Possible buy of SL - advice on problems?

[Tellurius]

Hello from new member here! I have a possible opportunity to buy a 230 SL. It has been sitting for 5-6 years. Apparently it is not rusty, the engine is in good condition, but it needs a new interior and the automatic gearbox was problematic. What would the estimated value of such a car be? How much would it cost, you think, to bring to a drivable condition, given that I am looking for a daily driver, not a trailer queen? In particular, would it be best to rebuild the gearbox, or substitute another? Have you any idea how much the gearbox would cost?
Thank you for your advice!

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

I think you may have posted too many questions here my friend ....

I recommend the following....

1) have a good read here -----> http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Buying/PrepurchaseEvaluation

2) have you seen the car if not get some pictures

3) then post the pictures here

4) address specific questions in the appropriate area of the forum (Engine ... Body etc).

You will find that if you do this help is not far away.

Please remember also, many questions you might have answers are only a few key strokes away by using the "search" function her since you will find that it all has been discussed d before.

If you are serious about the purchase I strongly recommend you have a look at the car and if you cannot do this consider hiring someone to check it out for you the cost of a few hundred dollars to do this is money well spend.

Good Luck

Dieter

[Bonnyboy]

My favourite stage of car ownership....the hunt.

Unless you are the mechanic that knows the car intimately (or have talked to the mechanic who has worked on the car intimately) beware of phrases such as the "engine is in good condition" and the "body is rust free"    I was told similar things about my car by someone who very trustworthy (my Father - it was his car I bought) but he just didn't know what to look for.  He didn't own a hoist like me. These cars do not like to sit.

Find out what the owner thinks its worth.   I would suggest you  "pay" for an inspection by someone knowledgeable with these cars.  Bring the results back to this forum to see how $erious or insignificant the items are.  Find out what the owner will actually let it go for and then start the haggling process. How much can you do - how much do you want to do?

The last vintage car I helped someone sell / buy - the Owner wanted $25,000.  A detailed inspection revealed at least $25,000 in necessary bodywork (and that's not much these days if you have to farm it out at $100/hour), non matching engine and lots of missing parts.     An amateur restoration but properly worked on car would go for $55-60,000.   Not concours but just driver quality.    That didn't leave much on the table for his efforts if he were to get in over his head - they settled for $20,000 and everyone was happy.   It wasn't until a specialist looked at the car and identified the issues that proper discussions could take place. 

I find that the mentality of many people is that they want a certain price based on what they think the car needs and what it would be worth after all the work is done.  Of course the owner thinks bodywork and a new paint job is $5,000 and an engine rebuild is $3,500.  These cars demand a bit more respect than that.

Good luck and report back and look at as much as you can on this site for info on what to look for.   There is a chart somewhere that identified areas of potential rust.   Most "restoration candidates" I have inspected up close have rust in most of those locations - but you need to know where and how to look.   Rubber deteriorates, exhausts rust out from ontop. 

Just because the price is high doesn't mean the car is any good and vice versa.
 

 

[Tellurius]

Thank you for your advice. I will act on your suggestions and post again when I have more information