I want an old SL!

[duckers26]

I want to buy a convertible for a couple of thousand miles a year gentle pottering. Having owned modern ones I have decided to go for one that won't attract the stares of hate and fancy an 80s Dallas style SL, preferably in white or gold.

As someone with no mechanical knowledge I will be fully at the mercy of some local specialist so wondered if they were particularly problematic or if I should go for one of the 90s ones. Also the car will not be garaged, is this an issue for a vehicle of this age? Finally! Does anyone have a recommendation for a dealer that specialises in low mileage good condition ones?

Thanks

[AudiWurst]

http://www.theslshop.com/

[74merc]

You are looking for an R107 in Mercedes speak. I wouldn't buy one unless I was going to garage it, as rust will be the biggest issue with these cars by far. The SL Shop specialises in this model, so they would be my first port of call.

[DocArbathnot]

I looked at the same. I came to the conclusion that an R107 (Dallas style) would not fare well without a garage, so went for the R129 (90's wedge style)

The other things that swayed me the R107 does not have A/C or power hood, a lot of dodgy ones about and prices start from around £10k (£5k for am R129)

A lot more choice or R129s helped make the decision.

The SL shop is expensive but maybe worth talking to, plenty of Merc specialists around to keep running costs down.

I've been pleased with mine so far, I use it as a long distance "GT". Just pick very carefully, condition and prices all over the place.

Edited by DocArbathnot on Friday 1st November 14:40

[duckers26]

Wow, they're expensive! I was looking to spend £9,000 tops so are there are suggestions for something within my budget?

ETA, also considered XJS convertible and convertible pre 93 911 with the tiptronic box. Are these good options? Must be automatic!

Edited by duckers26 on Friday 1st November 14:49

[theironduke]

duckers26 said:

Wow, they're expensive! I was looking to spend £9,000 tops so are there are suggestions for something within my budget?

9k gets a very nice R129.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

The 300SL is the one to go for. The R107 is a great car to just poodle around in so the bigger engines just add to the expense for no real day to day benefit.

People are right to point out it's limitations compared to the late 90s models but the R107 just looks so much better than the later cars.

I seem to recall hearing that Mercedes sold quite a few in the run up to their demise, to folks like me who didn't like the look of the replacement, so plenty of late G reg models available from '89.

[derin100]

R107s can and do have Aircon.

Here's one that I had:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spg...

(Power hoods can be retrofitted)

I've also had two R129s (only one is shown on my website)...a 280SL and an SL320.

In terms of the driving experience I found the R129s to be light years more advanced and 'modern' to drive.

As said above though, choose carefully as prices currently seem all over the place. R129s must surely now be at the bottom of their depreciation curve? R107s seem significantly on the way up in the wake of the big leaps Pagodas have seen over the last 2-3 years. The worry is that some will not be such great condition but some sellers will try to ride that wave.

[derin100]

As theironduke said....at the moment £9K should buy a very nice R129.

A £9K R107? I'd be a little worried....

[AudiWurst]

duckers26 said:

I was looking to spend £9,000 tops... also considered... convertible pre-93 911 with the tiptronic box.

Good luck with finding a pre-93 911 for £9k.

For your budget (and lack of garage):

Merc R129 SL
Porsche 968
Jag XK8
BMW 8-series
Maserati 3200 (and brave pills)

[theironduke]

AudiWurst said:

duckers26 said:

I was looking to spend £9,000 tops... also considered... convertible pre-93 911 with the tiptronic box.

Good luck with finding a pre-93 911 for £9k.

For your budget (and lack of garage):

Merc R129 SL
Porsche 968
Jag XK8
BMW 8-series
Maserati 3200 (and brave pills)

For 9k you can also add a sorted 928 (a nice S4) to that list.

[duckers26]

I hadn't got around to checking anything as mundane as if I could afford one! So it looks like the 90s car would be a better bet. Also like the XJS V12 since my mum had one and the Triumph Stag, I'm assuming these would be a negative for sleeping soundly at night?

[duckers26]

theironduke said:

For 9k you can also add a sorted 928 (a nice S4) to that list.

Really like them but has to be an automatic convertible!

[anonymous-user]

A vote for a XK8/XKR here. They perhaps don't have the 70s/80s styling you would seem to prefer, but they really are fantastic cars, look the part and make a wonderful noise and generally make you feel like a million quid when driving them in a way that not even a brand new XKR-S does. I love them .

[Rovinghawk]

JoshyS said:

A vote for a XK8/XKR here. They perhaps don't have the 70s/80s styling you would seem to prefer, but they really are fantastic cars, look the part and make a wonderful noise and generally make you feel like a million quid when driving them in a way that not even a brand new XKR-S does. I love them .

I'll support this provided you go into ownership with your eyes open.

[DocArbathnot]

Rovinghawk said:

JoshyS said:

A vote for a XK8/XKR here. They perhaps don't have the 70s/80s styling you would seem to prefer, but they really are fantastic cars, look the part and make a wonderful noise and generally make you feel like a million quid when driving them in a way that not even a brand new XKR-S does. I love them .

I'll support this provided you go into ownership with your eyes open.

The Jags are great, but can be expensive.

[Rovinghawk]

DocArbathnot said:

The Jags are great, but can be expensive.

As can anything else of similar age, size & power, to be fair.

[DocArbathnot]

Rovinghawk said:

DocArbathnot said:

The Jags are great, but can be expensive.

As can anything else of similar age, size & power, to be fair.

Good point well made. I should of said that Mercs of that era are perhaps less risky.

[anonymous-user]

DocArbathnot said:

Rovinghawk said:

DocArbathnot said:

The Jags are great, but can be expensive.

As can anything else of similar age, size & power, to be fair.

Good point well made. I should of said that Mercs of that era are perhaps less risky.

In which way? Off the top of my head XK8s have few notorious, ruinous issues and a number of those would have been fixed in a later 4.2 car that the OP's budget could stretch to. Apart from any issues that may arise with the interestingly designed rear suspension setup or the odd electrical gremlin that is always going to effect a car like these of this age, where is the danger of a XK over a R129? I'd imagine parts and servicing are noticeably cheaper on the Jag?

[duckers26]

Not so keen on the XK8 for some reason, kinda stuck between not new and not old enough to be cool yet.

This is the sensible option:
http://www.theslshop.com/2000-mercedes-benz-sl280-...

And this is the one I want now!
http://www.theslshop.com/1986-mercedes-benz-300sl-...

The poster who introduced me to this website can I bill you for the difference?!