RE: Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) | PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
Hi Jango and fellow sl60 driver! Mine is not a daily driver as I've still got a 500sl for those duties. Although mine is no garage queen either! They do sound good also!
jango said:
I have had a 1993 SL 500 for 5 years now and I can't imagine ever selling it, they are so good. I had a 300SL-24 but the car is too heavy for that engine, the 500 is so effortless. If you join the Benzworld.org forum and do all the things they recommend such as replacing the fuses with copper instead of aluminium, changing fluids etc. etc. you can make it as reliable as any car out there of any age.
I use mine to work every day summer and winter, do about 3500 miles a year. It helps hugely if you can work on your own cars and these are quite easy to work on. The M119 V8 engine is a jewel, Rolls Royce would be proud of it I'm sure.
I use mine to work every day summer and winter, do about 3500 miles a year. It helps hugely if you can work on your own cars and these are quite easy to work on. The M119 V8 engine is a jewel, Rolls Royce would be proud of it I'm sure.
I’ve had my 1990 500sl for nine years. It’s been a mixed experience of continual issues interspersed with periods where I’ve fallen in love with it.
In defence of the car, the reliability issues I’ve had can be laid squarely at my feet in leaving it in a barn for months at a time and not using it.
The main issues have been related to the coolant system, oil leaks and a myriad number of electrical glitches that would make an Alfa proud.
I endorse the earlier comment about replacing the alloy fuses with copper ones, and ensuring that contacts in the fuse box are cleaned regularly
Many of the complex relays suffer from dry joints, so I’ve splashed out on a soldering iron so that I can refresh them.
The V8 engine is wonderful. It doesn’t give that jolt in the back a modern provides, but then you glance at the speedometer and realise it’s going a lot quicker than you think. It’s a wonderfully smooth unit and the 4 speed auto suits the nature of the car in my opinion
On balance, did I do the right thing buying it? Absolutely. I think the design has aged really well, and which makes the car stand out in an understated way.
In defence of the car, the reliability issues I’ve had can be laid squarely at my feet in leaving it in a barn for months at a time and not using it.
The main issues have been related to the coolant system, oil leaks and a myriad number of electrical glitches that would make an Alfa proud.
I endorse the earlier comment about replacing the alloy fuses with copper ones, and ensuring that contacts in the fuse box are cleaned regularly
Many of the complex relays suffer from dry joints, so I’ve splashed out on a soldering iron so that I can refresh them.
The V8 engine is wonderful. It doesn’t give that jolt in the back a modern provides, but then you glance at the speedometer and realise it’s going a lot quicker than you think. It’s a wonderfully smooth unit and the 4 speed auto suits the nature of the car in my opinion
On balance, did I do the right thing buying it? Absolutely. I think the design has aged really well, and which makes the car stand out in an understated way.
Launched these back in the day at the dealership I worked for.. remember impressing a future owner on the demo v8 on a mid afternoon quiet back street in 89 Belfast behind the dealership, Agnews, and help the revs at 5k and stepped off the brake guy looked at me seconds later, no wheelspin just high speed forward motion'' Jeezus'' he says ''this yoke can lift''..couldn't do that on the busy Lisburn road could you...he bought one later...
Great cars and excellent article. Mine's an early 500 that sadly has languished on the drive for a year with a gremlin I've not got round to sorting although the mention of the throttle body wiring issue affecting the ASR sounds like it may be the culprit.
It was bought almost by accident - first car I went to look at as I was interested in a cloth seated Japanese import at auction but my only experience was sitting in Stirling Moss's old SL so I went to see the closest car to me which I subsequently bought.
Prior to the gremlin I'd had two years of almost plain sailing (bit of a disco dashboard that I had resolved notwithstanding) getting a genuine 26mpg on a brisk cruise to Spa and back one year which was a pleasant surprise.
Irrespective of the fault on my current car, I can't imagine being without one.
Here's a video of the early cars: R129 Development
Looking at the video and other adverts, that Mercedes marketed the car equally to men and women is quite something for the late 80s: as forward thinking as the car itself.
It was bought almost by accident - first car I went to look at as I was interested in a cloth seated Japanese import at auction but my only experience was sitting in Stirling Moss's old SL so I went to see the closest car to me which I subsequently bought.
Prior to the gremlin I'd had two years of almost plain sailing (bit of a disco dashboard that I had resolved notwithstanding) getting a genuine 26mpg on a brisk cruise to Spa and back one year which was a pleasant surprise.
Irrespective of the fault on my current car, I can't imagine being without one.
Here's a video of the early cars: R129 Development
Looking at the video and other adverts, that Mercedes marketed the car equally to men and women is quite something for the late 80s: as forward thinking as the car itself.
R129s were great cars. I had an inline 6 320 which was a noisy engine that did not do that much for me and then one of the revised V8 500s which came out in about 1998 IIRC. Still miss them but they are cruising cars with very average handling even at the time.
Later on I had one of the early R230 500s which was night and day better handling wise - it had ABC - but the original 500 was a bit light on performance. I've been looking at R231 500s recently as they seem to offer great value at a few years old. Not driven one yet though!
Later on I had one of the early R230 500s which was night and day better handling wise - it had ABC - but the original 500 was a bit light on performance. I've been looking at R231 500s recently as they seem to offer great value at a few years old. Not driven one yet though!
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