@@ChrisPatrick-q6kJust look up how many Mercs pre '96 compared to BMWs and Audi's of the same years and are still going strong. Even though Mercs were much much more expensive cars and sold in less quantities. The built quality is on another level. It's like comparing Bentley and Rover.
We've owned ours for 12 years, absolutely love it, silver with black leather, just turned 125K, horrendously expensive to maintain and run, but puts a smile on our face every time we use it. Of to France and Spain in it next week. Incidentally the air-conditioning doesn't work on ours, but as it's a sunny weather car doesn't bother us. Fantastic cars if you have deep pockets, but long term like other older Mercs, will appreciate in value.
When you say horrendously expensive to maintain, would you mind sharing some examples of the jobs you’ve had to do? I always thought the r129 had moderate service costs given how expensive the car initially was.
@@yourcreditmanager recently replaced cat, discs and pads all around, most of the suspension bushes, and a service and two tyres, almost £1900. Fuel consumption is 12-15 around town driving lightly, 20-25 on a run,we only use premium unleaded. Had the gearbox failure unexpectedly at 88k cost over 3k , had some electrical issues in our ownership, and hydraulic problems with roof to fix twice. But the V8 engine has been faultless. So far from cheap to run and maintain. Insurance is surprisingly cheap though because it's a third vehicle and now classed as a classic.
@@richyclubsport5155Interesting. I guess it’s luck. I had an SL320 of the same era and a CLK500 (2004 model) after that.Neither was expensive to maintain or run. I used a very good MB specialist in Hampshire (the guys are all Merc owner/fans themselves) and had no big bills of any kind, just routine services, consumables and a slightly scary gearbox service on the CLK at 10 years (in lieu of 60k miles, which it hadn’t reached). But it’s a V8 Merc - if you’re interested in fuel economy you really bought the wrong car. My CLK managed mid 20s most of the time but you had to have the lightest of toes to get it to break 30, even on a long run at low ish speed. And of course if you stuck it in “sport” and put your foot down it made a wonderful noise and pinned you to the seat, but well south of 15 mpg. If you like cars, owning a Merc V8 is one of life’s pleasures that isn’t really that expensive if you buy well and have it as a second car.
At the age of 22 everyone would say it’s a Grandads car but in my opinion I would have this instead of something new great engine great interior it’s definitely a classic!
When I was 21 years old I bought a Porsche 944s. My uncle who was quite a wealthy mom took me to pick it up in this Mercedes 500 SL. 25 years later I still get incredibly nostalgic every time I see a 500 SL. Your doing god's work Matt! ❤
These would be sky high if they were sold in less numbers as the quality is peak Merc , It's amazing they sold so many as they were the price of house in 80s/90s. The sl pre merger cars will be the ones that do well- also think the early models look a lot better as they have aged.
Back in 1990 when the SL500 was introduced my next door neighbour, a former Mercedes dealer, brought one of the first to enter the country for his 75th birthday at a cost of £75,000. At the time these attracted a substantial premium, because of the long waiting list and I recall ads in the Sunday Times for £120/£130k.
Remember these when new, the son of the local main Mercedes dealer was dating a girl who lived opposite me, he was the Sales Director and ran one as a company car. Looked so cool on sunny days with the top down.
I own three Mercs, and would love one of these as my fourth. As a Benz enthusiast, I had a warm and fuzzy feeling for this entire video. Such a beauty.
Sell it before the hydraulic suspension starts leaking! I loved the monowiper on my e320. I never had it chatter on the windscreen no matter how old the blade was.
Great video Matt 👏. More like this with semi-classic bargains, and You are so modest and ridiculously fair with your pricing, that I'm sure it was a rush to buy this beauty.
Beautiful car. Love this period of Mercedes, remember my grandad having this gen SL500 in dark blue. The grandchildren were only allowed in it once or twice 😂
Spent a day in one of these a few years ago. Unbelievably well built - it just exuded quality. Even the single wiper mechanism! I’d love one but they cost a fortune to maintain and run.
Fantastic example at a very reasonable price. Can’t believe how cheap it is in comparison with other cars of today. Sadly I can easily afford it, but I have nowhere to store it ! Love Sam at SBR , brilliant dry sense of humour 😂
The Blaupunkt units blend really well and are well priced (£110 for DAB and Bluetooth), recently put one in my 944, the matt colour and styling blend in really well. Some models have a built in mic for the bluetooth so even less intrusive. My only regret was not fitting a higher spec one which has more adjustability on sound and display.
