umpire613

Good Morning all;

Am seriously looking at an 05 sl with 55K miles on it. and very nice body, no scratches , or flaws that I could find, there is some minor wear on the steering wheel but the interior is flawless other than that.

My question is this
The car came from a very warm climate and was apparently left outside a lot. The dealer replaced the instrument cluster due to some bad / missing characters etc.

how ever the radio / nav unit display is not readable at all. The unit plays and all the radio functions work as far as I can tell I really don't have a need for a nav system and don't care about upgrading for Bluetooth etc as I don't even use a mobile device.
but my worry is the car must have gotten really hot inside for many days / weeks at a time as even the benz sticker on the inside appears to have had like a propane torch applied to it.. I am sure it didn't but anyway I am worried that the heat might have caused the wiring to become brittle and I might be buying a can of worms in the long run.

Are my worries justified or should I jump on it as it is a very well priced car. Your thoughts or any thing you might have to say about this are greatly appreciated.

mikefamig

I don't kow the price but I personally would look a little further before making a decision on this car. there are a lot of R230's out there and the resale value is low on them. I think that you shouldn't have to look too hard to find one tat has been garaged.

Mike.

umpire613

Thanks for your reply. yeah I know the resale is low on them now great cars for the money. I can find a lot of them but usually with a lot of miles, that doesn't bother me on the mileage to much cause the engines are usually bullet proof it the usually other items that I worry about . like pumps and etc that can cause a real pain. This one will be under 10k if I get it.. If I do get it am going to have to thin the herd a little I think the C class is going to have to hit the dust bin, with nearly 300k on it and an engine bug keeps eluding me.. its time to go I think

alk247

If it is below 10K and you are able and willing to deal with cracked and brittle plastics , it might be a reasonable buy, otherwise look for car from milder climes. I have a former Florida car, so I speak from experience.

umpire613

WOW thanks for the reminder on plastic bits and pieces, had not even given that a thought. but I will now

bobterry99

At a price below $10K this car should probably be bought.

mikefamig

I have also read that the older R230's 07 had an 80hp increase.. I don't have any evidence to prove it but maybe there are members here that can elaborate or dispute. The price curve is probably pretty flat through the 2000's as they are all at least ten years old.I would also look for an AMG if I was n the market. But then it's nice to find one under $10k.

Mike.

alk247

Sure, it went from SL500 to SL550, so I expect some HP increase with larger engine.

umpire613

As much as I love horse power and would love to have an amg. I don't drive much over 100 kph any more . yeah 60 mph is about all I see on the local freeways any more so horse power is just a number till you put it in motion maybe I should get a Bugatti that would deplete the kids inheritance..

MBCO

I bought a sl550 2007 2 owner with 25k miles from Southern California I think Palm Springs. I have replaced motor and transmission mounts abc tandem pump pulsation dampener. I repaired the deck flaps plastic hinges that broke, (you should inspect your target for missing pieces when top is down, several hundred $$ to replace whole deck ). And the plastic sleeves protecting the shocks are totally destroyed. I suspect heat as root cause of premature (imho) deterioration and replacement. Now it gets the cryogenic treatment of winter storage in MN. Good luck finding a great sl they are wonderful cars to own and drive.

umpire613

Yeah MBCO I am in Twin cities as well.. yeah I tweaked on the deck all parts around there and looked at the shock tops. they were soft maybe I should take you with me to look it over help a senior citizen out. the car is from Louisiana so some humidity at least maybe some humidity may have helped

Agent-A01

I wouldn't worry about the heat too much.

Nav replacements are readily available on ebay and such

umpire613

I did see a lot of the NAV units on ebay but hate to pay 800-900 bucks for a 15 year old radio / nav.. man ill dig out an old portable before I do that and go buy a map from aaa.

MBCO

I could do this. PM me for details.

umpire613

MBCO, thanks for the offer.. I am still weighing if it something I want to pull the trigger on. but I have been lusting after one since the 1990;s came out. I will PM you once I have really made up my mind to go ahead.

Frederick NL

We own a 1966 230SL Pagoda and a 2005 R230. During a 3 week holiday trip I enjoyed almost every aspect of the car, quietness being number 1, airco and ventilated seats (we were in a long heatwave!) number 2 en the ease of driving number 3 (with 1,2,3 being in disputable order).
The main disadvantage compared to the Pagoda: luggage space, or the lack thereof. The boot isn’t that big, with the separator down, of course. But the real confinement is in the cabin. The space is filled to the brim, really, by the seats and the console. Some storage space (not much) behind the seats. Packing was a bit of a puzzle every time, also because you don’t want to damage anything.
Consider that ‘soft’ aspect of the car if you intend to trod around seriously.

umpire613

Frederick,thanks for thought on the room, I long ago limited my wife to 2 small bags, cloth.. as I use to have a 1975 fiat x19 which was way smaller than this Mercedes, no it doesn't stop her trying to pack everything she owns and half of a library with her but I have told her either she goes or her stuff goes make a choice. LOL and I don't drive those 2k mile trips much any more

Brian SL550

An R230, under 10,000 from Louisiana? I would ask to see a copy of the title or current Carfax. Many apparent deals from the Delta and Houston areas are flood cars. Be mindful.

kbob999

My 2 cents...
I've had cars from PHX, and lived there for 7 years, and the heat is brutal inside if left in the sun. Plastics WILL be brittle. Dash panels and fabric glue will delaminate. Sun will fade everything.
Even worse is the heat soak in the engine bay after you shut it off. All rubber water and vacuum hoses with be stiff, and need replaced with silicon for durability. Same for ABC hoses.
It's not a deal killer to buy a hot climate car, but I've found the cars from mild climates and no salt or sun (the NW especially) have the longest lifespan.

alk247

Not too many new SLs are sold here, unfortunately. While normally I would not consider cars form "salt" belt, SL is the exception. Very few of them are driven in the snow,

kbob999

True. And since it rains a lot in the NW, and they are not driven in the rain, when you do find them they have low miles on them too!

MBCO

And northern cars (aka Salt belt), sit in the winter with battery tenders. Even if they were driven in salt, most of the body parts are aluminum, not rusting those. Yes, many metal parts would create surface rust