"Is the 1986-89 Mercedes-Benz 560SL ready to rebound?"

These cars are plentiful (I owned an 86) and yes, supply vs. demand - but the problem is and why so many are for sale are they sit for a long time and people do NOT adjust their prices on these cars. They are like...take it or leave it and they sit at inflated prices. I've watched these for a few years now and same thing. People expecting them to be the prices they ask and they just don't sell well then. They made a LOT of them especially for the USA market. Like 60% or something came to the US.

 

127 for sale on Hemmings alone...

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/?makeFacet=Mercedes-Benz&modelFacet=560SL&adtypeFacet=carsforsale&year_min=&year_max=

 

127? LMAO

Anyway, I had a 75 450SL for about a year back in 2015 and the car while nice to look at was a complete dog. Transmission didn't inspire much confidence and was the weakest point on the car IMO. I bought a Nice R129 a year later then put the 107 up for sale and never looked back. 100x the car and prettier plus more timeless. I haven't driven the 560 yet, people swear its a much different cup of tea compared the 450.

The other thing that makes me glad I sold it is that it has become very popular amongst the generation of 20-24 year old hipster douchebags who love them for some reason. I hate anything that is trendy by nature, especially trendy with people who were born 7 years after the car ceased production.
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"The other thing that makes me glad I sold it is that it has become very popular amongst the generation of 20-24 year old hipster douchebags who love them for some reason. I hate anything that is trendy by nature, especially trendy with people who were born 7 years after the car ceased production"

You can say that again. Thats whats happening with the other brand like BMW.

 

The R129 is the car to have. Go drive good examples of the 560sl, 500sl and sl500 and it becomes obscenely obvious within minutes. Quality of the interior materials is better, torque is better, style is better, gearbox is better, it is a special car and a steal at what they go for today. The market will figure this out in 10 to 25 years when there are less of them around. I've had mine almost four years now and am finally going to have to sink a few dollars into it with some suspension work. It's the most reliable car I own. It's only weak point is the convertible top which is a 1500 dollar fix given you are buying a good car with a clean top.

 

I love those! We have the same tastes!


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Loving my 99 sport, I do still like the look of the early 90s ones especially with the monoblock 19s. They were always on my radar and it actually replaced my 550 maranello. I had my heart set on an estoril M roadster but when push came to shove I sprung for the Merc instead and am happy with the choice. I think the car is slightly prettier and I don't have to deal with the constant bimmer headaches. . I use it as a daily driver whenever my E38 has its PMS. My dad is looking at sl550 2009 year and I'm trying to talk him into getting the 129.

 

I'd throw in the e34 m5 and viper gts.

 

R129..best benz ever built.

 

We had an E38 and R129 when I was growing up. My parents loved the cars when they worked, but hated how often they were in the shop. To this day they still tell me to avoid MB and BMW as the plastic radiators caused them so much grief among other things. I remember some jerk took a knife to the rear soft top window on my mom's SL500. She put the hardtop on for good after that and gave up convertibles without a glass window...that was always a PITA to move as it was heavy.

 

My R129 never has issues and runs like a Timex. I'm sure it went through a period when 7-14 years old but somebody else had to deal with it and not me. The only two week points in the car are the top (mine has been fixed) and the biodegradable wiring harness. From what I hear this only happens when the car is left to sit and mice get in there to chew on it. Somebody told me last weekend that they had an SL600 with the harness with 6k miles on it and after driving it a bit the harness somehow went bad and they had to spend some bucks fixing it. That harness was probably already on its way out due to the car never being driven and then went once the car started getting used. I've had mine almost four years now and put about 3k miles a year on it, no issues. It has 122k miles on it now (bought it with 110). It is immaculate and if you saw it you would think it only has 20k on it. My harness has either been fixed already or if it is original I doubt it's going to happen as it would have had to have happened by now. There is no other sports car out there with the build quality, looks and torque that this car has at this price. It is a fabulous machine. The styling is outstanding and understated minus the grill logo. I think it gets more beautiful every year. Its Simple mechanically and easy to work on. My original plan was to keep the car for 2 to 3 years then move into something more intense but after having the car I love it and am going to keep it. Its a fun car to tear up the highway and makes a great backup car whenever the Bimmer is being a bimmer! The 129 spanks the 107 in every category, including most importantly, styling. It's the best SL since the 280 in the early 70s and that makes it the Best SL of the past 50 years, hands down!

 

I've always liked the looks of the SL's. But it was a real popular car here in Vancouver. Knew several people who had them, back in the day. I think it was too popular to be a high valued collectible. Values here have come down a bit, maybe because of winter.

 

I have a R107 and my father-in-law has a R129.

I'm very happy with the old school feel of mine when floating around Florida. I'd agree that the R129 is the better car. But I love my 560SL.

Matt

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I had a 500SL (1985), then a 560SL (1986) and now a 280SL (1985). They are great cars.
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Much prefer the R107 look,chrome bumpers etc.

 

Go hop on autotrader and ebaymotors. Garage queen 560sls galore. Dime a dozen!!!

Add that to the 117 still for sale on hemmings

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/Mercedes-Benz/560+SL/New+Haven+CT-06511?makeCodeList=MB&searchRadius=0&zip=06511&marketExtension=include&modelCodeList=560SL&isNewSearch=true&sortBy=derivedpriceDESC&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.X560sl.TRS0&_nkw=560sl&_sacat=0

Suffice to say, a lower mileage clean 560 is NOT RARE and never was. Just another lie that was told back in 2014-2016

There will be a rebound in about 15 years after they're done crashing currently.