SL500

[alabbasi]

See my post #7 above. The big bills included two new front struts, a new ABC pump, and a new SBC unit. It didn't make £4K...

Selling old cars is a long game if you can stomach it. You can put £10k into a car and whether you price it for £10k, £8k or £4k, the guy who buys it is probably going to be the same guy. I just sold a 1985 BMW 745i. That's the one with the 3.5 liter straight 6 with a factory turbo charger.

It's as rare as chicken lips and aside from the faded paint, it was a great car that needed nothing (even the a/c worked). It took about 5 months to sell. I was pretty sure that whoever saw the car and drove it would buy it, but I suspect that the guy who called me about it was the only guy on the planet who was prepared to make a serious inquiry at my no haggle asking price. 99% of other people would rather spend the same money on a 3-5 year old civic.

 

[conor1n]

As someone who was considering these recently, it was the ABC issues that unnerved me. Any car of this age is a risk but knowing there is a well documented common failure point which has no cheap after market fix, it did put me off TBH.

Fair points. I guess, I would have been the same. For me, the real deal "maker" was that I could do services and repairs myself. If you are not going to DIY it is likely to be very expensive.

The following items, were what made me decide I could risk it!

* Worn ball joins on ABC struts can be reformed using resin injection by specialists here in the UK
* When the ABC valve bodies go, it is most often O rings, that can be DIY replaced at a small cost. I think they might be in the high hundreds, each, to be replaced.
* If the PSE pump goes, it is often just some broken fins in the internals or some electrics that can be repaired.

Here are the risky items for me:
* ABC pump replacement (mine was done 10k miles ago) is expensive
* SBC pump renew, when max actuations reached.

In the mean time, I am enjoying the car for what it is, which is a beautiful GT I'll cross the above bridges when/if I come to them.

 

[alabbasi]

* SBC pump renew, when max actuations reached.

I'm not sure about the UK, but there was a class action lawsuit in the US regarding SBC pumps which was settled by Mercedes Benz a couple of years ago. When it was settled, I got a letter from MBUSA indicating that the SBC pump will be covered by a 25 year, unlimited mileage guarantee. Any problems, the dealer will fix it.

 

[E55BOF]

No such situation in the UK, or indeed anywhere but in the USA. MB would just laugh at the suggestion...

 

[conor1n]

No such situation in the UK, or indeed anywhere but in the USA. MB would just laugh at the suggestion...

That they would. I think mainly because we can't have class action lawsuits in this country.

 

[merc85]

Dont forget the fuel tanks have baffle issues too

 

[conor1n]

Dont forget the fuel tanks have baffle issues too

Oh I completely forgot about that...... that is probably the number one worry if I was to pick one. There is no chance of DIY and I believe it's an expensive fix.

 

[Senator]

Fair points. I guess, I would have been the same. For me, the real deal "maker" was that I could do services and repairs myself. If you are not going to DIY it is likely to be very expensive.

You're right, aside from a bit of tinkering I am not really a DIY'er so that was my concern. If you're OK with these repairs then the SL500 would indeed be a bargain!

 

[swithin]

I just bought one and parted with £13,500, a 2007 SL500 with 36,000 miles. I had a Passat estate that I couldn't get rid of for real money, only enquiries i had were from people wanting to pay £5k for a 4 year old, fully loaded estate with less than 40k on the clock and full history. I part ex'd it for the SL and got £10k for it so only handed over £3500 in folding. I paid roughly the same for my 99 SL500 10 years ago with similar mileage of 36,000. While the old adage of its worth what someone will pay is a correct one, wait long enough and as long as your not being greedy, someone will fall in love at close to your price, especially with these motors. I use a fantastic specialist near me and my bills are not crippling even for nightmare repairs like roof ECU in the 1999 one. The MOT on the new one had advisories re split front hydralic suspension covers, found 4 on ebay for £69 each brand new, 2 for me and 2 for the specialist. As i'm using a specialist its not going to cripple me having them put on the car. Having had extremely bad experiences with main dealers i always use specialists and find i can laugh at the horror stories of huge bills that don't need to be. I think £13,500 is a steal for my car, it looks awsome, drives awsome, 30mpg on motorway (roof up) so worth every penny.