R230 sl500 shed/project / massive money pit
Discussion
So I've done it again. Buying stuff that I should leave well alone.
This time it's an sl500. This poor car has been sat on a guys drive untouched for the best part of 5 years!!
Apparently it kind of just got forgotten about.
This is the only pic I have at the min and it dose it massive justice.
The thing is covered in green slime and cobwebs and inside is damp and mouldy.
It's position and the fact that the suspension was right down ment we couldn't get the truck near to it. You also can't get it out of park without power so 2 new batteries later and it fired up first flick of the key.
3 of the corners raised up beautifully but one stubbornly refused which made loading it very interesting.
Anyway that's it so far it's dumped on my drive in till I get a day off to look at her
This time it's an sl500. This poor car has been sat on a guys drive untouched for the best part of 5 years!!
Apparently it kind of just got forgotten about.
This is the only pic I have at the min and it dose it massive justice.
The thing is covered in green slime and cobwebs and inside is damp and mouldy.
It's position and the fact that the suspension was right down ment we couldn't get the truck near to it. You also can't get it out of park without power so 2 new batteries later and it fired up first flick of the key.
3 of the corners raised up beautifully but one stubbornly refused which made loading it very interesting.
Anyway that's it so far it's dumped on my drive in till I get a day off to look at her
hoppo4.2 said:
So I've done it again. Buying stuff that I should leave well alone.
This time it's an sl500. This poor car has been sat on a guys drive untouched for the best part of 5 years!!
Apparently it kind of just got forgotten about.
This is the only pic I have at the min and it dose it massive justice.
The thing is covered in green slime and cobwebs and inside is damp and mouldy.
It's position and the fact that the suspension was right down ment we couldn't get the truck near to it. You also can't get it out of park without power so 2 new batteries later and it fired up first flick of the key.
3 of the corners raised up beautifully but one stubbornly refused which made loading it very interesting.
Anyway that's it so far it's dumped on my drive in till I get a day off to look at her
You are a very brave man! This time it's an sl500. This poor car has been sat on a guys drive untouched for the best part of 5 years!!
Apparently it kind of just got forgotten about.
This is the only pic I have at the min and it dose it massive justice.
The thing is covered in green slime and cobwebs and inside is damp and mouldy.
It's position and the fact that the suspension was right down ment we couldn't get the truck near to it. You also can't get it out of park without power so 2 new batteries later and it fired up first flick of the key.
3 of the corners raised up beautifully but one stubbornly refused which made loading it very interesting.
Anyway that's it so far it's dumped on my drive in till I get a day off to look at her
These cars have a number of known potential issues:
1) The suspension is the dreaded/loved (in equal measures as when it works it is great, when it doesn't it's expensive) ABC. If it isn't raising at one corner and hasn't been run for 5 years the very first thing I would do is get it to a specialist and get the system flushed and 'rodeo' tested. The fact it raises 3 corners is actually quite encouraging, but don't run it as is as you could damage the rest of the system by pumping 'crap' round it. The expensive bits are the tandem pump (£800), the front and rear valve blocks (£1100 each) and the struts (£1100 each). However the pump and the valve blocks can be rebuilt with new seals and reconditioned struts are available on exchange for £700. I am only telling you this as running an ailing ABC system can damage some or all of these.
2) The boot seals can fail and allow water into the boot where a lot of the electronics are such as the system to open/close the vario roof. If the electrics are iffy I would look to the boot area. Check that the boot is dry, as the car was left outside for 5 years you may well have an issue. New seals are expensive, some people have reported renovating them with success but I remain sceptical and with so much to go wrong if they leak replacing them seems sensible. Look for corrosion below the rear window.... that is another lovely little failure point where the seal mount detaches from the window. These can be removed, renovated and reattached, but it is a specialist job.
PS if the boot won't open from the fob/button on the door there is a key slot above the rear number plate - do not force this as they seize up and if you force it the key will snap. Use lots of penetrating fluid and be patient. I have known people need to drill a hole in the boot behind the number plate to get to the release cable... I kid you not!
