When you said that the wiring harness would have to be hand made and replaced I thought 9 grand is cheap. That's no small task. Probably takes a month.

Next on Hoovie's Garage: Cheapest '94 SL600 in the country...

In Germany there is a company that refurbishes these cable harnesses. The complete set with all 4 harnesses costs 1,880€. The company is called MKB-TEC.

I had an old Mercedes mechanic tell me years ago "If you can't afford a new Mercedes, you can't afford an old Mercedes." Doubly true for Porsche.

back in the late 90's and I worked in an MB dealership. I remember seeing a lot of this series in the workshop with the interior completely stripped out and work on the wiring going on. The wiring harness was the first thing installed when the car was built, therefore the depth of the job... There was ALWAYS at least one in the workshop undergoing this job. Now I know why...

“You guys need to start getting pre-purchase inspections” - Wizard in the last video that no one listened to

I've had my 1998 SL600 for 11 going on 12 years now. I've done all my own work except for replacing the trans when it blew. I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone..even with extensive knowledge and doing my own work adding up receipts I am over $40k in parts over the years owning it.

That’s why, 3 years ago, when I bought a 92 for 5k thinking it was a great deal, then I realized all the harnesses were cracking, I immediately sold it for 3,5k. It’s awful to learn with a mistake, thanks Mrs and Mr Car Wizard for saving someone’s family money! This channel is not only entertaining and informative, but of a public service. Cheers!

I had a 2000 SL 500. I found a place in Oregon. They exchange or rebuild your hydraulic CC pistons. It was $1,100 exchange or $750 rebuild. A local independent Mercedes Shop removed the old ones and sent them to the Oregon shop and installed the rebuilt ones for $850.

More and more I appreciate the simplicity of my car. All analog.

Watching this, I was left thinking that Mercedes took a conscious decision to see how many bad engineering decisions they could load into a single car. Either that, or they didn't care what happened to the car after its first rich owner disposed of it. Given that this car would have been offered for sale for over $100,000 when brand new back in 1994, it really demonstrates the level of cynicism that infected Mercedes at that time.

I can remember reading about these V12 Mercedes convertibles when they were new. One of those journalists wrote recently that, to this day, it was one of the finest cars he'd ever driven. I hope the owner (or a subsequent owner) puts the money into saving this beautiful car.

This scenario can happen when you buy any car at the lowest end of the price scale. How was this car represented by the seller? Without knowing that it might not be fair to say the owner was "scammed". It might be more accurate to say that he bought at the bottom end of the market, took a gamble, and lost. Making a poor choice isn't the same as being victimized.

I missed the part where the buyer was "scammed." It looks more like he bought an old complicated car without doing due diligence.

As a long term owner of mid 90's MB, I would full expect to spend 10-12K in parts on this if I had purchased it, knowing most owners defer maintenance on these older cars.

By the way, the bio-degradable wiring harness issue resulted from a (then) new German/EU law, and was not unique to Mercedes. (Affected brands included Mercedes, Porsche, BMW. (Other car brands to suffer a similar problem - though in the 1980s - included Saab's and Volvo's.) I believe Delphi was the manufacturer, for the 1990s mishap.

"Assume anyone selling you a car, most of the time, is trying to rip you off" ... wise words. Soooo true.

The hydraulic roof thing is horrifying! I wonder if anyone has successfully sued Mercedes-Benz for the environmentally friendly wiring.

I always loved the styling of these older SL Mercedes. Very great looking car in my opinion. I've read that Mercedes stopped using this type of wiring after 1996 so an SL made after that year might be a better option but you'd still have the convertible top issues to deal with. I saw a 2001 SL500 in my area with only 72k Miles that sold for $19k. It looked nearly brand new, and had all the service records. I was very tempted!

The big question here: Does that $18,400 SL600 in comparison have any harnesses replaced? And if not- what would the actual value of a “fixed” car with that issue already paid for be worth?

That was $125,000.00 retail when new. $30k for a vehicle that will Never be produced again.

