Buying 97-99 SL 500, help appreciated

[bigchingan1]

Trying to help my mom shop for one of these. Shes looking at one that was owned by a dealer, has 36K miles and is a 97. Its got the AMG wheels to boot. Owner owns a large car dealership, and says the car has never seen snow, and is usually only driven when he puts it on a flat bed and takes it to florda during the summer. Is there anything I should specifically look out for/avoid? The other option is a 98 with 43k miles, but I don't think its history is quite as nice as the other SL. (nothing bad or out of the normal, but I don't normally hear of a car being babied like the 97 SL). Were there any differences in these two years that would make it worth the extra miles to pick the other one up? Thanks for any input!

[elau]

Do a search on the forum. There are more than enough discussions and gotchas on the subject.

[bobterry99]

'97 and '98 are arguably the best years for the V-8 R129 SL. These cars have the highly regarded M119 engine mated with the revised electronically-controlled automatic transmission.

There are no important differences between '97 and '98. The newer car does offer an auto-dimming driver's-side mirror, though, which is nice.

[jjrodger]

Babying cars is not necessarily good for them. Long periods without use, or only short, intermittent use, is about the worst thing a car can suffer.

Otherwise, the usual rules apply. Check the bodywork thoroughly and get a full service history.