Hello eveyone, how the hell are you? I am currently shopping for a new car and am amazed at how inexpensive you can pick up a used SL500 for. I am primarialy looking at 96-98 cars, as they have the "hotter" engine and 5 speed auto, and a good example can be had for under $20K. I have been unable to find any real reliabilty reports on these cars, and I am hoping that is because there is nothing to report. Any suggestions, or personal experience with the reliability of your cars? Am I looking at the right years for the money...etc, etc. I have already searched the forum for reliability, specific to this model, and came up with nothing.

Thanks in advance!

Eric

 

Those years have the weakest engine! Get a '99 or newer.

 

Hi Eric:

Edmunds has some JD Powers reliability ratings. Here's the link for a number of SL500 model years:

<http://www.edmunds.com/used/1998/mercedesbenz/slclass/9028/ratings_jdpower.html>

The 1996 SL appears to have the best long-term reliability in your year-range.

Will

 

Model-year '96 was the first for the 5-speed electronically-controlled transmission. These are notorious for failing prematurely. For this reason, I would not buy a '96 that still had the original transmission.

 

From what I have read, the pre 99 engine produced more peak HP, as it was a 4 valve cylinder head and the 99 was a 3 valve head, right? The 99 and later were marginally faster (.3 seconds form 0-60?)due to a revision in gearing, not a more powerful engine.

 

Will

Thanks, this is the best I have seen thus far.

I would love to hear some real world experience from current or previous owners of the cars in question. Again, I am interested in these cars because of the value for the money, along with the newer 5 speed automatic and 4 valve motor. If I am overlooking a systematic problem with these cars, please let me know.

 

i would not get the 96^ unless it had the sports package with the AMG body. IMO the new bumpers with the impact strip reap the car of its smooth lines. also, the V8 has the weaker engine with the 3V/P/C. as for the .3 seconds faster on the 99, i dont know how real world that is, might just be Mercedes keeping with the market wanting faster cars. ( i have raced 3 R129 500 and have had the same results.) i also raced a R230 and had the same results.

and im not just being bias because i had several R129's to chose from and did a lot of research and asked several MBZ mechanics.

Mark

 

I'll demonstrate first hand for you how "real world" it is in a race if you make it worth my while.

BTW, if you did alot of research before buying a car and talked to several mechanics and had several cars to choose from, how did you screw up and buy a '94??? Any mechanic worth his salt knows that '93-'95 are the worst years to buy for the V-8 and V-12 SLs.

 

Hey junior, take this crap someplace else. I have questions about a car, Im not interested in you and your childish pissing contest.


Red MOngoose, I appreciate your comments, they are well noted.

I have to reiterate, I am more concerned with mechanical reliablitly than styling or racing performance of the car. I am looking to buy a nice, classy, daily driver, that wont be in the shop all the time.

Again, any personal experience regarding the mechanical reliablilty of the 96-98 sl500 would be great.

 

Year to year changes and trouble spots:

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...sl-class-6.htm

 

Thanks again, I also replied to your posts in the thread regarding reviews and links.

 

1996 was the first year MB introduced the 5SP transmission in the R129, which is why there have been stories about some problems it had. Your best bet would be a 1997-1998 R129. Same 32V motor with the 5SP tranny after a year of working out any kinks. Unless, you find a '96 that is pristine, try to look for a different year.

And, there's nothing wrong with a 1994 or 1995 R129. I'm not sure where that came from, although the 1991-1993's could have some issues at this point (more so with maintenence history than anything else).

Now, SL500 versus SL600. The M119 V8 offers more than enough power to have some serious fun in. If you want more than that, then go with the M120 V12. The 500 is not slow by any means, but on the highway, you will definetely feel a difference between the two, at midrange and top end. So, if you are going to be spending alot of time there, then I recommend the 600. If it is majority local driving, go with the 500 and save some gas.

 

who the hell are you?

please tell me in full detail, why the 93-95 was the "worst" R129 V8/car? i can give you the numbers to my mechanics and they can explain to you the reasons.


Mark

 

Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it. The SL500 strikes me as such a great car for the money, I just want to be certian its going to be relatively trouble free.

As far as the 12 cylinder car is concerned, as enticing as it is, I dont really need it. My chevy is already pumping out 500 HP, I dont need another rocketship.

I can only imagine the melody that comes out of the exhaust pipe of your SL600, it must be intoxicating.

 

I'd guess the earlier post was referring to the problem with the engine wiring harness, as it is so common and has been discussed ad nauseum in other forums. Do a search on "wiring" and "insulation" here or over on mercedesshop.com.

The insulation disintegrates (picture). And it reportedly affects all M-Bs from '93-'95, though I think the CIS-E injected 6-cylinder cars of '93 are safe.

