Sl500 - 1991

[greghm]

Mercedes-Benz SL Class 5.0 SL500 2dr

it does seem like a good price ... does that mean troubles to see ?

 

[merc85]

210k

 

[Sjmw]

210k

But full MB service history (apparently). Buy on condition and history

 

[merc85]

But full MB service history (apparently). Buy on condition and history

Really? how many miles will it have done once the op has finished with it?


May well be worth it

 

[Doodle]

R129s benefit from regular use, and that's had plenty. While the bouncy bits probably feel a bit tired, I wouldn't be surprised if it runs beautifully.

 

[Vlad]

No matter how nice it is, it will always be a difficult car to sell on due to the mileage.

 

[E55BOF]

At that price, you won't lose much; practically banger money. I'm very tempted, and I've got no conceivable use for it except as a toy. The only (possible) fly in the ointment is the MoT expiry date; 03/07/2015, and that may be a mis-type for 2016. I'd never buy a car with no MoT, just in case; almost certainly never...

Mind you, it has (I presume) no aircon. I don't think I could manage without that in summer, these days. Still, maybe...

I'm still tempted. What are the likely bodywork issues, and is the spares situation healthy? I presume the hardtop is removable, and there's a hood somewhere... Quick, somebody, hit me with a sensible stick, for goodness' sake...

 

[500E]

No such thing as a sensible stick on this forum so go and take a look. I think AC might be standard on the 500. Good old distributor caps and rotor arms.The M119 engine is arguably the best Mercedes built!

Lots of spares for 129 but they are quite heavy and this one may need lots of consumables (bushes, mounts etc). Yes it will have a softtop. Check for leaks.

 

[E55BOF]

Thank you for that. I'm still very tempted...

Anything mechanical I can fettle myself - not too much electronic wizardry, I take it - or pay a man to fettle, but my main concern would be rust. Are there any particular rust problems on these that I should look at closely?

 

[Doodle]

Front wings - they usually start to go in front of the wheelarch. Bolt off/on replacement.

 

[french]

1500rpm @ 70mph just wafting along unstressd lovely engines,

28-30 mpg possible ...

 

[500E]

Front wings - they usually start to go in front of the wheelarch. Bolt off/on replacement.

x2. Rust on the front wings. I love the 500SL but not a fan of soft tops personally speaking.

Very serviceable yourself. Not much goes wrong with these, caps and arms, FPR, plugs etc are most likely to go wrong and are easy to fix at home. Regular oil changes should see the inside of the engine being very clean and super smooth at idle and when revving.

 

[CAT220]

Thank you for that. I'm still very tempted...

Anything mechanical I can fettle myself - not too much electronic wizardry, I take it - or pay a man to fettle, but my main concern would be rust. Are there any particular rust problems on these that I should look at closely?

One of the chaps on pistonheads went to have a look at that very SL,
This was what he reported...

"
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

Dealer seemed a decent enough chap, polite, tidy office, lot full of neatly aligned German barges of more recent vintage (was quite taken with his E63 estate). The SL was in the on-site garage having new plugs & leads fitted ("slight misfire", he said - I figure he's sick of it hanging about & is attempting to address an issue that has doubtless deterred more serious punters than I... an issue which might of course have a more serious cause). One wing was bubbled beyond redemption & would need replacing. Patch of rust around one of the door catches, and moderately ominous orange stains on both sill plates. Aerial grommet was knackered but the boot was dry. Again didn’t get to see to the soft top. Pirellis all round but down to the limit. Wheels were in really excellent nick, and no bumper scuffs. Overall the exterior was in far better shape than you might reasonably expect for the price & mileage. Interior less so - worn hole in the driver's seat again. Also unfortunate disco-lights head unit – WHY MUST PEOPLE DO THIS?