'05 SL500 owner here. When I bought my girl, I knew what I was getting into, financially. But I did go over her before purchase, made a list of the issues, then went home and SLEPT ON IT. After giving it a LOT of thought, I bought her. As much as I wanted this car, I forced myself to wait! [This is my dream car!!!] Knew going in she could be quite expensive, but she was tight and right. I do NOT regret my decision, as we've been happily motoring with almost NO issues! I do ultra-maintain my cars, I think that helps a lot. Hope this guy figures out what to do without taking a bath on it!! PS I did want the 12 cylinder, but my V-8 is just fine for me!! It was hard enough just finding one in black with the blond interior!!!

I have a 95’ 600. Did the wiring harnesses. Currently doing the hydraulics. Doing the work myself has saved me a lot of money. The work is pretty straightforward. You can still get the MAF and lower harnesses as of 4/15/2024. MAF is around 120 each (x2) and the lower harness is around 200-300. My upper harness had been replaced and is NLA, but Kurth Classics in Germany rebuilds the main harness.

meanwhile 90’s Hondas and Toyotas still running like a charm while being abused… Shows you who really is best car makers…

“Another customer scammed!”.. I wish all garages were this honest!

I used to work on these Mercs . Its usually the small hyd rams beneath the back seat. They are junk. Its a shame because they are such a nice looking car and great to drive, when they work. We used to get a lot of W140's into our shop and the loom on the engine and the trans loom . The 6 cyl motor had individual coil packs on the plugs with 3 wires to each coil . The insulation used to break into little ringlets and fall apart and short out and if the customer didn't get onto it quickly, it fried the ecu. Now you are in for a ecu and loom. You cant see the insulation either because the loom is well wrapped. we wrecked one just by taking the loom out of the way to remove the coils, to change the plugs. Then you have the fun fact that there are up to 3 or 4 versions on the loom depending where in the world it was sold . we are right hand drive in NZ and get a lot of used cars from Japan and Singapore. the ones from Singapore had aluminium plugs in the hoes that run to the heater as the heaters are not used in Singapore. so they come to NZ and get sold to a customer. The customer want the heater to work as we need heaters in NZ. We drop the hoses and remove the plugs in the hoses. bleed the cooling system and send the car on its way. six weeks later it comes back on a tow truck with soggy green carpets. yes the heaters leaking. they have heater hoses connected to aluminium tubes to the heater core that have a small 2 bolt flange and "o' ring that's been dry for the last 10 years. LOL People say Andrew why are you banging your head against the wall ? "Because it feels good when I stop. Mercs and Bmws could have been such great cars but they got cheap in their manufacturing processes. The A160 was another example trans ecus that floats in the trans pan, airflow meters and fittings,, dashes that stop working, the trans in general the cheap ass 60km life expectancy of the starter if you were lucky.

I rebuilt all 11 cylinder using $10.00 cheap Chinese O ring. The soft top is now working good. The wire harness has to be bought from the dealer, shop around to get a cheaper deal. Air suspension is something I don't know how to do. Headliner is not a big item.

Been there and living that with the hydraulic issue and expense, among other issues. It's hard to let the car go. Thanks Wizard!

I bought a 1997 SL 500 for 4K. I knew the top was bad. I paid 3200 for all of the cylinders to be replaced with rebuilt ones. The great thing was that the rebuilds came with a 4 year warranty. It is a wonderful car

As I was told before I bought my first AMG, always remember, nothing is more expensive than a cheap Mercedes. I'm not sure about the "scammed" part of it, though. Looking at BaT, a few SL600s have sold in the teens over the last year, but most have been between $20K and $30K with some going much higher than that. Just my speculation, but it seems like it might be a case of someone figuring they could pick up a "fixer" for $7,500, put $5K or $6K into getting it sorted, and have a $25K car for half the price. Again, just speculation on my part.

I handled repair of all my 12 hydraulic cylinders (500SL, 1990, in Sweden) for Euro 799 plus Euro 80 for one new contact sensor. I sent them to RSCAuto in Germany, they took less than 24hr for actual work but postal services about 5-7 days each direction. Cylinders now work really well. Leave the car there instead and it's done in 1 working day, including cylinder removal, new seals, cylinder refitting.

