PJayUK
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- Oct 7, 2008
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In my continued search for a car for fun purposes I went to see a 1996 P reg SL280 yesterday. The car was at a local dealer that specialises in prestige cars and was taken in as a part ex for a newer SL. I spoke to the dealer on the phone and he told me the car was immaculate in excellent condition and in need of a quick sale.
When I got there the car was indeed in very nice overall condition but there were a few areas that are making me decide not to part with my money, I wanted to get your opinions on whether I made the right decision.
The car in question is a cardinal red SL280 with 92,500 miles on it. It was in very good condition no rust. There was some loss of lacquer on the front bumper and both of the front fog lamps lenses where broken. The interior was black leather and again in very good condition no rips or tears and indicated that the car had been well cared for. It had a hardtop the soft top was in very good condition with the rear windscreen being replaced recently.
Had a set of AMG alloys and new tyres on, but not sure that the wheels were right for the car, looked ok though. It's a basic spec car with no rear seats etc but in good overall condition.
Everything worked, the windows dropped properly and the hood mechanism was smooth.
The bad points...
There was some slight rattling coming from the front right hand side of the engine, I suspected timing chain or tensioner. The front disks were worn, there was a good 1mm lip on both. A test drove confirmed that the brakes were not great but worked ok. The rattling was still noticeable after a test drive.
The Air conditioning didn't blow cold air. Could be a simple regas or could be something more complex, likelihood is that there is a leak.
The power steering was noisy on full lock and had a slight whine upon normal turns.
the car drove well if a little noisy but then I havent driven a covertible for a while I drove the car for a good 4 miles on my own. Tested kickdown and all gearbox functions. he only comment was the gear selector did not seem to engage positively, on one occasion I was in neutral when I wanted reverse.
Anyway, the asking price for the car is 5.950. I pointed out that I felt that this was high for an SL with this particular engine and specification. I offered 5,000 and he has yet to come back to me but I think I will walk away from it now I have thought about the car overnight.
What do you think, given the potential bills to repair the points above I think this could be an expensive mistake!
When I got there the car was indeed in very nice overall condition but there were a few areas that are making me decide not to part with my money, I wanted to get your opinions on whether I made the right decision.
The car in question is a cardinal red SL280 with 92,500 miles on it. It was in very good condition no rust. There was some loss of lacquer on the front bumper and both of the front fog lamps lenses where broken. The interior was black leather and again in very good condition no rips or tears and indicated that the car had been well cared for. It had a hardtop the soft top was in very good condition with the rear windscreen being replaced recently.
Had a set of AMG alloys and new tyres on, but not sure that the wheels were right for the car, looked ok though. It's a basic spec car with no rear seats etc but in good overall condition.
Everything worked, the windows dropped properly and the hood mechanism was smooth.
The bad points...
There was some slight rattling coming from the front right hand side of the engine, I suspected timing chain or tensioner. The front disks were worn, there was a good 1mm lip on both. A test drove confirmed that the brakes were not great but worked ok. The rattling was still noticeable after a test drive.
The Air conditioning didn't blow cold air. Could be a simple regas or could be something more complex, likelihood is that there is a leak.
The power steering was noisy on full lock and had a slight whine upon normal turns.
the car drove well if a little noisy but then I havent driven a covertible for a while I drove the car for a good 4 miles on my own. Tested kickdown and all gearbox functions. he only comment was the gear selector did not seem to engage positively, on one occasion I was in neutral when I wanted reverse.
Anyway, the asking price for the car is 5.950. I pointed out that I felt that this was high for an SL with this particular engine and specification. I offered 5,000 and he has yet to come back to me but I think I will walk away from it now I have thought about the car overnight.
What do you think, given the potential bills to repair the points above I think this could be an expensive mistake!
