W129 SL 500 Ownership advice please

[T5GRF]

I am off to look at a couple of cars today typically the cars have all covered 110k with decent service history and are 96 and 97 registered. I think the self destructing wiring loom problem should have been resolved on these cars but what else at this kind of mileage should I expect to see bills for?

One of the cars is fitted with adaptive suspension there is no evidence of it having been rebuilt is this an eye watering bill waiting to happen?

The car will cover around 5000 miles a year what are the service intervals and what is a decent independent going to charge?

Can someone recomend a good independent in the Hertfordshire area for a pre purchase inspection and future servicing.

Any other advice or links to resources would be much appreciated as I know very little about these cars.

Many thanks in advance

[T5GRF]

Many thanks for the replies. I looked at a 1996 500 on Monday with circa 120,000 miles. The history of the car was pretty good with a lot of recent expenditure on the cooling and airconditioning systems, but cosmetically the car was a little shabby with a few dents, lot of stonechips, some poor paint on a rear arch, kerbed and corroded replica AMG wheels, worn drivers seat bolster and cracked instrument glass. It is fairly cheap but it feels as though it hasn't been loved much. I guess to sort out the list of cosmetic defects is going to be £1500 plus. I also noticed on the test drive that when the box was changing down there was a clunk on occasions. There is no evidence of the gearbox being serviced or overhauled so on balance I think unless it was very cheap probably not for me. Just out of interest given the details of the car at what price do you think it would be worth taking a "punt" on it?

Is anyone looking to sell a nice 500 SL on here?

[T5GRF]

Nuisance yes you are probably right, the cheapest it could be bought for I think is 4.5k so it could be cosmetically pretty much together for 6k but I guess it will have still done 120,000 miles. It does look nice though it is a facelift car, black with black leather and has a few nice options like ADS.

What would have been standard on a car of this vintage? I know that ADS was a very expensive option.