I've rebuilt these wiring harnesses myself. I can't get the original colours of the wires, but use a selection of PTFE insulated wires bought from Farnell in Leeds. All I have done is taken the harnesses off, got them one by one on the bench and very, very patiently replaced each wire one at a time. It's a matter of opening the plastic plugs with a Dremel and then glueing them back together with epoxy. For the ECU multi-way plugs, I have heard of people extracting each pin but I have never found a way of doing that. I cut each back to about 1/4", apply solder flux to the remaining 1/4", slide a little bit of heat shrink tube over the new wire, solder one, cover with heat shrink and on to the next. It is an absolute pain in the arse of a job. My 1994 SL600 with 40k on the clock needs doing now, but I may just send the harnesses to repair, give them £1600 and let them do the job. That was my late wife's car so I will never part with it.

There was a '94 SL500 for sale local to me for $4500 and it looked so good but everyone including a Mercedes mechanic said run.

As a car enthusiast I have been watching your videos for some time and in each of them you always sound like you know your stuff and this video confirmed it to me. I know first hand that everything you mention in this video is spot on. I owned a 1992 r129 500SL for 7 years, sold it last year. I really loved this car, the way it looked and the way it drove but I was spending my time fixing something from small things to big things. I did replace all the 12 cylinders myself in 2 week-ends with rebuilt ones from a company in Oregon. It cost me $700 for the set plus a good 15h of my time to do the job. If I had had to bring this car to a mechanic every time there was a problem I would have gone bankrupt. Since mine was the 500 I did not have the air suspension issue nor did I have the biodegradable harness issue since the bad years for r129 harness were 1993/1994. Still this car required a lot of work to be kept drivable. Big thanks for your videos

Thank you Car Wizard - very informative insight on the MB 600 Series for those years mentioned. YES those bio-degradable wiring harnesses under the Chrysler years were/are the worst - what were they thinking! As just the heat ‘alone’ from the engine degrades the wiring. So sad as the appearance of this vehicle is nice and yes the customer did get obviously scammed. Basically - the vehicle (as it sits) is just a parts car now and the owner ‘could’ get his money back out of it that was spent on the purchase in just selling off the parts of the vehicle as they are in general hard to find too. However, that takes time (and knowledge) and can be difficult too if you don’t have a storage place/location to part out the car at. Which can be a messy job in itself. Then the shipping aspect of it all. Now regarding the cost factor of repairs you spoke about on this 600 - yep, been there & done that with my 1991 Black 500 SL/AMG that I purchased in December of 2021 out in California . BUT luckily for me (while still living out there) I had a Car Wizard who had previously owned three of the 500’s & when I had the slightest problem with the hydraulics with getting the hard top to release (soon after purchase) he told me to STOP don’t push the button anymore!!! And so I took it into his shop where over a period of two weeks my initial investment of $7,000.00 on a 100,000 mile MB did turn into almost triple (over time) the cost of the purchase - and one cylinder did blow right behind the drivers seat and what a mess that was just from one of the eleven cylinders as the fluid lingers & does “not” evaporate. That took weeks to finally get it all flushed out of not only the places you readily can see but also from out of the frame rail channels where normally rain water goes into and empties out via the drain ports on the bottom of the car. That took time and a lot of flushing down inside the drainage area behind the drivers seat. SO for the 500 - maybe I should have sold it! BUT the original owner (I’m the third) was a well known actor and singer - so the vehicle comes with some pretty impressive prominence - however the second owner didn’t do ANY maintenance on the vehicle for the eight years he owned it. So I inherited ALL the issues. When one cylinder goes OR has problems (you know what has to be done) you replace ALL the cylinders and check all the lines too for possible needed replacement (if you can find them at all) but for me the lines were old but still in good condition (no leaks or breaks). So the replacement on the cylinder rebuilds with LABOR was six grand. And my friend only charged me half of his normal cost for labor. BUT I still had to go through the “full engine maintenance” ordeal, which in parts and cost was another grand+. Then the suspension needed help (ie: the front struts etc.) - Another grand - now at this point I’m back living at home in Indianapolis & paying for local MB Dealership Labor costs @ 195 an hour (OUCH). Then to top that off - there’s the little plastic parts debacle - as 30+ year old plastic parts just crumble from all over the car and finding them ‘somewhere in the world’ ARE harder than trying to find that pesky raccoon that keeps getting in the trash at night time. And even if you find that hard to find plastic part - there’s a reason their hard to find because the owner of the parts wants a kings ransom for the little part that can fit in the palm of your hand - so in plastic parts I’ve spent to date another two grand+ (ie: engine bay; interior; trunk areas)! And it just does not stop there - the transmission so far is holding together pretty well though I know it will need maintenance soon too ($$$). So the 500 isn’t driven much - maybe 20 miles a week just to keep the fluids going. There are more expenditures but for now my total investment has reached a little under twenty five grand including the initial purchase cost. So was it worth it - probably not. But I’m in it for what I’ve spent to date to bring it back from out of its years of abuse of its second owner. And its holding its own right now pretty good. I must admit that the black with beige interior looks great and I do get compliments on it as the original paint still does well once I polished and ceramic coated it. I do a lot of the cosmetic work myself and I’ve come to understand the mechanics of the 500 pretty well - BUT your video on the 600 has given me a lot of insight to think about. Thank goodness my ‘91 does not have those wiring harness issues as they are still strong as ever and look really fresh for a thirty plus year old vehicle. So thank you for your time in making this video for us. Because anyone wanting to purchase one of these historic MB’s (during the Chrysler ownership years) should be ‘buyer beware’ just because of the wiring harnesses issue(s) to start with! Then of course the hydraulics - when one gives you a problem or the system is giving you a problem - then they ‘all’ need to be replaced! So again thank you Car Wizard for such a great video - gotta go - I hear the 500 calling to me for some more maintenance needs…