But that history! Over £40K at the main dealer in the previous owner’s 13 years' stewardship - all the stuff you'd want to see (regular suspension consumables etc) plus a few gigantic bills you wouldn’t (seems to have had the whole rear axle changed for new, plus head gaskets and a head skim five years ago (personally that would put me right off a car, but maybe that’s harsh). Either these things get through even more ignition components than I’ve been led to believe, or there’s a long-term running issue that the guy and his dealer kept trying to rectify with new distributor caps/rotor arms/plugs etc. Lost count of the replacements. Couldn’t see if the loom had been changed.

I’m not a fan of silver (which considerably reduces my options), but if you are and fancy a low-end punt it could be worth a look. He’d surely take an offer – at a shade under £3K (& assuming the “slight misfire” was properly resolved & the soft-top worked OK) you could get the wing and the seat sorted, plus new tyres, & still find yourself comfortably under budget."

Cheers,
C

 

[E55BOF]

Thank you VERY much for that; I'm still tempted, providing the hood works and the misfire is sorted, and there's a new MoT on it(with the advisories sheet present), or at least a fail certificate showing only tyres needed. Old cars ALWAYS have minor faults being carried, but I'd like to avoid a garage queen money pit...

I agree entirely on the foul head unit - that would have to go, for something less incongruous.

Is the R129 one of the 'it WILL need a loom sooner or later' models? If not the loom, what might be the cause of a recurring misfire?

Nice that the boot was dry; one hopes the footwells are too.

I'm not a great fan of silver - dark blue floats my boat much more - but at that sort of price for a whim purchase I'd take what was available. What looked like a nice one in Tanzanite, 140K miles, just went on eBay for £3.2k, but it was in Bradford, so no chance to go and see it to decide whether to bid.

I'm still tempted....

 

[CAT220]

This is pre loom issues so should be ok on that front. Originally it was advertised at £2995. I suspect it's now £3,150 due to the dealer trying to sort the misfire. They've had it a while wonder what a cheeky offer of 2.5k would get you! With the misfire sorted if you could get that sub 3k then you're in a win, win situation. I really love my SL only the 300-24 though.

P.s your old e55 is still running great!

 

[Hawkwind]

Could the head skim have something to do with the on-going misfire issue?

 

[500E]

Check the fuel pressure regulator. It was the answer to the misfire on my 500E. Also check the rotor arms.

Wiring harness must be checked, take some of the wiring sheath back and check for the wiring underneath. If it's crumbling and you have funny lights on the dash it'll need a new harness.

Apart from that would be rather bulletproof and cheap enough to take a punt on. I'd be tempted to check the roof for waterproof though with a hose.

 

[E55BOF]

This is pre loom issues so should be ok on that front. Originally it was advertised at £2995. I suspect it's now £3,150 due to the dealer trying to sort the misfire. They've had it a while wonder what a cheeky offer of 2.5k would get you! With the misfire sorted if you could get that sub 3k then you're in a win, win situation. I really love my SL only the 300-24 though.

P.s your old e55 is still running great!

Thanks for that, Chris. Glad the old girl is still fine. I still miss it, though I'm pretty happy with the 55K as well.

 

[E55BOF]

Check the fuel pressure regulator. It was the answer to the misfire on my 500E. Also check the rotor arms.

Wiring harness must be checked, take some of the wiring sheath back and check for the wiring underneath. If it's crumbling and you have funny lights on the dash it'll need a new harness.

Apart from that would be rather bulletproof and cheap enough to take a punt on. I'd be tempted to check the roof for waterproof though with a hose.

Thanks for that. I haven't been able to get through yet, but I'll call tomorrow, I think, to see if the hood actually works. "Dunno; we've never tried it" will be the wrong answer...

 

[MD5]

Thanks for that. I haven't been able to get through yet, but I'll call tomorrow, I think, to see if the hood actually works. "Dunno; we've never tried it" will be the wrong answer...

See if you can establish which dealership the history is from. If it's Dorchester, I've met the owner a few times, and it sounds like his old car.