Help! - 1980's 280SL

[cowsurgeon]

Hi,
Does anyone know anything that would be good to know about the 1982/3 280SL? Any specific probs, how much they should be going for etc
I'm thinking of buying one and thought this would be as good a place as any to get some good advice, thanks for your help!

 

[Malcolm Brown]

Help!

Interesting name!

There have been a couple of threads on this in the last few weeks - if I remember correctly, one in this forum and the other in the tech forum.

Regarding price, from what I have seen there is a very wide range (£6k-£15k) depending on condition and source. You will usually find several in the classifieds section of this site, Findit and Autotrader. If you want to see what top price is, look somewhere like the Classic Chrome site (Ive just checked - 3 280SL 107s there at present £10,500-£15,750!!). If you can stretch to it, I'd think about a late 80s 300SL (but I would say that!) - it's more likely to be in very good nick.

Happy hunting.

 

[cowsurgeon]

Help!

Thanks,
I've gone back through both the general and the tech forums and found a post on May 7th where Andy says he's written an A4 page on the topic, but I'm d*amn
ed if I can find it! Still, good advice on rust and stuff.

Just how underpowered is the 280? I think that's the only engine I can get insured on as am only 23 and have 6 points on license.

From reading a few of the other posts it seems that the older SL's often need a bit of 'tweaking', and as I know absolutely nothing about car mechanics was wondering if anyone had any advice on whether to use MB garages or just local ones, and how much their SL's have cost them since buying them?
Cheers
Chris.

 

[Joe Bradley]

Help!

Chris would have thought being 26 and 6 points shouldn't be that much of a problem, my m8 lost his licence for 3 years, is in his 20's and still got his 380sl insured for less than 800 with regular insurers, surely u can get classic insurance or is there an age restriction on that.? My 380 ( garaged) costs me 260 a year but I'm an ageing hippie.
Regarding the power ( like malcolm I'm biased ) my  mates who have had 280's all complain about them. That being said mine is a US spec 380 therefore 70 hp less than the european models and I've never found it wanting, take the 280 out and give it a good thrashing see what you think!

brgds
380sl lefthooker

 

[Shude]

Help!

bah!  I'm 24 and have only 2 years no claims but a clean licence.  I just renewed my insurance on a 1998 c230k with a few cosmetic mods and it came to about £1100, with a £1000 excess!  With a £600 excess it was going to be £1360. That was with DirectLine, companies like the AA and Adrian Flux wanted silly money like £3000.  Insurance is a major rip-off

 

[Matt Crooke]

Help!

I pay £320 full comp, ive got 6 years No claims, and im 25 years old. But then mines only a standard 190...till a 2.0 litre though/ Thats with a small brokers called Warwick Davis in Surrey. www.warwick-davis.co.uk i think. That also includes the missus to drive, who is the same age. Not bad really.

 

[cowsurgeon]

Help!

Hi again,
Cheapest I can find at the mo is Elephant.co.uk but that's still 1500. In order to get classic car insurance don't you need to drive the car less than a certain milage each year, or have a second car or something?

If I manage to get hold of a 280SL It's going to be my only car for everyday use - if it doesn't conk out on me!
Knowing my luck, some scally'll come along and key the side or put a knife in the hood though - no garage you see.

 

[Matt Crooke]

Help!

Cow....

Insurance is a joke at the moment you are right, they want the price of a small house to insure a 950cc Fiesta.

Ive got a feeling that you arent going to be able to better that at all. A 2.8 litre car on a young person with 6 points is an insurers dream, as all they see is this person clerly likes to speed, and is a liability...now he wants a powerful car, were gonna sting him for it....its the way of the world (well the UK at least!) for the foreseeable future. You might want to enter the world of the star on a slightly cheaper note, why not get hold of a reasonably priced 190E, or better still C180 or something with a better sized engine for your age.

Also, have you ever owned a 2.8 litre car before? ive had 2 of a similar size and you can pass anything but a petrol station, so be prepared to sacrifice a few Friday nights out for the sake of a tank of 4 Star!!

 

[Joe Bradley]

Help!

for what it's worth e-bay currently has an 81 280 standing at 7 grand.

look pretty good but you pays your money n takes your chances...

brgds
380sl steering wheel in the wrong place

 

[cowsurgeon]

Help!

Can anyone tell me which haynes manual covers the 1982 280SL? Is it the one covering the other SL's or the one covering the other 280's?
Cheers for your help!

 

[David S]

Help!

I just renewed with Tesco. They are backed by directline, the quote form... all look the same. Total premium, £1100.00 for me and the misses, both over 25years, 1 year NC, and living central London.

Funny thing was the their quote was 200quid cheaper than directline.

Regards

David

 

[Shude]

Help!

Quote: from David S on 1:28 pm on May 22, 2002
I just renewed with Tesco ... Funny thing was the their quote was 200quid cheaper than directline.

They quoted me loads more than directline.  I only have 2 years NCD though.

It cost me nearly a grand TPFT to insure my vauxhall astra, which was worth £300 at best.  When it was stolen I rented a car and didn't tell my insurer.  The car was found 2 days later with some damage done to it and I just had it repaired with 2nd hand parts by my garage at my own expense - I bought the merc about 4 months later and I saved more than the value of the car in NCD!  Sick.

 

[Malcolm Brown]

Help!

Re the manuals question ...

I've not found one for any 6 cyl 107s. In fact the only ones I've ever seen have been MBUSA manuals for US models (all V8s). I had thought about getting a general US 107 manual plus one for something else with the same 300 engine (e.g. W126) - but ruled it out because its a lot of money and it could well be misleading.

Has anyone else found a proper 280/300SL manual?