ALWAYS pay for a PRE-PURCHASE inspection. It will cost a few hundred bucks at a dealer and they are happy to do it for you. They will find the issues you had no idea were there. This also gives you another tool to bargain on the price. This has saved me SOOOO MUCH money over the years. This goes for any machine or vehicle. My latest purchase was a Bobcat Skid Steer loader. It was in very good condition and some minor issues were discovered but the piece of mind you gain for such a small outlay of money before you own the vehicle is WELL worth it.

I am really impressed with your knowledge and honesty of these expensive and complicated cars. I wish I lived closer to your shop because a good repair shop is hard to find these days

Hey Wizard & Mrs Wizard, I feel bad for your customer getting ripped off. It's a sad state of affairs that there are so many scammers out there. The world needs more people out there like the Wizard that has honesty & integrity!!! 👍🙂

Like Kent Bergsma said, nothing gets more expensive than a cheap Mercedes. Also if you get any old Mercedes, you must be willing to do some of the sorting out and maintenance yourself.

I work in a specialty mercedes benz shop, and the original owner was a VW dealer tech in the 80s and had a real soft spot for these old 123s, 124s, 126s, and 129s. To the point where he was losing money month over month and my boss, who bought the business after it started going under, was having to spend weeks sorting out these cars in serious states of disrepair just to have customers come right back because something further down the line in the system would give out. It makes me EXTREMELY grateful to be mainly working on W210 and newer cars that are all garage kept and well maintained. Those old 80s-90s mercedes problems can be a nightmare to diagnose and repair, especially the 126 and 129 platforms. Horrendous to work on all this time later. It's sad for the owners, but those cars belong in history museums because they're ancient at this point....

Thanks for this Wizard, I really liked these cars but dealing with the top and wiring issues... these cars are now off my list.

cheap Benz is The most expensive car you can purchase 😢

thanks a lot for your description ! so usefull ... even i love the 600sl w129

I think I would remove all of the garbage roof hydraulic system and throw it away, repair the headliner, and leave it permanently as a hard top. The wires looked good in the harnesses. I would pull those wiring harnesses and install new outer coverings. Replace the headlight and repair the suspension. The drive that sucker for another 400,000 miles with regular maintaining and TLC.

I saw a very cheap S600 in Virginia. 8 owners. I did some research on the car. The V12 engine needs 24 spark plugs and the coil pack is $1250 each!

