School me on a : Mercedes 560 SL

[Mo_Gearhead]

Local car for sale: 1988 560 SL.

Mileage somewhere over 117K (odometer stopped working). Has both tops. Seems to drive OK for its age, no suspicious noises. Body and paint look good.

Anything about these old cars that I need to be looking at carefully? Because it's priced so cheap (a private sale) I'd only be buying it to flip, not keep.

Thanks for any thoughts you have.

[rattlsnak]

I have a 95 SL500 for sale.. excellent condition!! Much better car!!

[sammyg2]

Odometer stopped working is an omen.

They are very expensive to repair and when they get old ...................

[Rickysa]

I've got one of the same year and love it. Fuel distributer went bad but was easy to replace.

[Seahawk]

I have a 1988 with 78k. I bought it here on Pelican with a lot of really pertinent age and mileage based maintenance done. That was the key for me. That and the former owner is muy bueno.

It wasn't a flip for me so I really can't help other than to say the market for these will stay about where it has been for the past few years, which is to say I could sell mine for what I paid for it a few years ago.

Be careful though, there are a lot of these out there and the premium is mileage and condition.

Here is a few pics with other members of this forum at the wheel:

[HardDrive]

I can tell you that the market for them is not exactly hot. I helped my elderly neighbor sell one a couple years ago. These were expensive cars sold to people who could afford to maintain them. So there are a lot of them still on the road. Not exactly the kind of car I would try and flip unless he was giving it away. The unknown mileage is not good.

If you do take the plunge, there are a couple of odd little levers that are used to secure the hard top. If those don't go with the car, you'll need to source them or fab them up.

[E Sully]

Only very low mileage pristine ones are worth any real money. They built a lot of them and many are still out there selling low. My neighbor sold his 3 months ago for top dollar, but he had under 30,000 and it was perfect. Most go cheap. He did have to have the CIS adjusted a bit for the new gas alcohol mix we have to use now.

[sugarwood]

Is there a certain model that was the "sweet spot" in terms of bang for the buck, reliability, etc?
Or is there one that was more problematic than the others?

450SL: 1973–1980, 4.5L V8
280SL: 1974–1985, 2.8L I6
380SL: 1980–1986, 3.8L V8
500SL: 1980–1986, 5.0L V8
300SL: 1986–1989
420SL: 1986–1989, 4.2L V8
500SL: 1986–1989, 5.0L V8
560SL: 1986–1989, 5.6L V8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_R107_and_C107

[Scuba Steve]

Mine is my DD. They're ok cars, and they'll actually move when you get on the go pedal. It also had a broken speedometer but a new gear sorted that out. I think it was under $20 and the worst part about swapping it out was removing the steering wheel. It's held on with a great big Allen head bold and blue loctite. I had to make a heat shield to protect the horn and airbag wires from heat from the torch I used to remove it.

IMO documents or some kind of history are really important, just like they are with P-cars. Timing chain guide maintenance in particular. They're reliable enough cars but K-jet is complex with lots of failure points, and they don't handle vaccuum leaks very well. The 8 o rings separating the two halves of the intake manifold will be at the end of their life if they haven't been replaced yet. It's a repair that's a lot harder than it needs to be if it hasn't been done before because a couple of the Allen bolts that hold the top part of the intake to the heads tend to break off. There are a couple of coolant passages near the front of the engine and the intake gaskets will eventually allow seepage into the bolt which will rust.

I'm not sure if mine is a long term keeper or not. It drives me crazy sometimes but it's a good looking car.

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Is there a certain model that was the "sweet spot" in terms of bang for the buck, reliability, etc?
Or is there one that was more problematic than the others?

450SL: 1973–1980, 4.5L V8
280SL: 1974–1985, 2.8L I6
380SL: 1980–1986, 3.8L V8
500SL: 1980–1986, 5.0L V8
300SL: 1986–1989
420SL: 1986–1989, 4.2L V8
500SL: 1986–1989, 5.0L V8
560SL: 1986–1989, 5.6L V8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_R107_and_C107

The 500 and 560 are at the top of the desireability list, and the 380 is at the bottom (single row timing chain models in particular). Not sure where the others stack up to be honest.

[bri450sl]

Looks like mines at the top of the list for least desirable. 1975 450SL. Funny thing is, I would drive it anywhere. It belonged to my parents and they kept it in excellent shape. Luckily, they never cared or looked into the value or they would have been disappointed at how the bottom dropped out. I inherited it when they both passed.

