Scoop

I am considering trading up from my '99 BMW Z3 to a 2002 Silver Arrow SL500. The particular car (I'm going to see it Saturday) has 42,000 miles, and the current asking price is $31,000 - it's in upstate NY. Does this price sound reasonable for that year and mileage? As far as I can tell, this model had pretty much all the options added. Also, did the hard top stand come with new SL's? Every ad I look at shows it, but these folks do not have one. Can they be easily found.

Thanks all - I hope to join the 'club' soon.

Bigdot

2001 ca car went for 23.5 with 10K on it. it was fully loaded AMG kit and such.

id go to mid 20's the market BLOWS right now for a 129. good luck! hope you pick it up

Scoop

Having checked Edmunds, ebay etc, they seem reasonably priced, but I do think that November in upstate NY is not a great time to sell a drop-top.

Hopefully some wiggle room on price.. Any other thoughts/insights?

Scoop

Well, I went to see the SA yesterday, and overall, it's in great shape. A couple of issues:

1. The finish on the maple on the center console around the slide opening covering the cup holders has 4 small horizontal cracks. It looks to be just the finish. Has anyone experienced this, and is it easy to fix / not worth worrying about?

2. The outer part of the right front wheel has a small indentation - it almost looks as though the car drove into a curb at some point. The rest of the wheel looked OK.

The soft-top worked fine, and didn't show any signs of wear besides the 2 quarter windows bwing somewhat marked. It looks like this is unavoidable, given the way the roof folds.

So now I guess I have to decide whether to make an offer. I also looked at a couple of Jaguar XK8's. Nice car, but more of a highway floater IMO.

So, the asking price is just under $32,000. What would you guys pay for this car?

Last question - Mongoose - why is the market so bad (or in the buyers case, good) for R129's right now? Thanks for the insights.

luda

A nice one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...TODAY.m238.lVI

Per.

Bigdot

hello,

the market is so bad for them because they are 1.5 body styles old. the R230 came out, and the market didnt change much, but when the R230 550 came out, then the market took a significant hit. so now is the time to buy. you can look at the market for the 107, and see the radical fluxuation that they went throgh,

Mark

Scoop

Thanks for the thoughts. The SA in Arizona (thanks luda) looks very nice - but 80,000 miles might be a bit too much. I'm still pondering - I'll update and add pix if I decide to buy the one I looked at.

luda

80,000 for a Benz? Hardly broken in yet.

Anyway, good luck.

Scoop

Well, it's all but a done deal, I bought the SA! Now the only thing remaining is to jump through the hoops MB Cda puts up, and figure out how to get the car across the border.

In order for the car to be imported from the US, MB Cda requires you to take it to them to get various modifications doen. In the case of the '02 SL500, this includes modifying the bumpers to meet Canadian crash standards, activating the drl's and so on. It's costly, but still worth it as this car is significantly less expensive that anything I could find up here.

Once I've taken possession, I'll post some pix and more detail.

Scoop

Well, I finally got it. I drove down to Buffalo Friday and picked the car up. She's a beaut - great condition for an '02. I spent about 2 hours in it on the way home including about 45 minutes in traffic trying to cross the border. At least I got the radio presets tuned in (the radios don't have RDS?!) and my seat memory set up.

It isn't really outdoor weather, so I'll post some of the pix the dealer had taken - good shots really. I'll get some of my own up - probably not until spring when the weather turns better.

She's going into the dealer Monday to get the required modifications done (bumpers, drl's etc.). I've got a handful of questions for them - so far I'm 1/2 way through the manual.

To any other Canadians thinking of cross-border car shopping: the process is a whole lot easier than I expected. Everything I read about it made it sound rather daunting. It is not difficult at all, though you do have to do your homework. The title must be faxed to US customs 3 business days in advance - that's the toughest part of the whole deal. The US customs office simply takes a record that the car is leaving the country, and stamps your title to say so. At the Queenston Bridge in New York, the office is bit of a joke - 3 young girls posing as customs officers with a counter full of file folders full of titles faxed in. The only sortation method is by date the papers were faxed in! The process, once they find the title, takes less than 2 minutes. Of course, these officers don't care - they're hourly paid. Anyone wants more info, PM me, and I'll fill you in, or give you my number to call me.

Here are the pix...

Bigdot

wow looks great! i love the inside!

Mark

Scoop

Thanks, I think the interior looks much better in person than in pix - so if it looks good in pix.....

Here are a couple more. I haven't taken any myself yet due to the weather. The dealers shots are pretty good though.

I got it back from the dealer tonight after getting the required modifcations done. These included modifying the rear bumper to meet Canadian crash standards, adding the DRL module and changing the cluster symbol from 'BRAKE' to the international (!). The latter was a bit ridiculous, in my opinion, but so is the $250 estimate fee and $500 inspection fee MB-Cda charges. Oh well. It was still worth importing the car, and besides, I really like the car!

Scoop

As an update - I have now completed all the required mods and paperwork for importing the car into Canada from the US. I got the registration in my name yesterday and put new plates on her. She's all set to go...except...now that everything's done, it's time to put her to sleep for the winter!

She'll be a summer-only car, replacing the Z3 (that is for sale). With the amount of salt they throw on our roads, I don't take these babies out, even on dry days. The salt and salt dust get into them, and wreak havoc. She'll stay put until mid-April. The best part is that it's like getting a new car every spring, after 5-6 months of rest.

