CAR Would you pay $15,000 for this Benz?

[DCC]

A 24 year old benz. What could go wrong

 

[deaddweeb]

No, especially cuz it’s a convertible.

 

[Mejnoon]

Paid less for a lower mileage (67k) 97 with a pano roof in a better color combo a couple months ago, came out of the same region coincidentally. Mine is a very solid, 100% mechanically sorted driver with good original paint and a nice interior that still had a few bits that needed replacing. Mine also came with a lot records but not comprehensive.

Hard to say what that car is worth with out a lot more condition info. I actually saw a 98 in the same combo with pano roof listed yesterday out here in CA for $8k, pics were crappy tho and it looks like it’s probably rough.

 

[Mejnoon]

Tbh @Havsie i kinda regret the pano. It creaks and groans a lot more than the standard hard top and it doesn’t look as good on the car.

It is nice inside the cabin on a sunny day but 90% of the time I think I’d prefer to have the standard hardtop. If I find a clean hardtop in my color combo at a reasonable price I’ll probably buy it.

 

[Sideways]

yeah, just so I can drive around blasting return of the mack.

 

[Havsie]

Paid less for a lower mileage (67k) 97 with a pano roof in a better color combo a couple months ago, came out of the same region coincidentally. Mine is a very solid, 100% mechanically sorted driver with good original paint and a nice interior that still had a few bits that needed replacing. Mine also came with a lot records but not comprehensive.

Hard to say what that car is worth with out a lot more condition info. I actually saw a 98 in the same combo with pano roof listed yesterday out here in CA for $8k, pics were crappy tho and it looks like it’s probably rough.

it's $15k "or best realistic" offer and it has been listed a few times without selling - my RX8 was listed at $9000 and i paid $4000 for it back in 2018 in a similar situation where the boomed out owner just wanted it gone and took way less to get it out of his life because he couldn't really drive it that much due to his health etc. i presume this is the same situation which is the case for most of these cars. i'd say i could probably do $12-13k easily for it which would be a nice deal i feel like.

where did you find yours listed at? i've been browsing the usual stuff for months now and they're very sparse - you really don't get many options for them, especially the 96-98s. let alone clean ones. most are completely trashed...like the purple one i test drove last month and to a lesser extent the green one i drove as well. i'd much rather get something "unique" colored vs silver...but i definitely want the black interior just because there are way more options for swapping the wheel and getting more wood trim in there on black interiors.

 

[Havsie]

Tbh @Havsie i kinda regret the pano. It creaks and groans a lot more than the standard hard top and it doesn’t look as good on the car.

It is nice inside the cabin on a sunny day but 90% of the time I think I’d prefer to have the standard hardtop. If I find a clean hardtop in my color combo at a reasonable price I’ll probably buy it.

does the pano heat up the cabin really bad? that's my main concern with it, just hot sun beating down on the car vs the aluminum roof. i know that people go apeshit over the pano top since it's rare/valuable - but i don't know if it's actually any better. looks kind of cool though i guess, and it's certainly unique. some dude paid over $100k for this fully specced car 25 years ago which is astounding to me.

although that being said, i can probably easily get a regular silver hardtop without much hassle since that's the most common color they sold these in - although, it wouldn't be "original" to the car.

 

[jaunt]

Yes

 

[Mejnoon]

it's $15k "or best realistic" offer and it has been listed a few times without selling - my RX8 was listed at $9000 and i paid $4000 for it back in 2018 in a similar situation where the boomed out owner just wanted it gone and took way less to get it out of his life because he couldn't really drive it that much due to his health etc. i presume this is the same situation which is the case for most of these cars. i'd say i could probably do $12-13k easily for it which would be a nice deal i feel like.

where did you find yours listed at? i've been browsing the usual stuff for months now and they're very sparse - you really don't get many options for them, especially the 96-98s. let alone clean ones. most are completely trashed...like the purple one i test drove last month and to a lesser extent the green one i drove as well. i'd much rather get something "unique" colored vs silver...but i definitely want the black interior just because there are way more options for swapping the wheel and getting more wood trim in there on black interiors.