I remember my boss buying TWO mercedes from this era (his and hers), both with custom plates and the envy of everyone. The single front wiper was weird to see how a single blade had an eccentric motion which managed to clean 90% of the glass. He did not pass it down to me 3 years later - as was his wont.
Love the R129 as much as you do. On my street last month was parked a 320 in nearly mint condition - just over 30,000 miles on it! It was there for a few days, so it was the first time I'd ever got up close with one. Every bit as beautiful as I'd have hoped, light blue with a beige interior.
Such a great car! A friend had one and when he first gave me a ride I realised why people like them. A really solid feel and beautiful to drive. Hope it finds a happy home.
A shame you couldn't have kept the SL500 Matt, It's dead tidy and has been so well cared for by it's previous owners, With it's service history, Stack of receipt's, Original sales brochures etc and all the stuff that came with it new like the first aid kit and the roof tool etc it would be a surefire investment IMO. You would be hard pushed to find another one so complete 👍
Always worth joining a specialist forum / social media group if you get one of these. If the air suspension starts playing up thats a potential money pit.
That electrically adjustable rear view mirror is not a gimmick. It's used by memory seating which adjusts all 3 mirrors. Every day after my wife uses my E220 I wish my memory system would do that. Mine only does door mirrors
Now that's more like it,a proper classic collector's car..... something to be enjoyed 🌟🎊🤩🥳 You didn't put new number plates on 😭😭😭..... what's going on Matt😵💫😵💫😵💫
I think the 129 has always been in the shadow of the 107. But it's a great car in its own right. I particularly love the look of the face lift model. Kind of an era of the true solid Mercs.
Hello Matt, I hope you got over your cold / flu. Do you still have your SL320? You've really done a nice job on it! (Mercedes-Benz started the electric rear view mirror in the W140 line; it was indeed something the 1990s; they did stop it in the 1996 facelift of the W140; people were breaking them by moving them manually 😅)
Buenos dias I'm here in Benidorm just caught this video looks like a great car I can't believe it took a year to get it ready and the fact you forgot you had a Mercedes that's brilliant good luck with the sale on both of them cheers Phil from Benidorm
OOOh - don't change the alloys. Keep it as original as possible for future value retention. There are beautiful cars and I have owned several. They normally had a Becker stereo. The 500 is the best engine.
Ha an alpine stereo I remember when they used to last about a month or two before it got nicked and all that was left was a hole with wires 😂 you don’t hear of car radios being stolen anymore. ps : I hired a 500sl back then it was a month old and I had to be 30 or over which I was I used it to take a girl friend to the Henley regatta for the weekend it was brilliant the hotel reserved the best parking space for me….those were the days…..
When you mentioned Whaley Bridge it brought back some memories of the last Hotel I owned....then sold....the Jodrell Arms Hotel (next to the train station). Probably been made into flats now but good memories. I like the Merc & was thinking of buying one. The suspension put me off as there are many reports of faults. Whoever buys this should have an appreciating classic that has been well looked after..........all the best Matt....keep going...the man-flu will go away...
I don't think it's this R129 model with the suspension issues. It's an issue for the subsequent R230 which I have. The ABC suspension system is notoriously fragile and expensive to repair. You have to stay on top of it, always. And its a fundamental characteristic of the car, it works brilliantly when functioning, so swapping it out for coilover springs is equivalent to desecration.
I just sold my Z3M roadster & replaced it with a low mileage R231 SL500 in hyacinth red with cream leather. Not the AMG SL63 admittedly. But not much less power or performance. It's more than enough. In fact I'm in awe of it. The fact it takes an extra 200 or 300 milliseconds to reach the legal speed limit compared to the AMG is immaterial. 0 - 60 in 4.5 is fine with me.I'm loving it to bits. I considered an SLK55. But they're almost as expensive. A great little V8 roadster, but less car for the money. SLK55 £55k new. SL500 £85k new but only £3 or £4k more second hand for the SL. And it's an almost all aluminium engineering masterpiece When I test drive an Slk55 I felt the engine was special. When I drive my SL500 the whole car feels special
The electronically adjustable rear view mirror is cool, but the moment I saw it, I thought, Why ISN'T that something you just have on every car? I mean its not some cutting edge technology, its just the guts of a wing mirror, we've been able to make things move because of electricity for a while now.
