R129 SL500 - Valuation Anybody?

[E55BOF]

Putting aside my other thread for the moment, what does the team think would be a fair price for a car in condition as follows?

1994 SL500, 142000 miles, four months' MoT (but only a few miles since the test), Carlsson 18 in. split rim wheels (all needing refurb), Heinz 57 tyres (two Dunlops, an Avon and a Michelin) all really needing replacement, AMG bodykit (but missing the covers for the jacking points), one rusty (slightly) front wing, engine loom done, engine running 3 bar oil pressure when warm (not up to running temperature), but with an undiagnosed misfire (which may well have goosed the cats), bodywork generally pretty decent apart from a badly scratched bonnet which needs a respray to sort it, minor paint scuffs on the hardtop and a badly-cracked rear window. It needs at least one new flip key (I've changed the batteries, but the remote still doesn't work - no light in the infra-red window, no reaction from the car). Assume there is a pretty full service history - I haven't seen it yet, but it may exist. The hood is allegedly nearly as new; please assume that is correct.

What would be a fair price to pay for such a car?

 

[jaymanek]

2k as a project. 4-5k if you can at least sort the misfire out

 

[E55BOF]

Just to be clear, you would value it at £4-5K with the misfire sorted?

 

[flango]

This sold for £4k not mint but very very good

 

[BTB 500]

Do all the electrics (seats, wheel, mirrors, central locking, windows, rollbar, hood, etc.) work perfectly? Particularly the hood!

 

[219]

Mine was advertised at 3K : 1993 300-24 at the time on 142K with various issues - bodged steering wheel , ditchfinder tyres , passenger seat electrics not working , horn not working , OS headlamp height adjustment not working , rear subframe bushes shot ( now replaced ) , exhaust shot ( replaced ) , small tired battery fitted ( replaced with new 100Ah Bosch S5 ) , new wiper blade needed , hood has one small cigarette burn hole ( which remains ) and needed Windows restitched ( which I did myself ) ( foregoing now all fixed ) ; central locking not working ( still ) , one supplied remote fob not working ( I ordered two new metal keys ) , OTG working but no illumination , stitching on both leather seat bases coming apart ( watching for replacements ) , passenger door window glass has been replaced at some point and incorrectly adjusted - gap at the rear top with hard top causes wind noise but doesn't leak water ( on my to do list ) , drip from top of drivers side A pillar when hard top on but not soft top ( hard top looks perfectly aligned , yet to check A pillar drain hole ) , AC not working .

The car drives very well , always returns 400 miles to a tankful , poor oil pressure at hot idle but rises immediately on driving ( yet to try changing sender ) . Paint generally presentable but blemishes here and there , original 8 hole wheels undamaged but need refinishing .

Car is now on 152 K with recent MOT and my guess , although not planning to sell , is now worth £3-4K ?

 

[poormansporsche]

Prefacelift amg kits getting rare nowadays so that should add a fair bit I'd say

 

[E55BOF]

Do all the electrics (seats, wheel, mirrors, central locking, windows, rollbar, hood, etc.) work perfectly? Particularly the hood!

Early days yet, but I'll know more by Sunday evening. The central locking, and driver's seat, mirror and window all do. More anon...

 

[E55BOF]

This sold for £4k not mint but very very good

View attachment 54010

This one's not mint; it's not even very good; really, it's closer to a project...

 

[219]

This one's not mint; it's not even very good; really, it's closer to a project...

I think the car you've bought is on a par with what mine was when I got it , as you may recall , I got mine in a swap for my troublesome C270 and the Ponton which was rotting away on my mum's drive .

 

[BTB 500]

Early days yet, but I'll know more by Sunday evening. The central locking, and driver's seat, mirror and window all do. More anon...

It's the hood that's the biggie - give that a really thorough check as soon as you can.

 

[E55BOF]

Still getting there... Somewhat to my surprise, apart from one tiny crack in the corner of each of the plastic quarter windows, and yellowing of all the plastic windows, the hood is fine! In fact, all the electrics (except the passenger seat, and the seller declared that) work OK. The aircon blows cold. It still has its wind deflector, and the cover for it in the boot. However, the belt-driven clutched ancillary furthest to the driver's side on the front of the engine, below the distributor, which seems to run most when the engine is cold, sounds as though it has a bearing going. Does anyone know what it does; it is an alternator in that position on my diagram of the (early R129) engine, but I've never seen a clutched alternator, and it doesn't look like an alternator at all...

Does anyone have any differing opinions on what the car is worth now I know the hood is OK?

 

[219]

Sounds like the air con compressor ? Can't think what else would have a clutch ?

 

[E55BOF]

Not the aircon compressor; that's bottom nearside. The engine is a 119.970; the component in question sits between the alternator and the offside distributor. The power steering pump is on the nearside just above the aircon compressor, and the water pump is in the middle above the crank pulley, so what on earth can this one be? I'm totally stumped...

For lack of any other ideas, is it the air injection pump? But according to the layout diagram, that should be BELOW the alternator. Perhaps it was repositioned on the 199.970 engine

Stop Press: yes it was. THAT's the little fecker...

 

[Doodle]

Usually it's the clutched pulley bearing that goes, had mine rebuilt a local specialist (now retired, sadly).

Don't be surprised by the inaccuracy of location. According to some of the systems at MBUK, it shouldn't be there at all.

 

[bolide]

Is this a car to buy & restore? If so, why bother? Just buy a decent one - there are plenty out there. Restoring tatty cars is a fool's errand IMHO

Nick Froome

 

[E55BOF]

No, it's a car to buy and run. It just turned out to be not quite as decent an example as I thought it was...

 

[Will]

Is this a car to buy & restore? If so, why bother? Just buy a decent one - there are plenty out there. Restoring tatty cars is a fool's errand IMHO

Nick Froome

I would tend to agree for most mainstream cars or models that have good availability.

Only rare or collectable cars make sense to me - there's hundreds of R129s for sale in the UK with many nice examples available for relatively low prices.

I think the old adage rings true - 'There's nothing as expensive as a cheap Mercedes'