[glennj3]

Good afternoon, it’s been a while. I sold my 96 a several years ago. Now I’ve located a 2001 with 100600 miles.
I’ve only seen pictures & it’s at a dealer an hour & half away so I want to do some homework.
A friend looked at it for me and said it looks OK but was not overly impressed, but them I’m a MB fellow & miss my old one.
I see it’s missing the Jack point covers, not sure I can find those?
Antenna is missing so don’t know how well the radio works if at all.
I’d like some ideas what it’s worth?
Any advice is good.
Thank you!

 

[khomer2]

Good afternoon, it’s been a while. I sold my 96 a several years ago. Now I’ve located a 2001 with 100600 miles.
I’ve only seen pictures & it’s at a dealer an hour & half away so I want to do some homework.
A friend looked at it for me and said it looks OK but was not overly impressed, but them I’m a MB fellow & miss my old one.
I see it’s missing the Jack point covers, not sure I can find those?
Antenna is missing so don’t know how well the radio works if at all.
I’d like some ideas what it’s worth?
Any advice is good.
Thank you!

Other than your general comments on this, it would really help readers, with photos, link AND
your title says 2021..... your post says 2001.

 

[glennj3]

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Use...gOuEAAYASAAEgI-q_D_BwE#listing=342765933/NONE

this is the site. It is a 2001.

 

[355190E26]

I'd haggle them down even further-see if you can get them under $5K. Not a big fan of buying old Benzes from dealers.
Besides the missing jack covers, I also see damaged front bumper, missing tow hook covers, roll bar light on, bulb out indicator, SRS light on, missing shifter trim piece. paint has swirl marks and needs a buff/polish
Not to mention it's had 8 previous owners With a car that's more worn out like that, you always want to get it as low as possible.

 

[RESTO SL]

Depends on what you want to drive. Cosmetics aside, you'd need to do a lot of maintenance. If you're doing it, an easy $5K and a lot of hours. Paying a shop, not worth it...IMO.

 

[carltwo]

glennj3,
Make sure you ask that the soft top goes up and down automatically, that could be another price drop if they say it's not working and as you may already know, a big expense. As a plus, it appears the rims are the correct staggered 18" AMG Mono-block series 1 rims. The 4 jack point covers are available as I recently purchased a set of 4 from OctoClassic in Germany for my 2000 SL500 in December 2022.

 

[FATHERTIME]

I say move on. Easy 10k to put it in top condition and that's if you DIY most of it that shifter console has been of and may have electrical issues plus soft top . At that milage and 8 owners I say it needs every link and bushing, brakes and what condition is the engine and trans

 

[glennj3]

I have been watching it for several weeks, the price is coming down from a high of around $9500 I believe. If it hits $7000 out the door I plan to go look at it!

 

[glennj3]

You guys are great with your knowledge & observation. Pictures are never a good source to use as an accurate description. Pictures always look better than real.
I was saying I’d go look if they go to $7000 out the door.
I’m afraid it looks poor & has other issues as well as you guys made.
I don’t even want something I need to begin rebuilding. I have enough print!
Thank all of you!

 

[wlb50]

glennj3,
Make sure you ask that the soft top goes up and down automatically, that could be another price drop if they say it's not working and as you may already know, a big expense. As a plus, it appears the rims are the correct staggered 18" AMG Mono-block series 1 rims. The 4 jack point covers are available as I recently purchased a set of 4 from OctoClassic in Germany for my 2000 SL500 in December 2022.
View attachment 2804776

And check for leaking hydraulic fluid - personally from what others have said I would probably pass on this - look for a 1-2 owner with records. I found one and still paid $$$ replacing stuff.

 

[cdk4219]

You guys are great with your knowledge & observation. Pictures are never a good source to use as an accurate description. Pictures always look better than real.
I was saying I’d go look if they go to $7000 out the door.
I’m afraid it looks poor & has other issues as well as you guys made.
I don’t even want something I need to begin rebuilding. I have enough print!
Thank all of you!

It’s a 22 year old r129 that looks like it’s not been loved. As said above, it’s going to need lots of attention and money.

 

[cjlomax]

5K max - I like the looks but it does need work. I got my 95 for 4K out the door and have put more than 6K into it with all the work myself. Softtop, hydraulics, door locks, rear third light, transmission, trim pieces, A/C, valve covers, muffler - it goes on and on but she's a keeper to me.

 

[landt]

If you were to offer the $7K "out the door" price you mention, I'm sure you'd leave with it.
If it were 90 minutes from me, I'd already have looked at it in person.
It's nearly a dead ringer for the '99 I paid the same money for two years ago, with 50k more miles on the clock, and likewise no records. It's my DD now.
At $7K, it's bound to be something of a project. Some of us do our own work and enjoy a challenge. If it's driveable between projects, all the better.
But to show where my head is, I also bought a derelict '98 for $1500 and turned it into a great driver with relatively little effort. The bones were good, and the drivetrain is hard to kill. You have to ask yourself how you feel about those 11 hydraulic cylinders in the top mechanism.