When I lived in Cairo and then Beirut old Mercs were the di-rigore. I drove from Beirut to, Alex, Cairo, Alex, El-Alamein, Bengharzi, Tripoli, Leptis Magna, Tunis, Algiers, Rabat and Casablanca then all the way back to Baghdad, Tehran and Damascus in slime green MB W123 series. It had 230km's on the clock then. It was battered, dented, had several bullet holes in it, one front light that worked and the indicators were who's ever arms dangled out of the windows at a junction. It carried sheep, goats, chickens, a baby camel, kids, soldiers, bandits, Yasser Arafat (the real one), my Egyptian brother-in-law and entire family, sister and few AK47's. The last I heard of it was about ten years ago and it 350km's on the clock. I remember it was a poverty spec one with the only option of air conditioning which is a must in Upper Egypt. (Oh it went to Khartoum and Addis Ababa). These things will keep going providing you change the oil every 5000 km's (you had special oil for hot countries if I recall), keep the water topped up and had the a/c serviced. That ere a Mercs just keep going. Even now you see really old battered but working ones. If you want a road trip, do the North African coast. Forget the rumours of bad people. Algerian people were just pleased that someone bothered to visit their country. Libya is a spectacular country.
@@18_rabbit Around the mid 1980's. The Middle East and most Arabian & Ex French countries are a bit like Northern Ireland during "The Troubles". If you looked for trouble, you found it. I find if you respect the country you are in at the time and observe local laws and traditions, you'll get on fine. I went back to Beirut recently and I had no trouble despite the problems with their neighbours. All you have to remember is that one man's terrorist is another man's saviour. It all depends on what side of the fence you are sitting on. After all, us English people are not all saints when it comes to conflicts abroad... I also went back to Tehran a few years back and met one security official who threatened to kill me at the airport in 1987 (Think post Argo Incident), yet when we met up I stayed in his house as a personal guest and was shown the country. Don't believe the crap you read in the news here in the UK. Most people abroad are just normal people.
Great work Matt - you're much more pragmatic in 2024 now 😂. Love the videos. What about a shot of Jimmy, your mechanic, or your valeters sometime ? May be interesting to get their view on your car picks😂 😅😅
Hi Matt as a car dealer I'm surprised you keep any car for long, everything should be sold for the right price! Property is a better vehicle for spare cash.
I am still turning after these SL cars, but not brave enough to own one, based on the age. The price of the welding is brutal in the UK, and the waiting list is terribly long.
Personally I don't think the R129 is the best looking SL made it had a hard act to follow aftet the previous R107. Can't deny they were very well built and ahead of their time.Seems they can be picked up quite cheaply but need plenty of cash for maintainance and repairs. Nice original example this one hope you find it a new home!
Having becoming more retro with age and now own a 99 E320 diesel 108k so I can relate to everything. Yes, it's getting tired looking now but has never broke down. Sure it will see me out
The amount of "toys" still current to this date (heated seats, adaptable suspension).... It really must have been something special back in 1994 when it came out!
On one of the roads near me there's a SL500 in blue it's been sat for years and I've never seen it move. Its well nice though i like seeing it on my way to work. The guy who owns it also has a CL500 that one has moved a bit but only for MOT😂Had a clean MOT every year but it sits for the entire year otherwise. Fact both cars aren't ULEZ compliant doesnt exactly help either
Never did see the blue soft top; I wonder if the hydraulics were working. It is interesting to see the hood release remains on the left side of a right wheel drive car.
Wonderful engine, had one in my 500E that had done 180k. 326bhp at launch dropping to 308bhp after a couple of years for emissions. Keep the 8 holes and swap the indicators.
I had exactly the same but 300SL 24Valve. These R129 series were built very skilfully and are robust especially the steel panels. Only issues I was told was the wiring looms could degrade cause lots of spurious trips.
Not that I pretend to be an expert, but my experience of owning German cars of that age was that they suffered from all manner of electical issues - just about all these were caused be damp getting to the CPU / corroding wiring in the BUS system that meant bad earthing and intermittant connections. My old VW Passat TDI had 275,000 recorded miles, looked and drove like it was fresh out of the showroom, but failed the MoT because the central locking had died. CPU / wiring harness issues - no after-marked spares - not even cheap Chinese knock-off's to be had. Same thing with my Merc ML320 - Weird electrical problens - sometimes something worked - other times not. Your SL 500 might have been built before they began playing around with early electronics, but if not, I wouldn't even look at it
What about the ticking engine? I believe this is probably the oil tubes in the head. Mine is just in getting the same job done, I ordered the metal pipes made by URO in California.
