Back in the day my dad rewarded himself after many years of hard work with a brand new 1979 450SL. Dad passed away a little less than 2 years ago. Still sitting in his garage is a 1999 SL500 with 13,000 miles. He sold the 450 to a friend many years ago and I believe he still drives it. I sure miss my dad.
Thank you too. I love your videos. I think the old "tuna boats" of yesteryear far surpassed todays luxury liners in terms of quietness going down the road. I have a biturbo Mercedes Benz S 600. The suspension is so stiff that you feel every bump in the road and the rock hard low profile tires will transmit all rough road noise right into the cabin. I just don't know where the makers of these high horse super tech cars figured the buyers wanted to do 90 mph in the radius exit ramps. I personally would sacrifice a certain amount of handling for more comfortable ride.
Yes! That is so true. Hopefully someday we'll see a return to soft luxury cars. This 450SL in the video did an excellent job of providing a sharp ride that still felt smooth.
My sister owned an "88 500SL that I was fortunate enough to be able to drive a few times. I took it on a road trip once and remember thinking to myself how lucky I was to be able to drive one and that everyone should at some point in their lives be able to drive such an exquisite machine
That classic Merc driving experience. From being a Mercedes mechanic, I can attest to how they used to feel, and how the larger models still drive. They're quiet. Comfortable. Can hustle if required, but prefer not to. Understated styling and luxury on the inside. Mechanical components last much longer than on other brands. Interiors wear very well over time. Also lots of technological advancements for their time. Takes a long time to develop rust on the body. Engines and Automatic transmissions are overall pretty reliable. Yes, not perfect (they have their own issues) but on balance very good. Overall, they are a very good second hand car to own.
+Jason Carpp The look nice, but in our opinion the flush ones look a little more modern. However, like +tk4225m said, the plastic does get kind of gross over time. Thanks for watching!
+AutoMoments You're welcome. I must respectfully disagree. Later Mercedes-Benz cars look good with the Euro headlamps, but up to then, I find this look, what you see in this video, to be the best looking Mercedes-Benz look.
Brings back a lot of memories. My dad had an '80 450SL, in exactly this same color scheme. He had the headlights switched out with the composite light, which he delighted in telling people were "illegal." He also had the hardtop, and rigged up a pulley system in the garage so that he could put the hardtop on and off the car by himself.
Sounds like your dad had a lot of fun with that car! This one had a hard top also, but the owner said it's kind of a pain to take on and off. Too bad he didn't have a pulley system like your dad. Thanks for watching!
I’m working on one of these myself. He’s has a point, I think they have aged very nice for a 40-50 year old car. And boy has it held up. Thing is like a rock!
I learned to drive on a 1974 450SL, which came to me in 2002 with 74,000 original miles, in pristine midnight blue. I took that car to 170,000 and sold it in 2006, a mistake in retrospect. It wasn't a hot rod by any means, but it did literally everything I asked of it, and made me a loyal Mercedes client for life. Thank you for covering the car in a beautiful review that in my view correctly captures the spirit of it. This was Mercedes at its very best; when accounting and profit taking did not trump technical excellence... the fact so many of these are still on the road in original and unrestored condition is a testament to their uncompromising quality...
A buddy of mine is driving one of those as a weekend car. Of course it's beautiful...and I could have got one myself...but here I am daily driving a 91' Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse. I just enjoy american designs more than german ones.
I actually like the headlights. The euro lights are slick, but I guess it has to do with my introduction to the car at age 7 when a friend's mother traded her '68 Cougar to her brother for his '72 350 SL. It was an amazing little car. I'm on the fence about buying one now because they can be fickle and temperamental. However, the cache and style will live on for decades to come. Nice video.