 

[thomas.hoe01]

Hello, I bought last year a 1999 SL500 with nearly 100k miles. It looked not bad. But soon the problems started. The soft top worked, but in the first month the front locking cylinders started leaking. These cylinders are easy to replace. Next month I saw hydraulic oil in the trunk. So, I replaced these 4 cylinders. At the moment there are another 4 cylinders left, I assume I have to replace them in the summer. But when it's done, I know it should be a while good.
The soft top looked not bad too. But after 3 month the cloth started cracking. I ordered a new one, the replacement will be in spring.
The seats had the normal wear and a hole. Last month I ordered new leather cover and replaced it.
The car needed also new front shock absorbers and new front control arms. If I add all expenses together it is more than the worth of the car.
But I know in summer I will have a lot of fun with the SL. With a new soft top, new hydraulic cylinders, new leather on the seats and a few plastic moldings I will have a nice daily driver.
If you find a car with new soft top and new hydraulic cylinders, it will be better. But if not sooner or later you will have to do this work and replace these parts step by step. Black in black is a good color combination if you want to sell the SL later.
With this experience I would prefer a really good car or a car with the knowledge that the soft top is not working and old and a reduced price.
Best wishes
Thomas

 

[toryhogan]

8 owners, I would go look, I am sure if you offer 7K you will be driving it, make sure it is what you are looking for.

 

[thomas.hoe01]

The seller listed this SL on the Manheim auction wholesale for "buy now" $10,600

 

[jdgretz]

Before I jumped into that one, I'd ask a bunch of questions and want more detailed photos. I purchased a 2002 about 4 years ago for $11K and have put an additional $10K into it, and still have another couple of thousand to go before she will be a good 3 foot car.

As others have said, the front bumper is going to be much more expensive to touch up than you think. The metal grill bits will need to come from a wrecking yard. Tow hook covers from the dealer are close to $500 each, and the driver side one contains the outside air temperature probe. Aftermarket tow hook covers are a crap shoot. I had one that would have taken major work to make fit, so I got a used on and repainted it (fortunately Krylon Black is a close enough match for something that is not that visible). I also run a black zip tie around the mounting post to make sure they don't fall out when I hit a bump (remember to change them out at least annually as they deteriorate from the sun and UV rays). While you are in that area, are the fender lines all there and properly attached? I've seen those held in place with sheet metal screws and fender washers.

Check the upper console. If that is cracked/damaged you are looking at another $350 or so from OctoClassics for a replacement that has the electronics holders built in. Most other reproductions do not.

It may be the angle of the photo, but the gap between the hood and the front bumper looks excessive.

Ask if the rain sensor works as well as the light sensors for the inside rear view mirror.

I'm not a fan of swapped out radios unless I can see how it was done. I've seen some really poor installations (wiring) that will lead to problems down the road. Ditto for the antenna. Will that radio even support the stock antenna or will you need a fixed length one.

I'm not a fan of the headlights with wipers. The motors tend to go bad and those lights are not as bright as you hope. You really want the Xeon lights, which are part of the SL1/SL2 packeages (run the VIN to see if either of those are on that car).

Oh yes, keys! You want/need two flip keys. Currently they are not available from the dealer (but they may show up at some point again - you just don't know). There are places that can clone them, but you need to send them a working key for them to clone.

I'd be tempted to keep looking, unless you are up for some DIY adventures. If you go drive the car, do some hard acceleration. If you hear a clunk when starting, it probably needs motor and transmission mounts. The selling dealer most likely can't tell you, but ask if the transmission has been serviced. With that mileage it should have been serviced at least once.

And finally, unless you are stuck on a Black car, you might take a look at this listing from one of our forum members --> For Sale 2000 SL500 Very Good Condition 128,700 miles

Good luck,

jdg

 

[SocksSL500]

I'd would not bother looking at it; as previouslys stated, the car appears unloved and not maintained. I would say $5K is too high. I let my 3 owner 97 SL500 with 77K miles go two years ago for $6500. While this was before the pre-Covid price spike but I felt it was fair. I would not buy this kind of car from a dealer - why are they selling this car in this condition? Cheers Socks

 

[Swany]

Good afternoon, it’s been a while. I sold my 96 a several years ago. Now I’ve located a 2001 with 100600 miles.
I’ve only seen pictures & it’s at a dealer an hour & half away so I want to do some homework.
A friend looked at it for me and said it looks OK but was not overly impressed, but them I’m a MB fellow & miss my old one.
I see it’s missing the Jack point covers, not sure I can find those?
Antenna is missing so don’t know how well the radio works if at all.
I’d like some ideas what it’s worth?
Any advice is good.
Thank you!

I've been reading all the feedback from others with interest over this car, not because I'm buying but because I'm selling and I want to price the car right. Wish you were closer so you could take a look at my car, it's a really nice car and a very reasonable price in my opinion, but that's for the buyer to decide.
My feedback based on owning my car for 7 years is that these cars aren't costly to maintain if they're in good condition to begin with, even at higher mileage, and have been maintained well. The engines and transmissions are robust and will be in good condition if maintained and not abused. The top hydraulics cylinders will need attention if not already rebuilt. The number of owners of the car you're looking is somewhat of a red flag to me because it only takes one bad owner to damage a car and it's tough to determine if every owner maintained and didn't abuse the car. Routine maintenance isn't too costly if you do it yourself so it's important that everything is working to begin with since some replacement parts/repairs can be costly.
Two keys are important, tires aren't cheap, body and interior parts aren't cheap, electronic modules aren't cheap, major engine or transmission problems aren't cheap so those are the key areas to check out carefully with these cars.

Here's my baby and a car I'd sell to me next door neighbor without any hesitation.
For Sale 2000 SL500 Very Good Condition 128,700 miles | Mercedes-Benz Forum (benzworld.org)

 

[SuckersWalk]

I wouldn't be afraid of an 8 owner car that was maintained well that looked great, but I'd run fast from a two owner car that was worn hard and poorly maintained. Condition means more to me.