Thinking of buying an R129

[niva441]

Hi all

As per the title, I'm thinking of buying an R129. I've had a search round for buyers guides but I've not managed to find anything detailed (except the German site and I'm afraid my German isn't that good). However from what I understand the key issues to check are the operation of the electric hood and condition of the wiring loom on early cars.

Is there anything else I should be looking for. One thing that I am concerned about is whether the quality of the vehicles (particularly the paintwork) deteriorated about the time of the final facelift. One other question I have is, for the final facelift the wheel size increased from 16" to 17", did this effect the ride significantly?

Thank in advance for your thoughts.

Todd

Edited by niva441 on Friday 15th January 12:24

[niva441]

XB70 said:

Just literally picked up the current issue of Mercedes Enthusiast over lunch with....buyers guide to the R129.

Thanks, I must get down to the newsagent then.

Thanks also R129SL for information and especially for allaying my concerns about the paint finish on later cars. At least upgrading the brakes is a sensible reason to increase rim size rather than just fashion.

I was thinking initially about a 300, but am now moving towards a 320. As it seems like these cars may have managed to miss out on the Mercedes quality issues, I'll be looking for a late model with reasonable mileage.

[niva441]

Thanks Chris

I'd found the MBClub and Brian Clifton, but not the others, they're now on my bookmarks.

[niva441]

Yes I been similarly unimpressed with the customer services department. They actually wound me up more, though their combination of inactivity and probably deliberate misinformation. So much that I was considering replacing my old W202 C250 estate earlier in the year and much as the W204 would have been an ideal replacement (cost aside). The attitude of customer services made me make deliberate efforts to look elsewhere.

A panoramic roof appeals as it makes the sport coupe very light and airy. Fortunately the garage the car will be stored in (once the MGB is back on its wheels) has exposed beams, so it should be possible to hoist the roof simply into the roof space.

[niva441]

Well I've taken the plunge and bought one. Not quite the first one I saw, it was the second.

Simon Light in Ware had one of the last facelift 320s to exactly the spec I was looking for, Panoramic roof, light interior and Xenons. It's not low mileage at 76,000, but I prefer cars that have actually been used rather than stored all their life.

All the systems seem to work although I was a bit disappointed by having to drive it home in the rain. Hopefully the summer will provide better oportunities to enjoy the converible. It may well be going to the Le Mans Classic later in the year.