Nice one Matt, owned a ‘95 500 and a ‘93 280. Sold both, bought the 280 back after 6 years with 225k on the clock. Quality wise it was better than the mopf 500 which had a lot of (electrical) issues. Plus, liked the old school two-tone body. Kept the original Becker GP2000 with a BT module. Runs like a charm and still puts a smile on my face.
I corrected / deleted my previous comment where I thought this was made last year, without following it through to the 11 month update. I spent some time driving my 2001 - 2005 boss's old SL600 around of the same vintage, and used to work at a chauffeur drive previously that had E - class's and S- class's from 1993 on. That SL600 was a great tourer. The SL500 of 2002 he replaced it with was more engaging when pushed, but was poorly designed in a lot of places. I would buy one of these if I had money for a car collection, 320 or 500/600 - no matter.
I’m glad you changed your mind,changing the steering wheel & wheels would have been a crime
this era of mercedes is just something else, everything about it is solid and smooth
When they were still over engineered. That's why it's still going!
One of these crashed into my BMW 2007 3 series at 40mph. My BMW wasn't too bad, but the Merc was unrecognisable.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6k I know. I'm just replying to the original comment claiming the old mercs were solid.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6k No, the best Mercedes Benzs were built before 1996! if you know you know.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6kJust look up how many Mercs pre '96 compared to BMWs and Audi's of the same years and are still going strong. Even though Mercs were much much more expensive cars and sold in less quantities. The built quality is on another level. It's like comparing Bentley and Rover.
We need to see a video with Jimmy The Magician in.
Please no!!
Now then!
The Wonder Grip van was only a baby at the start of the video 😂
Its already a year old! Registered 1 June 2023
stealth delete wonder grip
Glued to the asphalt, good stuff Wondergrip 😂
When Mercedes genuinely were a cut above other manufacturers. Different era, cannot see that latest SL lasting this long
Well at least they're 85% aluminium so shouldn't rust too much
Mattt, corrosion also evident on Aluminium…..look at Jaguar….bi metal corrosion in fact.
Isn’t the wiring loom in these shrouded in something made from vegetable fibre and starts to decompose with time ?
Just look up legit street cars and see how much time & money the guy has spent on repairing his ‘03 SL 55 !
@@pobinrI’ve got a 2012 Audi A6 which is aluminium, it’s a clean car that’s been looked after and it’s corroding around the doors and arches…
We've owned ours for 12 years, absolutely love it, silver with black leather, just turned 125K, horrendously expensive to maintain and run, but puts a smile on our face every time we use it. Of to France and Spain in it next week. Incidentally the air-conditioning doesn't work on ours, but as it's a sunny weather car doesn't bother us. Fantastic cars if you have deep pockets, but long term like other older Mercs, will appreciate in value.
Sure you can fix the air ,lifes to short to drive boring cars ,if you get pleasure from it who cares if it costs a bit more to run .
When you say horrendously expensive to maintain, would you mind sharing some examples of the jobs you’ve had to do? I always thought the r129 had moderate service costs given how expensive the car initially was.
@@yourcreditmanager recently replaced cat, discs and pads all around, most of the suspension bushes, and a service and two tyres, almost £1900. Fuel consumption is 12-15 around town driving lightly, 20-25 on a run,we only use premium unleaded. Had the gearbox failure unexpectedly at 88k cost over 3k , had some electrical issues in our ownership, and hydraulic problems with roof to fix twice. But the V8 engine has been faultless. So far from cheap to run and maintain. Insurance is surprisingly cheap though because it's a third vehicle and now classed as a classic.
@@richyclubsport5155Interesting. I guess it’s luck. I had an SL320 of the same era and a CLK500 (2004 model) after that.Neither was expensive to maintain or run. I used a very good MB specialist in Hampshire (the guys are all Merc owner/fans themselves) and had no big bills of any kind, just routine services, consumables and a slightly scary gearbox service on the CLK at 10 years (in lieu of 60k miles, which it hadn’t reached). But it’s a V8 Merc - if you’re interested in fuel economy you really bought the wrong car. My CLK managed mid 20s most of the time but you had to have the lightest of toes to get it to break 30, even on a long run at low ish speed. And of course if you stuck it in “sport” and put your foot down it made a wonderful noise and pinned you to the seat, but well south of 15 mpg.
If you like cars, owning a Merc V8 is one of life’s pleasures that isn’t really that expensive if you buy well and have it as a second car.
I’ve a really clean 1998 SL500 with 55k miles on it. What’s the thoughts on its value in the uk?
The epitome of Mercedes when owning a Mercedes meant you had money and taste.
A classy, elegant, timeless design, Bruno Sacco at his best!!
