1999 Mercedes-Benz SL SL500 review from Sweden
"The last truly great convertible"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Fan wing broke off (£600).
Rust bubble on panoramic hardtop.
General comments?
The last edition of the old R129 SL was one of my dream cars, so it was natural that I picked one up when I was offered a fully equipped (xenon, panoramic roof, GPS, tele etc) car at a good price. I was considering a newer R230 SL, but I could not stand the quality issues and cheap interior despite the beautiful supercar looks, so I settled for a late R129.
Overall this was one of the last of the old-school Mercedes' which I like, the feeling of robustness and quality was unbeatable. I used this as my daily driver for an entire year, and the only thing that I truly disliked about the car was the weight of the glass roof, that I always had to have a buddy come over and help me put on, since my wife and I could not manage it ourselves.
A well kept R129 SL still gets positive attention.
Recommended reviews
| Desirable and beautiful when it is working, but astonishingly, disgustingly unreliable |
|
| The best quality open car Mercedes ever made - period! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1999 |
| Year of manufacture | 1999 |
| First year of ownership | 2007 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2008 |
| Engine and transmission | 5 litre V8 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 9 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 7 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 134000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 148000 kilometres |
| Previous car | BMW 7 Series |
| Date of Entry | 8th December, 2008 |