Newbie - wanting an R107

[europa]

Hi all,
Yes, it's another newbie wanting info on this beautiful car!
I'm completely new to all things 'R107'... I'm interested in the coupe version, circa late 80's.
I'm UK based, Midlands and Cambridge...

Bit of background.. I grew up living opposite a stunning R107 in white & always admired it. Now I guess I've matured enough to fully appreciate the design classic that it is... anyway, I'm a complete novice when it comes to Mercedes, I've never owned one, any model so please be gentle...

So, hopefully someone can point me in the right direction of links/resources etc. I have the standard newbie questions, so please bear with me...

The R107 would be my only car and be a daily driver, I've read that is is not a problem, is this true?

Are they all auto's? Are manuals rare?

What were the engine options, I want something that is reasonably good on fuel (30mpg possible??)

What's a rough price to buy one in great condition, I've seen some that look stunning for £6k, whereas others are way more?

What are they like to run, cost wise?

I currently own an S2000, so I've been spoiled on the reliability front... how would they compare on costs etc?

Edit to add...
Was there a fixed coupe, or are they all convertibles with optional hard tops??

I'm really looking forward to hopefully being an owner of such a stunning car, so please help out if you can. Links etc are appreciated.

Would it be worth my while popping down to the 'SL Shop' and having a chat with them??


Thanks in advance, all the best
Stewart

 

[jdrrco]

deleted - duplicate post, sorry!

 

[jdrrco]

Hi Stewart and welcome

I bought my R107 three weeks ago and all I can say is go for it!

Definitely visit the SL shop and chat to Sam, they are really helpful and not pushy. They have a good selection of SLs there for sale too, at dealer prices of course, but with the peace of mind that that affords.

Also get yourself a copy of The Essential Buyer's Guide by Chris Bass - RRP £9.99, but £5.73 on Amazon.

The SLC was the fixed head version with a longer wheelbase and usually slightly cheaper than the SL, but very few about and a matter of personal preference.

Mine is a 300SL which was the later six cylinder model (all autos). I've done 700 miles since I got it on a variety of roads and I've not held my right foot back sometimes as I've been "playing"! In spite of that I've averaged 28.5mpg which I think is perfectly acceptable for 3 litres and real fun!

£6k will get you an ok runaround, but expect it to have some rust for that price. There's a 300 on ebay at the mo which looks ok for £7750 http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/spotted-ebay/95160-1989-r107-300sl-7750-a.html

Do plenty of homework though and test drive a few with the different engines before deciding on a 300!!

Other sites with good background info are:

R/C107 SL/SLC Class - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum
Mercedes Benz 107 SL SLC Roadster Resource Center R107 W107 Home Page
Mercedes-Benz R107 and C107 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And if you'd like to see just how good they can be, I'm in Monmouthshire and will happily show mine off!

 

[219]

Welcome to the forum Stewart .

The main thing to be careful of is RUST - it can be hidden on an outwardly good looiking car and be expensive to repair - especially below the chrome vents at the base of the windscreen and down the A pillar !

Mechanically , they are simple and reliable . manual versions were available but are quite rare .

All the R107 models are convertibles with hard tops , the W107 SLC was the fixed head coupe with back seats . The early 350/450 models are the cheapest to buy but costliest to run .

 

[europa]

Thanks for the replies, very useful.

Ah, so that explains it, I didn't know that all R107s were convertibles with hardtops. I thought there were 2 models!
So, that's the model I'm after, not the long wheelbase fixed coupe.

I'm going to do some more reading, thanks for the links.

PS. This is what I mean about confusion about what to pay... this one on Piston Heads looks gorgeous, but it's very cheap..

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2027893.htm

 

[SilverSaloon]

Nice choice of car, but i'm biast!

the ebay one is a good buy at that price by the looks of things - the pistonhead one is a pre-facelift but a decent price if in good order. its not that much too cheap for a pre-facelift... its all in the condition, history etc.

rust will be your biggest enemy with these.

make sure you have lots of reciepts/history/invoices etc, rather than just a bunch of stamps in a book.

All these cars are old so most will have some issue here and there that will need fixing etc....

Good luck.

 

[jdrrco]

Thanks for the replies, very useful.

Ah, so that explains it, I didn't know that all R107s were convertibles with hardtops. I thought there were 2 models!
So, that's the model I'm after, not the long wheelbase fixed coupe.

I'm going to do some more reading, thanks for the links.

PS. This is what I mean about confusion about what to pay... this one on Piston Heads looks gorgeous, but it's very cheap..

Trackspeed : Mercedes SL380 Auto

It's a 380SL with the three-speed auto. No note of mileage (which usually means high). Not the best colour combination either, cream with brown, but very 70s retro!

 

[jdrrco]

Having looked at quite a number before I bought mine, believe me that the photos can hide a multitude of sins on these cars.

If you want me to, I'll pm you links to the ones I viewed that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. It was only a few weeks ago, so many of them are still for sale.

 

[219]

Don;t be disappointed when you drive the 380 : you will find that it is v e r y s l o o o o w . The 380 is a V8 and has the higher gearing like the more powerful ones , but not much more power than the sixes - hence one of the less desirable models .

 

[europa]

Pontoneer,
Thanks for the heads up.

Jdrrco, Thanks for the offer, but I reckon I'll hang around for a few months before jumping straight in. I've done that before and regretted it. Give it 2 months and I'll *think* I'm an expert in Mercs!!

 

[n209385]

rust!

Bought an R107 500SL about a year ago...looked great, only 55k, and funny how many cars are in wealthy titled owners collections!

It was still rusty underneath. Not a big problem as long as you budget for the job...but look for rust.

 

[b11ocx]

Bulkhead rust is a major problem as I found, and is a big job to fix well. Make sure that this is either OK or already paid for by the previous owner.