I have had my '80 450SL for 6 years. Mine has the same color combination. When it was original, it was the palomino interior. I changed it myself to red, but a brighter red than the red here. I prefer the sealed beams lights, I like the shine they have. If the car is sluggish, usually it's because it needs to be driven more. It craves highway driving. Also prefers high test fuel, mine prefers Shell Premium. The pedal burying you refer to is the transmission kickdown switch located under the gas pedal. I refer to it as Ludicrous speed (Spaceballs ref.) lol. I've never seen a car with the same color combo as mine. Would be interesting to meet this owner, since I live in Maryland just south of Pennsylvania. This car looks very nice and was a pleasure to watch. Thanks
In my family, we have two, one for my dad and then one for me. He bought his pre owned in the 90s, and I got mine a few weeks ago after a customer left it for more than 6 years.
My stepdads family were all car dealers since i think the 50s they were fincher motors. And we got one of these from his grandfather its orange and a little old but it's still a beauty to behold
Thank you so much for a well thorough review of this car. I was considering buying one identical to the one being reviewed this video got me to buy it. Thank you
My dad has one of these. Impressive build quality for sure, I mean, the power windows still work for crying out loud! A little sluggish and the HVAC system is broken, but it is a fun drive for sure.
Its been said that there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes. I bought a 03 S600 about 6 years ago with less than 30,000 miles for about 26grand. So far I have over $10,000 in repairs and the car now had 45k miles.
+Bill Taylor thats true I bought an 81 Mercedes 300d for $300 and I have spent about $850 on it so far but it still needs wayy more before its finished
One could argue there was a major change in 1985 with the introduction of the alloy engines and newer transmissions. The automatic in that car was also a 4 speed, which moves off in 2nd :) (unless you selected L or floored it) As always, great review!
+compu85 Thanks for watching! It would be interesting to drive several SLs with different transmissions/engines back to back, to see how different they feel.
Amazing little cars. A neighbor traded her brother: Her '68 Cougar for his '72 350 SL. This was back in '73. LOL! As I'm 6'4 a 450 SL is out of the question for me in terms of size vs comfort. However I will always lust after these little gems. Timeless? Yes.
What I've always like about Mercedes-Benz of this era is how well everything works. Although I've never owned one, I've ridden in plenty as a passenger, and I've found them to be comfortable without being too soft, too wallowy. Firm, without being too jittery, like you're going to rattle your teeth out of your mouth.
+AutoMoments You're more than welcome. Keep up the good work. I'm the kind of guy who'd rather drive a car, or even ride in a car, than eat. If I could, I'd take any car that runs on its own power, and take it for a spin, just to find out what it's like to drive. :)
I Enjoyed this Video! as it was my first Mercedes ive ever seen as a kid and I have fell deeply in love with it ever since. I sure cant wait to own one.
I'm interested in getting either a similar era 450 or 560SL. I'm leaning toward the 560 as I've read that the extra zip was well worth it. Anyone know when power convertible top began being offered? '87 perhaps? The classic look of these cars is undeniable. I'm not a big fan of the boxier 560SL models that I believe started in the late 90's. It would be great to better define what years of either the 450 or 560 SL I should be searching for that has an auto power top and still retains the box like appearance of this 1980 model..Also what years to avoid..any help would be greatly appreciated.
JesdaG: There is a reason few of the old-school 99/900 exist. They were crap for their owners. Put a 900 Convertible on the rack....front and back of car would sag....good luck trying to open the doors. With the front of the engine smashed right-up next to the firewall and horrible air circulation in the engine-compartment....front oil pump seal was guaranteed to start leaking after 2 years of normal usage. Replacing that rubber-silicon seal was a pain in the ass....small wrists were a must without blood-loss. Let's not forget the lower-control arms (stitch and spot-welded from multiple pieces of mild-steel) were guaranteed to fracture and collapse the front of the car to the ground. Only through (trial and error of Experience) could even a trained technician figure out how to relieve the tension of the coil spring and remove/replace the broken lower-control arm without removing the drive-train. I began to despise 99/900s in the shop I worked at...they felt and looked as if they were a high-school shop project gone horribly wrong. Now,old-school Volvo 240s,700s and 900s without independent rear suspension or the Renault inline-6.....they were easy to work on...and we made shit-loads of money on them....Mitchell Labor Manual was always generous with labor hours on those easy to work on Volvos.
