View Full Version : old mercedes 350 SL, any good?
we're considering getting an old Mercedes 350sl for my girlfriend to drive, but I'm having real grief finding any decent info about them. I know they're mid 70's and V8, but not much else...
are they practical to run as a daily driver? I presume the grand or so it will cost in depreciation to keep a fairly new car running could be spent keeping a classic running... or am I being naive?
ta
Not naive at all. Expensive to buy for good reason, they are very tough.
If anything goes wrong, parts are still available from Merc, albeit at huge cost.
It's a JB question really.
cheers Jon,
I presume they're really quite heavy, does this mean with a big V8 they'll be super thirsty? I'm not expecting it to be fast, I just mean for normal driving to work or motorway cruising type driving
archenemy.co.uk
04-06-2004, 11:30
look here (http://www.sl-mercedes.com/4655.html)
My misses wants one of these. I think JB has one
Basically be careful although its a Merc it may be quite old and very rotten. Repairing a duffer is very expensive, panels, if you can get them, are an arm and a leg job.
Speaking to Billericay Bob who does a lot of Merc restoration he says be careful of leaking roofs and boots allowing water in which will rot the car from the inside out.
The SLCs are a fair bit cheaper but not convertible. SLs seem to hold value very well. 450/500SL seems to be your best bet, I wouldn't get a non V8 one as they are very heavy.
Buy a late one and the best you can find but that will cost you £12-15K whereas a cheapy one will might look like a bargain at £5K, but is probably just a money pit.
So you're after a grand old W107 then. Nice one. We had it's successor a W129 320SL for a couple of months for the missus but it wasn't really practical with having a kiddy so we've just sold and are now on the lookout for a mint W124 E36AMG Cabriolet with 4 seats.
The W107 is a good choice though, if you haven't got the need for a back seat. They were produced from 1971 to 1989, so there are plenty of models out there, albeit quite a lot of dodgy, ropey and clocked ones. But there are still plenty of cars about that have only had the one doddery owner, been garaged every might and the 4k miles pa they have covered was only dry weather miles.
The 350SL you're looking at is one of the early models, so the chances of finding a good one at a reasonable is reduced because not so many were sold in this country. The later 420 or 500SLs sold in much larger numbers, particularly in the 80s when SL sales took off as a result of all the exposure they received in Dallas as Bobby and JR Ewings motors.
If it were me I wouldn't go for a 350. They're 30 years old now, good ones are considered proper classics and prices reflect that. Cheap ones are sheds. Don't forget that if it all goes pair-shaped you could easily throw 15 grand at an SL in repairs and still only have an average motor at the end of it. I would go for a late 70 or early 80s model myself. If it's an everyday car then fuel consumption may be an issue, in which case the one you want is a 6 cylinder 280SL. OK it's only 6 cylinders and it's not that fast by modern standards, but it looks identical to a 500SL, is a lot cheaper to maintain and will return 30mpg day after day. If you must have a V8 then the 420 is a peach. Much smoother than a 500 and it gives you that effortless feeling when moving away from the lights that only a large displacement engine with a mountain of torque can give. Expect 20-22 mpg in everyday use and in traffic around town don't expect much above 16mpg.
What to look for: Well obviously you want a nice low mileage example with a FSH from either MB or a decent specialist, backed up with a fistful of MOTs. Many were bought by business men for their idle mistresses so have been banged or kerbed, so you need to keep an eye out for accident damage. As well as the usual accident damage checks, put the hood up. If it doesn't align perfectly then the car's had a badly repaired prang at some point.
Ensure that the cars had an oil change (using fully synthetic) every 6k or preferably 3k miles. On start up there should be not clatter whatsoever. If there is then the timing chains are on their way out. Not as horrendous as it sounds, but still an expense you would want to avoid. Oil pressure at tick over should read between 2 and 3 on the gauge and immediately rise to 3 as soon as you touch the accelerator. If it doesn't run away.
Check there's no smoke coming from the exhaust and stand behind the car and get the missus to rev it to 3k. A healthy car will not have any smoke at all. When you slip the transmission into D there should be no clunking, just a little surge as you have to hold the car on the foot brake. The car should pull away cleanly and there should be a smooth, barely perceptible change between gears, both up and down the box. If the box as an S and E setting then make sure your try it in both. When coming to a standstill (say below 10mph) manually put the selector into 2. If the box clunks when you come to a halt then you're looking at £1500 quids worth of rebuild. Providing the engine and gearbox is in good condition and properly maintained, there's no reason why it can't do 400k miles, so buying one with 100-150k on the clock is not a problem. Check for drive shaft wear and make sure there's no shunt in stop start traffic. Check for leaks from the shocks and make sure there's no clunking over bumps. If it has abs check it works. If it doesn't it's an MOT failure and will cost an absolute fortune to sort.
