Dear Abby...

[alanc]

I'm just curious if anyone else has had thoughts like these. I bought an '83 a few years ago to drive as a weekender. I'd been thinking about a vintage roadster and was looking at all kinds. I had never paid much attention to MBs, but sort of fell in love with a very low mileage, beautifully maintained silver SL. I thought, this is great--it's drop-dead georgeous with that top down, and these are supposed to be the best engineered things around.

Well, the gorgeous part was definitely right, but after a while, I started noticing things like:

-Plasti-chrome interior parts (those hinge covers are so junky)
-Stinginess with the leather (mostly just on the seating surfaces--the rest is standard duty naugahyde)
-Dopey mechanical seat adjustments (that sort of shift around when you start and stop
-Weird engineering features, like headlamp wires and vacuum apparatus in the wheel wells, where debris is working on them all the time
-Windows that whistle even with the hard top on
-Manual soft top (with crummey soft plastic windows)
-Dashboard and wood console that are destined to crack, no matter how careful you are
-Frame structure in the engine compartment that cups/pools/accumulates water and gunk near the headlights (I can't believe it hasn't rusted out in 20 years--I guess the weatherproofing must be plenty good)
-gas mileage that is way out of line with the mediocre horsepower. It's perky, but at 12 to 15 mpg, you'd expect a lot more.
-A/C that is way short of spectacular
-The dreaded single timing chain

And so forth. Everyone probably has a list. Here's my question:

Have we just all been taken in by a reputation that really isn't all that well deserved? Or, are there things that make you say, wow, this thing is built to go and go forever? Does the king have clothes?

Don't get me wrong, I'm still in love. But now I think I love her only for her looks.

Signed,

Duped