Newbie advice for 500 SL

[AAARG]

What are the key things to look for when buying a 500 SL 1997 vintage-aside from obvious things like MBSH
Wrt mileage , ive been told that these V8 lumps are good for > 100k -would this sort of mileage put you off with a 500SL
What sort of money is reasonable for 97 500SL with say 120k miles and a decent history

 

[angus falconer]

Hi I can't talk specifically about SL's (there are several owners here who can and will).

However I am on my second V8 C class and believe the engine and gearbox are derived fronm the same family.

The V8's, gearboxes and oily bits are pretty tough and go on to high mileages as long as oil changes have been carried out (on the gearbox too as despite Merc claims they DO benefit from fluid changes).

The only issues I have had have been around the occasional failure of small electrical components in the drivetrain - crank sensor, MAF, brake light switch. These seem to be common failures across the Merc range

For specific SL advice I defer to the experts - you will no doubt see several posts from those gentlemen shortly.

 

[Myros]

not an expert

but driver of an 85 500 SL. The main thing is, has it been looked after. On the older SLs like mine, timing chain tensioner components need replacing at about 75-100k, depending on how lucky you are. Can't say about the later models, but it's worth bearing in mind.
Mileage really is unimportant as long as the car has been cared for. See if the owner actually knows anything about the car. If he's genuine, he'll probably already have sprung for some of the renewables on a 120k miler, or one of the previous owners will have.
It's unlikely to have gone that long without something needing doing.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

What are the key things to look for when buying a 500 SL 1997 vintage-aside from obvious things like MBSH
Wrt mileage , ive been told that these V8 lumps are good for > 100k -would this sort of mileage put you off with a 500SL
What sort of money is reasonable for 97 500SL with say 120k miles and a decent history

these guys have a couple of SL's at various vintages. They would probably be prepared to give you advice too.

http://www.mercedesj-a-haynes.com/carsales1.htm

 

[stats007]

No offence intended but a quicksearch through this or a couple of other forums will give you everything you need to know about these cars.

A '97 SL500 is probably one of the best years to buy - they do go on forever - though with that sort of mileage you'd expect the springs and dampers to have been changed - along with most of the bushes, track rod ends, wheel bearings, timing chain tensioners, spark plugs a few times, ATF, disks & pads, driveshaft couplings etc etc.

Interior parts aren't cheap and should be judged accordingly. If it has ADS then be very careful as to overhaul this costs £1000s.

If it has a full and comprehensive service record then fine - but there are plenty of cars out there to buy - it would need to be cheap enough to warrant buying it over one with 60k miles for example.

Depending on condition etc then around £12k at most.

 

[Flying Scot]

well my SL500 has around 160K on the clock and the engine is a dream not just the engine of course the whole car is amazing drives like a 10K car no rattles thumps squeaks or anything like that. The ONLY issue i have with the car is the seal at the top of the windscreen which just refuses to seal 100% no mater which top is on the car. ANYONE with a fix for this do let me know.

thanks

 

[AAARG]

cheers for all this top advice
Im actually planning on having the car inspected independantly by someone i have dealt with before who i trust called rob ingleby
www.findasportscar.co.uk

 

[nberry]

500SL performance

Hi,

I am trying to find performance figures and realistic fuel consumption figures for a 1983 500SL which would be used in daily commuting.

Anyone help ?

Thanks.

Nigel.

 

[shadowninja]

cheers for all this top advice
Im actually planning on having the car inspected independantly by someone i have dealt with before who i trust called rob ingleby
www.findasportscar.co.uk

thought he only dealt with TVRs.

 

[television]

Hi,

I am trying to find performance figures and realistic fuel consumption figures for a 1983 500SL which would be used in daily commuting.

Anyone help ?

Thanks.

Nigel.

the fuel consumtion is worse on the 107 as against the 129, probably max of 20 mpg

malcolm

 

[stats007]

Book figures for the R107 500SL:

Peak Power: 240bhp@5000rpm
Peak Torque: 297ftlb@3200rpm

Top Speed: 140mph
0-62mph: 7.8s


A 500 owner I know claims 22mpg cruising - I certainly wouldn't expect more than this - about 12mpg around town.

