Merc 500SL

mondeo · 24-09-2019 5:29pm #1

This is a classy car I always liked as a kid. I want an early 1990' R129, €56 tax 2020. Hopefully with the new tax system being mentioned in 2020', classic tax will not be effected so this would be a car I can get into and drive. 5L V8, why not ? I don't know much about these cars really. I want a silver one or a white one since I think they look best in these colours. They were a real early 90's yuppy car... If you had one of these you were doing really fcking well.

I gave up trying to find a decent E34 BMW, been over twice to the UK looking at them and I was not happy with the condition there were in. I wanted a really good 525i, anyways I scrapped that idea. This Merc 500SL is a big step up in class. I may settle for a SL320 version with the 3.2 V6 if I cannot find a good clean V8.

Are they bullet proof ? I'm just sort of looking into these now.

w124man · 25-09-2019 8:58pm

Lovely cars and bullet proof if they have been looked after. Service history is important as you will need to if the timing chain has been done. The hood must work as well and be in good condition. Also they rust!

A good one will cost €15000 upwards at that age, a bad one will end up costing you that trying to get it right!

I have a 320 V6 if you're interested.

supervento · 26-09-2019 2:13pm

mondeo wrote: »

This is a classy car I always liked as a kid. I want an early 1990' R129, €56 tax 2020. Hopefully with the new tax system being mentioned in 2020', classic tax will not be effected so this would be a car I can get into and drive. 5L V8, why not ? I don't know much about these cars really. I want a silver one or a white one since I think they look best in these colours. They were a real early 90's yuppy car... If you had one of these you were doing really fcking well.

I gave up trying to find a decent E34 BMW, been over twice to the UK looking at them and I was not happy with the condition there were in. I wanted a really good 525i, anyways I scrapped that idea. This Merc 500SL is a big step up in class. I may settle for a SL320 version with the 3.2 V6 if I cannot find a good clean V8.

Are they bullet proof ? I'm just sort of looking into these now.

What figure did you have in mind to buy one? As there would be quiet a difference in price between an e34 525i/535i and a V8 R129

mondeo · 27-09-2019 2:22pm

I'm looking at a few in the UK for around £8k + mark. There are cheaper ones to in not so great color combos, like navy with grey leather

. I will go over to Heathrow start of October and hang around for a few days. Might bring something back on the boat then. Haven't even looked into the VRT yet, silly me. I also want one with a relatively new MOT so I can swap it for an NCT. Thing I hate about UK cars is undersides are rusty with all the bloody salt on the road over there. Pretty much all the E34's I looked at were like this. I'm not going to bring home a scrapper that's for damn sure. It has to be exactly what I want.

I want a white one with black leather, or a silver one with black or red leather. I don't like them in black as the curves are lost, red is nice but red needs constant maintenance to keep it looking vibrant.

Tommyboy40 · 27-09-2019 3:29pm

You really need to have open eyes doing this. Although they are fantastically reliable, they need good care. The top can be biblically expensive if it doesn't work as its hydraulic, not electric. Get a VRT quote first, Mine was almost 10k in 2009

q85dw7osi4lebg · 27-09-2019 5:41pm

Deane's got one in just today.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1347257215433482&id=444741115685101&sfnsn=mo

mondeo · 27-09-2019 6:13pm

I got a VRT quote of €1,988 for a 500SL. For the 300SL with the 3.2 6 cyclinder , €2,200. However I debate the open market selling prices listed on the ROS for these cars. These prices are not so bad though, i was expecting to pay more for VRT to be honest. If I got a good 500SL for say €9k including the boat transporting fees, then lets say 2k for VRT. 11k all in.... I would be happy with that. Put it away in the garage until it qualifies for €56 tax in a few months time. Sounds good in theory, but in practice let the fun start trying to find a good one. I would settle for 300SL if the 500 model option is not working out.

w124man · 27-09-2019 10:10pm

R129's don't rust. If you are looking at a rusty one simply walk away. There are so many that aren't rusty. 320SL's have a straight six or a V6. The M104 straight 6 will have wiring loom issues, the V6 wont. The M103 straight 6 wont have wiring issues but will most likely have ignition issues because of cheap components fitted. There are plenty of cars for sale in the UK at the moment but its all down to service history vs price. Parts can be eye wateringly expensive particularly the interior parts if they haven't gone NLA.

Be very careful when choosing and stay away from cars with lots of owners and little history no matter how good they look. White cars are rare but silver with black leather are very common. The Deane Motors car looks very good but expensive I would say

outfox · 28-09-2019 12:11pm

I bought a W140 S500 coupe at a classic car dealer in the UK in August. The no-deal Brexit scenario had me freaked, due to the likely massive increase in importation cost, so I decided to move now rather than wait for the 30 year thing.
Anyway, there was an R129 in the same garage. Lovely condition. But the mechanic told me they'd had to replace nearly every motor/ram in the roof. I think he said there were 12 of them. I vaguely recall that the repair cost was up at around €4000 at that stage.

supervento · 28-09-2019 3:16pm

outfox wrote: »

I bought a W140 S500 coupe at a classic car dealer in the UK in August. The no-deal Brexit scenario had me freaked, due to the likely massive increase in importation cost, so I decided to move now rather than wait for the 30 year thing.
Anyway, there was an R129 in the same garage. Lovely condition. But the mechanic told me they'd had to replace nearly every motor/ram in the roof. I think he said there were 12 of them. I vaguely recall that the repair cost was up at around €4000 at that stage.

