Running a summer plaything cheap SL for virtually nothing

Jez

Jez

Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=1993&vehicleRegLetter=K

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How bloody bargaintastic are these now, and what a toy it would be for the summer. Pretty much one of the best built cars ever made, supremely reliable with a glorious V8 engine, 155mph, all the electric toys.

A real merc from before the unreliable late 90's/early 00's era, and so cheap that it could be ran year to year with virtually zero depreciation.

What could be better, you take your 5 grand out whenever you get bored of it.
 
Not everyone's cup of tea drive wise as they are not back lane racers, but my type of ideal driving is a nice summers day top down cruise through the country, and it would be fantastic for a southern france road trip, dont you think? :)

Not sure what you mean about the badge? other than the dirty leather it looks pretty much perfect?
 
not all models had the star on the bonnet
the 'sporty' models only had the flat sticker

i had no idea they were that cheap now :eek:
stick a private plate on there and you wouldn't be able to tell if it was a '93 or an '02
 
i can't remember what i wrote at first :o
by 'star' i meant the one that protudes from the bonnet like a sight anyway..
 
Been looking at these today too. Still look money even after all these years. You could turn up anywhere in one of them.

I saw a nice 95 on an M with the 280 32v engine for £4995 in Bradford with proper 18" AMG wheels.
 
and back in the real world it's old and it looks it. I can't quite figure out who is going to spend nearly 6k on this.


Oh it looks old, but it remains one of the best cars ever made by MB. Surely you can see its appeal as a play thing and a piece of engineering, Clarkey?
 
Awesome looking things, but I feel like they would be ever so slightly too soft, even for a wafty cruise through the countryside.
 
i used to really like them, but they have really aged!
interesting car for the money though :D
 
Oh it looks old, but it remains one of the best cars ever made by MB. Surely you can see its appeal as a play thing and a piece of engineering, Clarkey?

Yes and no, I'm sure it was brilliant in it's day, but times have moved on and I can't see any area where this car is better than a more modern one?

I still say I can't figure out what kind of person will buy this though. It's too cheap and old for a regular wealthy Mercedes-owning type, but too expensive for a toy for someone less well off, running costs would not be cheap afterall.
 
A more modern equivalent is £20k, though. Not comparable and there is nothing else on the market which you can compare it to really, i'd be very glad to be shown something as i am half tempted to get one to be honest!
 
Old mercs are awesome,you just dont get build quality like that anymore, I even think the early engines were better, just seemed to suit the big cruisers better.

I quite fancy a slightly later CL 500 atm, but they seem to be holding their value well.
 
Old mercs are awesome,you just dont get build quality like that anymore,.

Indeed, and what better than a convertible version for just MOT and insurance costs. Point being with something like in the OP that you just bung a dead £5k into it (lets face it, you arnt going to get anything from the banks atm) and extract that money again any time you want. These cars wont fall any further really if kept in decent condition.
 
I think they represent pretty awesome value for money.

As Jez says, these are cars from the days when Mercedes Benz built top quality executive cars, rather than the cost cutting ones they swapped to in later years. These were £70-£80k cars when new 15 years ago, that was a LOT of cash in the early 90's.

If I had £5k to spend on a weekend/summer toy it would be on my list somewhere!
 
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