Thank you so much for the compliment. We're glad you enjoy our videos. We still make new videos, just not very often. These are very time consuming to produce. But we are working a big documentary on the history of American Motors Corp. Check out our trailer on a channel!
@@AutoMoments awesome! Looking forward to everything you release! It’s gold. Like the Studebaker Golden Hawk. A rarity and not very appreciated until they fade in time. Ty you my friend for all you do! 👍
Wanna see a car that has been the same for many model years? Try the Lada Niva, it's been the same since 1977, no changes at all, but they now have a more modern front end as an option, but standard is the old Golf MK2 looking front. It's about 10K new, and is being sold all over the world, and doing pretty well sales wise
This was due to the emission restrictions in the USA. the German 3.5 liter engine had more power than the US 4.5 engine, which rendered it gutless with a compression ratio of 8,8 to 1. Sad but true
Is it really such a good thing that it was in production so long? Most cars that stay the same for so long are Soviet era rustbuckets like Yugos and Lada 2107s. Some Italian sedans (Like the Fiat 124) came standard with 4 wheel disc brakes in the 1960s, so it wasn't too uncommon at the time either. Kinda sucks that these sold so much better than the LeBarons you mentioned earlier - now a good EVA LeBaron will run you just as much, if not more than one of these constantly broken Mercedes.
Here in Argentina those cars are soo expensive, people who sell it generally are asking about 50k usd. Sadly I think that I would never be able to own one.
.............Kudos to you for maintaining this vehicle I have two cars benz w 115 and 123 Both vehicles do not run very badly The w 115 car was the official car used by the world’s first prime minister My dream is to get those 2 cars running It is not easy The politicians of sri lanka have stolen the national economy and the whole country is in debt to the world The country is now being run by IMF and world aid Everything is taxed Just breathing is not taxed I have seen benz cars abandoned in some countries which are in the best condition Both my cars have about 60% damage to the bumper Recovery is difficult If you have the body of the w 115 or 123 cars in you possession, I would be grateful if you could provide me with the body of those cars. Also, if there is any possibility to help me in making these two cars, I would be grateful Sorry if there was a mistake…… I am also a person who loves benz cars…………………
Yes it is a timeless body design it was a classic line was first released it is timeless like a black Texido what a little black dress it never goes out of style and this change should shoot up in value no matter how many they may ride sma yes it is a timeless body design it was a classic when was first released it is timeless like a black Texido what a little black dress it never goes out of style and this change should shoot up in value no matter how many they may ride smooth Has class what more could you want our 107 will never go out of style and that you can take to the bank
+AutoMoments I know they definitely have some old Delorean ads on RU-vid, for brochures, I would check with the DMC in Texas and see if they have any copies
"Now wait just a goddamn minute, what the hell is this? Is this a 1980 Mercedes 450SL for $35,000? THAT'S TOOO FUCKIN' HIIIGH!" *EXPLODES* ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zqHZWdFVyyQ.html
The Cadillac was butt ugly and fwd. Funny I would say that seeing how I own a 2001 fwd Deville. I have videos of my car. I bought it 9 months ago for $375.
"How does a car stay in production for 17 model years without any major changes?" Well, plenty of terrible cars get produced forever. Volkswagen Beetle and Transporter, the Yugo, plenty of Wartburgs, the Trabant, most Russian cars lol It only makes sense to lob a Mercedes in with them.
Except for the Cadillac Seville, there was nothing from Detroit with port fuel injection. Oh, btw, I wouldn’t give you a nickel for one of those gray market cars. I’d also be scared to drive the gray market at night. We have sealed beam halogens for a reason.