So hurry up spring! And - any Canadian members looking for info on teh import process, drop me a pm and I'll try to help. We have one Vancouver member on the verge of buying a CLK500 from the States - I'll say from experience it wasn't that difficult, and was certainly worth it finiancially in he end.

I repeat...hurry up spring!

MCM534

HI ALL
ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE THE HEAD END OF THE E CONVERTIBLE TOP MAIN LIFTCYLINDER? I REMOVED ALL OF THE HYD. CYLINDERS AND DISMANTLED THEM TO INSTALL THE ROD AND PISTON SEALS, HOWEVER I HAVE NOT TRIED TO REMOVE THE PISTON OR THE ROD END EYE OF THE LIFT CYL.BECAUSE I AM NOT SYRE WHICH END IS REMOIVABLE .IT LOOKS LIKE EITHER MAY BE PRESSED ON TO THE ROD I DON'T WANT TO PROCEED UNTIL I AM SURE WHICH END COMES OFF FOR FEAR OF DAMAGING IT. IT DON'T LOOK LIKE EITHER END IS SCREWED ON MY BEST BET IS THE PISTON MAY BE PRESSED ON. ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

PS I'M NOT SHOUTING AT ANY ONE WHO READS THIS THREAD. I ALWAYS WRITE IN CAPITALS
CHEERS
MCM

Top Hydraulics

MCM534,

The quick answer is, the Heim joint unscrews from the rod. Be very careful not to break it off - it's secured with threadlocker... I assume you are working on your '92, which has a Heim joint on top of the main lift cylinder rod. Later models have aluminum blocks with bushings, and the aluminum is even easier to break off when trying to unscrew.

Unless you have already cut the piston seals, do not touch them in a DIY project! If you absolutely must do this yourself, replace the rod seals yourself, but not the piston seals.

I am concerned about your project. Very few people pull off a good rebuild job by themselves, and truly most people do not - even many or most of the "professionals". Those who mess up don't usually report back on the forums - it's embarrassing after all. But we get failed DIY cylinders in on a daily basis here, and usually have to brake the bad news that it's too late. It is the least favorite part of my job to tell people they need to replace their cylinders.

It is fun to take things apart and see what they are made of. BUT, it is very easy to damage these cylinders in ways that you won't notice right away.

Unless you have already cut the piston seals, do not touch them in a DIY project! And don't try to use O-rings - they will not work...

We could make good money in selling our seals, but I try hard to talk people out of DIY repairs on the cylinders themselves. We simply see far too many damaged cylinders coming in, on a daily basis, from failed DIY attempts. An excellent seal geometry, the right material, and the right size are crucial for the perfect rebuild/upgrade. Slight scratches on the metal surfaces where the seals go won't show up as leaks right away when new, soft seals cover them up at first. We constantly get "professional" rebuilds from shops doing this on the side, where the leaks show up through tiny scratches inflicted once the soft seal material hardens. It is amazing, though, how many "hydraulic shops" and "rebuilders" scratch the heck out of the cylinders.

Those who are contemplating DIY, do the math first, please:
It costs over $6,000 to get all cylinders new from the dealer. That makes for an average cost of over $500 per cylinder. What do you think your chances are of accidentally nicking even one out of 12 cylinders? (Let me tell you, they are huge for most people...) We have the right tools at Top Hydraulics, custom made for each cylinder. It can be rewarding to do the seal replacement yourself, but devastating when you realize it cost you many times what the pros with the warranty would have charged.

-Klaus

klaus@tophydraulicsinc.com

ohollenbeck

Strange why you picked a 4 year old "What I Bought" thread to post questions about cylinder repairs? What does your cylinders have to do with a Silver Arrow being imported into Canada 4 years ago?

Besides losing the capitals, you should do a search on cylinder repairs and you will quckly find all of your answers, plus a lot of posts by the previous poster who is an expert on the topic. I agree with him btw, for the price it's a no brainer...why try to reinvent the wheel? Why make the same mistakes others have learned to avoid a long time ago. Good Luck...

lynns

Does your SA door sills light up when you open the car doors?

FWIW, almost every car that I've seen that has the Birds Eye Maple wood center consol have cracks in the area that you've described.

KBelov

Wrong thread but anyway.

Do a google search "mbseals R129" to find my writeup about the main cylinder disassembly. There are pictures as well.
Short instructions are:
- extend the rod fully. Wipe it off clean from oil using any solvent.
- secure the rod tight in a vise with leather over grips. The wider the grip the better.
- try to unscrew the rod end using a wrench. Apply torque in a quick motion. You can also try to use an impact wrench if you have one, but be careful.
- last resort is to use heat on the tip to melt the threadlock.

My previous post was removed at a request of the company above. So I had to repost so that you have a chance to read my reply as well.

SLCL

Can we use this thread and talk about everything here?

Scoop

lynns: The door sills do not light up - they appear to have lost that ability before I bought the car (4 years ago). I've determined that the cracking in the birds eye maple is more common than not.

Having now had the SA 4 years I'm as delighted with it as I was when I got it. I've been fortunate to have had no major issues (knock on wood). It's still a pleasure to drive and I repeatedly hear 'great looking car' comments from others. I'm holding off putting the hardtop back on for the winter sleep - still have to be some days left to go topless.

mjdmd

FYI I just purchased a 2002 Silver Arrow SL 500 for $16,200. It has 38,000 miles and is in excellent condition.