Battenberg
Part of things
Time for Cake....
Posts: 744
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Dec 19, 2020 13:29:56 GMT
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Hello
A friend is going through a midlife ( Divorce, younger model... you get the idea ) and needs midlife transport as his separated wife is keeping the shitsabishi plug in jobby! Wants to spend no more than 8K of hard hidden money, I don’t know Merc’s. It have suggested BMW’s but he has his heart set on being the modern day ‘Hart to Hart’?
Any one had one, good bad?
Thanks in advance.
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Last Edit: Dec 19, 2020 13:30:42 GMT by Battenberg
Current Fleet: 1968 Wolseley 1000 2022 BMW 430xd MHT Coupe 2007 L200 Animal - Dog walking transport 1998 318is Coupe 2007 Mini Cooper Supercharged 1989 BMW 530 - in storage
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Dec 19, 2020 17:34:49 GMT
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My friend has one. If there is ONE piece of advice I can give, it is to be VERY careful what he buys. The R230s are fiendishly complicated and parts alone are ridiculous money for the SL-only bits. The V8s have air suspension which is extremely pricey should something go wrong - i.e £1000 per corner for new bags from Mercedes plus fitting costs.
We went to change the rear pads on his car - a seemingly simple job that we couldn't do as we couldn't reset the computer. Tyres are not cheap either - 2x rear tyres (only decent makes available in that size) set him back the thick end of £360.
It is difficult to run one of these things on a budget - standard servicing such as oil and filter changes are straightforward, but the moment you start poking around and removing stuff, it's usually linked to the computer and will need a reset. So far we've found THREE separate fuse boxes.
My friend found his at a dealer in Belgravia, with more paperwork than you can shake a stick at. That's why he bought it - he got a cracking bargain - the mileage was higher at 145k but the car was up for £4500. I have never seen another 500SL that age that cheap - it was the garage boss's old car, and he just wanted it gone. All the other vehicles in the dealership were high-end exotica such as Ferraris, Astons etc no more than 5 years old. There were regular servicing receipts for several thousand, including replacement of all the troublesome air suspension.
It is NOT a sports car - it is a very comfortable cruiser - a proper GT. They also did it in 350SL flavour with a 3.5 litre V6. Would I recommend one? It depends exactly what your friend wants out of it. The 350 SLK of about the same age (2004-onwards) is a faster, better all-round car and can be picked up fully specced for about 5k. {Beware of tax brackets though as the 280 & 350 SLKs from 06-08 cost £570 per year as opposed to £330 odd).
The SL is a lovely car to drive but because it's so complicated, ideally your friend needs to be prepared to find a very friendly Mercedes specialist to continually strip his wallet. Just because the asking price is cheap will not make it a cheap car.
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Last Edit: Dec 19, 2020 17:35:37 GMT by mrbounce
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longman
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 506
Club RR Member Number: 3
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Dec 19, 2020 18:03:57 GMT
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Facelift ones are better (2006 on) , get it inspected before purchase. Have a pic of an R129 as its before 2000
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Paul 98 500 SL 86 911 Carrera/sold 23 Octavia Phev
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Dec 20, 2020 14:28:53 GMT
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One other thing I meant to mention - for a 2-seater these things are HUGE. They weigh close to 2 tons and are almost 15 feet long as well as 6 feet wide. Here's a picture of our two Mercs together - it's quite a difference.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Dec 20, 2020 15:35:36 GMT
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A very good friend's parents have had one since new and still own it to this day.
Main thing I can say is they are OK technically. Electrically, they can drive people mad and empty your wallet dry.
Roof issues can have folks running around in circles Tyres are expensive, but not too crazy compared to the competition.
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2020 16:49:25 GMT by ChasR
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