That was a serious reminder to better think twice whether one is able to polish such a gem. Great video!

Nice to hear eloquent Mrs Wizard enhance your videos with her own charming perspective. This was a great idea Mr Wizard. And yes “bonnet”. Thank you!

Such a shame, the best thing for the guy would be to part it out and take a bit of a loss, those wheels, the hard top and the engine alone should bring some nice money

Get in touch with Kent Bergsma from Mercedes Source, he's some kind of genius for mercs. Maybe he has some cheaper but worth way to fix all that stuff.

Always loved the R129. I looked at one about a year ago and I asked the seller to show me the top opening and closing and he said he'd show me after I bought it. NOPE! There's nothing more expensive than a convertible mercedes top.

Had a 1990 SL 600 , 40,000 miles on it. Black. Sat in the sun in Floria. Same wiring harness issues, also mass air flow problems. Loved the car, but turned into a nightmare. Spent thousands!. Ended up selling it for $2700 to a guy that patches them up and sends them overseas. Now have a 1999 SL 500. Very pleased, but not without standard issues, I.e. leaking top hydraulics, etc.

You cannot convince people to pay for a pre-purchase inspection. If the seller won't let you, RUN AWAY from that pile.

Videos like these are a reminder to ALWAYS do your homework on a car or model before purchase and a lot of it! That being said, I ended up buying a 66k-mil F-150 with the 5.4 3V! However, my mechanic said it was in good shape, and to not neglect oil changes.

The price range for SL600 in Germany lies around 20 to 60.000$. A good one lies around 30-40.000. Fixing this issues is also cheaper. So in Germany it is definitly worth fixing it.

Thanks for the lesson, Wizard.

Wizard, it's a pity about the harnesses and those hydraulic cylinders. The car does look like a clean example though and hopefully someone with deep pockets can save it.

I am actually disappointed that Tyler did not show up as the buyer at one point during the video...

While that sounds really pricey, I think that this car is worth doing the work on. It is such a nice driving GT. And the 15-20K put in, means the car will be good to go for another 28 years. Like all cars, you take it to your trusted mechanic once a year, or at least 10k miles (some cars need servicing every 3k miles or 5k miles, so make sure you know the servicing intervals on the car you are buying), service it properly, DO NOT SKIMP ON MAINTENENCE!!!! And your trusted ""steed"" will last.

few things 1) it's not a SL600, it's a 600SL - that in itself should have set off few bells, true SL600 has COP ignition, not the distributor you see on that engine 2) the harnesses were just fine in Europe, because nobody there keeps a car over ten years, and that's when the plastic on the wiring starts to break up 3) the hydraulic cylinders are pain to deal with, but a rebuild kit is available relatively cheap 4) bigger problem is the suspension, either you get rid of the ride height adjustment or shell out some significant cash 5) biggest problem is the gas tank that does not have galvanized inside and rusts like a motherf***r, getting it out is a nightmare 6) the entire interior is leather, god help you if you ever get a leak and the leather gets wet

This is really sad all around. Really sad. Beautiful car, tragic engineering oversights, and an incredible disappointment for the new owner. I would have a really tough time swallowing this and parting it. What a shame. And I just came from the juke. Good on ya wiz for trying to warn people about these horribly dishonest sellers.

Thanks for the advice wizard. You are giving us pure reality for us average joes

Over 10 years ago I had a beautiful 95 E320 wagon. Two-tone with AMG wheels I felt like an 80s stockbroker cocaine soccer dad! Of course it started missing and found out about the biodegrading engine harness. I was on a forum and we found a Connecticut Mercedes-Benz dealership that had compassion on us and sold us the harnesses at cost, $980. Paid $4000 for the car, spent $4000 keeping it running, and sold it for $4000 lol.

Ah, I enjoy reading all the comments - everyone knows someone who can do it easier, cheaper, faster, better, and so on. I’ve been doing custom harness work for 30 years and I’d take this project on for myself - but only if I acquired the car for free.

