RE: Mercedes SL 320 (R129): Spotted
Discussion
I would not go near any Mercedes of that era with the 3.2 litre straight six engine.
I owned a 1994 w124 e320 estate.
At 100,000 miles the head gasket failed.
Additional damage was caused as well, so I sourced a replacement engine at considerable expense.
When the replacement engine reached 100,000 miles the head gasket failed on that one too.
This time the rest of the engine was ok, so the head was skimmed and a replacement head gasket fitted.
(An experienced Mercedes engineer told me that Mercedes increased the capacity of the original 2.8 litre straight six to 3.2 litres by increasing the bore slightly. However this caused a weakness which often led to premature head gasket failure on the 3.2 litre engine).
The car ran fine for a few months, but then started mis-firing. This was diagnosed as failure of the wiring loom due it to being of a bio-degradable nature as mentioned by someone in a previous post.
I was quoted £1500 to have the loom replaced, so I scrapped the car.
Avoid.
I owned a 1994 w124 e320 estate.
At 100,000 miles the head gasket failed.
Additional damage was caused as well, so I sourced a replacement engine at considerable expense.
When the replacement engine reached 100,000 miles the head gasket failed on that one too.
This time the rest of the engine was ok, so the head was skimmed and a replacement head gasket fitted.
(An experienced Mercedes engineer told me that Mercedes increased the capacity of the original 2.8 litre straight six to 3.2 litres by increasing the bore slightly. However this caused a weakness which often led to premature head gasket failure on the 3.2 litre engine).
The car ran fine for a few months, but then started mis-firing. This was diagnosed as failure of the wiring loom due it to being of a bio-degradable nature as mentioned by someone in a previous post.
I was quoted £1500 to have the loom replaced, so I scrapped the car.
Avoid.
acme said:
can anyone who has experience in both a 107 and 129 advise what they're like in comparison?
Cheers
Given that the 107 was one of the longest serving Mercedes models ever, there was pretty much 20 years of development that separated it and its replacement.Cheers
I remember reading CAR Magazine back in the late 80's when the R129 was launched, and George Kacher saying that he couldn't believe that there wasn't a model between the 107 and the 129 that Mercedes had developed but simply forgotten to launch, such was the gulf that separated them both.
Andrew-396pl said:
these cars - whilst cheap are at a point in life where big bills on odd parts can arise.
Try an odd misfire ending up as an entire new wiring loom.......£1000's.......
Sensors die like crane flies......
plastics turn to chocolate....
just warning......
Standard Mercedes lame duck build quality Try an odd misfire ending up as an entire new wiring loom.......£1000's.......
Sensors die like crane flies......
plastics turn to chocolate....
just warning......
jango said:
I have an sl60 amg r129 and it’s lovely to drive and very fast.
I would love to try a SL60 one day.What are the differences between the SL500 and the SL60?
Ive read reviews of them but i still cant really tell the difference,what do you look out for to tell you it's the real thing?
I'm assuming it will have AMG plates under the bonnet?
So many of these Merc SL UK owned cars must have started off life in the ownership of serving members of British Forces Germany (BFG).
When I was at RAF Laarbruch in mid-late 90s, so many (mainly) Officers purchased these tax free from a Germany dealer, then 6 months later they were sold to UK dealers for a handsome profit plus a brand new SL to be picked up in Germany he following day! My boss had several whilst I was there, as did many of the Harrier 'jockies'.
I believe there was some concern at the time if one had ordered the old straight 6 version only to find it was being replaced by a new V6 - clearly a 'First World' problem, although that phrase hadn't being coined at the time!
I also remember that if one had one of the new CLKs when they were first out, serious profit could be made on selling to a UK dealer... happy days, but a distant memory now!
When I was at RAF Laarbruch in mid-late 90s, so many (mainly) Officers purchased these tax free from a Germany dealer, then 6 months later they were sold to UK dealers for a handsome profit plus a brand new SL to be picked up in Germany he following day! My boss had several whilst I was there, as did many of the Harrier 'jockies'.
I believe there was some concern at the time if one had ordered the old straight 6 version only to find it was being replaced by a new V6 - clearly a 'First World' problem, although that phrase hadn't being coined at the time!
I also remember that if one had one of the new CLKs when they were first out, serious profit could be made on selling to a UK dealer... happy days, but a distant memory now!
Dapster said:
Given that the 107 was one of the longest serving Mercedes models ever, there was pretty much 20 years of development that separated it and its replacement.
