What's wrong with SLs?

d215yq

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I've been looking into buying a second car...only stipulation is must be a biggish auto convertible and old. Always loved the XK8 since it came out but looking here a ropey 1997 one is 13k€ - most are 18k+...

Which seems to me bizarre as a 1997 ropey R129 500SL is under half that - and I would guess be more reliable. Now I know that's an oldish model and is certainly nowhere near as beautiful as the Jaguar but then I see the ropey 2002 R230 500SLs are about 8k€. Now I know these are the least reliable and most costly things you can buy, but I don't think an XK8 is exactly cheap to run/troublefree either.

So why are the XK8s holding their value so much better? Is it because they're just seen as much better looking cars inside and out? To me this is the case, but I'm a bit old school and I'd imagine to many the R230 is more modern and nicer looking.

I mean a W124 320 convertible of the same age as a R129 is about 18k+ so that keeps up with the Jaguar even though it's originally a cheaper car than the 129. Is this because there are so few made and they would be cheaper to run and more reliable being a W124 and not a modified/specialised W124 platform the R129 uses and they look better? I know they have bigger rear seats but I can't see that being important enough to most buyers of 25 yr old cars like this to justify the doubling of the R129 prices.

Even an early model 380SEC seems to cost more than the SL and that's not even a convertible. In fact SECs have crept up in value a lot since I looked 5 years ago - I remember bidding 1500 for a poor cosmetic condition but MOT'd late model 560SEC that worked and losing out to a 1700 bid. Now a car like that would go for 10k+ and could easily be 15k if tidied up...
 

ajlsl600

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i think there are a number of ropey,poorly repaired r230,s about and thats having an adverse effect on prices , also its well known that the r230 is not peanuts to maintain ,EVEN, if you do it yrself . origional well kept ,well spec,d versions will start to command a premium as the dogs start to disappear... on other earlier SL,s others will speak up , but i expect the story to be or have been similar ,just that well spec,d original, well looked after versions are now scarcer hence the pricing .with such cars its all about the timing and if one can keep the car long enough and in good order . thats how i see it anyway..
 

Frontstep

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The bottom will drop out of the prices of most big expensive lumps the lottery of choosing which ones won't is the key.

I have seen some almighty bargains in big engined cars there are many for sale for months with owners dreaming.

As always the one to put your gamble stake on is the mint one.
 

Blobcat

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If you want an investment rather than a depreciating asset get a 911...

The 993’s are too expensive now, the 996 is seriously unloved (cheap) although still £15k to the £5K for a R230 SL... get the right one and it will only go up.

The 997 is already appreciating but if you pick the right one there’s still bargains to be had and a better driving car you won’t find (but then again I was biased...) :D
 
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d215yq

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I'm not really interested in an investment if I do get one. To be honest I'm just abit dissapointed the two I like and would actually own (W124 convertible or Jaguar XK8) are the expensive ones. I'm used to my tatse normally being different from the masses so I get the bargains...

A shame really as however good an investment or affordable I don't really fancy a 129 or 230. And if I felt I had to have an auto convertible and couldn't afford the W124 or Jag I would just get a Saab 9-3 as I don't really care for the big engines/performance and would guess they'd be cheaper to run.
 

LostKiwi

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The 124s hold value better because as you say they are rare.
The 129 was made in surprisingly large numbers and was in general a second car so rarely used. They also had bulletproof build quality so many have survived and this also pushes down the price.
As a car the 129 is superb. It's solidly built, well engineered and aside from a few well known niggles reliable. The 129 is now starting to go up in value. Just four years ago I paid £4k for mine and would reasonably expect to sell it for £7k asking with an expectation of getting at least £6k.
 

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What about a Clk350
 
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d215yq

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What about a Clk350

I don't really like the more modern design. The XK8 is the only modernish looking thing I'd go for and that's an exception as I think they made it so beautiful (I know it's not modern in the grand scheme of things, just compared to the usual stuff I go for it is).
 

rorywquin

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Buy a SLK 55 .....If I had the space, there would be one parked at my house! No good for touring but going to be rare and collectable.
 

ajlsl600

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watched j lenno last night .mclaren f1 was a good buy! according to him 980k new he paid 1.2 or 1.3 now worth 12m if thats correct thats some investment . i like watcing him ,as he is a straight on car guy. not often i like yanks and car shows.
 

