Help Required - worried buyer

[gaunty]

I am looking for a r107 SL 300 - I have seen a load, but saw one this weekend that seemed to tick all the right boxes - one worry though - it was pretty wet in the rear "footwell" behind the drivers seat. The car has the hard top on and is stored outside - are there any really common reasons for leaks in an 89 SL that I can check out ?

 

[Myros]

oh there are plenty

1stly. the hardtop seals themselves may have perished, letting the water in, or it may be the water is coming in under the hardtop.
2ndly, the internal seals in the hardtop may be letting water in through the hardtop, around the window frames, through the load bars.
3dly, it could be perished door seals.
4thly, it could be the soft-top compartment leaking water in from under the hardtop.

The only way you could really find out is to get the car dry, then have a hose played up it slowly, with you inside and all the trim panels off so you can see whne and where the water starts to come in.

Has the car been driven in the rain at all recently?

 

[gaunty]

Not as far as I know, but it lives outside with no cover and it has been pretty rainy lately !

 

[Myros]

see if you can get the owner to pull the carpets out

and sit in the car with the rain, or the hose thing, and see if you can spot the leak.
They can be troublesome, you think you have fixed it, and then they come out somewhere else. I have a slightly perished door seal which lets a little trickle into the front passenger well in really heavy rain. I'm surprised hoewlittle comes in really.

 

[Ade W124]

Do all old cars leak is or is it just a quirk of MB?

My 91 CE has shown traces of water in both front and rear OS footwells... having cleaned all the drains I can find, I haven't managed to lift the carpets since to check.... condensation seems less of a problem...

My previous car, 92 205 GTI was water tight except for the sun roof grommits (classic 205 fault), my old man drives a 92 Pajero - water tight so far - although has myriad other minor problems.....

It seems such a common problem on this forum..

Ade

 

[Bolide]

If the car's been stored outside and hasn't been used much in the last 6 months it may be mainly condensation. A misted up windscreen after sitting for a couple of days is a giveaway here

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[gaunty]

So I guess the big question is - should I avoid buying the car untill I know what the problem is - as I say it ticked the rest of the boxes for me. The various rubber bits, though a pain to track down, don't sound like a significant problem - am I being naive ?

 

[Myros]

the rubbers aren't cheap, and can be fiddly

but if it's a fault of the hard-top rather than it's easily got at rubber, then you could be in bigger trouble.
If the owner won't wait for better weather and a dry floor for you test, think about moving on. Or only using it in the dry.