AGC

Anyone here own one of the older SLs (1986-1989), been thinking about getting one for my wife; thoughts

gonzilla

My dad had one for many years. It's a real hog. Heavy and slow. Fuel economy was nearing single digits. I seem to remember the front end needing attention a lot (suspension and bushings and such). Other than that, it was solidly built and a pretty good-looker if you're into that 80's-era archetypal thing.

95 NC 993

My neighbor just sold his '89 for $29,000 to a buyer in in the UAE. It was mint, a true #2 car with less than 30,000 miles. We went on many drives caravaning together and he loved it. Solid, solid car and a real looker, especially with the top down. There are still a few low mileage survivors out there if you are patient. I personally didn't like the large steering wheel, and the removeable hardtop was HEAVY! It took both of us to lift plus my wife's eyes to line up the peg hole or else the the paint could easily be scratched. A good clean, low mileage example will run you $20,000+ or else you can get anything in lesser condition at whatever range you want. He had zero maintenance issues but you wouldn't expect much with that mileage anyway.

Tom W

Not an old one, but I sold the 993 and bought an '09 SL63 AMG in July. The cars are totally different but I love the SL.

It's more comfortable. It weighs 4200 lbs and a chunk of that weight is the incredible seats. We tested every 2009 Porsche seat and there was no comparison in comfort. My wife can ride in the SL without Vicodin (she has a bad back). That's not true with with the Porsche seats.

The power is awesome. 520 hp with 400+ ft-lb of torque starting really low in the rev range and going up to 7000 rpm. The 6.2 AMG V8 is much more than our 3.6's. On the street, the added power more than offsets the extra weight. Some time next year I'll do a DE in it instead of using the Turtle and compare it to a GT3. The SL power to weight (4200/520) is pretty close to the Turtle (2200/285) and a lot better than a 993.

I like the paddle shifters (and I like them better than the PDK buttons). I can be half-asleep in the morning and not worry about shifting or I can get stuck in 5 mph stop and go traffic and not have to do anything. I can set the car to comfort, sport, sport+, or full manual as I choose. The sport+ shifts are <0.1 sec and the downshifts really help slow the car (and are as aggressive as what I do in the Turtle on the track). I don't feel my masculinity is threatened by the lack of a clutch pedal.

Buying used makes a lot of sense. The depreciation these cars see is extreme compared to a 911. I think mine lost $60k in value as I drove it off the lot. However, after 3 months and 3.5k miles I think I'll be keeping it a while so it doesn't matter.