The leaked government budget documents referring to vehicles that the manufacturers didn’t /cannot determine a “Nox” value will assume a tax of 20% etc also.. the importing of vintage cars could be a thing of the past (for a lot of stuff)

outfox · 28-09-2019 3:29pm

So apart from the VRT, there will be:

VAT at 23 %
Customs charge - 10 % I think?
Fees charged by the customs clearance broker, assuming one is required
And the NOx charge of 20 %

Jayzis. That's half the price of the actual car. Plus the VRT if it's less than 30 years.

The OP would want to buy fairly fast, if planning to import from the UK.
Mind you, Donedeal has several R129s at any time. There are surely a few nice ones available in Ireland.

supervento · 28-09-2019 5:58pm

mondeo wrote: »

I got a VRT quote of €1,988 for a 500SL. For the 300SL with the 3.2 6 cyclinder , €2,200. However I debate the open market selling prices listed on the ROS for these cars. These prices are not so bad though, i was expecting to pay more for VRT to be honest. If I got a good 500SL for say €9k including the boat transporting fees, then lets say 2k for VRT. 11k all in.... I would be happy with that. Put it away in the garage until it qualifies for €56 tax in a few months time. Sounds good in theory, but in practice let the fun start trying to find a good one. I would settle for 300SL if the 500 model option is not working out.

i know a 1991 500sl with 98k miles was vrt'd for €3800 a few weeks ago

supervento · 28-09-2019 6:00pm

outfox wrote: »

So apart from the VRT, there will be:

VAT at 23 %
Customs charge - 10 % I think?
Fees charged by the customs clearance broker, assuming one is required
And the NOx charge of 20 %

Jayzis. That's half the price of the actual car. Plus the VRT if it's less than 30 years.

The OP would want to buy fairly fast, if planning to import from the UK.
Mind you, Donedeal has several R129s at any time. There are surely a few nice ones available in Ireland.

ya not looking at all good, would be a real shame and the last nail in the coffin for importing vintage cars

tdf7187 · 28-09-2019 6:04pm

Yeh will have my eye on one of these also as they will benefit from the 30 year cheap tax rule soon. Bear in mind heavy on the juice and heavy cars (as in weight) also. Lot of electrics in the roof too.

w124man · 28-09-2019 8:32pm

tdf7187 wrote: »

Lot of electrics in the roof too.

Hydraulics!

MercMad · 30-09-2019 9:27am

R129's are indeed fantastic cars, I have a 1991 Dublin reg'd one.

Bear in mind the 300SL M103 is slightly underpowered but the smoothest of them all.

Next is the M104 300SL-24 which is a cracker of an engine and my favourite. Its the M104 engined 320 that gave wiring loom problems, its quite a different engine.......the V6 was much later

The 500's are superb and reliable. The bodies can rot between front indicator and wheel arch and basically anywhere a W124 rots, all because of salt and dampness. A car that is kept clean wont rust.

Believe or not despite reputation the interior trim can suffer. Earlier cars are better but these also are 30 years old so some plastic gets brittle.

Look out for broken sun visor clips and mirror covers. Broken centre consoles and door pockets both of these latch when the car is locked but are only present on early cars.

Make sure seats work including headrests and that the top, including roll bar, work properly. Central locking is vacuum and can leak, check it all including filler flap.

I would carefully check your dates in relation to VRT as you have to declare the car is in the country within a certain time period. You could get caught with the whole Brexit thing.

Enjoy the hunt.....and the car !!

w124man · 30-09-2019 10:26pm

MercMad wrote: »

.....the V6 was much later

Face lift cars around 1998 got the V6 which is a cracker of an engine in 3.2 guise

MercMad wrote: »

Broken center consoles and door pockets both of these latch when the car is locked but are only present on early cars.

Ahem!

q85dw7osi4lebg · 17-10-2019 9:15pm

Deane’s just listed there’s for sale.

Take a seat..

€33,000.

55 AMG for me instead please.

w124man · 20-10-2019 7:16pm

Adalyn Loud Khaki wrote: »

Deane’s just listed there’s for sale.

Take a seat..

€33,000.

Thats close enough to what you'd pay for a proper example in the UK. There's a little bit of haggle room there Im sure

q85dw7osi4lebg · 20-10-2019 8:15pm

w124man wrote: »

Thats close enough to what you'd pay for a proper example in the UK. There's a little bit of haggle room there Im sure

I've seen a couple of their cars drop in price by 4/5 k alright.

Easy money considering they are just flipping them.

w124man · 21-10-2019 6:14pm

Adalyn Loud Khaki wrote: »

I've seen a couple of their cars drop in price by 4/5 k alright.

Easy money considering they are just flipping them.

Not an easy car to sell.

Merc 500SL

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