I remember reading CAR Magazine back in the late 80's when the R129 was launched, and George Kacher saying that he couldn't believe that there wasn't a model between the 107 and the 129 that Mercedes had developed but simply forgotten to launch, such was the gulf that separated them both.
It's incredible how long they got away with selling it frankly, 1971 - 1989. I guess that's why it looks quite unusual, it was a 1960's design.I remember reading CAR Magazine back in the late 80's when the R129 was launched, and George Kacher saying that he couldn't believe that there wasn't a model between the 107 and the 129 that Mercedes had developed but simply forgotten to launch, such was the gulf that separated them both.
I'd agree with GK, it really is from another era, but in a later car - if you have one of the post '85 face lifts.
apc321 said:
I would not go near any Mercedes of that era with the 3.2 litre straight six engine.
I owned a 1994 w124 e320 estate.
At 100,000 miles the head gasket failed.
Additional damage was caused as well, so I sourced a replacement engine at considerable expense.
When the replacement engine reached 100,000 miles the head gasket failed on that one too.
This time the rest of the engine was ok, so the head was skimmed and a replacement head gasket fitted.
(An experienced Mercedes engineer told me that Mercedes increased the capacity of the original 2.8 litre straight six to 3.2 litres by increasing the bore slightly. However this caused a weakness which often led to premature head gasket failure on the 3.2 litre engine).
The car ran fine for a few months, but then started mis-firing. This was diagnosed as failure of the wiring loom due it to being of a bio-degradable nature as mentioned by someone in a previous post.
I was quoted £1500 to have the loom replaced, so I scrapped the car.
Avoid.
MY 95 SL320 also had well documented head gasket failure (112K) the main annoyance was that I'd recently had an oil and coolant change done or in other terms a very expensive flush).I owned a 1994 w124 e320 estate.
At 100,000 miles the head gasket failed.
Additional damage was caused as well, so I sourced a replacement engine at considerable expense.
When the replacement engine reached 100,000 miles the head gasket failed on that one too.
This time the rest of the engine was ok, so the head was skimmed and a replacement head gasket fitted.
(An experienced Mercedes engineer told me that Mercedes increased the capacity of the original 2.8 litre straight six to 3.2 litres by increasing the bore slightly. However this caused a weakness which often led to premature head gasket failure on the 3.2 litre engine).
The car ran fine for a few months, but then started mis-firing. This was diagnosed as failure of the wiring loom due it to being of a bio-degradable nature as mentioned by someone in a previous post.
I was quoted £1500 to have the loom replaced, so I scrapped the car.
Avoid.
The wiring loom is a problem for 'middle aged' cars - early ones didn't have it and 94/95 model year they switched back to something that didn't bio degrade (So I'm told by an expert who could have sold me one when I thought mine had gone).
Facelift onwards is the way to go - more air bags and no two tone paint. I bought one which needed some tlc and she's nearly there although sunvisor clips are like hens teeth (Business opportunity for someone with a 3D scanner/printer). Other than that largely wear items - steering damper - coil packs/HT leads (rough idle - hence thinking wiring loom only 3 coil packs in straight six), stuck aerial and rusty breakpipes.
Still pulls like a train, looks good, has the best aircon of any car I've had and not much worse on fuel than my first car (1.0 knackered metro). Oh and taking the hard top off will result in arms like Garth (From comic strips not the geezer out of Wayne's World).
Agree some crazy valuations out there for 90s cars one magazine's article on Z3 prices almost made me spit out my tea.
BTW how many cars can you have before it feels like you are cheating on one by neglecting it?
Trev
Had an L reg with 180k on clock. or might of ben 220k cant think. This was about 5 years ago. Id always wanted one. They are not a drivers car. Think of it as an E class with a rag top. I bought it for 1850. Blew its head gasket, cost me £1000 odd to fix, sold it month later for £1300! Just looked on MOT history and been off the road since 2014.
They’re still one of the best looking cars (ever) in my opinion, and I finally took the plunge last year.
Bearing in mind the newest ones are 18 or so, and the oldest 30, there are some dogs out there. They can hide a lack of maintenance very well, there’s really no such thing as a cheap one should you care about keeping it in fine fettle as Mercedes intended. I wanted a 500 (at least), and bought one at £4.5k, but have spent that again in it refreshing the car, and still have a new roof (£1k) to go.
I deliberately chose a fixer-upper rather than paying over the odds for a dealer who’s trying to drive the market up. Spend wisely, and you can have a very nice one for £10k.
