Thanks for your responses, this forum is extremely informative. I was able to check out some of the sites recommended to me by the last post. I now at least have some idea of the issues that face this particular model and am happy to report that my heat and A.C. are in good working order, the dash and wood look wonderful, and I don't have any rust anywhere because this is a Az. car. I took the car yesterday to a reputable Mercedes repair shop here locally so they could take off the hard top for me, (as I couldn't do it myself), so I could see the soft top, it looks BRAND NEW! Could someone tell me when Mercedes switched to a single timing chain in this particular model? From what I've read, it seems like a pitfall in the SL's, and makes them least desirable? Just trying to get a feel for this information and thanks again to you all........