I worked in a Merc garage and think they are the ugliest cars ever built. = Tanks :o)
@@AlanReynoldsBucklandJunction have you seen a Fiat Multipla?
@@AlanReynoldsBucklandJunctionoh Alan..
At the age of 22 everyone would say it’s a Grandads car but in my opinion I would have this instead of something new great engine great interior it’s definitely a classic!
When I was 21 years old I bought a Porsche 944s. My uncle who was quite a wealthy mom took me to pick it up in this Mercedes 500 SL. 25 years later I still get incredibly nostalgic every time I see a 500 SL. Your doing god's work Matt! ❤
Your uncle was a wealthy mom? Now thats an uncle id like to follow.
These would be sky high if they were sold in less numbers as the quality is peak Merc , It's amazing they sold so many as they were the price of house in 80s/90s. The sl pre merger cars will be the ones that do well- also think the early models look a lot better as they have aged.
It's...
@@seedybee7201pointless pedantry.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6k I like the even older ones like the 190E. Looks good even now.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6kGive your head a wobble
That era SL is getting popular. Worn out and badly kept SL's are already in the scrapyards. This car still has the charm that late 80's Mercs had.
A friend in Germany had one - 520,000 km ( 304,000 mls ) and it still went like a bullet, the brakes could put your nose on the screen.
That interior is just insanely cool! Totally different from the soul less cheap screens we have today. This here just screams quality.
Back in 1990 when the SL500 was introduced my next door neighbour, a former Mercedes dealer, brought one of the first to enter the country for his 75th birthday at a cost of £75,000.
At the time these attracted a substantial premium, because of the long waiting list and I recall ads in the Sunday Times for £120/£130k.
how's your next door neighbour getting on these days?
500SL back then.
Hitler is dead but as he wanted never forgotten
Remember these when new, the son of the local main Mercedes dealer was dating a girl who lived opposite me, he was the Sales Director and ran one as a company car. Looked so cool on sunny days with the top down.
I own three Mercs, and would love one of these as my fourth.
As a Benz enthusiast, I had a warm and fuzzy feeling for this entire video. Such a beauty.
Rear view mirror touch is amazing. So much to like on these. I can smell it from here. Lovely. Not for me but what a nice thing.
Sell it before the hydraulic suspension starts leaking!
I loved the monowiper on my e320. I never had it chatter on the windscreen no matter how old the blade was.
Only the 600sl had hydraulic suspension. The roof is hydraulic on all of them and can start spraying fluid when it goes wrong
The Alpine system is very high quality, changing them for cheaper lossy aydio would be unwise❤
Great video Matt 👏. More like this with semi-classic bargains, and You are so modest and ridiculously fair with your pricing, that I'm sure it was a rush to buy this beauty.
Beautiful car. Love this period of Mercedes, remember my grandad having this gen SL500 in dark blue. The grandchildren were only allowed in it once or twice 😂
Spent a day in one of these a few years ago. Unbelievably well built - it just exuded quality. Even the single wiper mechanism! I’d love one but they cost a fortune to maintain and run.
Fantastic example at a very reasonable price. Can’t believe how cheap it is in comparison with other cars of today. Sadly I can easily afford it, but I have nowhere to store it ! Love Sam at SBR , brilliant dry sense of humour 😂
Lithuania gets mentioned.. For supplying a faulty part :D :D
I'm shocked Matt - SHOCKED... YOU putting in a non-original head unit? I thought you hated such atrocities in older vehicles...
The Blaupunkt units blend really well and are well priced (£110 for DAB and Bluetooth), recently put one in my 944, the matt colour and styling blend in really well. Some models have a built in mic for the bluetooth so even less intrusive. My only regret was not fitting a higher spec one which has more adjustability on sound and display.
Be nice if some of the jobs being done were shown. Sorting rust, painting, wheel refurb.
Don't like mercs especially the modern ones, but this looks like a right classic. Great video.
I remember my boss buying TWO mercedes from this era (his and hers), both with custom plates and the envy of everyone. The single front wiper was weird to see how a single blade had an eccentric motion which managed to clean 90% of the glass. He did not pass it down to me 3 years later - as was his wont.
Love the R129 as much as you do. On my street last month was parked a 320 in nearly mint condition - just over 30,000 miles on it! It was there for a few days, so it was the first time I'd ever got up close with one. Every bit as beautiful as I'd have hoped, light blue with a beige interior.
Such a great car! A friend had one and when he first gave me a ride I realised why people like them. A really solid feel and beautiful to drive. Hope it finds a happy home.