They’re not sports cars, very much a GT, and the handling is of the period (it leans much more than anything modern). The 500 still surprises the hot hatch boys in a straight line should you so desire. Even with the hardtop on, they’re noisier than a modern hatch, but then it’s an old design. They are however narrow compared to anything modern, and the turning circle is impressively tight.
For me, the biggest failing of the car is the cabin space. I’ve long legs, and sit closer to the wheel than I’d like. I therefore spent £400 getting the seat base extended, and the backrest foam replaced with a thinner piece - it looks 100% original at a glance, but is now much more supportive, if still not perfect.
As barge threadists will know, I bought a 2nd last week.
If I could only keep one of my cars, it’d be an SL.
Bearing in mind the newest ones are 18 or so, and the oldest 30, there are some dogs out there. They can hide a lack of maintenance very well, there’s really no such thing as a cheap one should you care about keeping it in fine fettle as Mercedes intended. I wanted a 500 (at least), and bought one at £4.5k, but have spent that again in it refreshing the car, and still have a new roof (£1k) to go.
I deliberately chose a fixer-upper rather than paying over the odds for a dealer who’s trying to drive the market up. Spend wisely, and you can have a very nice one for £10k.
They’re not sports cars, very much a GT, and the handling is of the period (it leans much more than anything modern). The 500 still surprises the hot hatch boys in a straight line should you so desire. Even with the hardtop on, they’re noisier than a modern hatch, but then it’s an old design. They are however narrow compared to anything modern, and the turning circle is impressively tight.
For me, the biggest failing of the car is the cabin space. I’ve long legs, and sit closer to the wheel than I’d like. I therefore spent £400 getting the seat base extended, and the backrest foam replaced with a thinner piece - it looks 100% original at a glance, but is now much more supportive, if still not perfect.
As barge threadists will know, I bought a 2nd last week.
If I could only keep one of my cars, it’d be an SL.
100% bias on this but the R129 is a masterpiece. For those scaremongering about wiring looms (seems to be the only factual genuine worry here) - yes the 1993/1994/1995 cars can suffer from this. Sileck will rebuild the upper harness to motorsport standard for £400. Hour to remove, hour to refit. Some genius bought into biodegradable insulation on the harnesses and the rest is unhappy history...Porsche had exactly the same issue but recalled quite a few cars and dealt with it at source I believe.
Weaknesses? Perhaps the inline 6 headgaskets but ... its done 120,000 miles, is 20 years old, cost a fortune, and people are moaning about a few hundred quid to replace a HG. Comeon....compare it to an R230 if you want running cost nightmares!
Ive sourced and lightly restored SL500s for friends and family members, worked on them inside and out and Im yet to think...hmmm thats a weak design. The M119 engine is a million miler, the M113...not quite as good but still a decent lump. Gearboxes are solid as rocks, interior bullet proof etc. The roof is complicated but rarely goes wrong - unless the car is not looking after properly. By that I mean regularly serviced, filters changed, put on a trickle charger if used sparingly and correct maintenance carried out as per the schedule. Even the hydraulic suspension - ADS1 and 2 - is reliable if cared for.
Criminally under valued and phenomenal cars. Read Brian Long's book on them if you are on the fence about whether to commit....these are from an engineering quality era long forgotten in Mercedes.
Oh and Id have a late SL600, AMG pack and 18 inch wheels....but then again im bias...and have STAR to help me!
Weaknesses? Perhaps the inline 6 headgaskets but ... its done 120,000 miles, is 20 years old, cost a fortune, and people are moaning about a few hundred quid to replace a HG. Comeon....compare it to an R230 if you want running cost nightmares!
Ive sourced and lightly restored SL500s for friends and family members, worked on them inside and out and Im yet to think...hmmm thats a weak design. The M119 engine is a million miler, the M113...not quite as good but still a decent lump. Gearboxes are solid as rocks, interior bullet proof etc. The roof is complicated but rarely goes wrong - unless the car is not looking after properly. By that I mean regularly serviced, filters changed, put on a trickle charger if used sparingly and correct maintenance carried out as per the schedule. Even the hydraulic suspension - ADS1 and 2 - is reliable if cared for.
Criminally under valued and phenomenal cars. Read Brian Long's book on them if you are on the fence about whether to commit....these are from an engineering quality era long forgotten in Mercedes.
Oh and Id have a late SL600, AMG pack and 18 inch wheels....but then again im bias...and have STAR to help me!
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