r129 sl what are they really like?
Discussion
I`ve had my 1997 SL320 for five years,its a great car and will eventually take the place of my old classic.Mine has the straight six which most Merc`Vets will agree as being bullet proof.I`m told the early V6`s had problems?? The only major parts that have been replaced were the front coil springs,as they can be a week point.I had an irritating intermittent miss fire which was traced to the wiring loom that runs from the coil packs along the cylinder head,another known SL fault.The only other part to be replaced was the air flow meter.The ride and handling is not to every body`s taste,and I have never been happy with the brake pedal feel.I had the misfortune to test the body strength of my SL.A huge Iveco van ran into my rear at the lights!!The impact was so great the auto role bar popped up and the seat belt pretensionors deployed.Thanks to the super safety seat I did not feel a thing.I could open and close the boot lid and drive the car home.As for the Iveco? I left it in a pool of water and oil before it was towed away.As with all cars of this quality make sure its been well cared for with a good service history and if you find a good one I`m sure you will not be disappointed.
this thread is a good start, but there's numerous other ones on here
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
cheers all the info so far has been invaluable i really am tempted by these as iv always liked them since i was small,how likely is it that the head will go on them ?What would you all think of one with the 140,000 to 160,000 (iv seen one on here from a ph member which has had the head done (sl300 24) with 167,000 with some rust starting on the wing and the wheels are non original lorensers ?
rubystone said:
Eta again..the 320 is of course a v6, not. Straight 6 as someone else has stated!!!!
I can assure you my 1997 SL320 IS a straight six.From 1993 to late 1998 the SL320 had a 24valve straight six.
From late 1998 to end of production the SL320 had the more powerful 18valve V6 engine.
Just one more thing,Do not get an SL280!I tried one and compared to a 320 they are flat and gutless.
This head gasket issue has got me worried,I better talk with my Mercedes Specialist as my 320 has done 80K.
Edited by Old Merc on Sunday 12th August 11:19
Old Merc said:
Just one more thing,Do not get an SL280!I tried one and compared to a 320 they are flat and gutless.
of course, some people say don't get a 320 because compared to a 500 they are flat and gutless, then others say that once you have tried a 600 nothing less than 12 cylinders will do.... :-)chris333 said:
Old Merc said:
Just one more thing,Do not get an SL280!I tried one and compared to a 320 they are flat and gutless.
of course, some people say don't get a 320 because compared to a 500 they are flat and gutless, then others say that once you have tried a 600 nothing less than 12 cylinders will do.... :-)AC43 said:
chris333 said:
Old Merc said:
Just one more thing,Do not get an SL280!I tried one and compared to a 320 they are flat and gutless.
of course, some people say don't get a 320 because compared to a 500 they are flat and gutless, then others say that once you have tried a 600 nothing less than 12 cylinders will do.... :-)
I wonder if anyone's ever popped one of those into an R129? Of course there's always the SL73. So many choices!!!
Old Merc said:
I had the misfortune to test the body strength of my SL.A huge Iveco van ran into my rear at the lights!!The impact was so great the auto role bar popped up and the seat belt pretensionors deployed.Thanks to the super safety seat I did not feel a thing.I could open and close the boot lid and drive the car home.As for the Iveco? I left it in a pool of water and oil before it was towed away.
Something similar happened to me at a roundabout when a black taxi cab shunted me at a fairly low speed. Granted, the roll-over bar didn't pop up (iirc) but after pulling over to assess the damage I could only see a very slight scratch in the paintwork only. The taxi guys front grille was caved in! Couldn't believe it to be honest so I just gave him a few words and let the cost of a new grille be his punishment.Suffice to say these cars are built to last.
I'm up to 220,000miles and nothing has really gone wrong. I think these are about the best value, most underrated cars around, but then I would.
The handling is an acquired taste. They are refined rather than raucous. They are actually very fast across country because they have lovely long travel suspension with good damping, very well-suited to our roads. The brakes are superb although the pedal lacks the instant-on feeling pioneered by Audi and very popular with morons (the same people who favour rock hard suspension) these days. Back in 1998, this car could decelerate quicker and in less road than any other production car. You will think the brakes lack bite but if you whack the centre pedal you'll be picking bits of steering wheel out of your teeth.
Most examples will have an awful lot of backlog maintenance issues by now, very few people maintain their cars properly anymore because, in truth, most folk stretch to meet the monthly payment. Any 129 that has not had it done recently will need all new suspension. It's not really expensive and it transforms the car. The cheapest improvement is to rebush the cross-braces. For less than £10 it vastly reduces high speed vibration.
Originality is everything.
The handling is an acquired taste. They are refined rather than raucous. They are actually very fast across country because they have lovely long travel suspension with good damping, very well-suited to our roads. The brakes are superb although the pedal lacks the instant-on feeling pioneered by Audi and very popular with morons (the same people who favour rock hard suspension) these days. Back in 1998, this car could decelerate quicker and in less road than any other production car. You will think the brakes lack bite but if you whack the centre pedal you'll be picking bits of steering wheel out of your teeth.
Most examples will have an awful lot of backlog maintenance issues by now, very few people maintain their cars properly anymore because, in truth, most folk stretch to meet the monthly payment. Any 129 that has not had it done recently will need all new suspension. It's not really expensive and it transforms the car. The cheapest improvement is to rebush the cross-braces. For less than £10 it vastly reduces high speed vibration.
Originality is everything.
Old Merc said:
I can assure you my 1997 SL320 IS a straight six.
From 1993 to late 1998 the SL320 had a 24valve straight six.
From late 1998 to end of production the SL320 had the more powerful 18valve V6 engine.