Even though it's a 93, it's still a gorgeous modern looking car, my fave Merc the r129
A shame you couldn't have kept the SL500 Matt, It's dead tidy and has been so well cared for by it's previous owners, With it's service history, Stack of receipt's, Original sales brochures etc and all the stuff that came with it new like the first aid kit and the roof tool etc it would be a surefire investment IMO. You would be hard pushed to find another one so complete 👍
Very accurate and precise it shows that yhe ultimate success in the Normandy campaign was driven by British and Commonwealth forces.
Replace the radio with a blaupunkt Bremen. Classic period styling, all the modern conveniences.
At some pivotal point in car design history, designers collectively decided that headlight wipers were a crappy idea really 😊
I suspect it's down to pedestrian safety regulations
Upgrade the oil feeding pipes under the cam cover from plastic to aluminium bits, you should know this liking the 90's V8;mercs so much 😊
Always worth joining a specialist forum / social media group if you get one of these.
If the air suspension starts playing up thats a potential money pit.
Only visit forums if you want to be talked out of a purchase. They’re full of idiots
If Sam at SPR has been looking after the car, it’s been in good hands. Quality team who know their stuff - 👍
The engine tick is super easy to fix! Most replace the cheap plastic cam like tubes. They sit right on top. A five year old kid could fix them.
That electrically adjustable rear view mirror is not a gimmick. It's used by memory seating which adjusts all 3 mirrors. Every day after my wife uses my E220 I wish my memory system would do that. Mine only does door mirrors
Now that's more like it,a proper classic collector's car..... something to be enjoyed 🌟🎊🤩🥳
You didn't put new number plates on 😭😭😭..... what's going on Matt😵💫😵💫😵💫
It's probably on its last legs 😂
My dad had an r129 SL600 on a K plate brand new. Monster of a car and so smooth. Felt like royalty at 7 years old in the passenger seat.
I’ve always liked the Mercedes in the original Roadhouse film 😊
Sec I think
I think the 129 has always been in the shadow of the 107. But it's a great car in its own right. I particularly love the look of the face lift model. Kind of an era of the true solid Mercs.
Lovely looking motor matt but the right decision to move it on you can't keep everything good luck with the sale 👍
Hello Matt, I hope you got over your cold / flu. Do you still have your SL320? You've really done a nice job on it! (Mercedes-Benz started the electric rear view mirror in the W140 line; it was indeed something the 1990s; they did stop it in the 1996 facelift of the W140; people were breaking them by moving them manually 😅)
Evergreen tyres are quite a very good tyre. Part of the Happygallop group
If you need a condenser, I bought a Mahle-made unit from Autodoc. Fitted it myself, no leaks.
I love the idea of chain restoring Mercedes SLs :D
Agreed they are pretty cars and also pretty damned expensive to fix when they go wrong too.😅
I agree, lose the pioneer stereo and replace it with a Blaupunkt retro system.
Buenos dias I'm here in Benidorm just caught this video looks like a great car I can't believe it took a year to get it ready and the fact you forgot you had a Mercedes that's brilliant good luck with the sale on both of them cheers Phil from Benidorm
This is the era of engine wiring looms that disintegrate. Also so many parts are unobtainable so ive got 3 w140s which provide spares.
My brother owned a SL500, the money pit. So difficult to drive these on a budget, even if it's high.
OOOh - don't change the alloys. Keep it as original as possible for future value retention. There are beautiful cars and I have owned several. They normally had a Becker stereo. The 500 is the best engine.
Thanks, beautiful car. Those were the days when owning a Merc was something special, now, yes still good cars, but no longer special.
This is a beautiful looking car, not sure if it’s the shape, the colour, or both.
I really do like it, great video as always Matt❤.
Ha an alpine stereo I remember when they used to last about a month or two before it got nicked and all that was left was a hole with wires 😂 you don’t hear of car radios being stolen anymore. ps : I hired a 500sl back then it was a month old and I had to be 30 or over which I was I used it to take a girl friend to the Henley regatta for the weekend it was brilliant the hotel reserved the best parking space for me….those were the days…..
When you mentioned Whaley Bridge it brought back some memories of the last Hotel I owned....then sold....the Jodrell Arms Hotel (next to the train station). Probably been made into flats now but good memories. I like the Merc & was thinking of buying one. The suspension put me off as there are many reports of faults. Whoever buys this should have an appreciating classic that has been well looked after..........all the best Matt....keep going...the man-flu will go away...