Found it on eBay, exchanged some messages with the seller but he was asking a little too much. He called me ~2 months later and we made a deal. The seller knew R129s and he knew the history of the car which was important to me.

The problem with buying these cars now is that many were second/3rd/10th cars that weren’t driven that much, but also not necessarily maintained at a reasonable standard. I looked at a lot of clapped low mileage cars before I finally bought, and sellers often don’t know anything about the cars they’re selling.

Follow the r129 forums and Facebook groups. Best way to find a well maintained car from a seller who knows wtf he’s selling.

 

[Mejnoon]

does the pano heat up the cabin really bad? that's my main concern with it, just hot sun beating down on the car vs the aluminum roof. i know that people go apeshit over the pano top since it's rare/valuable - but i don't know if it's actually any better. looks kind of cool though i guess, and it's certainly unique. some dude paid over $100k for this fully specced car 25 years ago which is astounding to me.

although that being said, i can probably easily get a regular silver hardtop without much hassle since that's the most common color they sold these in - although, it wouldn't be "original" to the car.

I spent way too much putting spectra photosync on every piece of glass as soon as I got the car in the hopes of preventing that. Photosync is an amazing product, it works extremely well and the car barely heats up in direct sun - I haven’t owned it during the heat of summer yet though, and I can’t really tell you how it would perform with out the tint.

I believe there is a factory coating or layer in the glass that is supposed to reduce UV/heat, and there is a ghetto roller shade built in to the roof that doesn’t do much (and breaks frequently, I need to take mine apart )

 

[ObeyTheNoodle]

Get the best one you can find. Those R129s are not going to stay cheap for much longer.

 

[Havsie]

Found it on eBay, exchanged some messages with the seller but he was asking a little too much. He called me ~2 months later and we made a deal. The seller knew R129s and he knew the history of the car which was important to me.

The problem with buying these cars now is that many were second/3rd/10th cars that weren’t driven that much, but also not necessarily maintained at a reasonable standard. I looked at a lot of clapped low mileage cars before I finally bought, and sellers often don’t know anything about the cars they’re selling.

Follow the r129 forums and Facebook groups. Best way to find a well maintained car from a seller who knows wtf he’s selling.

yeah - the green one i drove was well maintained, it was just driven...a lot. so it was quite worn out. nice that it was kept up, but not so nice that i'd need to do a lot of stuff to get it back in shape plus de-boomering the interior with the bluetooth crap and all of that since it was used like a regular car for better or for worse.

i think i prefer finding one that's been owned by someone who's more clueless since they'd be more willing to go cheaper, and then getting inevitable maintenance done at least gets you to a nice baseline provided the rest of the car is clean. i presume these cars are mostly the same regardless of the state they came from right? like any "nice" one was kept indoors and isn't rusted out like the cheaper convertibles (miatas). as long as you're not buying a clearly ratted out one, they're probably all going to be nice and clean underneath and stuff right? like buying it from some older guy who had it as a secondary car that wasn't really used, but kept in great shape and sells it for cheap is my ideal scenario vs an enthusiast who wants top dollar.

also yeah - i was thinking of doing ceramic tint or something to keep the light/heat out. definitely a concern cause the pano top seems like a hassle in that regard. i saw some pics of the crappy sunshade and it definitely doesn't look that usable.

 

[OverLamer]

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[about:blank]

there's more 99+ cars available than 96-98s by far tbh

i want a 96-98 for the 5spd auto and the old engine which isn't the daimler chrysler crap

What?

M113 is one of the best engine families Mercedes ever made, along with the 722.6 transmission the powertrain is absolutely bulletproof and buttery smooth. The same powertrain (albeit beefed up) is in the 622hp Mercedes SLR. The platform sharing went like this, Mercedes supplied Chrysler with platforms, engines and transmissions not the other way around.

 

[Havsie]

What?

M113 is one of the best engine families Mercedes ever made, along with the 722.6 transmission the powertrain is absolutely bulletproof and buttery smooth. The same powertrain (albeit beefed up) is in the 622hp Mercedes SLR. The platform sharing went like this, Mercedes supplied Chrysler with platforms, engines and transmissions not the other way around.

i'd rather have the M119 that's DOHC and quad valve so it has more opportunities to break and i can say it's the same engine as the 500e or some 30 year old race car

they sound better too tbh

 

[Mejnoon]

M119 is superior to the M113 in ways that are real but will not matter at all in the real world. It is also inferior in some ways, like weight.

