Quote:
Originally Posted by SCadaddle
Once upon a time, probably 10 or so years ago, I happened to stop by to see my friend that owns his one man Porsche-BMW-Mercedes independent shop. Just to say how ya doing. I wound up spending the day with him and helping him replace all the hydraulic cylinders for the top in one of those cars. I think he said something like "$10,000 worth of parts" and yes some of them came from an outfit known for rebuilding them.
He hated those cars and that one afternoon showed me that I'd surely never own one.
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This is the exact mis-information that people throw-up on the internet, that sounds convincing but is yet inaccurate.
Yes, there a dozen hydraulic cylinders for the SL top, every 15-20ish years they need to be changed, that's extremely good life cycle reliability in my books. They are NOT $10,000, more like 10% of the number. The best part it can be done at home, there are a ton of tips and tricks on the steps involved, take your time and you save $1000s in labor. You can even replace the rear plastic window at home.
If your mechanic friend "hated" these cars then he might be in the wrong business. The R129 is actually a very reliable car especially in the straight 6 and V8 models. The V12s are rare and tricky to work on due to the share size of the engine. I have spent exactly $130 on my R129 in the current 5-years of ownership for a part that was starting to show signs of wear which was a clutch fan (30 minutes to change). Everything else like tires, brakes and fluids and filters would be no different than if you drove a Corolla or Sonata.