A 7 year break from MB!

[greggster]

Hello lovely people, I just looked at my last posts and it was 7 years ago!! Time flies far too fast. I would love to say that I've been travelling the world, or off driving my dream cars, but looking back it appears I've just been working.

Anyway, it's time for a V8 MB convertible. I have a really bad V8 itch as I've never had one and have always gone the sensible oil burner route. It's going to be a second car and can't be garaged. So, the shortlist with my £10k ish budget is probably the usual one;

R129 SL500
R230 SL500
W208 (???) CLK 500 convertible, or maybe one with a sunroof would do it as its pillarless anyway

I have always wanted an R129, but not sure if the age of them will show through to the driving experience, and not sure I can be bothered to find a good one
I've always loved the R230's, but the potential bills scare the life out of me
My sensible head says a CLK although I've never lusted after one!

Any help with my quandary is much appreciated! Cheers, Gregg

 

[greggster]

Correction - I meant W209 now I've looked it up!

 

[greggster]

Does anyone own any of the cars on my shortlist? Would love to hear experiences, good and bad. I'm veering toward the CLK 500 I think!

 

[E55BOF]

Depends what you want out of it, really. I have an R129 SL500- not much cop when I bought it (long long long story - see my thread "Bought an R129 unseen - a Cautionary Tale" if you have time to waste..., but I'm getting there now; nothing much left except minor cosmetics).

It's no ball of fire, but compared to an E55K, not much is. Part of that is down to the four-speed hydraulic box; the five-speed electronic one in the facelift versions is much better. The M119 comes on cam (a bit) passing 3000 rpm, but it will still never set the world alight. The steering is quite light and with reasonable feel, and the power is much more easily accessible than on the 55K, on which the throttle pedal is more like an on-off switch. The brakes are quite long-travel, but they work OK. Despite having rear 'seats', it's really only a two-seater unless the rear passengers either have no legs, or the people in the front are midgets.

They're well put-together - better than newer cars, I'm inclined to believe. They're old-tech now, so (relatively) simple to fix, though apparently innocuous parts can be eye-wateringly pricey; how about £700 for a hardtop rear window, or £84 (each) for plastic jacking-point covers for an AMG body kit .

Living outdoors shouldn't be a problem; the hardtop is good in winter, and much quieter than the hood, up or down.

If you replace the exhaust cat-back with a stainless system with a single, sports, rear silencer only, they sound wonderful - real old-school n/a V8.

I like mine. Some chancers are asking ludicrous prices for R129s now - 'emerging classic, innit' - but for £10K, I would expect a virtual minter with a good history. The problem would be finding a good one; paying that sort of money, you would want an independent inspection.

Good luck.

 

[Rayny]

A good R129 guide by Ollie - http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/gene...pt1-turnbull-oliver-prestige-car-service.html

 

[rockits]

I think the prices of decent R129's will remain firm and start to creep up with the domino effect of other more expensive cars pulling them up. I'm not saying that as I have a nice one but genuinly think this is the case.

A majority of SL500's are poor to bad to very bad. Decent low miler, low owner cars with good spec are hard to come by and this will become harder. Believe me I have looked at a a few! Same with all aging cars really.

It was an £80k+ car new and £10k+ is not expensive for a nice one in my book.

 

[rockits]

I also think a nice SL500 is a good drive as an all round GT roadster. Not super sharp but still decent to drive. Solid build quality and bulletproof mechanicals. Two sets of golf clubs go in the boot hood up or down. Not too showey and pretty classy & timeless in my book. One of my favourite Mercs ever the R129 which is why I'm on my 3rd.

 

[flat6buster]

I also think a nice SL500 is a good drive as an all round GT roadster. Not super sharp but still decent to drive. Solid build quality and bulletproof mechanicals. Two sets of golf clubs go in the boot hood up or down. Not too showey and pretty classy & timeless in my book. One of my favourite Mercs ever the R129 which is why I'm on my 3rd.

Never quite 'bonded' with mine. Too heavy up front, steering too imprecise. Went well enough but missing something. Maybe amg suspension?

 

[greggster]

Thanks guys for the help, really appreciated. Have spent time reading the link and pondering some more, and I've decided to go for a CLK 500 or 55, either convertible or coupe. I'm probably leaning toward a coupe with a sunroof to be honest.

So now the best bit, the hunt begins!

 

[l5foye]

I think you have come to a sensible decision. I have had a R129 and a R230.
The R129 was what I would call a cruiser and was just ok. The R230 became a money pit at under 50k miles ( paintwork done under warranty, front struts at 35k miles, rear shocks at 45k miles, 2 pumps , mystery battery drain and so on)
Given the fact the car was never driven hard , in fact it was pampered, it almost holds the record for the worst car I have ever had. You are bound to fare better with a CLK.

 

[greggster]

Thanks again for the info. Gladly my pockets aren't deep enough for running an R230, even though a lot of them are probably fine.

Does anyone know the approx cost of retro fitting heated seats to a W209 with factory switches?

 

[tanuie]

Thanks guys for the help, really appreciated. Have spent time reading the link and pondering some more, and I've decided to go for a CLK 500 or 55, either convertible or coupe. I'm probably leaning toward a coupe with a sunroof to be honest.

So now the best bit, the hunt begins!

I think that is the best option. The R230 seem to be a troublesome car, the R129 is a good car but a little dated. Hope you get what you want. I would avoid softops and go for a sunroof.

 

[greggster]

I viewed a CLK 500 tonight, a good honest car and 2 things caught my eye. Feel free to chip in if you've got more mechanical skills than me!

All of the tyres were worn on the outside edge only - surely they can't all be out of camber?

And an oil leak near the filler cap. I'm guessing either a cap or re-sealing the breather plate would do it?

I made an offer anyway and he's 'thinking' about it

 

[greggster]

My offer was accepted! That didn't take long

So looks like I've bought a blue CLK 500 convertible facelift, 2 owners, current owner since 2007, full dealer history and always garaged.

The not so good bits;

No heated seats

Oil leak, think it's the filler cap or breather plate seal

Tyres and tracking

Front discs nearly gone

A few little car park dints

Happy

 

[greggster]

Well I collected it this evening - wow

My first V8, stonking, I love it, and I can see why the tyres wear on the outside

Need to add a ticking prop shaft to the list though, hope it's the handbrake cables.

The guy I bought it from got tearful. No doubt his tears got worse when he heard me floor it up the road!

 

[Ted]

That looks stunning! Hope you enjoy it

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Nice looking car, you'll enjoy that

 

[Ian_Mac]

A light interior and dark paintwork always looks so classy in my opinion on a cabriolet.

 

[greggster]

Thanks guys, I love the colour combo, the interior is light grey, and I'm absolutely loving it.

It's only got 56k miles on it, but I still spent 3 hours tonight cleaning the interior

 

[greggster]

A bit more cleaning of the interior at the weekend!