I don't think it's this R129 model with the suspension issues. It's an issue for the subsequent R230 which I have. The ABC suspension system is notoriously fragile and expensive to repair. You have to stay on top of it, always. And its a fundamental characteristic of the car, it works brilliantly when functioning, so swapping it out for coilover springs is equivalent to desecration.
I just sold my Z3M roadster & replaced it with a low mileage R231 SL500 in hyacinth red with cream leather. Not the AMG SL63 admittedly. But not much less power or performance. It's more than enough. In fact I'm in awe of it. The fact it takes an extra 200 or 300 milliseconds to reach the legal speed limit compared to the AMG is immaterial. 0 - 60 in 4.5 is fine with me.I'm loving it to bits. I considered an SLK55. But they're almost as expensive. A great little V8 roadster, but less car for the money. SLK55 £55k new. SL500 £85k new but only £3 or £4k more second hand for the SL. And it's an almost all aluminium engineering masterpiece
When I test drive an Slk55 I felt the engine was special. When I drive my SL500 the whole car feels special
Lol no need need to fix air con u can take roof off. Definitely a keeper i love this car💟
Great car and a real classic. I would keep the rims instead of switching to AMG ones. They are a bit too flashy for my taste
The electronically adjustable rear view mirror is cool, but the moment I saw it, I thought, Why ISN'T that something you just have on every car? I mean its not some cutting edge technology, its just the guts of a wing mirror, we've been able to make things move because of electricity for a while now.
I lived in Whaley Bridge until 1987 and School Garage was Suzuki dealer back then.
Please do a walk through of your personal car collection.
When I lived in Cairo and then Beirut old Mercs were the di-rigore. I drove from Beirut to, Alex, Cairo, Alex, El-Alamein, Bengharzi, Tripoli, Leptis Magna, Tunis, Algiers, Rabat and Casablanca then all the way back to Baghdad, Tehran and Damascus in slime green MB W123 series. It had 230km's on the clock then. It was battered, dented, had several bullet holes in it, one front light that worked and the indicators were who's ever arms dangled out of the windows at a junction. It carried sheep, goats, chickens, a baby camel, kids, soldiers, bandits, Yasser Arafat (the real one), my Egyptian brother-in-law and entire family, sister and few AK47's. The last I heard of it was about ten years ago and it 350km's on the clock. I remember it was a poverty spec one with the only option of air conditioning which is a must in Upper Egypt. (Oh it went to Khartoum and Addis Ababa). These things will keep going providing you change the oil every 5000 km's (you had special oil for hot countries if I recall), keep the water topped up and had the a/c serviced. That ere a Mercs just keep going. Even now you see really old battered but working ones.
If you want a road trip, do the North African coast. Forget the rumours of bad people. Algerian people were just pleased that someone bothered to visit their country. Libya is a spectacular country.
Fantastic
erm, may we ask when u did the trips? Today apparently there are very serious risks.
@@18_rabbit Around the mid 1980's. The Middle East and most Arabian & Ex French countries are a bit like Northern Ireland during "The Troubles". If you looked for trouble, you found it. I find if you respect the country you are in at the time and observe local laws and traditions, you'll get on fine. I went back to Beirut recently and I had no trouble despite the problems with their neighbours. All you have to remember is that one man's terrorist is another man's saviour. It all depends on what side of the fence you are sitting on. After all, us English people are not all saints when it comes to conflicts abroad... I also went back to Tehran a few years back and met one security official who threatened to kill me at the airport in 1987 (Think post Argo Incident), yet when we met up I stayed in his house as a personal guest and was shown the country. Don't believe the crap you read in the news here in the UK. Most people abroad are just normal people.
Great work Matt - you're much more pragmatic in 2024 now 😂. Love the videos. What about a shot of Jimmy, your mechanic, or your valeters sometime ? May be interesting to get their view on your car picks😂 😅😅
Hi Matt as a car dealer I'm surprised you keep any car for long, everything should be sold for the right price! Property is a better vehicle for spare cash.
Do both, twice the fun.
I do both
See if you can find the big daddy of them all.. an SL600 or better yet, an AMG version of that!
I am still turning after these SL cars, but not brave enough to own one, based on the age. The price of the welding is brutal in the UK, and the waiting list is terribly long.
I’ve been looking at these all summer. To be fair… I’ve been looking at them since 1991. 😂
Enjoyed this vid. Cheers
Personally I don't think the R129 is the best looking SL made it had a hard act to follow aftet the previous R107. Can't deny they were very well built and ahead of their time.Seems they can be picked up quite cheaply but need plenty of cash for maintainance and repairs. Nice original example this one hope you find it a new home!