3) Fuel tank baffle - if the car has a rattle from the fuel tank the baffle is loose, expensive fix as the tank has to come out. You can't leave it as it is just too annoying and can cause fuelling issues apparently.
4) Rear arches - see if you have any corrosion starting. The R230 is one of Mercedes better efforts as regards rust (not that that is saying a lot), but the rear arches are a weak point.
5) Roof seals - these tend not to be too much of an issue leak wise, but you need to lubricate them as otherwise the car can rattle a lot from the roof. The correct lubricant is available from Mercedes.
That's for starters.... of course all the usual things apply to a car left standing for that long - oil, seals, etc.
More pics would be good and good luck.
lee_fr200 said:
Go on how much of a bargain was this
3887.50 according to the Ebay ad. It's a 2002 model so one of the very first R230s. 110K on the odometer. Potential to be anything from a bargain to financially ruinous.... fingers crossed here.Has carbon fibre interior trim from what I can see in the pics... that's worth a bit of money in itself.
HybridAero said:
I reckon it has huge potential.. more pics needed!
The first thing I'd do to that would be an LPG conversion.
I think I'd be sorting out the suspension and finding out what else is borked before sinking money into an LPG system! The bills and faults on a well maintained, low mileage early R230 are bad enough, I dread to think what will be fThe first thing I'd do to that would be an LPG conversion.
ked on a properly neglected one.Also, at the risk of sounding like a t
t, if you need to add LPG to be able to afford to run an R230 then you are in for a very nasty surprise. Fuel will be a small fraction of the costs this bad boy is going to throw up 
dme123 said:
I think I'd be sorting out the suspension and finding out what else is borked before sinking money into an LPG system! The bills and faults on a well maintained, low mileage early R230 are bad enough, I dread to think what will be fked on a properly neglected one.
Also, at the risk of sounding like a tt, if you need to add LPG to be able to afford to run an R230 then you are in for a very nasty surprise. Fuel will be a small fraction of the costs this bad boy is going to throw up
There are other issues with an LPG conversion as the tank size will be small at best. There is no spare wheel well and the boot needs to accommodate the folding roof.ked on a properly neglected one.Also, at the risk of sounding like a t
t, if you need to add LPG to be able to afford to run an R230 then you are in for a very nasty surprise. Fuel will be a small fraction of the costs this bad boy is going to throw up 
I love these.
In 2010, I went to see two:
First one was a 2005 one with 30k miles for £25k. Beautiful car but rattled a lot from the roof on the test run.
Second one was a 2002 one with 55k miles, that has sat on the drive for 6 months. We had to jump start it. I opened the boot, it was water logged and there were mushrooms growing in the boot....I kid you not!. We walked away. Asking price was £16k.
I think the OP is brave, but I really hope it works out!
In 2010, I went to see two:
First one was a 2005 one with 30k miles for £25k. Beautiful car but rattled a lot from the roof on the test run.
Second one was a 2002 one with 55k miles, that has sat on the drive for 6 months. We had to jump start it. I opened the boot, it was water logged and there were mushrooms growing in the boot....I kid you not!. We walked away. Asking price was £16k.
I think the OP is brave, but I really hope it works out!
Well thanks for all the positive support and useful info.
The body has turned out well with no rust.
It came with full history and a stack of invoices including new rear shocks and abc pump the year before it was parked up.
The first big job will be to get the n/s/f suspension to come up. I've oredered a valve block rebuild kit and I've got the day off weds so updates will follow.
Once that's done I'll give i service change all the fluids go through the brakes and then we'll see what the mot man says.
The body has turned out well with no rust.
It came with full history and a stack of invoices including new rear shocks and abc pump the year before it was parked up.
The first big job will be to get the n/s/f suspension to come up. I've oredered a valve block rebuild kit and I've got the day off weds so updates will follow.
Once that's done I'll give i service change all the fluids go through the brakes and then we'll see what the mot man says.
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