Hello group,
First visit in here..We have had several Benz's, all diesels. We have been contemplating getting another had have had our eyes on the 107 body convertibles. Looks like our price range will be probably 72-80 380 or 450SL. I was hoping someone or folks might be able to help me by giving me some helpful advice as to what to look for or expect. I am given to understand these cars are on the opposite end of the depenible scale of the diesels..The last car we had was a 300SDL with nearly 300K and ran like a top. Are these cars mechanical nightmares? I have a heads up on a 1977 450SL that belongs to a colleages wife. They have had the car for years, have records and so on..I think it's overpriced for the mileage 277K. they want 7500.00 for it.
I have not yet visited with them as to the extent of repairs it has had, I understand that she has a huge amount of repair receipts all done at a reputable Benz house. So far we are still at the looking and getting familiar..Have not yet even driven one so don't even yet know what to expect there. My guess is the performance will surprise me after driving diesels for so long..
I hear the worse problem of these cars is the fuel injection, true? False? This car will be living in Central Texas, do they do well in the heat? Are they gas hogs?

Anyway hopefully there might be someone who won't mind sharing some insight with me before we go forward. Our last weekend toy was a Studebaker Avanti so I am pretty versed in "tinkering" and am pretty mechanically enclined so am pretty good at spotting strange noises or smells.

Thanks so much everyone,

John

 

Hi, I'm new too, and I just bought a 560 SL, black. I names her Jackie O. Jackie is a gas hog....she has a 5.6 liter V8 engine, and she only eats premium. You might get away with mixing it, but I'd watch it, and carry the fuel injection cleaner with you.

If you drive every day, I'm not sure if you should buy this one....then again, I live in SF, where there's a lot of pressure to be "green." I have have pledged to my husband I will only drive her a few times a week. But it might be nice on the weekends!

 

Hi and thanks for the reply!
I love the 560 and it's power for sure..I too would be looking for something which would be driven on the weekends..Being I live nearly 30 miles from work it would kill me in gas! :-)

Sounds like you found a nice one. Thanks for sharing..I am still on the lookout..They all seem to have major problems in the price range I can afford..

John

 

I have a 560 sl for sale. I have a post on here.

 

I bought my 1989 560SL for $30K US in 1999 with 30K miles on it. I just sold it with 80K miles on 7/06 for my new Y2K SL500 Sport.

I found that the main issue on older cars stem from plastic and rubber aging due to environmental factors like heat and ozone.

Watch out for broken kneck(plastic) on radiator. Cost for Behr radiator alone $425.00 US.
Watch out for A/C center vent accuator not working as well as cracked climate control heater box. This can be pretty expensive to repair. The center console and radio need to be removed. I was fortunate to have a skilled INDY that did it for $425.00 US parts and labor.
Sterring box play can be resolved easily for about $85.00 US by an INDY. They just do an adjustment on a sterring box screw.

Overall I had a great time with the car and loved driving it daily.


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I have an 87 560SL with about 83K miles on it that i bought last year in Santa Cruz, CA. I never took the hardtop off before i closed the deal, and that was a mistake; when i did i discovered rust along the back of the lid that U lift up to put the soft top up, and along the main body panel just adjecent to it. Now i can't figure out how to remove the moulding that attaches along that panel without distroying it. I'm sure it won't be cheap, as is everything on these cars. I still have a 123 (82) that was relatively cheap to keep up, but I found on these even a distributor cap is $125. and you might as well get used to getting 14mpg on a good day going downhill as opposed to the 30mpg you were probably used to on the old 123's.
My 300D still runs better with 275K miles on her than the SL does. Has a steady miss. I replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, etc etc. My guess is the fuel injectors are junk. About the only improvement i can see over these 5 years is the heater is slightly more dependable. Oh yea, about the heater; you'd think that a car that was developed in Germany would have an acceptable climate control system, but up here in WA this is strickly a fair weather car. If you turn the heater on it seems to take forever to get warm (no seat heaters like my wife's Lexus) and if you turn the defrosters on the A/C cold air comes out the dash vents right on your hands. Pretty miserable. So i guess it's going to sit in the garage till next spring..Pete Walls. \
P.S. at least the analog clock and tach work which they never did on my 123...the clock actually keeps perfect time

 

I have a 73 350 sl with 300,000 on the clock. I have not driven it for a few years but that is about to change.
Things I would be looking for are;
Rust where the wipers sit due to the drain holes blocking.
Avoid any car that comes from any country that salts their roads in winter.
Get the owner to take the hard top off and put up the soft top. They are expensive to replace so make sure it is in good order. Check for rust along the soft top cover.
A common fault seems to be the AC leaking onto the passenger floor in humid wheather, check for rusted floor.
I had to have my EFI computer repaired, it cost about half of what a modern programable system would have. If I had the money at the time I would have went for the programable computer as it would have put out more power for less fuel etc.
Check the rubbers that mount the suspension to the undercarriage as these are quite difficult to change.
If you have a choice of buying a car with a great interior but poor paint work buy it rather then a great paint job with a poor interior. It is cheaper to Respray the car then replace all of the trim.
I live in Australia so that may not be the case elsewhere.

Boo