Mercedes 380sl
Discussion
A person local to me has one they want to sell, they've had it 20 years, been off the road for 8, needs a few bits of welding and a respray really.
I think its a great shape and a lovely car to waft around in during the summer months, however I've already got one project but I don't want to 'miss the boat' price wise.
Whats the general opinion of these, are they actually going up in value? Or will they? A good place to spend 2k and park it up for a few years before getting around to it?
Its a 1983 380sl with hard top.
I think its a great shape and a lovely car to waft around in during the summer months, however I've already got one project but I don't want to 'miss the boat' price wise.
Whats the general opinion of these, are they actually going up in value? Or will they? A good place to spend 2k and park it up for a few years before getting around to it?
Its a 1983 380sl with hard top.
At £2k, if you've got the money nd the space, what's to lose?
Leather is better than cloth and they're mostly all autos aren't they - a lovely car though ...
I think there's enough about that the prices will never rocket exactly but good, well-kept examples will always sell.
Colour? They range from lovely light metallic blues to Dallas red, ghastly greens and brown!
Leather is better than cloth and they're mostly all autos aren't they - a lovely car though ...
I think there's enough about that the prices will never rocket exactly but good, well-kept examples will always sell.
Colour? They range from lovely light metallic blues to Dallas red, ghastly greens and brown!
I had one new in 1983 and they all came with the hard top, although I had cloth interior since leather burns like hell in the sun. It'll never be a sports car, but as a wafting weapon it is up there with the best. I would recommend you look to see if it has cruise control since long journeys in mine were wearing on the foot without. Never got 20 mpg out of it, even trying hard, but on the other hand it felt hewn from rock and nothing went wrong.
Remember that these rust like buggery and usually from the inside out. So if it looks a bit rusty outside, the bulkhead area is likely to be shot. This is a notorious rotspot on these cars and is really expensive to fix. You need to remove the cover over the heater box, and either peer down into it by lying across the engine bay, or get a probe camera to inspect it. I have one myself, and any SL/SLC specialist will tell you all about it....
True, as with all 70's and 80's Mercs - they do rust but they are getting on a bit now. There will be good cars and bad ones as with all marques.
Build quality generally is excellent and should you take one to bits, you can really appreciate that 107's were built by engineers rather than accountants.
Out of all the car's i've owned, my 300SL has received and still receives more attention and positive comments from the general public than my E-Type or any Ferrari that i've owned previously.
Buy it, enjoy working on it and enjoy driving it.
Build quality generally is excellent and should you take one to bits, you can really appreciate that 107's were built by engineers rather than accountants.
Out of all the car's i've owned, my 300SL has received and still receives more attention and positive comments from the general public than my E-Type or any Ferrari that i've owned previously.
Buy it, enjoy working on it and enjoy driving it.
Indeed they do rust, but you can be lucky, it is silly to be either dismissive or despondent, you might miss a car that has much to offer. These cars are beautifully built, corrosion aside they are so easy to look after, and a 380 has an all alloy later generation engine. I would look before you dismiss out of hand!!
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