To rectify or not to rectify...
Discussion
I have (almost) decided to sell my 2001 R129 SL500 so that it can be replaced with something fun the kids will fit in. Mechanically the car is perfect with a FMBSH and a very recent major service. However cosmetically it needs to have the plastic windows in the folding roof replaced, the wheels refurbed and, if we're about it, a couple of very minor scratches/chips in the paintwork rectified. All in I think it is probably about £1,500 worth of work. My question is, is it, in the collective's opinion, worth having this work before offering it for sale (either via the classifieds or to a Merc specialist)?
I'm not convinced it's worth it. The values of 129s are so low and there are so many out there, many good ones, I've no doubt, that I just don't see you getting your £1,500 back. If you must do something, refurb the wheels (£200) and get the softtop "glass" done (£400 max). Super wheels will make a difference.
Thank you both. Any views on what it might be worth? prices seem so variable.
It has done 41k miles, as stated above in great mechanical nick but cosmetically less than A1 and is in what most people, if feeling charitable, would describe as the 'unusual' colour combination of very dark green metallic with Designo black and green leather (but which, naturally, I think is very attractive). On the plus side, as one of the end of the line cars (but not a Final Edition) it is very well spec'd.
It may be that the hassle of selling it is not worth the bother. I may just take it off the road, stick it in a barn and leave it to be discovered by my kids in 30 years time...
It has done 41k miles, as stated above in great mechanical nick but cosmetically less than A1 and is in what most people, if feeling charitable, would describe as the 'unusual' colour combination of very dark green metallic with Designo black and green leather (but which, naturally, I think is very attractive). On the plus side, as one of the end of the line cars (but not a Final Edition) it is very well spec'd.
It may be that the hassle of selling it is not worth the bother. I may just take it off the road, stick it in a barn and leave it to be discovered by my kids in 30 years time...
In my opinion, your colour scheme is fantastic. But I suppose most dullards will want silver over black. What a boring world it would be if the majority got its way. I digress.
I hadn't appreciated the mileage was so low and that it was a late car with an interesting spec. In my opinion, in poor condition, its value is at most £10k. In the very best condition, its value might be as much as £16k, but that is on a good day and with a purchaser who really likes the colours. You can get fair r230 SL500s for £18k these days. If you want a quickish sale, I suppose you're looking at £10k to £15k depending on condition. Which may make your proposed expenditure worthwhile. No doubt the trade will offer you £2.50 or something. In 2008 I was offered £5k for my 1999 SL500 which is in amazing condition but (then) had 150,000miles and that was against a £25k Audi (what was I even thinking of???).
This is just my view and I'm no expert.
I hadn't appreciated the mileage was so low and that it was a late car with an interesting spec. In my opinion, in poor condition, its value is at most £10k. In the very best condition, its value might be as much as £16k, but that is on a good day and with a purchaser who really likes the colours. You can get fair r230 SL500s for £18k these days. If you want a quickish sale, I suppose you're looking at £10k to £15k depending on condition. Which may make your proposed expenditure worthwhile. No doubt the trade will offer you £2.50 or something. In 2008 I was offered £5k for my 1999 SL500 which is in amazing condition but (then) had 150,000miles and that was against a £25k Audi (what was I even thinking of???).
This is just my view and I'm no expert.
Thanks R129- the exterior paint really is gorgeous especially in the sun and, curiously enough, the rain (the water seems to emphasise both the black and the green in the paint). The interior in all fairness takes a bit of getting used to, but I really like it and it certainly is different (I think in a good way).
I think I need to speak to a specialist on value- I'm not far from Charles Ironside, so I guess he would be the obvious choice. At anything below 10k, I just wouldn't bother selling and would keep the car probably in mothballs.. somewhere above 10k and it might be worth it just to make the space.
Sadly the windows are well beyond the magic clearing polishes- they have now cracked in a number of places and need to be replaced. I think I will have this done in any event- I feel guilty that it hasn't been done already.
I really am in two minds about selling it. Its just that with three young kids the opportunities to wheel it out are increasingly limited and it is sitting a bit forlorn and underused. It simply doesn't make sense for me to tax and insure three cars (notwithstanding that it is, by a matter of days, old enough to be not subject to the £400+ road tax).
I think I need to speak to a specialist on value- I'm not far from Charles Ironside, so I guess he would be the obvious choice. At anything below 10k, I just wouldn't bother selling and would keep the car probably in mothballs.. somewhere above 10k and it might be worth it just to make the space.