 

[Myros]

I got 25mpg two weeks ago

on the A1 and M1, on a 250mile round trip, at what we might call "spirited" speeds. The worst I have ever had was 14mpg, and that was city crawling for hours. I usually get 22-24mpg on a mixed run of motorway, city and out of town roads on a 19mile run to work. On our hols a few years ago , driving through Germany at well over 90 all the time, 27mpg.
What really affects it is sitting in traffic. A 5l v8 will not be economical idling in a jam, no matter what you do with the accelerator when you are moving.
It's still cheaper than the public transport option, way more convenient, and hundreds of times more fun.

 

[stats007]

I find 27mpg at over 90mph very hard to believe - you don't even get that in a modern 500.

 

[Myros]

honest, I have the figures to prove it

and the maths was done by the missus, who is a proper white-coat scientist.
I was well impressed myself, as i bought the car never expecting to see better than 22.
100 octane german petrol, pretty traffic free autobahns and using the road sensibly. These things are always best on a long spirited cruise than blatting around town.

In the Austrian valleys, it was even better, but we were just wafting around with the top down at about 50.

 

[television]

When I drove home My 500 from Liverpool th the South coast, it returned 39. 5 doing 80mph for the best part of the 250 mile drive home,only 40 miles were non motorway, since then my average is better than my V70R at around 24 mpg.

Malcolm

 

[stats007]

39.5 ?!?!

 

[Blobcat]

39.5 ?!?!

Didn't you know, Malcolm has a very rare CDI version

 

[television]

Sorry folks,I sit here to long 29.5 not 39.5 DavidsSL teased me about it saying I must have driven to slow, sorry about that:Oops:


Malcolm

 

[tim1961]

i've got a 91 500sl [r129] only done 28500 miles stunning car realisticly when you drive it around town stop and start etc it did 16.6 mpg last week. can't fault the car i've driven 2 year old car that dont drive as well . i can't comment on fuel consumption of higher mileage cars but at the end of the day you are getting alot of car for the price of a 12 month old focus

 

[Pipemaster]

You should buy a 320 much greener... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Im on my second 129 parting witht he last on at 128k mile it was a 280 and is still going strong.
Areas to look out for apart from the engine:
squeaking blower fan - the clips that hold it in place become brittle and break leaving the fan off centre which can spoil the bearings

Cuts to the leatherette on the door card handled cuased by rings and keys in hand when the door has been opened / closed, this can be unsightly

Speaker cover cloth in the doors coming away and or stained from water ingress

Dents in door card cased by seatbelt buckles not retracting

hairline cracks in thecentre console where its been hamfistedly installed

lights in the dash out and around door mounted the seat adjusters blown

listen for a whining of a motor which sorts out the un locking of the fuel flap and centre console and boot as well as the doors if this goes on for a while theres probabely a leak in the vacuum system

Check the hard top removal softop operation . The ecu for the softop is about £850 to fix and is a special order non returnable part from merc.

Aerioal masts are prone to stick up these can be replaced

Check the front air dam.by running your fingers under the edge as these are quite weak and if someone has parked with the nose over a kerb in a car park and the car has settled lower they do split when you reverse away.

Check for the carpeted cover for the wind jammer that stores in the boot. These are often missing. The wind jammer should be behind this cover in the boot and not have any holes or snags

Check the windows go down with one click and when they come up again ( you have to hold the switch) check to see if they are wet. This could be a sign of a blocked door drain or that the car has been standing a while

Steering idlers do wear after a few miles which leads to wandering. Not too badly but it wont feel taut.

if the blowers dont seem to blow veryt hard its likelt the pollen filter is full of rubbish and needs to be cleaned / replaced

if you get one with the adjustable suspension be prepared for some bills unless you can see its already been done ( ie there are bills already)

Hope that helps

They are great cars and all this stuff ist major. The next to the 320 the 500 is the next best thing.... :wink: