SL600 - words of wisdom welcome

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The devil probably drives a car not dissimilar to that!! :cool:

I dread to think of the running and repair costs, but it's a car to be enjoyed, and not one for a limited budget. See if you can find a trusted mechanic who would be up for the challenge should it be required, and go for it!!
 
That is the first time I have ever seen under the bonnet of an Sl600, there is no room at all.

My concern about the ad is that the seller has no feedback, not such an issue, as effectively its a private sale, don't buy it blind though.

Mileage of 47k, the seats look to me like they have had a harder life than that, but difficult to tell properly from pics.

For me the final price will determine whether it would work or not.

An awesome car though.
 
Wow that looks dam amazing !

The steering wheel and driver seat look a tad too glossy for 47k though :crazy:

The seller has zero feedback though, not indicating it could be be a scam but just something to be aware of.
 
Nice, but I think the general advice is that an old V12 will be costly to run and maintain, whilst not offering a great deal more than the 5.0 V8.

It's an early one as well, hence the older interior etc.

ADS is supposed to be very expensive to overhaul when it fails.

Other than that, it's a nice looking car - black with black leather, not 100% sure on the wheels but they're ok.

Mileage seems very low, not sure how much of a big deal that is, I'd be more concerned over condition on a car this old :)

Will
 
Hello

Have to say as others 47K it looks more worn than I would think. Not keen on wood inside or wheels (and badge) but that can be changed.

Its like a mad max type machine..... :)

ooh and is ADS the self leveling suspension round bends... £$£$£$£$£$£
 
Re the leather....I have a similar age SL with 65k on the clock and the drivers side seat bolster has worn through, so I personally think the leather looks OK for its age and mileage. I find that its very difficult to avoid brushing against the bolster as you get in and out and the front of the seat squab also gets brushed by your thighs as you twist to get out.

This 600 looks a nice car, but being a 600.....I would suggest you do as much homework as possible on the ADS system before you comit to the purchase. I was looking at a 600 last year and learnt a lot about ADS and what to look for by going on a couple of the US website forums and tapping in ADS in the search function

http://www.mercedesshop.com/

As it turns out is stopped me buying a potential money pit.....saying that this particular 600 seems to be sitting correctly.
 
I agree that the interior looks right for a low mileage car. I have seen early SL interiors that look terrible by 100K.
An SL500 makes more sense but if you want a V12 and accept the fact that it will bleed you dry then I say go for it. This one looks nice.
 
The 600 is a lazy engine, go for a 500, better by far....
 
The V12 is a lot of weight and complexity for not much benefit IMO. I would avoid. ADS is nice from the driving point of view ... subjectively there seem to be more issues with the struts etc. on more modern Benzs (based on threads about CLs and Malcolm's problems with his R230)?
 
Speaking of the ADS, does anyone know what the real fears with this system are? What generally goes wrong and why is it so expensive (or perceived to be) to repair? Is it expensive parts or high labour costs?

Will
 
From what I know for cars up to 1995 the info was on the HHT and never got transfered to STAR. there is some info on STAR for the later cars but limited.

It would appear that when they do go wrong the ride becomes very hard with a Kangaroo type ride, and whilst you can set and test most of the components, getting the thing to run as it should seem near impossible

I printed off 60 pages of info for a guy in Ireland, I must try and find out where he is up to
 
Speaking of the ADS, does anyone know what the real fears with this system are? What generally goes wrong and why is it so expensive (or perceived to be) to repair? Is it expensive parts or high labour costs?

Will

Good question. Also do they apply to ADS1 (pre 1996 facelift), ADS2 (post facelift), or both?

I know there are people here with quite old ADS-equipped R129s, and offhand I don't recall many (any?) problems being raised.
 
The parts are expensive - though there is also a lot of labour in replacing the system.

One R129 on here had the entire system replaced at a cost of £5k.
 
Good question. Also do they apply to ADS1 (pre 1996 facelift), ADS2 (post facelift), or both?

I know there are people here with quite old ADS-equipped R129s, and offhand I don't recall many (any?) problems being raised.

ASD1 was on the HHT test set and never put onto STAR and there are very few HHT testers left in the world
 

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