According to the advert’s description, right now’s Nice Price or No Dice SL 500 is “A car for a fine lady, a gentleman of distinction.” Let’s see if this particular last mannequin yr version R129 nonetheless has a value that even the remainder of us schlubs can afford.
“If you build it, he will come.” That haunting line from the 1989 movie A Field of Dreams is ranked quantity 39 of the highest 100 most memorable movie quotes by film ranker The American Film Institute. Another much less memorable line that may be discovered within the automotive world is, “If you mod it, they will leave.” That was the case with the 2003 Ford Crown Vic LX we checked out yesterday. Modded with a brand new coat of paint, a padded vinyl roof, huge wheels, and a loud stereo, it misplaced a very good little bit of the next that Panther platform automobiles typically collect. A $6,900 price ticket didn’t assist overlook the questionable additions, incomes the automotive a 70 p.c No Dice loss.
Fortunately, there doesn’t appear to be something not manufacturing unit about right now’s 2002 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 Silver Arrow. That’s to not say this automotive doesn’t stand out out of your run-of-the-mill R129, because it does have a number of notable and distinctive options, all a part of its particular version blast from the previous trim package deal.
The fundamental automotive isn’t something to sneeze at both. The R129 is arguably one of many best-looking of Mercedes’ long-running SL line and is the final to be fairly analog and, therefore, pretty dependable in the long run. Coming with each a hydraulically-actuated canvas convertible prime and an aluminum-skinned hardtop, it’s additionally a four-season grand tourer for 2. Several engines had been obtainable within the automotive all through its run, from DOHC six cylinders to V8s and an enormous however silky-smooth V12.
As denoted by the five hundred a part of this automotive’s title, it’s powered by Mercedes’ rock-solid M113 5.0 liter V8. In the SL that engine makes 302 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a four-speed automated parsing these ponies to the rear wheels in conventional trend.
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On prime of that may be a particular Silver Arrow package deal, which Mercedes meant as an homage to the silver-painted race automobiles it ran within the Thirties. The package deal contains distinctive silver metallic paint, particular badging and illuminated sill plates, an engine-turned sprint appliqué, BBS wheels, and two-tone black and grey leather-based within the cabin. In complete, Mercedes constructed round 1,450 SL 500 Silver Arrows for the U.S. market. The V12 particular version is even dearer, with solely 100 produced for the U.S.
![Image for article titled At $38,888, Is This 2002 Mercedes SL 500 Silver Arrow A Sharp Deal?](https://i0.wp.com/i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,q_60,w_645/418cab919b43300248c39ab8315a3965.jpg?w=788&ssl=1)
Amazingly, this Silver Arrow has solely completed a mere 22,500 miles, although it’s now totally sufficiently old to drink. According to the vendor, who has owned the automotive for 18 years, it initially lived in Florida earlier than shifting to its present location in Virginia. Over these years, it’s alledged to have at all times been garaged and to have been packed away when highway circumstances had been unfavorable. That has left it in what the vendor claims is concourse situation each visually and mechanically, struggling no points or warning lights with which to contend.
Everything is authentic on the automotive, seemingly proper all the way down to the tires. Since nobody needs to roll on twenty-year-old meats, the vendor is providing a second set of brand-new Continental tires together with the acquisition. It’ll be as much as the brand new proprietor to determine the way to get them residence.
![Image for article titled At $38,888, Is This 2002 Mercedes SL 500 Silver Arrow A Sharp Deal?](https://i0.wp.com/i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,q_60,w_645/d9529f815067ed2635ed1aa06bff4fe1.jpg?w=788&ssl=1)
A few issues to notice right here — the vendor says the automotive is a pleasure to drive with the highest down however doesn’t present any footage of the automotive with the highest up. That’s a really costly restore to undertake if something is amiss with the mechanism’s difficult hydraulics and electronics, which do are inclined to put on merely from age. There’s additionally no point out of the usual gear exhausting prime, which might be an expensive factor to supply if not included. Both of those prime suggestions needs to be thought of earlier than any negotiations are begun. To whet our whistles till such time, let’s have a look-see at this Silver Arrow’s $38,888 asking.
![Image for article titled At $38,888, Is This 2002 Mercedes SL 500 Silver Arrow A Sharp Deal?](https://i0.wp.com/i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,q_60,w_645/1b843640f9e8cb84b96e10618be09f99.jpg?w=788&ssl=1)
That price ticket will get the brand new proprietor a clear title automotive that seems virtually as new. It’s additionally one of many rarer editions of a mannequin line that’s arguably on ascension value-wise. The R129s are nonetheless typically an honest worth in the marketplace, however they appear to be following their R107 predecessors in growing in worth yearly. Neither is as loopy costly because the Pagoda Roof SLs of the ’60s, however perhaps sometime they are going to be.
What’s your tackle this Silver Arrow and that $38,888 value in right now’s {dollars}? Does that appear like a prudent funding as soon as the highest questions have been answered? Or, is it nonetheless too early within the R129’s life for even so particular an version to ask a lot?
You determine!
Washington DC Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.
H/T to S.R. Gooch for the hookup!
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Source: jalopnik.com