[HardDrive]

The value is irrelevant. You have a beautiful piece of family history.

Originally Posted by bri450sl

Looks like mines at the top of the list for least desirable. 1975 450SL. Funny thing is, I would drive it anywhere. It belonged to my parents and they kept it in excellent shape. Luckily, they never cared or looked into the value or they would have been disappointed at how the bottom dropped out. I inherited it when they both passed.

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally Posted by bri450sl

Looks like mines at the top of the list for least desirable. 1975 450SL. Funny thing is, I would drive it anywhere. It belonged to my parents and they kept it in excellent shape. Luckily, they never cared or looked into the value or they would have been disappointed at how the bottom dropped out. I inherited it when they both passed.

That car is stunning!

[aigel]

Buddy of mine bought a 78 for $4500 a few years ago. I remember a weekend in his garage replacing brittle very small diameter vacuum lines. Another with some funky rear suspension. Other than that, the thing was a tank. It was NOT sporty in any way. Dump truck steering wheel. Very conservative car. And practically not available with a standard transmission in the US.

Not my cup of tea - at all. I think if I'd get an old benz W114/15 coupe or sedan that doesn't pretend to be a roadster. But you must like the car, otherwise you would not ask. If you can get it for a good deal and enjoy wrenching, why not.

G

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by bri450sl

Looks like mines at the top of the list for least desirable. 1975 450SL. Funny thing is, I would drive it anywhere. It belonged to my parents and they kept it in excellent shape. Luckily, they never cared or looked into the value or they would have been disappointed at how the bottom dropped out. I inherited it when they both passed.

Yours is definitely not at the top of the least desirable list. It predates all of the single row timing chain and Chrysler A/C nonsense, while probably being a lot easier to work on than the later cars. It looks like it's in great shape too!

FWIW regarding values, from what I've seen over the last 3 years it looks like they haven't been completely flat but they haven't exactly jumped up either. A lot of the really cheap beaters aren't on the road any more and I no longer see them advertised locally for under $5,000. I don't know if or at what point this happened when the previous body style started to appreciate but it's just my observation. It seems like since the newest ones are pushing 30 years old the herd has been thinned a lot.

If I were to speculate on cars I'd try and jump on well maintained/adult owned '94+ Integras.

[SCadaddle]

A couple of years ago I helped my mechanic friend replace the hydraulic cylinders that actuate the convertible top/convertible top boot cover on one of the newer 500SL (?) and parts alone were in the $8000 (yes, eight Thousand dollar) range. Had it's own little oil tank and pump in the trunk under the spare tire that used only Mercedes special oil. Couldn't give me one of those damn things.

Wiki suggests it was one of the R-129 cars built through the 90's.

[Mo_Gearhead]

I very much appreciate everyone's thoughts that responded.

I saw the car sitting (for several weeks now) with the For Sale sign. He's asking $8,400.

I started looking online and found many 1988-89 cars in the 12 to 30K range? Of course many of them stated one/two owner(s) with maintenance records and some with very low mileage. I have NO experience with the Mercedes brand, thus my inquiry here.

Since we, just this week, started a home remodel, the timing is bad to give him a low-ball number and try to flip it. I think I'm going to pass.

Thanks again guys.

[FLYGEEZER]

Having "been there,done that" with one of those ............ I'm glad that you decided to pass!

[aigel]

If it was $3k, then yes, but at 8400, even if you can get it for 7500, you will not be able to flip it for any profit, IMHO. It would only make sense if you really always wanted to own such a car ...

We all dream - I do all the time - and come here often to have the PPOT wisdom team sober me up!

G

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by FLYGEEZER

Having "been there,done that" with one of those ............ I'm glad that you decided to pass!

I agree.

I did quite a bit of homework before I opted for the 560 I bought, had excellent exchanges with the previous owner and felt very comfortable in the maintenance and age and mileage upkeep he did.

The market for these things is very specific and knowledgeable...as Speeder will let everyone know, they made a lot of these and a large percentage were very well taken care of.

I figured 3 to 4 years and then I'd want to sell, at the price I bought it for. That is very doable given the market and the shape the car is in.

We will see.

I have to say that that driving the car is a hoot. They are a lot smaller than they look and handle better than a suitcase without wheels.