I am brand new to this forum. I am wondering if someone can point me to past posts or links that will be helpful when I look at a '98 SL 500 this weekend. It is a one owner with 44,000 miles with all service performed at the dealer. I honestly don't know much about these cars. And I am sure there must be at least 10 guys like me each week that are new and looking at these cars. So rather than beat a dead horse, if there is something that has already been created, it would be great if someone could point me in that direction.

I have liked the '90 - '02 SL since they were introduced in 1990. I did own a previous generation SL for a short time. I am mechanicaly inclined and prefer to do most of my own work. I own several C4 Corvettes and some other strange cars - Riviera convertible, Riviera turbo, Jaguar XJ-SC, Cadillac Northstar. Like my other cars, this would not be a daily driver. My daily driver is a Prius. Thus you see the need for something fun, and finally well engineered and assembled.

I have read the two posts below about the SL 600 vs 500. This is a good starting point. I am hoping that someone can give me some other advice, or even suggestions such as wait for a newer model year, get one with the Sport package (I am not sure what that entails), don't bother with the glass roof, etc.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Regards, Ed

 

Hi Ed, 44k miles is very low for a car that is 10 years old, so that is good. Here are a few things I would suggest you check when you look at it:

1. Check the aircon! Put the temp down to as low as it will go and check ice cold air comes out, if you just get air that is the temperature of the ambient air, it means the air con needs new gas or has a leak. Gas is not expensive, but a leak in the compressor or heat exchanger will be, you are talking at least $2000USD to fix......

2. Look inside the engine bay, and look at the engine block, check there is no oil leaking from around the cylinder heads.

3. Look out for any sign of leaking around the roof lines, and test the roof.

4. Check the roll bar pops up when you press the button.

5. Check all the electrics, make sure everything is in working condition.

6. Check no chips in the windscreen.....expensive to replace if serious.

7. Turn on the engine, check how many RPMs it idols at, should start at around 1200-1500 rpm, and then after maybe 20-30s go down to about 300-600 rpm, depending on the outside temperature.

8. With engine on, open bonnet and listen to engine, if there is any rattling or banging when idling, walk away.

8. Check the mirrors fold in, often if they have been hit etc, they wont, and a new one is about $500USD.

9. Steering should be light and precise, no wobble.

10. Take for a test drive, check the auto box is lovely and smooth.

11. Check tires, and spare.......check treed is still legal.

12. Ask why are they selling it, and when is the next service.......look at invoice for last service....if something is not 100% right, but not yet an issue they will often print it on the invoice for the owners information....e.g. oil coming from steering box, or oil leaking from cylinder head, but not yet serious.

13. Check the stamps are all in the service book, and ask to see the invoices for each service......being honest, if it is coming close to a service (they are every 10k miles, and can either be a major or minor (minor is basically an oil change)), and the owner doesn't let you see the invoice for the last service....be on your guard, maybe something is up that will be expensive to fix!

14. Do a check on vehicle, to see it really only has had 1 owner, here in the UK many firms online will check for a small fee that car is not stolen, wanted by police, has o/s finance etc, and will give you a history of the car.

15. Make sure the car registration form is present!

16. Look at the overall condition of the car......an SL is the sort of car that will normally be really well looked after by its owner, I would expect it to be in lovely condition, with NO signs of rust, or rips or wearing on leather.

17. Check tool kit is present, as are all service books, manuals, (if it only has one previous owner I would not be surprised if they have the original invoice.....good to look at and see the saving you have made by buying 2nd hand).


If you buy it, I would highly recommend you take it to an independent Mercedes expert with a good reputation soon after you have bought it, to check that Mercedes did actually service it correctly, as i'm afraid to say that just because it has a FMBSH doesn't mean all the servicing was done at the right time, or done very well......Mercedes are good cars, Mercedes garages are not good garages these days!.........we sell many many Mercedes each month and I can tell you more often than not when a car has a FMBSH only, they will have missed out something key, like an important oil change here or there, or not spotted that seals need chancing as preventative measures, thus resulting in much more expensive repairs later on etc. For example, we had one where Mercedes didn't bother changing the break fluid for 50k miles in an E Class! Yet the service schedule says it must be changed much more frequently! And I know its not just here in the UK, as I have worked with many dealers/garages/importers around the world over the last few years.

They as, you say are great cars, and well built, they definitely have better build quality than newer Mercedes. Parts are easily available from both Mercedes and 3rd parties, so if you do fancy a bit of tinkering under the bonnet you can do so. But don't mess with the engine block its self though, leave that to a garage! You should be able to get about 180k miles before you need major work on the engine if you are lucky.......