Silvo

Hi , i'm planning to bye an SL...

what is your advise?

1993 - sl500

or

1993 - sl300

please provide me more informations about the acceleration,HP & handiling

dafi129

hi there silvio,
I drive a 1993 Sl300 24V and the car is fantastic.

300sl24: 232 hp 0-60m: 8.3s 150 mph top speed
500sl32: 326 hp 0-60m: 6.1s 155 mph top speed limited artificially

both cars are not slow...both are cruisers...if you like fast starts then get the 500...oh,fuel consumption varies from 25mpg for the 300 to 17/18 mpg for the 500....english gallons....hope you have enough info...

justinwrock

The Sl600 would be a wondeful driving machine if you can find a nice one with all of the records.

One thing about a 600 though, they drink gas, and are a fun to drive.

Bigdot

get an SL500. you will love it!!


mark

Silvo

Hmm!

so , .......1 for 300
& 1 for 500
& another 1 for the giant 600!

thanks my friend dafi129 for the detailed info's
i bellive that the 300 is so nice coz i
used to have an E320 (w124) powerd by M104 Engine.. and i love it

the V8 would be fantastic then!
6.1 seconds for 0-60miles ??? wooow
what a goast


justinwrock:
as you sayed about the V12's (the drink Gas) so maybe i have to tow a big tank of gas behind me LooL


RedMongoosE:

i'm sure that i'll really love the 500

but i'm wondering! why do they sell them (300/500) for the same price?
is it the market? or maybe the 500 is not (most wanted)?

Well!

lets wait and see what others say

BANANA

I Own A 300, A 300-24, A 500, And A 600. The 300 And 500 Spend The Same Amount Of Fuel. The Difference Is So Small In The Economy That Its Not Even Worth Mentioning. Remember These Are Very Heavy Cars. An Sl Weighs About The Same As An S Class So It Needs A Bigger Engine To Make It Enjoyable To Drive. The Smaller 6 Cylinder Engines Are Constantly Under Stress To Be Able To Get Any Form Of Decent Performance From Them. Get A 500 And Trust Me If Its A Good Clean Car You Will Never Regret It. Its Almost As Fast As The 600 And Almost As Economical As The 300.

THE REASON BOTH CARS ARE SIMILARLY PRICED IN EUROPE FOR EXAMPLE IS INSURANCE IS HIGHER ON THE V8 ENGINE, AND PEOPLE ARE ALSO UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THE 3 LITER 6 CYLINDER IS MUCH MORE ECONOMICAL THAN THE V8.

joe1388

I will say AMEN to that statement. If you can afford it buy the 500. You will fall in love with a car. Later, JOE

b4mmy

My honest answer is PLEASE buy the best condition one you can find, regardless of engine size. It doesn't matter whether it's 300/500/600 because whichever one you buy it needs to be reliable, trustworthy, well maintained, and had all the bits that need replacing (where needed). And you should be close to a mechanic you can trust, and afford.

You will bitterly regret the day you bought an SL you can't afford to keep on the road. So just make sure its in perfect condition, and you have some spare cash for emergencies.

You will love it, and it will possess you... but if you can't look after it in a manner that it has become accustomed, it will chew you up and spit you out. A bit like my wife....

SL BRABUS

V8......

Bigdot

teh 8 is also much cheeper and eassier to work on than the 12. and i think in the back of you mind, if you buy the 6, you would love to have gotten the 8 for the pure power!! get the 8.

mark

dafi129

I tend to disagree on the fuel consumption bit between the 6 and the 8.
The 6 is 50% more economical than the 8..
If it is outright power you're looking for then go for the 500..
If you need to drive the car regularly,you'll feel the heavy consumption on the 500...The 300 is reasonable to drive daily,and mechanical parts are cheaper than the 500's...
The choice is yours as Cilla would say!!!

dafi129

A well sorted 300 would need 12L/100Kms.
A 500 easily gulps 18/20L/100Kms...

I am giving you details of our own Sl club in Lebanon where 50 members drive their SL's and give me details about their fuel consumption over different driving conditions...

boborola

A 500 doesn't need 18-20L/100kms...