Sadly the windows are well beyond the magic clearing polishes- they have now cracked in a number of places and need to be replaced. I think I will have this done in any event- I feel guilty that it hasn't been done already.
I really am in two minds about selling it. Its just that with three young kids the opportunities to wheel it out are increasingly limited and it is sitting a bit forlorn and underused. It simply doesn't make sense for me to tax and insure three cars (notwithstanding that it is, by a matter of days, old enough to be not subject to the £400+ road tax).
Edited by GreenVault on Tuesday 9th March 17:49
For a 2001 with those miles, I would be looking at a minimum of £14,000 and more.
Late model R129's with the update V8 are rare as rocking horse poo as most R129's of that era are the smaller engined cars. With respect to owners of the SL280 and SL320, there is simply no comparison with the SL500. Visually they look the same but performance and driving experience are worlds apart. As the V8 engine is very very reliable, take that of the equation and the only difference in running costs is fuel as all other elements of the car are the same.
For any serious buyer of an R129, the plastic windows are the very least of their worries. Average Joe may look and make hissing sounds sucking through teeth at faded rear windows but I would be looking at service history; any problems with the roof mechanism, roof pump etc etc. So I would not discount the car because of that.
Yes, the R230's are falling in price but park an R129 next to an R230, jump between the two and they are a completely different standard of quality. The R230 is very disappointing and the 'feel' of the car in terms of fit and finish is much cheaper. In today's money, an R129 SL500 would be well over the £100,000 mark. Prices were not that high for the R230 hence something had to give. Additionally, they have the same engine so performance is 'adequate'.
With a new plastic window and some touch up, that car would be retailing at Charles Ironside, Cheshire Classic Benz or any of the usual suspects for £17,000 or more based on what they have sold to date.
Within three years, the price of good (of which very few remain) R129's will begin to climb and the 1999 onward V8's will go through the roof. The specialist magazines, trade etc all say that the R129 is woefully underpriced at the moment.
Late model R129's with the update V8 are rare as rocking horse poo as most R129's of that era are the smaller engined cars. With respect to owners of the SL280 and SL320, there is simply no comparison with the SL500. Visually they look the same but performance and driving experience are worlds apart. As the V8 engine is very very reliable, take that of the equation and the only difference in running costs is fuel as all other elements of the car are the same.
For any serious buyer of an R129, the plastic windows are the very least of their worries. Average Joe may look and make hissing sounds sucking through teeth at faded rear windows but I would be looking at service history; any problems with the roof mechanism, roof pump etc etc. So I would not discount the car because of that.
Yes, the R230's are falling in price but park an R129 next to an R230, jump between the two and they are a completely different standard of quality. The R230 is very disappointing and the 'feel' of the car in terms of fit and finish is much cheaper. In today's money, an R129 SL500 would be well over the £100,000 mark. Prices were not that high for the R230 hence something had to give. Additionally, they have the same engine so performance is 'adequate'.
With a new plastic window and some touch up, that car would be retailing at Charles Ironside, Cheshire Classic Benz or any of the usual suspects for £17,000 or more based on what they have sold to date.
Within three years, the price of good (of which very few remain) R129's will begin to climb and the 1999 onward V8's will go through the roof. The specialist magazines, trade etc all say that the R129 is woefully underpriced at the moment.
So, I think we are agreed. Do the window, perhaps get the wheels done. And then, don't sell it! And I may not...
You have both reminded me what a special car it is. I could sell it and get a new Golf Gti or maybe a 330i, but do I really want to? We always have the Land Rover for the kids.
You have both reminded me what a special car it is. I could sell it and get a new Golf Gti or maybe a 330i, but do I really want to? We always have the Land Rover for the kids.
Fix the window.
Don't worry about the wheels. Unless they are absolutely awful and chipped etc, I would not bother. Think of them like a pair of old Loake shoes...they may not look good but they are excellent shoes and will still last and last.
In fact, I would recommend a schnellhoon long weekend to Stuttgart and get KHM to do the roof (KHM [khm@cabrio.de])
a) It is cheaper than some UK companies
b) They are the only people who use the correct thickness perspex
c) One of the directors was the project manager at MB on....the R129 roof!
You can then try it out on the autobahn on the way home.
I will ignore the cars you listed as potential replacements you heathen!!
Don't worry about the wheels. Unless they are absolutely awful and chipped etc, I would not bother. Think of them like a pair of old Loake shoes...they may not look good but they are excellent shoes and will still last and last.