You know, as careful as I am, it’s happened to me with my beloved S400 Hybrid in my profile picture. I had a pre purchase inspection done by a local Mercedes dealership here in Germany. Very minor issues came up. New wiper blades needed, brake pads, etc. my concern was with the hybrid system and especially the power control modules that are known to fail between 80-100k miles. I purchased the car with 68k miles and was told by the Mercedes dealership that it had already been replaced on my car. What they didn’t say is that is was replaced by a used one that still had the problem. Not the new replacement one that Mercedes sells now. There is hope, mine is not failing completely yet, just causing an occasional engine light for low voltage. Luckily I found a guy who rebuilds the power control units at 1/10th of the cost and gives you a 2 year or 30k mile warranty. That’s the route I’m taking because I absolutely love this car. Great video. Thanks for the info.

Thanks Car Wizard… You help us all see what happens when you buy a car!

From 1993-2002, there were 11,086 SL600s built with the alloy, DOHC, 48-valve V-12, which in 1999, was making 389 hp and 420-lb. ft. of torque. A 0-to-60 MPH dash took 5.8 seconds, and the 600's top speed was limited to 155 MPH. Finding SL600s with verifiable maintenance histories isn't impossible, and there are many other enthusiasts out there who can't resist those V-12 badges either, so the knowledge base for these powerful, smooth-running cars runs deep.

I remember being at a vintage car fair - in the 90s. A parade of vintage cars drove past, each one being sprained live a little bit and then suddenly there was a then new SL 500. The presenter said: well that one has a few kilometres of wiring in it - it’s going to be nightmare for future restorers...

that's comical the way it spits fluid out into the cabin. can you imagine the owner who thought they owned a luxury vehicle. I can't think of a faster way to destroy the sentimental attachment to your car.

Buying an almost 30 year old Mercedes and expecting few or no problems gets filed under "You can't fix stupid". Don't feel sorry at all lol.

Awesome video as always weeezard! We'd love to see a video of the new "mansion".

I have a 1997 sl280 with the m104, I love the car. MOT approved yesterday, having 272K km on the clock. Runs and shifts very smoot, pretty frugal on fuel on highway. The head gasket need to be done, but will some winter do it my selves. The soft top hydraulics will also leak at some stages, but rebuilt ones are reasonable priced so no worries. Basic maintenance parts are cheap, filters, gaskets kind of stuff.

We have a R129 in the family, bought new in 99 I think. It has been pretty much bullet proof, and I think my dad did some upgrades over time to prevent issues. Granted it only has about 35k kms in 23 years so it's not driven much.

I feel bad for the guy that thought he was going to steal that car for half price. I hate it when that happens.

perfect timing! a dirty little car lot near me has a baby SL for $4500 and i was thinking that could be a fun summer cruiser..😂

You all have been warned, these cars have weak spots, do your research and decide if you want a 25 year old car with weak points. I have a 98' SL500, love it but also taken me 2 years to find a good one. Thanks for posting Wizzard, love your channel ❤

Mercedes had a thing about hydraulic operation of windows, tops etc, starting with the 600 in the sixties. As it was always the top models that had it, their costly leather and cloth interiors suffered badly when the inevitable pressurised leaks started. I like simplicity!

There are rebuild kits available for the hydraulic actuators for the top. Just just O-rings that fail over time. You don't need to spend the much on replacing them.

This era SLs have a manually removable hard-top and electro-hydraulically operated soft top. If this is a twin plug v12, the cost for 24 plugs is approx $350 and to r/r them takes 4-5 hrs … if you have the special wrench! That price is way too high, you need to cut it-

Want to know why old US muscle cars and "pony" cars are so popular? A-727/C-6/Turbo 400 overhaul - $1000? (Paid $500 for mine back in 2001 by a legit shop, still works good, no leaks) New/overhauled starter = $100 Water pump= $50 Radiator, correct restoration, Mopar = $400 Carburator = $200-400 Not to mention that damn near everything can be fixed in your garage by yourself.

Good advice in general for older cars & their repair costs. EVERY car, that was expensive when new, is going to be uneconomical if you have to pay a professional to fix it. (I wonder what the Wizards' hourly rate is....)