Just one more thing,Do not get an SL280!I tried one and compared to a 320 they are flat and gutless.
This head gasket issue has got me worried,I better talk with my Mercedes Specialist as my 320 has done 80K.
Best HG prevention is to keep the coolant clean and fresh. My experience of old Merc HG's is that they don't go pop but corrode and leak drop of oil into the coolant. From 1993 to late 1998 the SL320 had a 24valve straight six.
From late 1998 to end of production the SL320 had the more powerful 18valve V6 engine.
Just one more thing,Do not get an SL280!I tried one and compared to a 320 they are flat and gutless.
This head gasket issue has got me worried,I better talk with my Mercedes Specialist as my 320 has done 80K.
Edited by Old Merc on Sunday 12th August 11:19
Not that much to add to the above other than a bit of opinion.
Ours is a 2000 SL320 and for the outlay £ they really represent great value. I bought it knowing that whilst there would be no monthly payments, I was happy to pay a "no expense spared" attitude to maintenance. 2011s "do anything it needs" service was £1400 and last weeks pre-roadtrip service was £700 which included brake fluid, autobox fluid, some bushes and rear brakes. Not huge numbers. The specialist I use told me its mechanically perfect.
As 129above mentioned there are some ropey ones; I looked at a few. I wanted a car with the cream interior and the state some of them were in was amusing.
They have a great mix of old-school heavy style but are luxurious and new enough that I can get in it and do 500 miles in one go with no problems.
Ours is a 2000 SL320 and for the outlay £ they really represent great value. I bought it knowing that whilst there would be no monthly payments, I was happy to pay a "no expense spared" attitude to maintenance. 2011s "do anything it needs" service was £1400 and last weeks pre-roadtrip service was £700 which included brake fluid, autobox fluid, some bushes and rear brakes. Not huge numbers. The specialist I use told me its mechanically perfect.
As 129above mentioned there are some ropey ones; I looked at a few. I wanted a car with the cream interior and the state some of them were in was amusing.
They have a great mix of old-school heavy style but are luxurious and new enough that I can get in it and do 500 miles in one go with no problems.
Fantastic cars. I bought my 93 500SL in April.
I suggest buying on condition and by the sort of person you are buying from, there are a lot of cars with accident damage, interior damage and very poor maintenance history out there.
My car has MB history up to about 100k, then independent to 120k then nothing to the 135 I bought it at, I am slowly going through when I have time, so far have done oil and filter change, fuel filter change, air filters (make sure you get 2, some ebay sellers don’t know the car has 2) and replaced both distributor caps and rotor arms (£140 from GSF, anything upto £450 from MB) Next jobs planned are transmission filter and oil change and to remove the stupid Clifford alarm.
I was lucky with the spec of mine, driver and passenger electric memory seats, heated seats, electric column, mirrors and interior mirror all linked to the seat memory
I drove a few before buying mine including a 320 and 300, so much more performance with the 500 I couldn’t justify not having one, and it makes a fantastic noise.
Fuel totally depends on how it is driven, 15mpg short local journeys to 29mpg on a 400 mile round trip to the Goodwood Festival of speed.
I am sure they will rise in value, there is loads of good (and bad) advice on the internet, most faults are well known and some blown out of all proportion.
Somebody will break the lever on the passenger side air vent getting out of the car, if it isn’t broken already.
Buy one, enjoy it!
I suggest buying on condition and by the sort of person you are buying from, there are a lot of cars with accident damage, interior damage and very poor maintenance history out there.
My car has MB history up to about 100k, then independent to 120k then nothing to the 135 I bought it at, I am slowly going through when I have time, so far have done oil and filter change, fuel filter change, air filters (make sure you get 2, some ebay sellers don’t know the car has 2) and replaced both distributor caps and rotor arms (£140 from GSF, anything upto £450 from MB) Next jobs planned are transmission filter and oil change and to remove the stupid Clifford alarm.
I was lucky with the spec of mine, driver and passenger electric memory seats, heated seats, electric column, mirrors and interior mirror all linked to the seat memory
I drove a few before buying mine including a 320 and 300, so much more performance with the 500 I couldn’t justify not having one, and it makes a fantastic noise.
Fuel totally depends on how it is driven, 15mpg short local journeys to 29mpg on a 400 mile round trip to the Goodwood Festival of speed.
I am sure they will rise in value, there is loads of good (and bad) advice on the internet, most faults are well known and some blown out of all proportion.
Somebody will break the lever on the passenger side air vent getting out of the car, if it isn’t broken already.
Buy one, enjoy it!
There is debate on other PH pages about future classics.The 129 IS a modern classic and in many years to come it will be a true classic.As I said in my earlier post my 129 will replace my 50 year old classic.Trouble is when my 129 is 50 years old I will be 100!! I`m not sure if I will be in running order in 2047 but I bet my 129 will be.
As this old topic has been resurrected I will add something to what I said here three years ago about my SL320.
I mentioned that I was not happy with the handling.Any way since then it has been worked on by a very good Merc`specialist.They replaced the bottom ball joints,steering idler and damper.Then,and this is crucial,the steering AND suspension geometry was adjusted.As some of you may know the lower wishbones are adjustable so its very important to get it all done properly.
I noticed the difference immediately,it drives like a new car,well worth the expense.
I mentioned that I was not happy with the handling.Any way since then it has been worked on by a very good Merc`specialist.They replaced the bottom ball joints,steering idler and damper.Then,and this is crucial,the steering AND suspension geometry was adjusted.As some of you may know the lower wishbones are adjustable so its very important to get it all done properly.
I noticed the difference immediately,it drives like a new car,well worth the expense.
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