sl320 or sl280

[swithin]

Morning all, a stroke of luck has enabled me to buy my first SL. I will be using the car as my everyday day, because of the reliability of merc's and it looks tooooo good to be locked away for months on end.
My problem is which one, the sl320 or 280. I'm not interested in the 500 because of insurance, repair costs etc and besides I live in the UK where speed humps, camera's and lazy coppers prevent fun at any level of speed.

I'm interested in the difference in sound from the exhaust, reliability, longevity and real acceleration i.e. is the 280 noticeable slower at picking up?

Thanks for all your advice in advance.

 

[stats007]

Realistically the 500 is not that more expensive to run - depending on how you drive it of course. Brakes, tyres etc are only marginally more expensive - oil capacity the same - spark plugs may cost a bit more.

I personally believe the 280 should never have been made - the 320 (V6 I presume?) would be the one to go for.

 

[BlackC55]

I would go with the 500 too.

It is really so much better to drive than the 320 and 280.

Don't get the 280 as it is underpowered and has to work hard to get the SL moving.

 

[swithin]

Realistically the 500 is not that more expensive to run - depending on how you drive it of course. Brakes, tyres etc are only marginally more expensive - oil capacity the same - spark plugs may cost a bit more.

I personally believe the 280 should never have been made - the 320 (V6 I presume?) would be the one to go for.

I'm looking at a 1997 320sl this weekend. Saw an SL280 for a good price but will leave alone, I expected that it may be underpowered.

 

[stats007]

A '97 SL320 will be a straight six. Nothing wrong with them but you may want to drive a facelifted SL320 ('99 model year on) with the V6 for comparison.

 

[BlackC55]

The V6 is a far better engine and likes to keep its oil inside.

 

[IanA2]

Try the 500 before you decide......

 

[BTB 500]

As mentioned, don't rule out the 500. It's not that much more expensive to run, and the extra power and torque mean lower stress for both engine and driver! You may be disappointed by the exhaust note - my '97 car was virtually silent. Rectified by a simple exhaust mod., but this can affect insurance (it didn't in my case).

 

[Rose Chap]

I'd echo what's written above. Its a curious fact that larger engined Mercedes are often more economical than their smaller engined counterparts.

I get between 22 and 27 mpg from my four cylinder 2.3 litre supercharged CLK, and the guys here with the 3.2 V6 in the same car get the same if not better miles per gallon.

Unless you drive like a granny on valium you'll definitely get better economy from the bigger engines.

There is also the matter that you are buying a Mercedes-Benz sports grand tourer. You want the go to match the show.

 

[Vlad]

If it were me and thinking of day to day running costs, ie fuel, insurance etc, I would opt for the 320....personally I love the straight six 320's as IMHO its a more charasmatic engine than the V6...lovely howl once you hit 4000rpm.

I drive an older 300SL24v, which I absolutely love....I specifically wanted one with this engine due to its power and the noise they make and performance wise it gives me all the power I want and I imagine that this would be very much the case for the 320.

Having also owned other Merc's with the 5.0 M119 engine, I can't deny that its a great engine, but the only thing that lets it down in my opinion is the lack of noise that this engine makes, ie I want to hear that V8 and I've always found the V8 to be very muted!!!!!....the smaller M104 3.2 straight six makes a better noise.

 

[BTB 500]

Having also owned other Merc's with the 5.0 M119 engine, I can't deny that its a great engine, but the only thing that lets it down in my opinion is the lack of noise that this engine makes, ie I want to hear that V8 and I've always found the V8 to be very muted!!!!!

They actually changed the exhaust system on later R129s to sound more 'sporty'. As mentioned, there's a simple fix for older cars - remove the centre muffler. You can then hear the engine nicely, without it being intrusive.

 

[aka$h]

I used to have a sl280 v6, the worst choice I ever made, avoid the 280 at all costs. You end up driving it so hard to get it to move that it ends up being really poor on fuel too. In London Id get 220-250 to a £70 tank!

 

[SL300-24]

Steve......I agree with Vlad, for everyday the 300SL-24 or straight 6 320 engines are great. I think that the 300-24 especially coupled to a 5 speed auto is excellent. You have to rev it to make it really go....but it sounds great, is economical, and I believe less problematic with engine wiring harness etc, than the 320. Watch out for Head gasket leaks on all.
The 320 does pull better in the mid-range though. Never driven a 280 SL 129 so can't comment.
Good luck with your purchase, there are plenty of bargain 129's around at the moment.

 

[jaymanek]

280's should all be put in a big skip

 

[Vlad]

They actually changed the exhaust system on later R129s to sound more 'sporty'. As mentioned, there's a simple fix for older cars - remove the centre muffler. You can then hear the engine nicely, without it being intrusive.

Interesting....Must have had customer complaining at the lack of V8 rumble

 

[swithin]

Gentlemen and ladies, if any, thanksvery much for all the advice. Drove 169 miles up the m1 (which doesn't work anymore!!) and then the M6 (thank god for tolls for once). 320 looked excellent in photo bt despite beiing a low mileage 1997, the interior was really badly looked after and the driver's-side wheel arches front and back were starting to rot!!!. Is the bodywork on these good or prone to rust?

 

[television]

Gentlemen and ladies, if any, thanksvery much for all the advice. Drove 169 miles up the m1 (which doesn't work anymore!!) and then the M6 (thank god for tolls for once). 320 looked excellent in photo bt despite beiing a low mileage 1997, the interior was really badly looked after and the driver's-side wheel arches front and back were starting to rot!!!. Is the bodywork on these good or prone to rust?

If put into a non ventilated garage when wet as many of these cars are then yes they will rust, saying this, all of the ones that I have seen have been rust free

 

[stats007]

All cars will rust if the paint is damaged - R129s don't just rust away like W210s from the inside out.

 

[Vlad]

I've never seen a rusty R129...if the rust was all on the same side, I would suspect that its sustained a side impact swipe that was poorly repaired.