noonboots

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There are some serious issues with earlier Jag V8s. From day one they had problems with plastic timing chain tensioners breaking. They went through four modifications and didn't get it right till the 4. 2 engine came out in 2003. If an engine hasn't had this £800 update its a ticking time bomb. Also rust! Look underneath any Jaguar older than 12 months and you will be greeted with crusty rust encrusted suspension components. Common failures because of this are the ABS rings which rust and take out the sensors. Then when you get to the age of cars talked about here you'll have to look for body and structural corrosion .. and you'll find it. There are other potential disasters waiting for the unwary and unknowing owner too. There, all that without mentioning Nikasil.
In my humble (but not biased because I love Jags) opinion the SL is in a different league altogether. If I had an XK8 I'd feel like I'd got an old Jag. With the SL I never feel like I'm driving an old Merc. Just the way it turns heads and people ask questions about it says to me I made the right choice for my retirement toy. But then, I've wanted an R230 since I first laid eyes on one in 2003. I'm happy just gawping at it
 

ajlsl600

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SL ,ASTON AND GRAND TURSIMO willbe timeless, like my duk 748r
 

Blobcat

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SL ,ASTON AND GRAND TURSIMO willbe timeless, like my duk 748r
You forgot the 911... :rolleyes:
I agree with the 748, I miss my 996SP a great deal but it was a very very bad influence :p
 

ajlsl600

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yup not great for speed points , grand for a 200 km a day tour of europe, did lake guarda /chippenham non stop once ,walked like john wayne for three days.. a classic non the less.
 
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d215yq

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There are some serious issues with earlier Jag V8s. From day one they had problems with plastic timing chain tensioners breaking. They went through four modifications and didn't get it right till the 4. 2 engine came out in 2003. If an engine hasn't had this £800 update its a ticking time bomb. Also rust! Look underneath any Jaguar older than 12 months and you will be greeted with crusty rust encrusted suspension components. Common failures because of this are the ABS rings which rust and take out the sensors. Then when you get to the age of cars talked about here you'll have to look for body and structural corrosion .. and you'll find it. There are other potential disasters waiting for the unwary and unknowing owner too. There, all that without mentioning Nikasil.
In my humble (but not biased because I love Jags) opinion the SL is in a different league altogether. If I had an XK8 I'd feel like I'd got an old Jag. With the SL I never feel like I'm driving an old Merc. Just the way it turns heads and people ask questions about it says to me I made the right choice for my retirement toy. But then, I've wanted an R230 since I first laid eyes on one in 2003. I'm happy just gawping at it

Apart from corrosion which isn't an issue here and Nikasil which will either have destroyed the engine by now or be fine, i was thinking that these would be everyone's thoughts and so i could pick up a scruffy XK8 convertible with high mileage for 5k and let everyone else enjoy their R230s...it seems not.

Fact remains an XK8 of same age as a R230 is over twice the price and even getting an early one that's 6 years older is 1.5 x the price so there must be many people out there who find them desirable or maybe despite the problems they are still significantly cheaper to run than a R230?
 

A.J.

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Apart from corrosion which isn't an issue here and Nikasil which will either have destroyed the engine by now or be fine, i was thinking that these would be everyone's thoughts and so i could pick up a scruffy XK8 convertible with high mileage for 5k and let everyone else enjoy their R230s...it seems not.

Fact remains an XK8 of same age as a R230 is over twice the price and even getting an early one that's 6 years older is 1.5 x the price so there must be many people out there who find them desirable or maybe despite the problems they are still significantly cheaper to run than a R230?

All of this does surprise me, I know which I would rather have and it ain't the XK8. Each to their own :)
 

ajlsl600

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i would not have the jag either ,i tried one once ,found little room inside, and thought the modern mechanics suspect , nice looking tho, just no where near R230, thats ,take it from me gong to be one of the timeless motors . mine is 03 ,in my view mint as 03 could be, if ever used at all and it still attracts people who want to know more about it. and cant believe the age.....
 

LostKiwi

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i would not have the jag either ,i tried one once ,found little room inside, and thought the modern mechanics suspect , nice looking tho, just no where near R230, thats ,take it from me gong to be one of the timeless motors . mine is 03 ,in my view mint as 03 could be, if ever used at all and it still attracts people who want to know more about it. and cant believe the age.....
I get the same response and ours is "only" a V8. Everyone is surprised it's 17 years old.
I get a similar response with the 129. No one belies that's 26 years old though park the 230 next to it and it does look dated.
 


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