Fabulous car, hope you turn a profit on this one as very lovely car, and an appreciating classic and LOOKS fantastic!
Another great video Matt, but please, for the love of god, keep your eyes on the road. Just in case I’m in front of you. Thanks 😂
Brilliant! 35 seconds later!! 🤣 Well done Matt, Classic MB 👍🏼
Matt’s channel is the perfect channel to watch while eating!
Don’t try to move that mirror manually. It will break and your eyes will water at the cost to replace it.
Pretty is not the word to describe this car. It’s a timeless classic.
These are the kind of car you would keep! It looks like a 10k car ❤
Having becoming more retro with age and now own a 99 E320 diesel 108k so I can relate to everything. Yes, it's getting tired looking now but has never broke down. Sure it will see me out
Hey matt one of your favorite classic car or am wrong 😂😂😂😂 love the content matt keep up the cheap car contents don't give up.
The amount of "toys" still current to this date (heated seats, adaptable suspension).... It really must have been something special back in 1994 when it came out!
That Mercedes is amazing 😍❤ Great video and content. I wonder if the wonder grip will still be a baby when we get the next video 🤣
On one of the roads near me there's a SL500 in blue it's been sat for years and I've never seen it move. Its well nice though i like seeing it on my way to work. The guy who owns it also has a CL500 that one has moved a bit but only for MOT😂Had a clean MOT every year but it sits for the entire year otherwise. Fact both cars aren't ULEZ compliant doesnt exactly help either
Never did see the blue soft top; I wonder if the hydraulics were working. It is interesting to see the hood release remains on the left side of a right wheel drive car.
Wonderful engine, had one in my 500E that had done 180k. 326bhp at launch dropping to 308bhp after a couple of years for emissions. Keep the 8 holes and swap the indicators.
Wooden steering wheel smacks of golf club Captain
The 1995 SL500 had 320hp. It was the later m113 that had 306hp. Due to only 3 valve/cyl The 320/326hp m119 had 4.
Check the cam oilers, thats the typical cause of ticking
Why not Park the two side by side, swap the better parts onto the 500 and move on the other,zero cost, just a thought 🤔
I had exactly the same but 300SL 24Valve. These R129 series were built very skilfully and are robust especially the steel panels. Only issues I was told was the wiring looms could degrade cause lots of spurious trips.
Only up to 95 models.
You sounded like you may have had a mild cold. You should try lager and gin & tonic and Baileys Irish cream chaser
Ya big girls bras
Not that I pretend to be an expert, but my experience of owning German cars of that age was that they suffered from all manner of electical issues - just about all these were caused be damp getting to the CPU / corroding wiring in the BUS system that meant bad earthing and intermittant connections. My old VW Passat TDI had 275,000 recorded miles, looked and drove like it was fresh out of the showroom, but failed the MoT because the central locking had died. CPU / wiring harness issues - no after-marked spares - not even cheap Chinese knock-off's to be had. Same thing with my Merc ML320 - Weird electrical problens - sometimes something worked - other times not. Your SL 500 might have been built before they began playing around with early electronics, but if not, I wouldn't even look at it
What about the ticking engine? I believe this is probably the oil tubes in the head. Mine is just in getting the same job done, I ordered the metal pipes made by URO in California.
Nice one Matt, owned a ‘95 500 and a ‘93 280. Sold both, bought the 280 back after 6 years with 225k on the clock. Quality wise it was better than the mopf 500 which had a lot of (electrical) issues. Plus, liked the old school two-tone body. Kept the original Becker GP2000 with a BT module. Runs like a charm and still puts a smile on my face.
I got a stunning blue jaguar xf x260 3lt s with added options if you fancy doing a should you buy on it matt. 👍 been following you for some time now 😊
The drama is diminished knowing Sam offered the vehicle to you. I do not think Sam would snap one off in anyone.
That’s a nice barge .
What a lovely thing .
The automatically adjusting mirror is cool, I've never seen anything like this. You love your old stuff
I corrected / deleted my previous comment where I thought this was made last year, without following it through to the 11 month update.
I spent some time driving my 2001 - 2005 boss's old SL600 around of the same vintage, and used to work at a chauffeur drive previously that had E - class's and S- class's from 1993 on.
That SL600 was a great tourer.
The SL500 of 2002 he replaced it with was more engaging when pushed, but was poorly designed in a lot of places.
I would buy one of these if I had money for a car collection, 320 or 500/600 - no matter.