good sign on this model, indicative of a good life. the other thing is the hood, you must see it demonstrated as it is complex and expensive if it needs repairing. Rust is a non issue or if its not then walk away. there is one job which all 6 cyl benz's tend to need of this era and which is expensive which is a head gasket change. If you find one which has already had it done then thats a bonus as the replacement is a permanent fix.

As I say there is loads on this forum and Benzworld but those are my highlights. Oh and yes I get 26mpg and but I drive it for fun ie. not with economy in mind. Again Benz's are v. heavy so you always get less miles than most other makes.

Happy hunting oh and only buy something with a full service history, that goes with all benz's.

Keith