SL-Class (R129) 1990-2002: SL 280, SL 300, SL 320, SL 500, SL 600, SL 60 AMG

SL/R129: Hello all, would like some helpful advice!

Old Mar 14, 2006 | 07:26 PM
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Hello all, would like some helpful advice!

Hello all R129 Fans out there....I lurk on this site daily, have posted here and there.
Anyway, I love all your MBs. Mine is a 97' SL320 with the god-awfully ugly factory rims. You all know the ones I'm talking about. Anyway, I'm inquiring these rims off eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MakeTrack=true
No, their not AMG but they look sooo much better then my factory rims. I know they won't fit my tires (as mine are 16s), but, he is offering used tires. I emailed him and asked him how much tread is left and what the price would be....what do you all think? Then I would just have to get them put on, and I would love to get the AMGs but can't afford thousands of dollars on rims (I'm 16, still in highschool). Also, I don't know why he is selling 5, not 4. I only want 4, only have 4 wheels!!
Thanks for all your advice!
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Old Mar 14, 2006 | 11:33 PM
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The fifth wheel is for the spare in the trunk. I bought my AMG rims off eBay for about $850 shipped to my door. They were in perfect condition, and a steal considering that MB offered me the same product for $2500+. My rims are staggered and 18 inches in diameter. I ended up paying about another $1300 for top of the line sport tires and a little more for shorter bolts and finised install with metric weight balancing. Back to the issue at hand, I paid 850 for perfect AMG rims off eBay, and they completely transformed the car. If you can, I highly recommend getting them.
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Old Mar 15, 2006 | 12:11 PM
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These will cost you $700 without tires once you add in shipping and they are damaged rims. Shipping cost will at least double if you mount tires on the rims before shipping (size and doubling the weight and they probably won't be boxed if shipping with tires...just banded with cardboard rounds covering the rims) Repairing curb rashed rims will cost you another $100+ per rim. Why not just go to your local Discount Tire (or whatever chain you have locally) and buy a set of new 18" ASA AMG replicas (they have many of the AMG styles) for about $200/wheel??? Tirerack lists most ASAs at about $220, I got my 19" ASA ST2s for under $200/ea from a local Discount Tire. I'm sure you can find some used 18" tires just as easily as you can 17". I know you only get 4 new rims this way, but you already have the stock spare and don't really need the 5th rim. Another option is to keep watching ebay for a real set of 18" AMG takeoffs that are undamaged and will look alot better then these 17" wheels.
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Old Mar 15, 2006 | 04:24 PM
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I agree with Lincoln that your car will look better with the ASA wheels AND that the price on ebay for the wheels you are looking at is not that great. And those wheels don't look that good either (only my subjective opinion, of course). Because you're 16, and already driving a GREAT car, I would think that you really don't need to worry about the "name brand" aspect of your purchase.

But if you need the name brand, or real MBZ wheels, I wouldn't choose those. Just my opinion, but they don't look that good.
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Old Mar 15, 2006 | 05:04 PM
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I have lots of rims

Rims to me are like Shoes to most ladies. I have about 12 sets of rims for mercedes. I have a set I may be selling soon. Here is a picture of them. Im putting 6000 dollar rims tires and suspension on my car next week. The car will be located in Los Angeles So I can ship them from there. I also have a great relationship with Marc at Nitrous Garage.com Google them He also sells rims and tires on ebay. Here are the wheels. I would take 500 bucks plus shipping but the wheels have tires on them. It might be better to just buy the rims for the shipping cost reason. Jeff

Last edited by jjay911; Nov 30, 2006 at 08:15 PM.
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Old Mar 15, 2006 | 05:53 PM
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You all do make some valid points. I guess I could get better rims for cheaper, I suppose, with the right amount of searching/investigating. Jay, you said you would sell all 4 of your rims for $500? Because I really do like the looks of those rims....do you have any body kits on your SL (in those pictures)? They look sleek to me....I am very interested, when would you be selling them?
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Old Mar 15, 2006 | 06:00 PM
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$500 for all four sounds like a good deal. I'm jw, how much tread is left on those tires?
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Old Mar 15, 2006 | 10:48 PM
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I checked the offer you put from e-bay and noticed the wheels in question are 17 inch, which means adjustments might have to be made to calibur proper mileage. I too have a 97 SL320 and really hated the original rims, but just recently purchased new 16 inch rims from HTTP://www.adsitco.com. The 16 inch rims I got are AMG looking and I just transferred the old with the new at a great price, about $150.00 per wheel. I love them. Check out the website.
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Old Mar 16, 2006 | 12:32 AM
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This is my 16inch........due to so many potholes in LA.......

