Should I walk away from this SL - and a warning

[V12]

A quick tot up shows easily more than £10k in 3 years maintenance including servicing.

Wow.

 

[stumpy1]

Still less than the depreciation over three years on a new C Class diesel though.

 

[V12]

Yeah, but let's add in the insurance, fuel, tax, depreciation and finally all the time going back and forth to the garage!!

Who wants a car that makes them question whether they'll make the trip to see family without a breakdown?

 

[Silver CL55]

These pieces are all dealer prices, for example the rear window seal can be done for £10, all of the below prices can be slashed, sometimes quite drastically if you do your homework on this and other forums.
The problems however are real but if you fix the underlying issues first, i.e. seal the car properly, you do away with the electrics getting wet in the first place.
I find servicing (at main dealers btw) is about half of your figures, if you supply the oil.

Hi, I owned a beautiful 53 plate 500sl bought it in march 2010 with 42000 miles on it. 6 months on ABC pump failed and was replaced and suspension was fine. I kept the car for 3 years having it serviced and maintained to the highest level which a very expensive undertaking but I loved the car very much, nothing quite like it on the road.
Boot seals are famous on these models as it cost me two central looking pumps at £1300 a time not cheap, if the boot ends up like a swimming pool forget it as the boot has all the electronic modules that control most of the electronics that control the car! Used to dread winter times as the boot was always damp. The boot seal at the back window is also costly to replace and comes in at about £900 to sort. Proper servicing on these cars comes in at about £400 for service A and £750 for service B.
After putting on 55000 miles on this car which was great fun to have as it hit 100000 miles the car became more problematic.the ABC pump failed again which is a common fault on these. The pressure sensor on the passenger side also failed. New pump = £1500. New pressure sensor £1000. The car was also requiring a new rear block valve another £1200. Finally the electrics were not in the best of shape and was requiring attention and suspect the shock absorbers would need replacing to and at £1200 a corner decided to sell and move on. This car is an epic car to drive and own nothing quite has the grace or presence on the road but when they become over the 100000 mile mark believe me buy a younger model with a warranty as it will save you thousands! Most warranty companies will cover the likes of the ABC pump up to 75000 miles but after that they won't entertain any claim on ABC PUMPS. If you can afford a 500sl with a lower mileage and lees years then I would definitely go for it, if not avoid like the plaque as it will empty your bank account quicker than divorcing your wife!

 

[oscarisapc]

There seem to be two recurrent issues with these R230s – the first is water in the boot. I am astonished at this as my SLK has always been dry and I would have thought that MB would have sorted this immediately in prestige SLs. As we cannot fail to be aware, there has been a lot of rain recently. The SL that I originally tried had been at the dealers for several weeks and was wet inside. The roof blind jammed (? corrosion) and as I mentioned in my original post, there was mildew everywhere and even a fungus growing in the boot. Although I couldn’t find anything not working, I guess electronic failures due to damp are just waiting to happen. The other issue is the active suspension although I am not sure how much preventive maintenance could reduce problems here. The question I originally asked was about whether lack of a service history should make me think about walking away from the other SL I looked at, and it seems that the consensus is that it should.

At the moment, I am still torn between looking for an R230 500 with a decent maintenance record or changing tack and for the same price either looking at a newer R230 350 or an R129 and accepting I will have to spend money on maintaining what will be a much cheaper car to buy.

 

[Sp!ke]

My Experience of R129 ownership has been a very good one with very low maintenance costs indeed, just routine servicing that I can do myself. Nothing has failed in 4 years of ownership.

My only expense has been to gradually fix cosmetic items that weren't 100% to my liking such as the soft top windows (£350).

Buy a good one and you shouldn't have any mechanical issues with it or see much depreciation as prices have hit rock bottom for R129's.

Don't look at the cheap ones mind, expect to pay as much or even slightly more for a good R129 as you would for an average R230 and you should find something that you'll love and cherish for many years.

 

[cb1965]

There seem to be two recurrent issues with these R230s – the first is water in the boot. I am astonished at this as my SLK has always been dry and I would have thought that MB would have sorted this immediately in prestige SLs. As we cannot fail to be aware, there has been a lot of rain recently. The SL that I originally tried had been at the dealers for several weeks and was wet inside. The roof blind jammed (? corrosion) and as I mentioned in my original post, there was mildew everywhere and even a fungus growing in the boot. Although I couldn’t find anything not working, I guess electronic failures due to damp are just waiting to happen. The other issue is the active suspension although I am not sure how much preventive maintenance could reduce problems here. The question I originally asked was about whether lack of a service history should make me think about walking away from the other SL I looked at, and it seems that the consensus is that it should.

At the moment, I am still torn between looking for an R230 500 with a decent maintenance record or changing tack and for the same price either looking at a newer R230 350 or an R129 and accepting I will have to spend money on maintaining what will be a much cheaper car to buy.

A very repulatable independent in the NW of England told me that they recommend changing the ABC fluid every 3 years and on all cars they had been doing that on they had not had an ABC failure. They also said that if you get an ABC warning do not leave it as a lot of ABC issues are caused by the fluid becoming contaminated when a small leak first occurs so something that may cost a couple of hundred pounds to sort now may eventually cost thouasands if left.

