Help me buy an SL

[TTaM]

So my father is turning 50 next month. He is a Mercedes guy, owning 2, and has always wanted a 1977 SL in Powder Blue with a Navy interior. It is the car he promised my mother on their wedding date. Well, driving along, I found a powder blue, 1975 450SL, with Navy interior. It appears to be pretty clean. I don't know how many miles are on it. I called the dealer, and off the top of her head, the salesperson didn't know either. So let's assume it has 150K miles. On the phone, the salesperson said she wanted $9500 for it, but seemed to be throwing that number out off the top of her head. We have a '76 240D, will this car be as reliable ? What kinds of issues come with this car? How much should be offered for it? I'm gonna go tonight with the digital camera and take some pics. Any advice you could give would be great.

[kip Foss]

Look at an SLC. They are basically the same car, less the convertable top of course, but about half the price. Check out www.collectorcartraderonline.com for a huge selection of cars from all over the country. I have a MB mechanic in Corpus Christi, Tx that has his 1977 powder blue 450sl for sale. Call John @ German Motors, tel. 361-854-0901

[TTaM]

Originally posted by kip Foss
Look at an SLC. They are basically the same car, less the convertable top of course, but about half the price.

If the car was for me, I'd get an SLC, as I like them better. My father wants a convertable though. I guess I should mention that this car is for him, not me...

[kip Foss]

Buy hin an SLC and tell him that he is damned lucky to have that. Tell him about the millions and millions of people in this world that don't have SLCs, hell, they don't even have bicycles. Tell him about the starving Armenians, and the hapless Hutu's and Tutses in Africa. Mention that a dollar bought more back in '48, and how so many of us had to walk up hill all the way to school, bare footed in the August snow. God, does he realize just how lucky he is??

[ChasB]

As cute as it is, the SLC is realy only for cheapskates who wont stretch to the real thing!

[jjrodger]

Back to the point.

Condition is everything with these cars. Based on the UK market, I'd say $9,500 is a very low price, even for a 1977 car. A top condition 1985-89 car will go for US£50k over here. So check it out. If it's solid and in OK nick, I'd take their arm off. Nice colour combination.

[Richard1]

You might check the ownership history to see if this was a one owner car vs. bought at auction, been through scores of owners, as most of these are.

Restoring these is expensive so condition is what it's all about and ownership history should tell you a lot. If you see a big gap in miles/year, as in the car was stored for a long time, be careful. Good luck.

[cbdo]

Find a mechanic who knows Mercedes of this vintage and have him go through it VERY thoroughly. Be willing to spend a couple hundred if necessary.
If nothing else, make sure the timing chain and rails are good. The valve covers have to come off to do this, so it's a good chance to check the cam lobes, which give a good indication of overall lubrication history. Further basic discussion is at http://fly.hiwaay.net/~gbf/107/rt.html, and a good basic review of what to look for is at http://members.aol.com/dquinn5735/buylist.html
If it's important to have it truly well sorted out, budget $2-3K for catchup maintenance and preservation/restoration kinds of things. It's pretty routine to have that much to do on a used 107.
That said, by all means go for it!

I am selling my SL. It is a 1985 380SL. And it is a sky blue to a light blue w/ gray interior. MINT condition PM me or email me if interested. o, and BTW, Do you play tennis at all??