This problem can be ridiculously expensive to correct, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. Someone with a '94 E320 recently posted that they were quoted a price of about $3000 for the repair. The guy bought the wiring himself for about a $1000 and installed it in just an hour.

 

Glad to be of help.

Sadly for us enthusiasts, the muffler and resonator do an excellent job of reducing the exhaust note. Still, you can hear the motor roar at full throttle...

 

I interperated the poster saying they were mechanically flawed, which for the most part, is untrue. But wow, the electrical issues (fried wires)...

And, no surprise about MB and the ridiculous overcharge.

 

A couple of things:

1. As to the poster (who will remain nameless here) who claims that the 1993 to 1995 cannot keep up with the 1999's and later: About a year ago, I followed Red Mongoose down a few canyon roads in my 2001 with sport package and cross-drilled rotors and had a hard time keeping up (mostly becuase of brake fade). Of course, I am a conservative old man and he is a fearless 18 year old. If I recall correctly, another guy driving a lesser car warpped his rotors that day.

2. I purchased a 2001 about 18 months ago. If I had to do it again, I would probably save $10,000 to $15,000 and buy an older one.

3. Other than the wiring problems I've heard about (which I thought were mostly in the V12), most of the problems I've heard reported and experianced are minor type stuff. Vacuum leaks in the locking system, top mechanisim getting stuck, antenna motor burning out, etc.

4. I have read nothing about anybody having to ever do any major engine work. These motors seem to run forever. Some of the owners I have up to and over 120,000 miles.

5. I have read about some of the V12 cars needing tranny rebuilds. AND the automatic ride-height/damper thing (which I don't fully understand) going bad and being expensive -- but since you aren't going for the V12, you won't need to worry.

6. All that being said -- even the minor stuff can be expensive -- $200 for a halogen head lamp, $300 to replace the little switch to adjust the steering wheel; $900 for a pre-1996 power rear-view mirror, and I think I've seen prices as high as $2,000 for a new top; My new set of tires in April cost $1300.

I love my 2001. It is very custom with newer AMG wheels, Silver Designo interior that I have not seen on anybody's else's ANYWHERE, heated vented seats and Silver top to match the body --

BUT from what I've read, 1997 may possibly be the best year. See this website:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/sl/index.htm

Final advice though: Because the little stuff can be expensive -- find one with as few little problems as possible. Make sure the top is good and it has the hard top. No matter what year you get -- you will find that you WILL fall in love with this car -- there really isn't anything like it on the road that combines performance, comfort, reliablity and classic good looks.

 

i have a 1990 500 SL. i am nearing 150k miles. and the car has never seen salt. i brought it up here from florida and is in beautiful shape. i have a stack of over 200 repairs since 1990 from the original owner all performed at the dealer it was bought from new. (mercedes-benz of orlando) the biggest most expensive repair was a a complete replacement of the A/C system and upgrade it to R-134A. it was $3200. alot of the thing were minor over the years. vacuum leaks in the locking system, three failures of the pully tensioner, three compressor failures, 2 replacements of windshield pillar hydraulic cylinders. i just love this car and never think twice of throwing money at it for repairs...

 

If it is real world experience & feedback you are looking for ... here are my statistics:

I bought our 1999 SL 500 used 4 years ago.

It had 24,000 miles on it and was eligible still for the MB Starmark extended warranty, which we bought for peace of mind. We probably broke even on that investment.

We now have 57,200 miles on the car (mostly weekend driving) in 4 years = 8,300 miles / year.

Counting the cost of the extended warrantee, 5 tires replaced, all the cost of regular maintenance and fixing anything that has gone wrong = $ 0.24 US / mile we have driven.

That is about $ 2,000 US per year. This may seem like a lot.

The joy of driving this car ... priceless.

We went through serious buyer’s remorse after we bought the car on a whim. Due to the $ 70 K cost. After we worked through that and settled into it ... we can't imagine being without an SL for the rest of our lives.

It has truly been one of the things that consistently over the past 4 years has made life worth living.

That may sound incredibly shallow. But the car is just that good.

The mundane task of driving across town to get produce ... with the top down in the summer time has become an adventure.

Road trips are something to look forward to.

This car needs to be driven hard to make for the best performance. I think the adaptive transmission needs to be worked to be at its peak. My wife has done most of the driving this past year (she is not an aggressive driver). And I have promised not to drive like a demon. The car seems sluggish as a result.

But the ride and safe feeling of driving this car never goes away.

I would highly recommend buying the R129. You will love it!

As one of the young moderators wrote one time. “The R129 SL 500 is one of the finest cars ever produced.” He is right.

 

Same feelings here. The car is a blast to drive. We are spoiled here in San Diego. High temp was only 60 degrees F, so the SL stayed in the garage. We just won't drive it anymore unless we can go top down. Won't be long now though.

Will