Check for seat wear and pedal wear. These things are built to last so if either are warn on a lowish mileage car (say below 150k) then the chances are the car's been clocked. Check that everything electrical works properly and check the roof works. If it's electric make sure you listen very carefully for any untoward whirring noises as a new electric roof is a re mortgage job. Obviously check there are no tears in the roof. If you find a car with a hard top, it's worth paying a bit extra for as it makes winter use much more pleasurable. Most colours suit the SL well, though from a resale point of view I'd avoid brown or white.
In the unlikely event that you find a manual box car then DO NOT BUY IT. The SL is not a sports car, you're not going to be able to hustle it round corners like a hot hatch so a manual makes no sense. Apart from the fact you'll never be able to sell it again, you'll also have one of the worst manual gearboxes ever built. Slow, baulky and a pain in the arse in traffic.
Where to buy. I would avoid buying privately unless you or a mate happen to be experts in these cars. Rather I would be looking at one of the many specialists up and down the country, and also getting a bit of a warranty thrown in. Easiest way to find a specialist is to troll through the trade ads in Autotrader and bookmark all the specialists that come up and keep checking their websites. Ring them up as well as these cars don't stay on the forecourt long and could well be sold even before they appear on their websites. Be prepared to travel and be prepared to sign on the dotted line as soon as you find a goodun. Going away to mull it over for the night will more than likely mean someone else snaps it up whilst you're busy making up your mind.
Though by no means an authority on Mercs I do have 5 classic Mercs and am on the lookout for a 6th so I know a fair amount. So if you have any specific Qs then don't hesitate to PM me. If I don't know the answer, chances are I know someone who does and I can find out from them.
Good hunting. Find a good one and you'll not regret it :thumbs:
One more thing. Always buy on condition, never on age or price.
You mind find this little link helpful to give you an Idea of what a decent specilist offers http://www.peterjarvis.net/
:notworthy :thumbs: what a reply :D that's some excellent info, cheers :thumbs:
to be honest we're totally open to suggestions as we're new to the MB game and it's a bit daunting. Sounds like the 6 cylinder 280SL is the way to go as rear seats aren't really needed and it doesn't have to be particularly fast.
How much roughly would we be looking at for a reliable 150k mile one?
How much roughly would we be looking at for a reliable 150k mile one?
How long's a piece of string? It's very difficult to say. Certainly anything below 5 grand is a guaranteed financial disaster waiting to happen in the very near future. A decent one could be advertised at anything between 6-12 grand. The further south you look the more you'll pay. Privately advertised ones vary greatly in price depending on how clued up the (often elderly) owner is. You could find an outstanding very low mileage one for 6 grand if you were prepared to wait long enough and then could act quickly enough before a trader cam along and snapped it up. My guess would be (based upon my experiences with SECs and old E class ones) that you should find something good between 7-10 grand. If you buy privately though for goodness sake take someone along who knows old Mercs.
This may seem a lot of money, but remember that unlike a modern hatchback that you buy for 7 grand, the Merc will not depreciate any more providing you look after it. Keep a reasonable mileage on it and over the course of the next 2 or 3 years it will most likely go up in value. Certainly, if you buy a good one, it's as good an investment as keeping the money in a building society.
Start looking and building up your experience of them so you know what to look out for. Find a dealer with one that's low mileage and top dollar and examine it closely. Drive it, gain experience in what a top class one is like so that you can then compare it with others you come across.
The classic Merc game is one of patience and knowledge. Build up you knowledge of your subject and be patient enough for the right car at the right price to turn up. It will eventually, that's certain.
Done a bit more digging for you. You need to get hold of a couple of back issues of Mercedes Enthusiast Magazine (http://www.mercedesenthusiast.co.uk), August 2003 and September 2002. Their technical analysis of cars and used buyers guides are quite comprehensive.
Sorry to bind on :( :wack:
Sorry to bind on :( :wack:
not at all dude, bind away :) that's super helpful, thanks again :thumbs:
back issues now ordered :thumbs:
Spotted this one on another forum
http://www.visordown.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30005
http://www.visordown.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162044
looking for around £6.5k, don't know anything about it, just remembered this thread when I saw it :)
There are quite a number of 280s and 420 in the classifieds of this months Merc Enthusiast with low miles and less than 9 grand :nod:
Longest post ever posted by JB! :wack:
Longest post ever posted by JB! :wack:
I know, I'm honoured :)
couple more quick questions while I wait for the magazines to arrive :)
Are LPG conversions popular/practical? what are my chances of picking one up with it already done?
Is insurance going to be a problem? We won't be able to garage it and it'll be parked on the road which I think makes most classic policies a no go.
I know, I'm honoured :)
couple more quick questions while I wait for the magazines to arrive :)
Are LPG conversions popular/practical? what are my chances of picking one up with it already done?
Is insurance going to be a problem? We won't be able to garage it and it'll be parked on the road which I think makes most classic policies a no go.
Parking any convertible on the road a night is going to be a risk. A canvas hood is no match for a stanley knife. However, get yourself one with a hard top and that solves the problem :D
I'd avoid lpg conversions. Most have been done by dodgy outfits anyway, but they knacker boot space (and there isn't much of that anyway) and will seriously devalue the value of the car in the medium to long term because it's no longer original.
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