BenzoBlanco

Any advise for buying a R129?
Best model/year/engine/options?....
Things to look for/inpect/recalls?
Best price/mileage/etc..


Thanks.

mebeJOE

Do you want to hear from citizens of the USA on this? If so, we spell "advise" with a "c" and "inpect" with an "s".

Okay, sorry. There is a lot of advice already posted. You should do searches on the posts.

Somebody has posted a link a couple of times to this guy's web page regarding why 1997 is the best year. Others of us may disagree with him, but he has lots of info posted on the car. I think his name is Rockwell, and he is from San Diego, California, USA.

Maybe you can find that post. As for me, I have a 2001 SL500 and I love it. Here is a link to some pictures of mine:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...90#post1228690

As far as what year to buy, I think you should at least consider features available. If you click on this link:

http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container...34567&menu=7_6

You go to a page that will let you click on the various years and see what changes there were and so forth.

I wouldn't buy the 6 cylinder version, because I like to have some power. On the other hand, most of what I have read indicates that many owners of the SL600 do not find the extra expense and weight of the V-12 is worth the fairly small performance gains. I can't say, I think maybe somebody should post a poll on that one.

I think the sport package is worth the extra $$. I like the AMG body work. I love the designo interior, and if you can find one, that is great. Find one with wheels that you like, and you save a couple of grand because you won't have to replace them.

I think it is best to find lower miles. And the fewer things wrong, the better, obiviously. Don't dimiss what might look like small problems. Be prepared to maybe spend some major money for them. Xenon headlight, $200 US. Headlight assembly, $1,100 USA. Review mirror on pre-1996, $900 (auto adjusts). New key fob, $200. Etc., etc.

You will not be able to tell if it leaks oil just from looking under the car. there is a shield that prevents you from seeing. You must take it to a mechanic.

If the seller does not have the hard top, insist on a big discount, they are expensive. If the soft roof is in bad shape, that is expensive too, get a discount.

Because most of us love these cars, we take very good care of them. If someone does not have service records and proof that the car has been properly maintained, negotiate for a lower price or find another.

I love my baby, but she has been expensive to maintain, so just warning you. This is a near "super car" and was one of the most advanced cars of its day when it came out. If you dated or married a super model, you would expect her to be a high-maintance woman (or man, I guess), well, expect the same from the car.

On the up side, if you take care of her, the rewards will be great. Fast, fun, reliable rides. A gorgous body. Envious stares. Lots of attention. Just like if you dated a super model.

Maybe you should go out and JUST LOOK at a few examples, and then post questions about the various features and so forth. I think I looked at about 20 before I settled on my baby. She is a very special one, I think, but I bet most owners feel the same way about theirs.

I'd be happy to respond with my limited experiance to specific questions you might have.

b4mmy

I love my 129, I think it's possibly the last true classic that MB have produced. I also wouldn't swap my 500 for anything, apart from a Brabus, or a 600, a fully loaded AMG... but those cars are excessive... come on guys, you know I'm right :-)

The best advice I could give to anyone is make sure you can afford to keep it... it doesn't matter which one, but you need to have the means to keep it on the road. In my opinion (it's only mine) you need to be able to lay your hands on an extra $2k a year, to cover yourself... you might be lucky and get one that always works, and never needs servicing, but I haven't read about many people having truly faultless cars.

If you can't afford to fix it, every day it sits in your garage it will chew you up, and spit you out. And every time you look at it, it will be like that great looking girl (or guy) next door that never seems to catch your eye....

My car has become a passion for me. I cannot bear it not being perfect. I think that is the biggest bridge you will have to cross. There is always something, even the smallest thing becomes an itch that must be scratched, no matter what. And I don't think I am anywhere near as obsessive as most I read about.

If you can't find a near perfect one don't settle for any 129, make sure it is as perfect as it possibly can be for your budget... and then some.

And you will love it... and then you won't be able to live without it...

:v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v :v

mebeJOE

Amen!

A double Amen!


You forgot to say "break your heart". I feel sad even if I see somebody else's 129 in bad shape. The car deserves to be treated right.

