1990's SL as every day car

[16vwestie]

Am looking to trade in my boring diesel mile muncher for another but am starting to think that life is for living and being stuck in a mundano/astra day in, day out is not living. For £10k - £15k that I would normally spend on anothereuro box I can get a really nicely looked after 90's SL (preferably 280/320). What is the collected opinion of using one of these cars as a daily runner (approx 18,000 miles a year) and what will be the downfalls. Thanks in advance

[glenn911c4s]

I had a 280sl in the 90s; always wished I had bought the 320 or 500, totally gutless but still a guzzler!

[2 5HAN]

The SL320 is a perfectly good daily driver.
With the luxury of a Hard Top for the winter you have none of the soft top issues with regards to winter weather.
Make sure you get a hard top stand for storage though.
With the hard top off you have the electric soft top which is brilliant.
Go for it, they are lovely cars..

[Denis O]

Superb car but a word of warning. If you don't want a 500 don't test drive one. If you do you will never buy a 280 or 320 as they are asthmatic in comparison.

[pentoman]

I drove a 500 a couple of times and wasn't all that impressed in the drag stakes for some reason.

The 6-cylinders come in many guises:

Straight six:

300, ~190bhp
300-24v, 221bhp
320 (also 24v but they don't tell you), 221bhp but much better torque curve so most desirable
280 same 'family' as the 320 but smaller, 193bhp or so.

V6:

320 3.2 V6, less power than the old 320 straight six but newer so ??
280 2.8 V6 I think there was a 2.8 V6 as well.


These are supposedly the best for everyday use as they're the same engines as in the C-class and E-class so some parts are no more expensive than for one of those. There seem to be quite a few cherished examples around so no excuse for buying a bad one!

cheers,

Russell

[Lewy]

Agree with Denis, there is a huge difference in driving the 320 and 500. The 500 is simply effortless and really flies if you want it too. There is not much between the mpg either. Mine has 326bhp which makes this heavy car very safe when overtaking.