just looked at a r129........

[bennyboy]

On a new Merc or upto 10yrs old then yeah but an older merc not really.

I think your both right actually, most will want the air con, why wouldnt you? a non aircon car must be worth less.
But on a personal level, im with discokeing in that i dont think it would bother me that much

 

[dbanbery]

there are so many for sale that it would be silly not to pick and choose the ones with the highest spec - get Air con, there are more with than without. heated seats and cruise i went for. you will get a decent one for £4k easy. its a slow market even in this weather.

if you go for a '95 or after they have the climate control as standard anyway [i think]

 

[buster651]

think 1992 on had push button climate control on 500 - may be different on 320
underpowered for a very heavy car?

 

[DSB SL AMG]

mine does not have aircon...never bothered me when I bought the car...never bothered me since

 

[dt4]

mine does not have aircon...never bothered me when I bought the car...never bothered me since

Neither does my 1994 SL320, it doesnt bother me but I can appreciate it being a selling point
I dont use the aircon in my other car due to its thirst for fuel so not having it in the SL isnt a problem

 

[mikestrivens]

Aircon is nice, it helps with demisting if nothing else. Just look at all the replies on here to see if matters or not, it will affect resale. I use it full blast with the roof down in this hot weather as Malcolm says

Absolutely agree, also helps counteract global warming

 

[DSB SL AMG]

when buying I was more focussed on service history, bills, previous ownership history, vehicle condition, test drive results, inspection analysis ...aircon was a nice to have...but I can see some people value it highly. If I get hot I put the roof down

Being serious I have it on all year round in my e55,really like climate control for my everyday car... the SL is a summer car only.

 

[mikestrivens]

... If I get hot I put the roof down

...

Not much use when it's peeing down and your car is all misted up on the inside. I had a TVR like that, worst car I ever owned. There was so much heat in it that the slightest dampness outside would translate into totally fogged up windscreen and heater couldn't clear it, not that you wanted the heater on in mid summer.

Always have aircon summer or winter it makes for a much nicer driving experience.

 

[television]

Not much use when it's peeing down and your car is all misted up on the inside. I had a TVR like that, worst car I ever owned. There was so much heat in it that the slightest dampness outside would translate into totally fogged up windscreen and heater couldn't clear it, not that you wanted the heater on in mid summer.

Always have aircon summer or winter it makes for a much nicer driving experience.

I too found that most noticeable in my 129 as the hood must retain some dampness. Even my CL when the air con was not working misted up 2 months back when I was using the coast road every day I got 15 miles and whole car misted up.

 

[deejaybee]

Having been using my SL320 today with both the hood down and up I would say that working a/c is very much a useful thing and in keeping with the luxury appeal that was intended with these. When it is very hot like it was recently it makes a huge difference when you are in town or any other situation where the speed is low.

Also, from my experience the a/c on these cars is reliable, so if it is not working the chances are there is a leak some where rather than the normal excuse of "it just needs a re-gas".

The car you looked at for £4k is too expensive with all the problems you listed - it would take at least £2k to sort to a reasonable standard and you would probably do better buying a better car for around £6k in the first place.

If you only want to dip your toe in the R129 water and see if it is for you it would be better to buy something that is reasonably up together for around the £4k mark and plan to just keep it until next spring without spending anything on it and then get a better one if you really like it. You will never really get your money back spending on something that hasn't been maintained properly in the first place.

Some of these cars are now getting to the point of being owned by people who cant afford or cant be bothered to look after them properly - at the moment they are not worth enough to justify doing anything with other than just basic maintenance to keep on the road.

For the pre-98 facelift cars something up to around £8k gets you the best examples out there (excluding paying the prices being asked by some of the specialists), but buying a £4k car and spending £4k on it will generally not get the same result.

The only other thing is don't assume that it has to be a 500 - that is the standard advice, but you should drive both if you can as the character of the 320 and 500 are different. It is probably better to focus on getting the best example for the money you have whichever model it turns out to be.

 

[television]

deejaybee post is very very good and it reflects all car in the secondhand market, but the 129 more so for a dog of a car is very hard if not impossible to get it back to the way it should be

 

[mikestrivens]

....
Hood works but is in poor condition and would need replacing, i believe this costs around £800,is this correct?
...

Khm in Germany are quoting €536 for a complete hood.