Treat Her Right:

Let me tell you story,
Every Owner aught to know,
If you want a cool R129,
You gotta have a little money to Blow,

But you'll be glad every night,
If you just treat her right.


It drives me nuts when it is not perfect! I put my baby in the shop today, because:

1. I knocked the little tiny steering wheel adjusting knob off with my knee. It still adjusts, just the knob broke off.
2. Antenna won't go up.
3. Inside trunk switch won't open trunk.
4. Some of the digital segments on the climate control intermitently turn off.
5. Maybe, maybe, I see on the inside of one of the 35 series tires, a slightly unusual wear pattern, but it's hard to see, so I want the dealer to check it.
6. I was washing inside the wheel wells (yes, washing insdie the wheel wells) and noticed that a splash panel was missing. Maybe the dealer left it off when he replaced the $1100 headlamp.
7. I am possibly imagining that the handling is a little "darty" or "twitchy".

I am very fortunate in that my baby has about 2 years left on a bumper to bumper Starmark warranty. But even the non-warranty work, it was driving me nuts. I will pay. I will put it on my credit card if I have to. I won't eat next week.

This car drives me crazy and I love love lover her.

But don't get one unless you are prepared!!

b4mmy

That's a top quality reply Joe!

As it happens I put mine in the shop today as well. The central locking decided to stop working not long ago, AFTER I had the entire engine reconditioned. Then I noticed that the air con wasn't coming through the centre vents properly, my brake pad warning light came on. Anyway, they are bigger ones and it's all under control.

But when I looked back as I left the garage, I felt a little shame.... because I wish I had given her a polish before I had dropped her off.

I do have to admit to one single obsessive act. I didn't think my owners manual package was looking good after all these years. I was browsing on ebay and noticed that some guy was selling a perfect one in the States, for my year, and model. I can't tell you exactly how much I paid for it, but for a few creases and a bit of oil I think I should have lived with it....

My wife asked me what I want for Christmas this year and the first thing I thought of was a new wiper blade!

And I only drive the car at the weekend.... so back to the original question... take Joe's advice and BE PREPARED. Big time.

BenzoBlanco

Wow, you guys are Awesome! there is a lot of information to digest here, thank-you!

And mebeJoe I am from the good ol' US of A...Just was typing fast...I didn't know this was a spelling bee, sorry But as long as you are keeping count (you had a bunch of misspelled words in your post):

obiviously is spelled obviously
experiance is spelled experience
dimiss is spelled dismiss
high-maintance is spelled high maintenance
gorgous is spelled gorgeous
intermitently is spelled intermittently
insdie is spelled inside

Thanks again!

b4mmy

mebeJOE

Yep, I knew I had a feew typos and missspellingss in there, but if I had known you weren't a Brit, but a Septic instead, I wouldn't have made any comments at all. I would have been out in the garage with my head under my car's bonnett or sitting on my bum watching the B on the telly. But bullocks, man, when you spell bloody "advice" with an "s", of course I'm gonna have a butcher's hook at your post and think that you're one of those proper blokes who belongs to the C of E and all.

But no worries, okay? I wanna be Americano.

But seeing that you are a Yank like me, if you can, consider finding your R129 in So. Cal. and pay to ship it where you are. You find a lot of low miles R129's here, either in Beverly Hills area or Palm Springs that were owned by rich people who didn't put many miles on them but maintained them perfect. PLUS, no rust problems.
It's not unusual to have an oppurtunity to be a 2nd owner of a 5 to 7 year old R129 that has under 40,000 mles on it and is in perfect shape. You can search on www.cars.com and use within 100 miles of zip code 90071. You will come up with lots. And if it's in my neck of the woods, I might swing by and take a look at it for you.

Good luck, and let us know what you are looking at and what you decide.

BenzoBlanco

no worries mebejoe....thanks for the great advice....

