[LBEntrepreneur]

Hi Everyone:

I am brand new to the community. I'm about to buy a '95 600SL with the pano roof from my neighbor. Since the vehicle only has about 37k miles and it's in excellent shape, I am wondering if there are any issues with this model.

It's a 4 speed automatic and from what I've read, these are better than the later models. The car has records and it's in A- condition overall.

It'll be my first Benz and my first 12 Cylinder

Thanks so much!

 

[Vasir]

Hi Everyone:

I am brand new to the community. I'm about to buy a '95 600SL with the pano roof from my neighbor. Since the vehicle only has about 37k miles and it's in excellent shape, I am wondering if there are any issues with this model.

It's a 4 speed automatic and from what I've read, these are better than the later models. The car has records and it's in A- condition overall.

It'll be my first Benz and my first 12 Cylinder

Thanks so much!

Welcome to the club! Don't let the anti-V12 mob scare you; they're great cars. I would however look into it's seals for the soft/hard top, and check the wiring harness for corrosion.

Where are you from?

Enjoy your stay, and your car!

 

[LBEntrepreneur]

Vasir:

Thanks for the tip. I did a PPI on it and it came out great. Brought it to a body shop for further inspection and a few places it was painted. However, the body shop said they did a great job because it's very hard to tell. I couldn't tell and neither my friend that came with me couldn't tell either. There is no damage to it. Also the springs are in great condition. I know this can be upwards of a $3k job to fix the motor on the roof.

I am located in Long Beach.

Danny

 

[Pete S]

Biggest problem with the 93-95 model years is the premature degradation of the insulation on the wires of the main harness. Congrats on your purchase, but as we say here it doesn't exist without pictures.

 

[LBEntrepreneur]

Hi Pete:

Thanks for the input. I will have to double-check on it.

Like I said, I am about to purchase it. He still has to fix some minor stuff and I'm going to negotiate on price a little. I'm just doing my homework.

I like your car, btw... Looks great... Nice color-combo...

Thanks,

Danny

 

[Silberpfeil]

You'll love the V12, turbine smoothness and locomotive thrust. It has bottomless buckets of torque so the 4spd should be just fine. One thing some people never figure out is that the V12 is a peaky engine, it really comes on the cam at 4000rpm totally changing the character of the car from a blvd. cruiser to lively sports car. Some say it's too heavy to be thought of as a real sports car but most of them have never driven the V12 or if they have they haven't kept it in 1st or 2nd while in the tight twisties.

One more thing. With our crappy west coast fuel I recommend using an octane booster.
I use Lucas octane booster in mine and it really makes a difference, getting the octane up to 92 or 93 allows the computers to more fully advance the ignition and cam timing to where they need to be for max performance.

 

[tdoriot]

As a 93 600 SL owner I can guarantee that any harness that hasn't been replaced is or will go bad. Totally a function of time and heat. If those are remeadiated you'll have a bitchin ride! Finest car ever! :grin

 

[lowesguy]

There all cool and drive awesome! welcome! there's always something to be sorted,part of buying used super cars!

 

[alpac]

Welcome and congrat on your possibly future purchase. As it was said previously the biggest concern for that year would be the harness deterioration. A quick inspection of it will tell you if you have a potential problem. Here is a video showing what to look at. This is for the V8 engine but it gives you an idea of what to inspect.

Another thing to check is if there is any leak from the hydraulic cylinders for the soft top mechanism. They will all leak eventually. Operate the soft top for few times (open and close) and see if there is any sign of hydraulic fluid leak either coming from above the windscreen and possibly dropping on your seats or drops of fluids in front or behind the rear wheels on your garage floor.

Here is a quick review of a r129 600SL that gives an idea of what it feels to own and drive a r129 600SL.

 

[tdoriot]

Interesting segment by ol Harry ! I did notice that the dash wasn't stitched which meant it was a 93 or 94. The bumpers and side plastic is however from the facelift edition. It is also badged as a SL600. I had to go back to the beginning and listen to his intro over. It is a 1993. It's funny somebody went to all that work to make the care something it really isn't ! I do like the xenon headlights though ! :grin

 

[Silberpfeil]

I believe he said the ADS had been removed from that car, too bad, removing the ADS from a 600 would totally change for the worse the character of the 600.

 

[tdoriot]

I agree. I wouldn't consider changing out the ADS. I get a kick out of it! :grin

 

[LBEntrepreneur]

Hi guys,

The car is in the shop currently. He's changing the module because the ASR and Abs lifts are on. Part is coming from Germany and should arrive by Tuesday. Harness hasn't been done to the engine but that's a risk I'm willing to take with less than 40k miles on board.

Any thoughts on extended warranty? Should I consider looking into it? I heard they don't cover much after all. Again this is my first luxury car and I want to maintain it forever

Thanks guys!

 

[deanyel]

You can get an extended warranty on a 1995 SL600? How much?

 

[LBEntrepreneur]

I'm not sure but they can range from 2-5k. I haven't really looked into it so I wanted to get some opinions and feedback first.

 

[Silberpfeil]

I'd check the "whats covered" terms very closely along with the milage and length of contract. You can do a lot of maintenance and repair for $5k.

 

[93SoCal400E]

When I bought my 1993 W124 400e it had no electrical issues.

Within my 5 years with the car I ended up replacing both the upper harness and the ETA.

We aren't being worry-worts warning you about this.

This is not a bullet that can be sidestepped. You either have '97 or later parts in there now, or you will be buying them.

On a R129 with V-12 this is a much bigger deal. ABS and ASR lights can be a symptom.

 

[tdoriot]

99.9 percent of the extended warranties are simply sucker bait bullshit. There is enough exclusionary language in those contracts to choke a horse. Miss anything on the maintenance schedule or do it yourself and you get the rat face when you try to make a claim. Remember US Fidelis ? US Fidelis, Inc. Website :grin All those guys are in the crow bar hotel ! Put the $ 5,000 in the bank and use that for repairs. You'll be $ 5,000 ahead. :grin

 

[LBEntrepreneur]

I agree. Thanks.

UPDATE:

The car is in the shop at my mechanic. The ABS and the ASR lights are on. Mechanic doesn't think it's the computer module because the ASR works and the ABS work also. It's a loose wire somewhere. Getting it checked on Monday and hopefully the lights will be done with. Wires look VERY good on the engine harness. It has 35k miles on it. I was a little nervous about the engine harness but not all are affected. Even if I have to spend $7k to fix it say in the next 5-7 years, I'm OK with that.

Hopefully it'll all check out great come Tuesday and I'll end up buying it

Thanks for all your feedback.

 

[PcarGuy]

Welcome and good luck! Hope everything turns out well with it and we can see some pics soon :thumbsup: