Purchase of SL

[christos]

Dear all,

I have been considering the possibility of buying an SL and I am trying to find out a bit of information to make the best possible choice. I am thinking of buying a pre 2002 model (I think the years were 1994-2002, but I may be wrong...). It goes without saying that the more recent cars are slighlty more expensive, however I have seen a couple of 1995-96 cars which seem to be in a very good condition and around GBP 6000-7000. Is there anything that I should definately avoid? Any years or models? And could somebody give me a rough idea of service/maintainance costs for such a car?

Thank you!

 

[100%Bitch]

That would be the R129 model which was produced from 1989 to 2001. Go for a 500 if you can and you'll be very pleased with it. Buy on condition only.

There's plenty of choice around but my advice would be to get as late a model as you can, but just remember, condition, condition, condition.

 

[silver CL55]

What about MB service history?
Shouldn't that be the main factor?
What about the internal bit that rusts and needs to be ripped out/replaced?
(I'm also looking!)
Colin.

 

[antijam]

Honest John is always worth checking for the broad brush picture.

There is some more info and some perhaps useful links here too.

 

[100%Bitch]

What about MB service history?
Shouldn't that be the main factor?
What about the internal bit that rusts and needs to be ripped out/replaced?
(I'm also looking!)
Colin.

There's nothing wrong with servicing from an Indie (I'm presuming that the car would have some kind of servicing record otherwise you would walk away)?

I'd rather have a non-rusty car with an Indie service record than a rusty car with a full MB service record.

 

[mikestrivens]

Make sure that all the gadgets work. If going for an R129 take the hard top off and make sure the soft top goes up and down. Whilst the soft top is up check the plastic windows for splitting on the fold. The windows are around £385 to replace a full top around £1200. Check aircon works. If it doesn't suspect condenser leaking, cost £380 plus 3 hours labour to fix. The condenser is a particularly weak point on these cars as they are prone to road crud damage. Check around engine for any leaks etc. Make sure it stops in a straight line etc.

These cars generally do not rust but as others say do check. Maintenance not that much different from other Mercedes, £150 for an A service £300 to £500 for a B service. Most places, including Mercedes dealers now have fixed price servicing.

If you are looking for an economical one in terms of mpg don't try the SL500. Once you have driven an SL500 all others come a very poor 2nd. Having said that I get around 27mpg on the motorway out of mine, but around 19mpg around town. It is considerably more economical than my S600.

I'm sure others will have more to say.

 

[100%Bitch]

These cars generally do not rust but as others say do check. QUOTE]

Mine did rust, only on the surface, but do check.