The W113 series (Pagoda) are much more stylish than the R107 , but also much more costly to maintain and find a good one . The R107 is more of a 'Poseurs' car as opposed to the W113 being a driver's car , at least the 230SL , which handles better : I had a 1964 230SL many years ago and it was superb - the 280 had a big , heavy lump of an engine up front and soft , spongy suspension which just did not handle the same
The 280SL is not any faster a car than the 230SL and is less rewarding to drive , personally I'd forget the 280 in favour of a 230 (the 230 engine is sweeter too) . Likewise , the R107 series handles just like a W123 - kind of wallows & rolls about the place - OK for posing but not really 'sports car' handling : the R129 is much better if you are a keen driver .
The W113 models are thirsty too : a 280SL won't see any better than 20MPG ; a manual , carefully driven and in good tune 230SL might see around 25MPG on a good day : mine did around 20 MPG but it had a tired , smoky engine , even 20 years ago
The W113 models , being based on the W110/111/112 Fintail chassis ( it is basically a shortened Fintail ) is VERY prone to rust underneath ; most will have had extensive surgery by now - sills , floorpan , crossmembers , boot floor , everywhere really ( I expect mine to have long passed into oblivion by now ) ; R107 models fare a little better but can also harbour rust even on externally good-looking examples : the favourite place is the plenium chamber underneath the chrome vents in front of the windscreen which can fill up with water and rot out , being a particularly awkward place to get into , wet carpets in the footwell are a sign of this expensive to correct fault .
As someone else said , the R129 series are very good cars to drive too : much better than any R107 , although personally I would choose another W113 230SL over either of them if it were not for the fact that prices have now skyrocketed beyond my reach - 25 years ago you could acquire and run one on a budget but alas no longer . You can acquire cheap R107 and R129 models but , as always , you get what you pay for and these cars will have problems .
There are plenty of specialists both for sales and service of all these models (not the same people though - those who sell and those who service are NOT the same) , all of them advertise in the 'Mercedes-Benz Club Gazette' , if you join the club you will get it monthly .
Good luck with your choice .
If going for either of these models , it is a MUST to join the Mercedes-Benz owners' club : the expertise is all there and well worth the £25 a year .
Edit - reading earlier comments in this thread - if you need more than two seats , the sideways facing rear seat in the W113 series is OK but back seats in the R107 models are for infants only .