It’s kind of a wash if we’re being honest. I’m partial to the M119 but for purely sentimental reasons.

 

[JerseyAhole]

there's a highly rated indy MB mechanic in medford apparently, which is why i'm considering a classic benz tbh

I would suggest having him to a pre purchase inspection then to be safe.

 

[about:blank]

The repa

M119 is superior to the M113 in ways that are real but will not matter at all in the real world. It is also inferior in some ways, like weight.

It’s kind of a wash if we’re being honest. I’m partial to the M119 but for purely sentimental reasons.

True but the M113 upgrade path is far superior and one could have a reliable R129 with a 600hp and 700lb of torque.

 

[Havsie]

The repa

True but the M113 upgrade path is far superior and one could have a reliable R129 with a 600hp and 700lb of torque.

yea but that doorplate says daimler chrysler while the pre 99s say MERCEDES BENZ only which matters to me imho

 

[Mejnoon]

The repa

True but the M113 upgrade path is far superior and one could have a reliable R129 with a 600hp and 700lb of torque.

Extremely accurate

-guy trying to find someone who can build me a 6.0l M119

 

[Mejnoon]

yeah - the green one i drove was well maintained, it was just driven...a lot. so it was quite worn out. nice that it was kept up, but not so nice that i'd need to do a lot of stuff to get it back in shape plus de-boomering the interior with the bluetooth crap and all of that since it was used like a regular car for better or for worse.

i think i prefer finding one that's been owned by someone who's more clueless since they'd be more willing to go cheaper, and then getting inevitable maintenance done at least gets you to a nice baseline provided the rest of the car is clean. i presume these cars are mostly the same regardless of the state they came from right? like any "nice" one was kept indoors and isn't rusted out like the cheaper convertibles (miatas). as long as you're not buying a clearly ratted out one, they're probably all going to be nice and clean underneath and stuff right? like buying it from some older guy who had it as a secondary car that wasn't really used, but kept in great shape and sells it for cheap is my ideal scenario vs an enthusiast who wants top dollar.

also yeah - i was thinking of doing ceramic tint or something to keep the light/heat out. definitely a concern cause the pano top seems like a hassle in that regard. i saw some pics of the crappy sunshade and it definitely doesn't look that usable.

You’re better off buying from an enthusiast who spent a bunch of money already maintaining the car, even if you have to pay a little more. You’ll save money in the long run and likely enjoy the car more with less downtime.

I’d compromise on mileage before I’d compromise on condition and documentation. That’s what I did with my 500E - I bought a pristine, extremely well documented 171k mile car over cars with as low as 60k miles. I’ve owned the car for nearly 10 years and driven it another 110k miles plus and I’ve never regretted that decision.

 

[Havsie]

i saw the car in person - it's absolutely stunning, the guy had a ton of preventative maintenance on the car and fixed every little issue on it...minus the soft top. he put it down for a video for another prospective buyer in florida and it ripped. he said he was going to get it fixed before sale, but idk, i'm not sure if he really would when that's gonna be another $1000 into it.

he was very firm on $15k - i dunno if that's really the move or not, or do i keep looking for one that's a bit cheaper/maybe not **AS** nice in comparison.

 

[TimzSI]

I hate four spoke steering wheels

 

[canning]

i saw the car in person - it's absolutely stunning, the guy had a ton of preventative maintenance on the car and fixed every little issue on it...minus the soft top. he put it down for a video for another prospective buyer in florida and it ripped. he said he was going to get it fixed before sale, but idk, i'm not sure if he really would when that's gonna be another $1000 into it.

he was very firm on $15k - i dunno if that's really the move or not, or do i keep looking for one that's a bit cheaper/maybe not **AS** nice in comparison.

If you really want one I'd buy the one that's been properly maintained. Let him fix the top and give him the 15k for it.

 

[Mercedes]

Do you plan to drive it then sell it ? Or plan to keep it as a low mileage collectible