Last edited by SL BRABUS; Jun 5, 2006 at 12:25 AM.
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Old Mar 16, 2006 | 12:53 AM
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From: Socal
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My rims are for sale on March 28th 18inch rims

The rims will be in Los Angeles on march 28th and available for 500 bucks the tires are good and the rims are 18 inch. The only issue is you need some spacers they look dorky because the rims are sunk into the body about 3 quarters of an inch. Jeff
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Old Mar 16, 2006 | 08:12 PM
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Kraftman, did they fit your tires perfectly? I would opt to do that, but, I'm afraid 16 inch AMG wheels won't look nearly as good as they would if they were 18 or 19, so I would almost rather keep my factories. Can you post some pics of your car with the 16 inch AMGs?
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Old Mar 16, 2006 | 10:49 PM
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I haven't taken a photo of my car yet with the new wheels, but the wheels look like they were made for the car. I'll try to post a photo this weekend. The tires fit perfectly. the car looks great and I got more compliments about the wheels. My only regret is I waited to long to get them. I am really satisfied. If you check the website, you'll see other styles offered, such as SL BRABUS wheels that also look great on his car.
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Old Mar 16, 2006 | 11:25 PM
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96 S320, 00 SL500, 06 S430
Hello SL320

I just bought a CPO 2000 SL500 (30,000 miles) from Mercedes of San Francisco. I will take delivery likely this Sat and it has the same 17' wheels with 4 brand new Michelin ZR tires (don't know the exact model but was told it is about $220 each). I will be selling them if I get my hands on a new set of 18' AMG twin spoke wheels from the 2006 SL600.

So if you can wait a week or so, I will let you know if I did get the AMG and sell my 17's. I am thinking $1,200 + shipping.

Does anyone knows if the 2006 AMG twin spoke rims will fit the 2000 SL? The 06 rims has a 35mm and 40mm offset.

Will post pics once I get my hand on the car.

Cheers
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Old Mar 17, 2006 | 12:35 PM
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Silver 500 I have an answer

The rims from an 06 will fit any Sl mercedes since 1973. and Will even fit the w126 class 83 threw 91. Here is a pic of my car in the snow. Enjoy. JJ

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-r129/140912-another-trip-goose-lot-o-big-pix-no-56k.html
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Old Mar 17, 2006 | 11:33 PM
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OK SL320, here are pics of my car. Tell me what you think of the wheels.
Attached Thumbnails Hello all, would like some helpful advice!-dsc00001.jpg   Hello all, would like some helpful advice!-dsc00002.jpg   Hello all, would like some helpful advice!-dsc00003.jpg   Hello all, would like some helpful advice!-dsc00004.jpg  
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Old Mar 18, 2006 | 12:25 AM
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You can find original AMG 17' 203 on special at tirerack.com for only $219 a rim. cheap for real AMG rims and for sure they fit your 97 SL.
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Old Mar 18, 2006 | 01:46 PM
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WOW, I am pleasently surprised! They looked much better than I thought (being 16 inchers) and I really think I'm going to purchase them.
Thank you so much for posting pictures, I really appreciate it. I have a few more questions. Did you just order them off that website, then take them into a local tire place and have them put on? Are there shipping costs (I'm sure there are - how much?). Thank you so much, they are 100% better looking then the stock 97' rims!
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Old Mar 18, 2006 | 01:50 PM
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Also, I see on the website you can "trade in" your old rims...how much do they give you? (ballpark?) Thanks again!
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Old Mar 18, 2006 | 02:27 PM
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Hello SL320,
I'm glad you like the rims. For the 4 rims, I paid $687.00 which included shipping, then I took them to a private tire shop and paid $40.00 to have them mounted and balanced. To have the rims shipped to California was $20.00 per wheel, which was included in the price I paid, and I received them in one week. I did not inquire about the wheel trade, I kept the old ones for now. You can call the 800 number given on the website to get answers to your questions. I aam very satisfied with adsitco.
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Old Mar 18, 2006 | 09:51 PM
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Hello SL320
If you change your wheels and tyres (sorry tires to you), make sure the profile of the front and back tires are the same, otherwise the cruise control will not work. Earlier someone said that wheels off an 06 car will fit. They may fit but I believe the wheel nuts are a different size and you need adopters ( more bother than they are worth)
I had 18" AMG split rims and very low profile tires and found the car 'tramlined' and was like sitting in go-cart. 17" rims are a good compromise -they fill the wheel arches nicely.
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Old Mar 18, 2006 | 10:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Kraftman
OK SL320, here are pics of my car. Tell me what you think of the wheels.
look very nice........
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