This is posted on the SL board as well, figured you guys might have some input too...

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.

Do a search on here. It's a regular.

But while I'm here, check for rust. When you've done that, check for rust. Oh, and by the way, check for rust too.

The mechanicals can always be fixed and each repair makes the car feel better. Fixing rust can be difficult, expensive, and when you are behind the wheel, impossible to appreciate.

__________________
Cheers, Neil

Go to e-bay and check the SL's on their site, there are severals nice ones. Do not buy color. Buy physical condition first, body, paint interior, mechanics second. Let someone preceed you in restroation, it can get very expensive and I think people will always sell for less than thay put in it. Pick up the difference for yourself.

I've never owned a 117... or is it a 107?? However it strikes me the 4.5 would be murder on the front suspension in such a light and nimble car...... check the balljoints, front subframe bushings, shocks and sway bar is my advice.

Btw, thats China Blue - NOT "powder blue"....... my 240D is the same color and I hate it when people call it powder blue.

These are actually very, very common. To determine a fair price in your area, try going to www.collectorcartraderonline.com and keep following the links until you get to specify the year (best to do a range), model and area (like, "within 100 miles"). You'll probably be amazed at the number of hits you'll get. I just did that for the car you're looking for (out of curiosity) in the Portland, OR area and got 5 hits. 3 of them were between $6k and $7.2K, one was $13k and one was $15k. In my opinion, the over $10K guys are nuts (but that's just me!). 5 hits and Portland isn't that big!

The point is, don't be fooled into thinking these are "rare" -- they're not and good deals can be found easily. I'm thinking about going over to look at one of the $6k ones...

Catrinus
73 280C

Check out www.SL107.com - it's a site dedicated to the model you are looking at. Has specific details about the different models offer (350SL, 450SL, 380SL, and 560SL).
They also have a great classifieds section.

Plan on a pre-purchase inspection by a reputable, experienced shop. They'll give you a good idea of what you are getting into.

There is actually a pretty good SL forum on this site.

I would also check out the emissions situation. The mid-70's cars had problems with under-hood cats or thermal reactors.

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe