R129 on LPG! - it possibly the best buy in the car world
Discussion
First the history of my becoming a R129 owner, which I've copied straight out of the MB Club forum, so apologies if anyone has already read it there:
Following the untimely demise of my silver dream machine; a rather old but much loved Peugeot 406 coupe I decided this time to obey rule number 2 in life, which of course is ‘always buy a German car’. Rule number 1 incidentally, and the reason for having bought a French car in the first place, is ‘rules are for idiots’.
My wife has an Audi TT and we have 2 young children so I figured I’d better not mention it lest my new baby become a 4 door saloon, so I got the train to work, surfed Autotrader on the way and decided an R230 SL would be just the ticket.
After more lunchtime surfing I found an ideal candidate not too far away and persuaded a work friend to take me to the garage to check it out. Impressed? Yes of course I was, who wouldn't be as it felt as solid as a brick compared to the 406 coupe and gave the distinct impression that I wouldn't need to keep a tube of gorilla glue in the glove-box anymore to re-attach any bits that fell off.
The garage had a few earlier SL models and so I tried them out as well and found an R129 that was even more solid, sported a 5 speed automatic, electric roof and a separate tin top for ‘winterising’. It also had rear seats so I could pretend I’d bought it with the kids in mind. Being more than 10 years old a call to an insurance broker yielded a startling fully comprehensive quote of £278 on a classic policy, and with road tax at £220 and an asking price less than half that of the higher mileage R230 it just seemed to be perfect.
So I bought it, and you know what, it is perfect! It has the much missed solid build, plenty of sprawl space, room for the kids, decent comfort and it can shift a bit if you poke it. Interestingly though, no steering wheel adjustment and the stereo has no rear speakers, but what the heck, a warm bottom on a cold day more than makes up for that.
So I became the proud owner of a Tormaline Green SL 320, a low mileage example with a build quality my last car could only dream of.
I've been running the car for a couple of weeks now and am sufficiently impressed that I'm changing my classic car policy to allow me to do a much higher annual mileage, including commuting to work, and also to allow converting it to LPG. New insurance quote - a very reasonable £320 with an 8000 mile annual allowance.
LPG conversion cost is £1200 and is booked for Feb. LPG in an SL? Sure it'll damage the residual value, but then I tend to keep cars for years and years so I'm not bothered. What I am interested in though is converting my low 20's mpg car over to the fueling cost of a Toyota Prius and since the filling point will be inside the petrol flap no one will ever know. I've also had new tires, brakes, full MB service, professional interior and exterior valet, leather cleaning and steering wheel re-trim. Result is the car looks and feels just like new and certainly not what I'd expect of something 16 years old.
So for an all up cost of way below £10k I end up with a 150 mph, 45 mpg, well built, comfortable, good handling, automatic, convertible sports car that has fixed annual costs (insurance, tax & mot) of £600. And quite possibly it's the only convertible sports car a 40 something middle aged bald bloke actually doesn't look like a kn9b in!
This, to me anyway, makes it an unbelievable good car.
Following the untimely demise of my silver dream machine; a rather old but much loved Peugeot 406 coupe I decided this time to obey rule number 2 in life, which of course is ‘always buy a German car’. Rule number 1 incidentally, and the reason for having bought a French car in the first place, is ‘rules are for idiots’.
My wife has an Audi TT and we have 2 young children so I figured I’d better not mention it lest my new baby become a 4 door saloon, so I got the train to work, surfed Autotrader on the way and decided an R230 SL would be just the ticket.
After more lunchtime surfing I found an ideal candidate not too far away and persuaded a work friend to take me to the garage to check it out. Impressed? Yes of course I was, who wouldn't be as it felt as solid as a brick compared to the 406 coupe and gave the distinct impression that I wouldn't need to keep a tube of gorilla glue in the glove-box anymore to re-attach any bits that fell off.
The garage had a few earlier SL models and so I tried them out as well and found an R129 that was even more solid, sported a 5 speed automatic, electric roof and a separate tin top for ‘winterising’. It also had rear seats so I could pretend I’d bought it with the kids in mind. Being more than 10 years old a call to an insurance broker yielded a startling fully comprehensive quote of £278 on a classic policy, and with road tax at £220 and an asking price less than half that of the higher mileage R230 it just seemed to be perfect.
So I bought it, and you know what, it is perfect! It has the much missed solid build, plenty of sprawl space, room for the kids, decent comfort and it can shift a bit if you poke it. Interestingly though, no steering wheel adjustment and the stereo has no rear speakers, but what the heck, a warm bottom on a cold day more than makes up for that.
So I became the proud owner of a Tormaline Green SL 320, a low mileage example with a build quality my last car could only dream of.
I've been running the car for a couple of weeks now and am sufficiently impressed that I'm changing my classic car policy to allow me to do a much higher annual mileage, including commuting to work, and also to allow converting it to LPG. New insurance quote - a very reasonable £320 with an 8000 mile annual allowance.
LPG conversion cost is £1200 and is booked for Feb. LPG in an SL? Sure it'll damage the residual value, but then I tend to keep cars for years and years so I'm not bothered. What I am interested in though is converting my low 20's mpg car over to the fueling cost of a Toyota Prius and since the filling point will be inside the petrol flap no one will ever know. I've also had new tires, brakes, full MB service, professional interior and exterior valet, leather cleaning and steering wheel re-trim. Result is the car looks and feels just like new and certainly not what I'd expect of something 16 years old.
So for an all up cost of way below £10k I end up with a 150 mph, 45 mpg, well built, comfortable, good handling, automatic, convertible sports car that has fixed annual costs (insurance, tax & mot) of £600. And quite possibly it's the only convertible sports car a 40 something middle aged bald bloke actually doesn't look like a kn9b in!
This, to me anyway, makes it an unbelievable good car.
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