Discussion
Hi,
I’ve been looking to change my car for a while and been around the houses a bit on what to get for c. 20k. I’m now thinking of a ’96 SL600 and wondered if anyone had any comments on it ?
I only do 6k to 9k miles per year so hopefully a well looked after car shouldn’t cost the earth to run…. should it ? (gulp). Does anyone have any experience of likely service costs, problems etc ? Obviously it's going to be thirsty, but are we talking bearable (say 15mpg around town) or silly (sub 10mpg) ?
The car I have in mind is a ’96 with 47k on the clock, apparently fmbsh and one owner. It has the panoramic top and what look to be later style 18 inch wheels. The garage are asking £22k.
What I’m primarily after is something quick, distinctive and reliable. Whatever I get needs to be at the tail end of its depreciation curve, this is important to me as I’ve blown what seems like a fortune over the years on cars ! Does an SL600 fit here ?
Any comments much appreciated
Thanks
I’ve been looking to change my car for a while and been around the houses a bit on what to get for c. 20k. I’m now thinking of a ’96 SL600 and wondered if anyone had any comments on it ?
I only do 6k to 9k miles per year so hopefully a well looked after car shouldn’t cost the earth to run…. should it ? (gulp). Does anyone have any experience of likely service costs, problems etc ? Obviously it's going to be thirsty, but are we talking bearable (say 15mpg around town) or silly (sub 10mpg) ?
The car I have in mind is a ’96 with 47k on the clock, apparently fmbsh and one owner. It has the panoramic top and what look to be later style 18 inch wheels. The garage are asking £22k.
What I’m primarily after is something quick, distinctive and reliable. Whatever I get needs to be at the tail end of its depreciation curve, this is important to me as I’ve blown what seems like a fortune over the years on cars ! Does an SL600 fit here ?
Any comments much appreciated
Thanks
very nice but the 500 is a better bet in respects to running costs as the v12 is complex and can suffer with oil leaks also is a bitch to work on and is a tight fit were as the 500 v8 generally doesnt leak
and is far easier to work on therfore less labour charges
try not to go for hydraulic suspension as it tends to drop and cause grief most 600's had this
watch out for battery drains as can be expensive to sort out
top motor though
and is far easier to work on therfore less labour charges
try not to go for hydraulic suspension as it tends to drop and cause grief most 600's had this
watch out for battery drains as can be expensive to sort out
top motor though
The 600 and 500 have similar performance as the 600 is only about 15% up on power but weighs a fair bit more.
The glass roof is great but the seal can vary from car to car - take it out on the motorway and assess how good the noise suppression is (SL is noisy on the m'way with the soft top up so its worth using the hardtop for 7 months of the year).
They are soft on corners with or without active damping so slow down!
Check that you get ASR (some even have ESP) as they can hang out in the wet!
Not sure whether a 96 will be 4 speed or 5 speed.
Great fun cars... (I have had a 97 320 and a 98 500).
The glass roof is great but the seal can vary from car to car - take it out on the motorway and assess how good the noise suppression is (SL is noisy on the m'way with the soft top up so its worth using the hardtop for 7 months of the year).
They are soft on corners with or without active damping so slow down!
Check that you get ASR (some even have ESP) as they can hang out in the wet!
Not sure whether a 96 will be 4 speed or 5 speed.
Great fun cars... (I have had a 97 320 and a 98 500).
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