 

[dbanbery]

it makes a huge difference when you are in town or any other situation where the speed is low.

The car you looked at for £4k is too expensive with all the problems you listed - it would take at least £2k to sort to a reasonable standard and you would probably do better buying a better car for around £6k in the first place.

If you only want to dip your toe in the R129 water and see if it is for you it would be better to buy something that is reasonably up together for around the £4k mark and plan to just keep it until next spring without spending anything on it and then get a better one if you really like it. You will never really get your money back spending on something that hasn't been maintained properly in the first place.

Some of these cars are now getting to the point of being owned by people who cant afford or cant be bothered to look after them properly - at the moment they are not worth enough to justify doing anything with other than just basic maintenance to keep on the road.

For the pre-98 facelift cars something up to around £8k gets you the best examples out there (excluding paying the prices being asked by some of the specialists), but buying a £4k car and spending £4k on it will generally not get the same result.

The only other thing is don't assume that it has to be a 500 - that is the standard advice, but you should drive both if you can as the character of the 320 and 500 are different. It is probably better to focus on getting the best example for the money you have whichever model it turns out to be.

Fair points. I saw quite a few IRL when i was looking, and i struggled to find a discernible difference in condition between cars priced at 7k to cars priced at 4k. you need to judge cars on a base by case basis. i paid £3100 for mine, and i bought it knowing that it needed some small things sorting on it [mainly interior and servicing] and i have gone further than necessary already in some areas. I was concentrated on 500s though, TBH i have seen some of the smaller engined beasts for less. there was a lovely 300-24 in the same colours as mine, for £2800 i think, with a private plated valued at something like £2k - D4 DSL. Since purchase ive spent about £500 on various bits, that includes servicing and the purchase of a wind diffuser too. ive got a few small things to do, and im planning a front suspension overhaul too soon. not entirely necessary, but i want to replace it anyway - ill do the back afterwards if i think it needs it. Mine has been looked after well from the start, but a few jobs in latter years have been fudged. whoever charged the previous owner £2500 to replace the heater matrix broke parts of the interior and lost screws/bolts etc which you wouldnt have known until you started taking it apart anyway. found a few missing clips to do with servicing etc which cost pennies from merc.

I agree that a lot of these cars are at the price where people cant really afford to run them [this is why i could afford to buy one - i can easily afford the upkeep/improvement works but the initial outlay on something that is a toy was large for me]. It can be a minefield out there looking for the right one. I try not to look for a particular colour either. they didnt come in a bad colour.

All in all, it depends whether you want to buy one to drive, or buy one to drive and mess with. i chose the latter as i like to buy cheap and improve. Mine is in no way a dog that has gone too far to be saved mind.

 

[s5tuart]

Devils' advocate

Coming in to this post from the top-end (so to speak) I decided to pay on the higher side of R129s prices for 2 reasons.
One was to to get exactly the one I wanted (pano roof, nappa leather, MY2000, etc) and the other was to to buy from a professional to get back up if things went **t's-up. For my money I got a 3 year warranty which to me, (whose toolkit comprises of a breadknife and a hammer) is total peace of mind.

I didn't buy mine from them, but I believe the SL Shop can charge what they do (ie probably the highest prices out there) because of the reputation, warranty, service and total worry free ownership package they claim to provide.

 

[dbanbery]

Coming in to this post from the top-end (so to speak) I decided to pay on the higher side of R129s prices for 2 reasons.
One was to to get exactly the one I wanted (pano roof, nappa leather, MY2000, etc) and the other was to to buy from a professional to get back up if things went **t's-up. For my money I got a 3 year warranty which to me, (whose toolkit comprises of a breadknife and a hammer) is total peace of mind.

I didn't buy mine from them, but I believe the SL Shop can charge what they do (ie probably the highest prices out there) because of the reputation, warranty, service and total worry free ownership package they claim to provide.

Stuart, your requirements push you into £10k territory easily with that spec, especially considering the extent of your tool kit. A bread knife is highly useful on occasion,s being useful for cutting problem items AND also being a precisioon screwdriver.

 

[s5tuart]

Stuart, your requirements push you into £10k territory easily with that spec, especially considering the extent of your tool kit. A bread knife is highly useful on occasion,s being useful for cutting problem items AND also being a precisioon screwdriver.

Exactly right! £9995 to be precise!
Gotta love the breadknife! The original multifunction tool.