My second thought. Could the hardtop be made permanent removing all of that hydraulic crap? Could the engine be hot rodded with aftermarket controls Etc? And finally could this suspension be simplified? Wouldn't be original and maybe not worth so much. But it might make a fun driver.

Repair shop rate in the US is about $150 per hour to $250 per hour (dealers) and the computer program that the shop uses will tell every shop how many hours to fix for what issues for insurance companies purposes. The labor costs add up fast and almost every shop tells you the same repair labor cost. Then the markup of the shop buying parts also adds up quickly. I spent 5k one year on my MB repair bill then I sold the damn car for 5k that year!

I remember reading on a MB forum that there is a shop in Texas that do the complete set of wiring harness for a reasonable price, worth searching the internet for them.

I would love to own one of these V12 SLs, and it is one of the vehicles on my "maybe one day" list, but I look at *the overall cost of ownership* and as I see it, if I buy wisely, I am buying a _fully depreciated_ vehicle. Then the cost of repairs and maintenance, even if apparently substantial, are still going to be better than the brutal depreciation on a new $100k+ car. And there's a good chance that one day it will be worth more than I paid for it. Also the state tax _per valorem_ tax (NC in my case) on an older vehicle is a drop in the bucket compared to the tax on a new luxury vehicle.

If you can afford to do it, it's always worth fixing one of those. Values will keep climbing and that particular one has an awesome spec

Im glad that Wizzard took the ball and ran with it using Hoovie's cars as a springboard..I really do enjoy these videos because I am a gearhead at heart. I would like to see a Mercedes CLK 350 or 450. I have been eyeing these cars for a while wanting a convertible for our German Shepherd. I've been suspicious of the transmissions in these cars.

Easy to see how you could see this advertised and get stars in your eyes - a V12 Merc, beautiful. Thanks for this video.

I’m a backyard mechanic that has fixed, kept & flipped several fixer upper cars. I avoid European cars like Superman avoids Kryptonite.

Did the work on one of my BMW's, a five-series. Had the list with me when I went to the dealer for a part. Asked for a quote what they would charge. Would have cost $11,000. LOL. My cost was only $700. Personally I do not trust mechanics or body and paint people. They charge too much. And never actually do good work. Good for you there are people who do not have the ability to do their own work.

My 94 Viper is looking like a carolla :) Thank you again, I appreciate your honesty. Id love some buying advice for my soon to be gen 1 Viper.

44 years ago, I bought a 1960 T-bird. I think they are a great looking car but this one needed work. It came with a new dashboard cover in the box. I started pulling screws and every time I thought "that must be it" I found another set of 20 screws that had to come out. 3 days later and enough screws to fill a hubcap, the old one was out. Never got it together, I sold it. I'll never buy another one.

Love my slk 230, it's a tank, great gas mileage, cheap to fix, fast enough, and can park it in the smallest parking spot. Best of both worlds, hardtop and convertible with 1 button.

I owned one of these back in the day. I had no idea this could happen with the top! I thought the biggest problem with Mercedes back then was their vacuum door locks ;)

I’m glad you talk about these cars and the potential things that can go wrong with them. I’m interested in getting one.

I had the same hydrologic issue is my 1992 320sl. I fixed 2 pumps then another, then another 2 went out and I quit on the car. The straight 6 and trans was super strong but the electrical in an aging Mercedes is a nightmare. I spent over $3.5k in maintenance over 2.5 years using this car as a daily.

Have read reports of a few people getting screwed on BAT. What guarantees the $18K one they listed is really "fully sorted", or even significantly less costly to get sorted than this one?

You give good advice regarding this vehicle. Unfortunately for that customer, he should have done more research on this model and taken it to a mechanic before he bought it.

I love the old school 90s SL 600 & 500 body style. It just has awesome lines.

Great videos!!! Thank you. I have some questions.....How can you tell if the hydraulics for the top will go out? Wait for it to rain oil? This sucks. I see quite a few for sale and they just state it's been "garaged" never take off the hardtop... is that a sign?

If he's mechanically inclined, I'm sure he could part out the car and make back his $7500 + more. Or find someone to buy it as is for $7500 considering how rare parts are