The best one for a daily driver is the 560SL, a fairly modern car in an old package.
Those are nice looking cars . . . classic good looks and decent power. But the handling is atrocious
The fuel consumption is out of this world, though. Many trucks get equal or better, and this beast requires premium
At least it has abs and a driver’s airbag
Here’s something funny . . . most of these were equipped with vinyl seats. Perhaps higher quality vinyl than a Toyota tercel, but vinyl nonetheless. Many owners of these cars actually thought they were sitting on leather. In fact, I frequently see them listed for sale, and the guy is raving about the leather seats, but I can tell from the pictures that he has vinyl
Nothing wrong with vinyl, by the way . . . as long as it’s good quality
I like the one in the picture, because he’s still got the factory alloy rims, and they haven’t been chromed. Looks like he also has the factory radio and shift knob. Nice. Around here, probably over half of these cars have been butchered in one way or another.
I had to find a pic without the chrome rims…yeccchh.
That vinyl is called ‘MBTex’, isn’t it? Wears like iron…
beautiful cars…
Yeah, it’s called MBTex
Even when the seat was just plain worn out, the vinyl wasn’t torn
@db4690 the 70’s-80’s versions were the one’s I was talking about. Fairly common at collector car auctions but they usually have to be pristine to get decent money.
i had the opportunity to buy one last year for very cheap, that had been sitting in my daughter s friends driveway for years, early 80s model, it apparently ran when parked, and belonged to a dentist friend of the family.
i passed because i had no knowledge of how to fix Mercedes and thought the parts would be too much for my budget.
last night i asked her if it was still there, thinking that with the knowledge you guys share here, i could swing it. un fortunately its gone.
in high school this was one of my favorite models. i got to see frank perdue s SL up close. he had a number of silver mercedes
While the handling my be poor compared to other two seat roadsters, I don’t believe the 560SL was meant as a sports car. It’s more of a touring car. My neighbors have one and enjoy it for local, occasional driving and for occasional commutes. Now that the kids are gone, they might use it for more than just local driving.
wesw The MB being gone was not unfortunate. As you well know, any vehicle that has been sitting for years will need many things. Mercedes parts prices would have put you at high risk of a stroke.
but, but, but…
yeah, its not like I m trying to pick up chicks anymore…
A young hottie would not be attracted that 560SL
But a classy 45 year old lady might . . .
"A young hottie would not be attracted that 560SL
But a classy 45 year old lady might . . ."
That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
I remember my first ride in a Benz back in the mid 70s. A friend called me up one Sat. morning and wanted to know if I wanted to go on a short road trip and pick up some cars for the Benz dealer here. Nothiog on the agenda so I figured a plush ride in a new Benz and some extra money would be a slam dunk.Not.
Someone called shotgun for the front so I rode on the outside of the rear seat in a new Benz. The guy on the other side, just like me, had to hold onto the armrest the entire trip to Wichita, KS to keep from falling over onto the guy in the middle.
About 20 miles out of town the A/C quit working on a 90 degree day and after another 30 miles the automatic transmission decided to go epileptic and randomly hunt for any other gear on a whim every few minutes. I cursed that car all the way and was thankful to the heavens when I got out of it. The sales manager who was driving was not amused about bets being placed on when the car was going to quit… 
All the way up to Wichita I kept looking at that window sticker and noting the 400 dollar coco mats and 40 bucks for installation. That was mid 70s and those same mats were sold at VW for less than 25 bucks. And 40 bucks to lay mats onto the floor…
Guess those mats could be a sales tactic. “Sure, we’ll knock half off the mats and drop the labor charge”. Gullible new Benz owner drives off thinking they put one over on the dealer.
You never know what might attract a young hottie. The ‘60s pagoda-roof SL has become very expensive in recent years, and they’re especially popular with young Hollywood personalities. They think they’ re soooo cute. For years those cars had modest value, a lot less than the more iconic 450SL of the seventies, the classic Rodeo Drive shopping cart. Everyone in Beverly Hills had to have one back then. The next body style, from the late eighties was very brutish and wedgy and never worked for me.
Hey, an old hottie would be great for most of us.
I’ve already got an old(er) hottie. At least I think so.
I remember some years back a friend and myself went on vacation to Florida, and another friend there loaned us a Mercedes of hers. I thought “cool, I get to drive a Mercedes for a few days”. I was, shall we say, underwhelmed as soon as the novelty wore off. It was just a car, metal and tires, with marginally comfortable leather seats, some nice wood trim, normal performance, and nothing that would compel me to want one. I got to look rich for a few days, but my illusions about Mercedes were deflated.
If you’re familiar with the old Married With Children TV show you might remember a few episodes in the first few years the show was on about the neighbors and their cars.
The next door neighbor Steve the arrogant banker had a Benz and on several occasions it led to him nearly getting whooped up on and getting the Benz vandalized.
I’ve had a 380SL since 2001. It is not a car for someone with a thin check book. For that reason, it’s probably not the car for me. Had I known how much better the 560SL, with essentially the same body is, I’d have held out for one of those. The biggest issue I’ve had with mine is the fact that it apparently spent several years in a “rust belt” area before moving south. Rust will be the reason for it’s eventual demise.
@ok4450, the random shifting you described on your M-B ride to Wichita was probably caused by someone spilling a cup of coffee (or other liquid) into the shifter area on the console. It plays havoc with the electrical items in there. M-B engineers refused to equip their cars with cup holders back then. “Why would a driver need a cup holder? His only task is to DRIVE”…
I ran onto an M-B S-600 V-12 coupe a while back. Gorgeous car. Priced low. It ran VERY WELL- forwards. When I selected reverse, it acted as though it was trying to be in a forward gear and reverse at the same time. I called a guy I know who has worked on M-B transmissions for about 40 years. He told me the fix was a new module in the console, for about $1200. He said NOT to try backing up until it was fixed as damage could result, if it hadn’t already. I passed.