In fact, I would recommend a schnellhoon long weekend to Stuttgart and get KHM to do the roof (KHM [khm@cabrio.de])
a) It is cheaper than some UK companies
b) They are the only people who use the correct thickness perspex
c) One of the directors was the project manager at MB on....the R129 roof!
You can then try it out on the autobahn on the way home.
I will ignore the cars you listed as potential replacements you heathen!!
GreenVault said:
...I could sell it and get a new Golf Gti or maybe a 330i...
These are the words of a man who has gone mad! A SL500 or... a Golf GTI???Make the kids take the bus: it'll be good for them. That's what we had to do back in the olden days.
KHM are fantastic: they did a first rate job on my pal's R107. The product is identical to MB's own (save that it does not have the three-pointed star on the windows) and will be much better fitted than anything done in the UK.
I'm afraid I like the wheels to be perfect!
When I went to Stuttgart I had it flat out on the autobahn on the limiter with the roof down... when I was passed by a souped up M3 and M5 in convoy like I was standing still. On that occasion I drove from Stuttgart to Northumberland in one 11 hour hit. Do that in a Golf and you'll know about it.
Edited by r129sl on Wednesday 10th March 20:46
Did you have the wind deflector up? I was always curious what the airflow/handling would be like roof down at that speed.
I had my old CL500 up to 155mph quite a few times on my trip last year and at one point, sitting at about 145mph, I was passed by some nutter Audi estate rocketship that, I kid you not, had to be touching at least 300kph or more. I have never seen something move that fast...especially as we were not exactly standing still either!
I had my old CL500 up to 155mph quite a few times on my trip last year and at one point, sitting at about 145mph, I was passed by some nutter Audi estate rocketship that, I kid you not, had to be touching at least 300kph or more. I have never seen something move that fast...especially as we were not exactly standing still either!
I know R129, what was I thinking?!
Tempting as a trip to Stuggart is, I just don't have the time. I was thinking about using d:class in Woking. They seem to know what they are talking about and claim that they use perspex of exactly the same thickness etc and then stitch it (as opposed to glue it) into the hood. Any good or bad things heard?
Tempting as a trip to Stuggart is, I just don't have the time. I was thinking about using d:class in Woking. They seem to know what they are talking about and claim that they use perspex of exactly the same thickness etc and then stitch it (as opposed to glue it) into the hood. Any good or bad things heard?
Edited by GreenVault on Thursday 11th March 15:01
I've only heard good things about d:class in the Merc Club.
I had my soft top windows replaced by the dealer a couple of years ago. Instaed of Wo Pavin Flexi Glas with a thickness of 1.25mm in the small windows and 1.5mm in the large central window, they used 1mm thick Ultralite BUV. Now this is a more modern material and has its advantages (optical clarity and flexibility in particular) but it also has its problems. First, it marks when folded on an hot day. Second, it allows a lot more noise through. Third, it billows and flaps in the wind, meaning the alarm goes off if the car is left out on a windy night. Fourth, much more significantly, high speed roof up touring is restricted due to the flapping of the windows: it is impossible comfortably to run at much more than 130mph for any prolonged period due to billowing, flapping and banging presumably caused by the material being more flexible. I find this a real problem when touring Europe.
With the roof down, I find it difficult to cruise much faster than 130mph without raising the side windows and wind deflector, so I am afraid they were both in place when running flat out in the Fatherland. Below 130 I very rarely raise the windows and wind deflector: really, only when on the 'phone.
I had my soft top windows replaced by the dealer a couple of years ago. Instaed of Wo Pavin Flexi Glas with a thickness of 1.25mm in the small windows and 1.5mm in the large central window, they used 1mm thick Ultralite BUV. Now this is a more modern material and has its advantages (optical clarity and flexibility in particular) but it also has its problems. First, it marks when folded on an hot day. Second, it allows a lot more noise through. Third, it billows and flaps in the wind, meaning the alarm goes off if the car is left out on a windy night. Fourth, much more significantly, high speed roof up touring is restricted due to the flapping of the windows: it is impossible comfortably to run at much more than 130mph for any prolonged period due to billowing, flapping and banging presumably caused by the material being more flexible. I find this a real problem when touring Europe.
With the roof down, I find it difficult to cruise much faster than 130mph without raising the side windows and wind deflector, so I am afraid they were both in place when running flat out in the Fatherland. Below 130 I very rarely raise the windows and wind deflector: really, only when on the 'phone.
Edited by r129sl on Thursday 11th March 19:15
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