Yeah, I live in Malibu, so there is no shortage of rich a**holes here...thanks I have been looking on cars.com and saw a few that I liked...should I be looking at 1996 and later?

mebeJOE

Benzo:

One more tip. If you decide on a newer one, try this. I got mine from a used car lot near B.H. Not a dealer. And it was over 5 years old (41,000 miles), so I am thinking no more warranty. The guy at the lot says, it's out of warranty, so I pay an extra $2,000 for some cheesy 2nd rate warranty. I was getting it for about $13,000 under book, so I was thinking I still had a deal.

Well . . . first time I bring it to the dealer, they tell me, oh . . . you have a 7 year, 100,000 mile Starmark warranty. Jeez, they did about $2,000 worth of work the first time I had it in there, covered by a ZERO deductable warranty.

So . . . when you are shopping, take down the VIN numbers. Call a dealer and ask the guy to run the VIN number for you to check and see if the warranty is still in effect. If the seller thinks there is NO warranty, but there really is . . . you gonna get a great deal.

And yeah . . . I like the newer ones, I think they got some of the bugs worked out, and they got rid of the $900 mirror that falls apart. I heard that some of the pre-1996's have tranny problems. Anybody know?

Try to find one with the designo interior and the AMG sport package set up. Premium sound is great, too.

If you have the $$$ go for the 2002 Silver Arrow . . . nice, nice, nice. Very custom interior and all the good stuff. This car lot in Garden Grove had one with only about 40,000 miles on it, but wanted like $52,000.

dafi129

Hi guys,looks like you lot have lots of problems with your r129's I have owned mine for 2 years now,and it only costs $300 for 2 years to run,except for tyres and brakes I must add that where I'm from,labour rates at $5/hr.Now,now I can feel you guys are ready to move here..It's funny,my car looks exactly like b4mmy's car..same color...wheels...
By the ways,those wheels are made in Japan..AMG replica's..and cost me
$600 balanced and fitted...With the proper bolts..I also fitted german made spacers..1 inch front and rear..The wheel arches are really full now with
235/40's front and 265/35's rears..no knocking whatsoever..only wind noise
at high speed...handling much improved,specially round bends..By the way my car is slightly modded...will tell you later...

b4mmy

Hi Dafi, looks like you have got a few more 129's there as well. What mods have you got, apart from that splitter on the front?

dafi129

Hi there Chris,I belong to the Sl Club Lebanon,and that was one of our meets.
www.slclublebanon.com.....check out the website...pics and videos..
As to my Sl,it has apart from the exterior mods to which I added a rear spoiler
since that photo was taken..[It is probably the only 129 with a rear wing],
A supership ,a full catback Lorinser adjustable exhaust system..I cancelled the middle box..It sounds better now..Approx hp is now 260/270..
Top speed recorded at 250KMH..25 MPG combined..not bad...
Inside ,chrome speedo rings,Lorinser steering[chrome logo wood/leather],
wooden center console,chrome lever surround,wood/chrome momo gear lever,italian stainless/rubber pedals....rear electromagnetic[inside bumper] reverse sensors..full remote closure [locks,windows and roof]
Pioneer in dash screen/dvd,Lanzar 4 channel amp,Lanzar 500W sub.
I probably forgot a few things along the way..
By the way,Chris,I lived in London for 22 years b4 returning to Lebanon my home...I needed the sun to drive a cabrio and feel warm...
I'll post some more pics soon...

b4mmy

Nice one dafi... would you mind posting a pic of your steering wheel, I desperately need a new(er) one. Mine is starting to look antique! Can you get hold of parts and spares easily over there? It's tough over here in the UK sometimes, I can't imagine what it must be like in the lebanon... btw where did you put the sub?

dafi129

Hiya Chris,I'll post a pic of the steering soon,It's a Lorinser badged steering
Wood/Leather,graphite colour with a chrome Merc star in the middle.
It cost me $250 plus my old blue steering..You can find here everything you need for mercs..and cheaper than Europe..The sub and amp are in the boot,
plenty of space there..forget about the small subs they sell you for SL's to fit inside..they're useless..You really need a good 10/12" sub in the boot and hook the front speakers to it as well[4 channel amp]..