Mercedes r230 SL500 titivation

[Monkeylegend]

P R N D said:

Monkeylegend said:

Fastdruid said:

Monkeylegend said:

Lovely car OP, love the colour.

Just for a bit of balance, had my 350 for two and a bit years, it's needed one starter battery which was itself replaced under warranty, and two no advisory MOT's.

The 350 isn't meant to be a patch on the 500 for costs/unreliability.

That's why I bought the 350 on standard suspension, the ABC horror stories frightened me off the 500.
Performance wise there is not much difference in the real world, and although you can't beat the V8 the V6 is still a very nice engine and sounds good above 3000rpm.

The best - or more trouble free - R230 is a late 3.7 350 (2004/2005) with the updated dash/radio nav etc. And don't make the howling error of buying a 350 to avoid ABC and find it was specified as an option!

Mine is one of them

Tremendous value for money at the moment.

[r129sl]

Here’s the rear wheel arch rot:

[Fastdruid]

It's a Mercedes Sir. They all do that...

[Hi]

With regard the PSE pump, if you look on the MB forums for a member called David Arnott, he will rebuild your pump for you, or exchange it for a rebuilt one if he has one in stock. He is based in Scotland but will do it all via post, he is very reasonably priced. He rebuilt mine for around £200 IIRC and mine was pretty bad.

Before you do that though, the PSE pump has a sort of safety cut out system whereby it will cut out if it detects a leak, but it can also cut out if the batteries are low voltage. You can reset it by pulling out a fuse located in the fuse box behind the drivers seat, if memory serves it should be fuse 15 but do check with a google/forum search as it's been a couple of years since I did mine!

I think some fault codes can only be reset with the Star software (not by disconnecting the batteries) so it might be worth investing in a system if you plan to hang on to the car. If you are ever in Bristol way I'll happily scan it for you!

[KillerHERTZ]

Fastdruid said:

It's a Mercedes Sir. They all do that...

None made in the past 12 years do.

[Accelebrate]

KillerHERTZ said:

None made in the past 10 years do.

KillerHERTZ said:

None made in the past 12 years do.

Did a couple of years pass between the last two posts?

[Alex_225]

Fastdruid said:

The 350 isn't meant to be a patch on the 500 for costs/unreliability.

Assuming the balance shaft in the 3.5 has been replaced or isn't on it's way out. I understand that can be a costly repair and more so if it gives and takes the engine with it.

[RDMcG]

Took a few pics today of my old beast..bought it in July 2003 and still have it. Needs new carpets but still has original paint, a fews stone chips but no big problems.....

[harrykul]

Lovely. I'm a big fan of black/red cars.

[RDMcG]

harrykul said:

Lovely. I'm a big fan of black/red cars.

Was always a spare car so only has 25,700 miles. I had all of the wood trim which was standard on cars here deleted - dealer did not like that nor the red, but out the spec in with a doubtful head shake

[r129sl]

The red leather looks fabulous. If I get the chance, I might do some work on my car's interior this weekend.

[Monkeylegend]

RDMcG said:

harrykul said:

Lovely. I'm a big fan of black/red cars.

Was always a spare car so only has 25,700 miles. I had all of the wood trim which was standard on cars here deleted - dealer did not like that nor the red, but out the spec in with a doubtful head shake

Love the car and colour combination, I am a bit biased, but must be a mare to keep clean.

Do they hold their value well over the pond?

[RDMcG]

Monkeylegend said:

Love the car and colour combination, I am a bit biased, but must be a mare to keep clean.

Do they hold their value well over the pond?

No - cheap as chips. Not worried as I will simply keep the car.

[Monkeylegend]

RDMcG said:

Monkeylegend said:

Love the car and colour combination, I am a bit biased, but must be a mare to keep clean.

Do they hold their value well over the pond?

No - cheap as chips. Not worried as I will simply keep the car.

Same here, one of the best value for money Mercs around at the moment in my opinion.

And one of the prettiest.

[Krikkit]

Good to see some details r129, shame it's proving so needy! Any luck with a freshly-charged battery?

That 720S is a rather lovely colour combo, I'm not surprised he's a bit scared of how fast it is mind.

[r129sl]

I could not get the battery fully charged and the car remains troubled. I have taken it home to park it out of harm's way while I get the 124 and 129 back on the road. As soon as the 124 is up and running I am going to get the 230 to the main dealer. They have already indicated that if the batteries are caput they will replace them under warranty.

[jke11y]

You are just the man to sort that car out.

I used to jump out my father-in-laws at the time couple of year old R230 and into my R129 and the 230 felt so cheap and flimsy in comparison. Interested to hear your views.

[r129sl]

Strela said:

The Bitter I've just bought...

Wait a minute. Hold on. Woah. You've bought a Bitter? Without telling anyone? Come on man, we need a thread about this. "Titivating my Bitter Obscura". And you thought getting the parts for your Mercedes was tricky.

And wait another minute. What's this anti-timber st? Nobody makes real wood look like plastic quite like Mercedes.

[RDMcG]

Strela said:

I'm merely attempting, almost certainly in vain, to keep up with the PH zeitgeist of donating Merc SLs and nonchanlantly buying McLarens. Reminds me of the tale of x and y shipping or arms dealing magnates who strolled into a Rolls dealer one day and placed an order for a car apiece. One chap went to pay for the pair, the other expressed mild objection to this gesture, and the first said, "No, really, old chap. After all, you bought lunch." This is, I assume, the sort of world you move in.....

Will start a thread when I actually see the car in the metal about six weeks hence, when the new tax year begins and I can return for a few more days from my glamorous life as a nanny in Geneva.

Very cool car, the Bitter. Never available this side of the pond to my knowledge.

[anonymous-user]

KillerHERTZ said:

None made in the past 12 years do.

Absolute tosh, ask any bodyshop about the 'quality' of Mercedes recent bodywork compared to other makes and you'll get a litany of disasters ranging from good old arch rot to doors so rotten at 8 years old they need replacing.