MIKENWATSON
Member
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2009
- Messages
- 44
- Car
- CL500 2002
Last year I made one of the riskiest purchases of my car owning life - buying an old smoker with no history.
For a long time I had a desire to own an R129 ever since my friends older brother rocked up in one. It was a 1990 SL500 in red with beige leather.
So last year I took the plunge and bought a really really cheap one (3k) form a dodgy dealer in Luton. It looked great in the pics and had a set of rare Duchalet alloys.
It didn't take long for me to spot a few problems with the car including a torn rear window. None the less, emotion took over and I bought it and drove it home. Not long after getting it on the motorway the indicators stopped working and then the wipers. It also vibrated quite a bit at high speed.
The wipers and indicators turned out to be a faulty N10 unit. I thought a relay would cost 50 quid at most. No. £205 off ebay and they are as rare as rocking horse ****. I replaced it myself and sorted out the wheel balance - life was good!
I took it to a Mercedes specialist for a service and a once over. I got an estimate of over £3k which covered:
New front and back pads and discs
New wiring Loom
Gearbox leak
and a bunch of other small stuff.
I had the breaks replaced and a full service completed then drove it to Berlin where I have an apartment. The car was fantastic! A day after I arrived the indicators failed again so I was forced to replace the N10 again but this time I replaced the wiring loom as well (another 1400 Euros). The costs to have the work done in Germany were significantly less than in the UK which was a bonus. Hopefully the wiring loom replacement will fix a lot of electrical gremlins such as the electric seats sometimes deciding not to work, the heating coming on randomly and other things I cannot be bothered to list.
Do I regret the purchase? I regret not getting it inspected and negotiating harder but I absolutely love this era of Mercedes cars and the R129, for me, is one of the most iconic two seater cruisers ever sold. The v6 engine is pretty frugal and swift and the gear change is very smooth. It never gets hot (but then it never gets cold either due to failing A/C) and it's a joy with the roof down.
My next outlay for the car is a brand new set of tyres and wheel refurbishment and another oil service.
For a long time I had a desire to own an R129 ever since my friends older brother rocked up in one. It was a 1990 SL500 in red with beige leather.
So last year I took the plunge and bought a really really cheap one (3k) form a dodgy dealer in Luton. It looked great in the pics and had a set of rare Duchalet alloys.
It didn't take long for me to spot a few problems with the car including a torn rear window. None the less, emotion took over and I bought it and drove it home. Not long after getting it on the motorway the indicators stopped working and then the wipers. It also vibrated quite a bit at high speed.
The wipers and indicators turned out to be a faulty N10 unit. I thought a relay would cost 50 quid at most. No. £205 off ebay and they are as rare as rocking horse ****. I replaced it myself and sorted out the wheel balance - life was good!
I took it to a Mercedes specialist for a service and a once over. I got an estimate of over £3k which covered:
New front and back pads and discs
New wiring Loom
Gearbox leak
and a bunch of other small stuff.
I had the breaks replaced and a full service completed then drove it to Berlin where I have an apartment. The car was fantastic! A day after I arrived the indicators failed again so I was forced to replace the N10 again but this time I replaced the wiring loom as well (another 1400 Euros). The costs to have the work done in Germany were significantly less than in the UK which was a bonus. Hopefully the wiring loom replacement will fix a lot of electrical gremlins such as the electric seats sometimes deciding not to work, the heating coming on randomly and other things I cannot be bothered to list.
Do I regret the purchase? I regret not getting it inspected and negotiating harder but I absolutely love this era of Mercedes cars and the R129, for me, is one of the most iconic two seater cruisers ever sold. The v6 engine is pretty frugal and swift and the gear change is very smooth. It never gets hot (but then it never gets cold either due to failing A/C) and it's a joy with the roof down.
My next outlay for the car is a brand new set of tyres and wheel refurbishment and another oil service.
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