I have been researching these cars for the past few months but wanted to get any additional thoughts or opinions you guys might have. On Sunday I am planning to go look at a 2001 SL500 Sport with 155K miles. It has the hardtop, stand, windscreen, all tools, books & manuals and generally well cared for by its current owner for the past 6 years. According to the owner/seller the convertible top hydraulic system has a leak and thus has had the power disconnected to the pump. She has kept the hard top on it for the past several years but indicated the soft top can be raised and lowered manually. The previous/original owner drove it with the top down a lot and so some of the interior panels are a little discolored. When the pictures were on CL the car looked good from a body and paint stand point but of course the in-person inspection will be the real test. The seller also advised it needs a new rear view mirror (can't remember why) and the driver side door panel rattles a little. She feels some of the clips or attaching points have broken. Its up to date from a tag/inspection standpoint, has newish tires, the AMG wheels are spotless, and the black leather seats have been cared for to keep them soft. All electrics work except the clock. She is asking $4500 for it and given everything I have seen and read that is not too unreasonable. I already know the convertible hydraulics will be a multi-day job to remove and a $550 cost to get all 11 rebuilt along with a few more days to reinstall them. The drive-train in these cars appear to be reliable as long as they are serviced and not abused. This would be a weekend fun car for my wife and I with trips to and from the office when its nice.

I am a vintage car owner and enthusiast with a very original '71 Datsun 240z under my care right now. I have always worked on my own stuff and lucky enough to have plenty of room to work on cars along with a lift. I also own a few heavy duty tools like a press and welder. With that in mind I am pretty confident I can work on and maintain this car but always want to do a sanity check before diving in to a new type of car. That said, is $4K too much to pay for this car? I don't want to be disrespectful with any offer so $4K (maybe a little less) would be reasonable in my opinion. Given the mileage, is it a bad idea? Other things like suspension bushings and other perishables will more than likely need replacing so that is in the back of my mind as well. What else should I be thinking about? Thank you in advance!

 

Your offer is spot on, but their asking price is not crazy. Check maintenance records if they have any, top hydraulics inspect fully before you replace all i.e.: if one piston is leaking replace it and it's match on the opposite side. I had my '94 for 10 years and 115k total miles and never touched them. Interior panels most likely will come back with some color dye.