What started out as a great deal, has become a series of challenges. The 1998 SL500 in Smoke Silver (which everyone calls Champagne) with 62,000 miles was previously owned by a retired executive who moved to Maui and took his garage queen with him. But his back problems made it hard for him to get in and out and he spent little time driving it. Through a mutual friend, he was convinced to sell it to us. This is also our first Mercedes.

We knew going in that the hardtop headliner was falling and needed to be replaced and the radio’s display was shot. But the car was in excellent shape otherwise and the price was below market value. So we took the chance on it. Soon we ran into a series of small, but significant issues.. The problem with having an old Mercedes on Maui is that there’s just one dealer and not many other mechanics that work on Mercedes.

Soon after we had the car, we got a check engine light. It was a was an issue that could cause the car to stall, which it did leaving a gas station. The part was luckily in Oahu and we could get it replaced, but it was expensive to diagnose and replace (dealer prices).

We tried to re-glue the headliner ourselves, but that was a total failure. Various plastic bits are also falling apart, especially around the windshield. The latest issue is when we removed the hardtop to get it reupholstered. The soft-top wouldn’t go up and there was hydraulic fluid dripping from the passenger side B pillow area. Yes, the dreaded hydraulic cylinder problem had struck. Two cylinders are leaking, but we manager to manually raise and lower the soft top with the tool. We got he hardtop back on after it was reupholstered, and we need to figure out when to replace the cylinders. For now, it’s a hardtop.

The previous owner put on custom wheels with Corvette tires that were rock hard and noisy. I've replaced those with some Michelins and I'm much happier.

Still, it’s a great car to drive and we get lots of complements. I could use recommendations for replacement plastic bits and those cylinders. (Did Mercedes engineers really need 11 hydraulic cylinders

?)
Thanks!

 

Nice colour.
I have the same year in Grey
In regards to the hydraulic cylinders most people recommend Top Hydraulics - https://www.tophydraulics.com/
From what I have seen people who have used them are very satisfied. I have not used them but their videos are great for removal
Being that I am in Canada shipping gets pricey for me so I have ordered the kits online to do the cylinders myself
I have done the 2 on the windshield and those are the easiest - so far my others haven't leaked but I am just waiting for that to happen

I also have an OBD 2 reader to look at the codes to try to diagnose - there is tons of information online on the causes of the codes

Good luck - they are great cars but can be pricey to maintain if you use dealer all the time

 

Thanks! I'll check out Top Hydraulics. I don't have a great spot to work on the car here in Hawaii (it's a condo complex and I don't have a garage), so I'm more dependent on using a mechanic. It's also our only car here, so when it's in the shop we're bumming rides with friends.

 

That is an awesome colour combo of paint / upholstery! Well done. Its just such a nice place to be when its not all dingy and dark.
Once you've settled the initial maintenance its absolutely worth some outgoings to drive in something that special.

Interestingly I think the softop cylinders issue might be ambient temperature related, as my one here in NZ has never had any problems in our cooler climate. The home of your SL is Bremen, N Germany where its not going to scorch those seals.