Not even with my SL73 the fuel consumption is so high (driven normally) - I need about 14-18L/100kms

b4mmy

For normal short driving I get less than 240 miles out of a full tank.... don't know what that is in km's but it's still not that far.

BANANA

Thats About 400 Km. That Sounds About Right For Both 300 Or 500. Thats What My 300 And 500 Return In Normal City Driving.

Silvo

thanks for the informations friends

as i told you , i used to drive an E 320 Cope (W124)

thats why i wanted to try something different this time & the capriolet is the choice.

i really LOVE the (R129)s they have a creative shape & design.

any how i have to duble check the condition of the 2 cars and i'll let you know soon , my friends...

By the way i'm from Oman (mid. East Arabia)

dafi129

Chris,if you're getting 240 miles out of 80L,that equates to 384 KMS.
Which means you're averaging 20.83L/100 KMS. roughly 14.5 mpg...
Banana:I get 650 KMS /406 miles ,on a full tank from my 300...THat's a hell of a difference....
I repeat that there is no way the consumption is the same....unless you have a good car and a bad car.....
Don't forget there is 100 KGS difference in weight between the 2 cars...

BANANA

400 km is what i get from my 500 and both my 300's. i have a 300sl 24 with 100 000 km on it and a standard 300 with 90 000 miles on it. my 500 has covered 90 000 km. for normal stop start city driving 400km (500sl), to 430 km (300sl) is what im getting from all 3 cars. if i'm driving on the motorway i have to agree with you i do get 600 km from a full tank. i dont have my car manual handy right now but even in the manual if i remember correctly the difference in consumption is so minimal. about 1 or 2 miles per gallon.

AMG_55

500
if they r the same price (or even close) what is there to thibk about

if i was u, id get a 124 e500

mebeJOE

Why the heck would you consider the smaller engine? Gas mileage? Then go buy a Prius.

A V8 is THE classic engine of all time. Anyone ever write a song about an inline 6? (well, maybe they should about an M3, but that is a different story) A V8 is the right balance of power and practicality, at least for a performance car that you want to drive regularly. Yes, V12's are great . . . but the question with them is whether you want to spend the extra maintance dollars and put up with the heavier front end. How much do 24 spark plugs cost from the (d)stealerships?

Buy the SL500. You will fall in love for life.

As far as recommendations to buy a 124 E whatever . . . what the heck is that doing here????? This board is for R129 fans.

HLG600

The SL is a fantastic car. However, I would go with the 500 instead of the 300. After driving the S500 for a while, I can conclude that the Mercedes 5.0 Litre V8 is an excellent engine (and the one I have is 24V with 302 hp 339 tq, as opposed to the 32V V8 which is rated higher). However, the optimal choice would be the 600!!! Back to the issue at hand, I'd go with the 500. More power and more driving excitement. We are, after all, autmobile enthusiasts.

Regards

sl3204me

I find it amusing that so many SL 500 and 600 owners automatically write off the SL320 as an inferior car.A 3.2L DOC 229HP straight six is no slouch in the performance arena.BMW has used the straight six for years for performance.I have driven my brothers Porsche 928 with 315 HP and personally I can attest to the fact that his car off the line is not that much faster than my SL320.Now if the 320 and the 500 are both in excellent condition with full records and are priced within $2000 of one another,then I would go for the SL500 first,but this is not a putdown of the SL320,just a preference.They are both the same body,same interior,ect.In my experience the Sl320 has plenty of power with 232Lbs of torque.My Sl320 gets 400 miles plus on a tank of gas also.So don't automatically dismiss the 320 just because it doesn't have a V8.The M104 6 cylinder is a world class engine in its own right.Another added plus is if you want to work on the engine and components yourself.Everything is easily accessable.

hbluthi

I can vouche for an SL320. I owned one before I went to an SL600, and now the R230 SL500.

And mebeJOE, chill out

LeaUK

On a run my '93 500SL attains over 30MPG - measured!

Get the 500 as you'll always be thinking I wonder what the 500 is like. No matter what people say the spec on fuel consumption is less than 5% between them.

Forget the 600 unless you have plenty of spare cash.

Oh, and why do 300/320 owners remove their rear badge?

hbluthi

pwn3age



(I didn't remove mine though)