Not sure how true that is, but it makes sense to me!

As for the leaks I think if your car is to live outdoors an SL is not for you sadly!

 

[oscarisapc]

Good point. I can’t understand why my SLK is dry in the winter but SLs suffer from water ingress. I would have thought the roof mechanisms and seals were similar.
So do R129’s suffer from water ingress with the hard top on?
I’ll start a new thread about prices of R129s.

 

[Sp!ke]

So do R129’s suffer from water ingress with the hard top on?

Nope, the boot is completely separate from the soft top as the soft top folds into a space between the back seats and the boot (you can open and close the roof with the boot open and full to the brim with luggage)

 

[BTB 500]

Yup I can fit my full seminar kit into the R129's boot without any problems e.g.

Briefcase
Laptop
Projector plus spare lamp
Projector table
Projector screen

Plus various other bits & pieces.

 

[JasPed]

These pieces are all dealer prices, for example the rear window seal can be done for £10, all of the below prices can be slashed, sometimes quite drastically if you do your homework on this and other forums. The problems however are real but if you fix the underlying issues first, i.e. seal the car properly, you do away with the electrics getting wet in the first place. I find servicing (at main dealers btw) is about half of your figures, if you supply the oil.

These prices were quoted by an independent mercedes benz garage that knows these car inside out and charges £60 an hour labour! What you have to remember is these cars cost in excess of £75000 new and when parts go wrong they are not cheap to replace. It's just be very careful what you buy out there as I have seen a lot of beautiful 100000+ milers but would be dubious about they're so called reliability. Engines and gearboxes unbreakable maybe, but this thing has more electronics than the space shuttle so buyer beware!

 

[JasPed]

There seem to be two recurrent issues with these R230s – the first is water in the boot. I am astonished at this as my SLK has always been dry and I would have thought that MB would have sorted this immediately in prestige SLs. As we cannot fail to be aware, there has been a lot of rain recently. The SL that I originally tried had been at the dealers for several weeks and was wet inside. The roof blind jammed (? corrosion) and as I mentioned in my original post, there was mildew everywhere and even a fungus growing in the boot. Although I couldn’t find anything not working, I guess electronic failures due to damp are just waiting to happen. The other issue is the active suspension although I am not sure how much preventive maintenance could reduce problems here. The question I originally asked was about whether lack of a service history should make me think about walking away from the other SL I looked at, and it seems that the consensus is that it should. At the moment, I am still torn between looking for an R230 500 with a decent maintenance record or changing tack and for the same price either looking at a newer R230 350 or an R129 and accepting I will have to spend money on maintaining what will be a much cheaper car to buy.

The newer R230 350 is just as good performance wise and doesn't have ABC SUSPENSION so less problems!

 

[JasPed]

The newer R230 350 is just as good performance wise and doesn't have ABC SUSPENSION so less problems!

Location: BR7 6PP
View Details
Mercedes-Benz SL500 R129
Mercedes SL500, 98, 3 owners, just turned 70K miles, FSH, MOT to end of June, panoramic, most options inc. sat nav, all electrics and mechanics fine, a very good R129 for very reasonable, priced to sell, money. E-mail or text for more information. also see: http://tinyurl.com/l8x2t3l
Price £6,999

Beautiful!

 

[Sp!ke]

Actually that doesn't look bad at all although not the most flattering colour.

It's certainly priced to sell.

 

[V12]

I like that colour on the SL!

 

[MD5]

Me too - is it ruby red? Looks like someone got a bargain there, as it's now sold.

 

[cb1965]

My personal problem with the R129 is simply the design! Everything is just so 'square' on it. Looking at it you almost wonder whether they would have made the wheels square if they could have.

Please note this is just my opinion and each to their own and all that! I am sure they are great cars and probably way more reliable than my R230!

 

[MD5]

My personal problem with the R129 is simply the design! Everything is just so 'square' on it. Looking at it you almost wonder whether they would have made the wheels square if they could have.

Please note this is just my opinion and each to their own and all that! I am sure they are great cars and probably way more reliable than my R230!

I must admit, they can be a bit of an ugly duckling, with wheels, colours and angles in pictures making a huge difference. Scratch under the surface (of "chrome" or "metal" parts) though, and you won't find plastic!!

 

[m2287]

These prices were quoted by an independent mercedes benz garage that knows these car inside out and charges £60 an hour labour! What you have to remember is these cars cost in excess of £75000 new and when parts go wrong they are not cheap to replace. It's just be very careful what you buy out there as I have seen a lot of beautiful 100000+ milers but would be dubious about they're so called reliability. Engines and gearboxes unbreakable maybe, but this thing has more electronics than the space shuttle so buyer beware!

Just because they are a mercedes specialist, doesn't mean they know everything about every car.

 

[cb1965]

I must admit, they can be a bit of an ugly duckling, with wheels, colours and angles in pictures making a huge difference. Scratch under the surface (of "chrome" or "metal" parts) though, and you won't find plastic!!

Yes, very true.... and there's a lot to be said for that!