Sharp11
03-05-2010, 12:29 AM
Since my free maintenance is about to expire, I went to visit a local independent to ask about rates and service. You guys probably have shops like this in your area - this one caters to BMW, Merc and Porsche owners. They do ground up restorations, sell cars and have a great reputation locally http://www.danburybenz.com/
Anyway, while there I was poring over an especially clean and beautiful SL 500 from 1995, it only had 80k plus miles on it - the owner offered me the keys, so I took it for a spin.
This was quite an expensive car when new, somewhere in the 80 to 100k stratosphere in 1995 dollars :yikes: This one had a nice interior (you can see a lot of pics in the link I provided, look under "specialty cars"), but the door panels felt loose and bowed toward you as you pulled them shut, the seats were big, flat and way too slippery and much of the wood grain was delaminating.
Ahhh, but that engine, it was a 5 liter V8 with wonderful torque, like the cars I grew up with, but whisper quiet, the tranny, a five speed auto, shifted imperceptibly.
SL class cars of this vintage (the R 129) are real pigs, this one weighed in at over 4,000lbs, on a 99 inch wheelbase - you feel it everytime you step on the brake pedal or negotiate a turn, also, the steering wheel is gigantic and the rack has a lot of play and no feel, but what a turning radius, I bet you could turn it around in a grocery store aisle.
Friends of ours have an 04 SL 500 sedan and this little two seater maintains much of the same over-the-road character, it feels willowy and wistful, and ultra-smooth, like you're driving on air. I haven't driven very many newer vintage Mercs, but the ones I have all seem to drive this way, a Merc characteristic, perhaps - much the way BMW's have a trademark "feel" from the 3 right up to the X5.
The removable aluminum top is standard and comes with a stand so you can prop it up in your garage.
This car feels stout, but I have to say, cars have come a long way since this car was first designed in the late 80's, especially convertibles - my 330 'vert feels all buttoned-down and solid in a way this car didn't - it's difficult to articulate as there was no real cowl shake in the Merc, it just felt loose - through the steering wheel, the seats and through lots of creaks and rattles - could just be because it's old, but it reminded me more of the 'verts of my youth than any recent model.
I enjoyed the car, and for what they were asking - just 12k, it'd be a great buy, but getting back into my ZHP was a revelation, an apples and oranges comparison for sure, but my car has 24.5k miles on it and has nary a squeak nor a rattle, it's ten times more fun to drive, more efficient and more comfortable (the latter surprising).
Still, SL's are beautiful to look at, I'd like to take out the current gen model at some point, but I'm wondering if BMW's going to build a better SL, they seem to be going in that direction with the newest Z4 and rumors are there's a GT roadster in the works.
Now, next time I go back there, I want to drive the vintage 911 in the showroom, again, it's on the "specialty cars" page :)
Ed
Anyway, while there I was poring over an especially clean and beautiful SL 500 from 1995, it only had 80k plus miles on it - the owner offered me the keys, so I took it for a spin.
This was quite an expensive car when new, somewhere in the 80 to 100k stratosphere in 1995 dollars :yikes: This one had a nice interior (you can see a lot of pics in the link I provided, look under "specialty cars"), but the door panels felt loose and bowed toward you as you pulled them shut, the seats were big, flat and way too slippery and much of the wood grain was delaminating.
Ahhh, but that engine, it was a 5 liter V8 with wonderful torque, like the cars I grew up with, but whisper quiet, the tranny, a five speed auto, shifted imperceptibly.
SL class cars of this vintage (the R 129) are real pigs, this one weighed in at over 4,000lbs, on a 99 inch wheelbase - you feel it everytime you step on the brake pedal or negotiate a turn, also, the steering wheel is gigantic and the rack has a lot of play and no feel, but what a turning radius, I bet you could turn it around in a grocery store aisle.
Friends of ours have an 04 SL 500 sedan and this little two seater maintains much of the same over-the-road character, it feels willowy and wistful, and ultra-smooth, like you're driving on air. I haven't driven very many newer vintage Mercs, but the ones I have all seem to drive this way, a Merc characteristic, perhaps - much the way BMW's have a trademark "feel" from the 3 right up to the X5.
The removable aluminum top is standard and comes with a stand so you can prop it up in your garage.
This car feels stout, but I have to say, cars have come a long way since this car was first designed in the late 80's, especially convertibles - my 330 'vert feels all buttoned-down and solid in a way this car didn't - it's difficult to articulate as there was no real cowl shake in the Merc, it just felt loose - through the steering wheel, the seats and through lots of creaks and rattles - could just be because it's old, but it reminded me more of the 'verts of my youth than any recent model.
I enjoyed the car, and for what they were asking - just 12k, it'd be a great buy, but getting back into my ZHP was a revelation, an apples and oranges comparison for sure, but my car has 24.5k miles on it and has nary a squeak nor a rattle, it's ten times more fun to drive, more efficient and more comfortable (the latter surprising).
Still, SL's are beautiful to look at, I'd like to take out the current gen model at some point, but I'm wondering if BMW's going to build a better SL, they seem to be going in that direction with the newest Z4 and rumors are there's a GT roadster in the works.
Now, next time I go back there, I want to drive the vintage 911 in the showroom, again, it's on the "specialty cars" page :)
Ed