Why does this VERY clean 1993 500SL need $4K in repairs at CAR WIZARD's shop? 

What are your thoughts on Monkey Bread Car Wizard? Also, should I road trip the 308 back to prove you can take it on a road trip and not just trailer it everywhere?

Great video Wizard. Old classics with low milage will have lots of crusty rubber hoses etc... To spend 4,000 odd to bring this SL up to date is not that bad... nice to see the new owner is happy to do the work... great cars that will go on for ever and ever... if they are looked after and maintained!

That's pretty car , one of my favorites that Mercedes built... Spending $4,000 isn't too bad when you think about the price of new cars being close to $40k..

"Making them look nice doesn't make them younger" Very Wise words wizard lol

I bought a 95 500sl with 47,000 miles on it and kept it for five years. Invested very little money into it and loved driving it. I sold it for $2000 more than I paid for it and regret letting go to this day. It was a very dependable car and exciting to drive.

Mercedes cars that were really well thought of before the Accountants started designing cars that we have today!! Great video as always respect from Ireland.

Three years ago I bought a 15 years old Volvo V70 with 360.000km. It had a perfect service history and so far I only did some oil changes. To the SL: still love the R129. As a student I was working at the Mercedes factory in my hometown where the SL were made that time. Later on I made a Berufsausbildung (vocational training) for 2,5 years at Mercedes Benz as an industrial clerk. Once I drove a 600 SL on the test track with a banked curve.

If the foglamp is still dark, take a look at the lamp control relay and resolder it.

Good morning Car Wizard. I see how much people are spending on new vehicles .The lady owning the 1993, 500SL is not really making a bad deal with the 4000,- of repairs and maintanance. I own a 1991 Mitsubishi Sigma 3.0 V6 - 12 V and just had the automatic transmission completelly rebuild with all new parts, which are normally very hard to get hold on. The total was 4081,70 - Euros. Now I can probably drive until I die. I have just turned 61 ! 😀😀😀

I'll never forget the first one of these I drove...that famous rock solid like a vault Mercedes feel was no joke and rode like it had solid rubber tires rolling on billard smooth rubber pavement AND pulled like a freighttrain! Great car!

About a year and a half ago I bought a 1991 190E. Retiree-owned all of its life, Sunday driver only, no rust, 129k miles. Obviously, I had to put money into it, because something wrong here, something not great here (new fuel pump, pressure regulator, water pump, radio and speakers, radiator grille, still searching for headlight doors, kinda afraid to botch the polisihing job and don't really want to convert to the European headlights). Invested maybe 50% of what the car was bought for. Some of the work I did myself, where the job was deemed easy enough. Absolutely worth every penny. Some people buy guns, some people go to concerts, some buy massaging seats, I like to ride in my old Mercedes. I wouldn't even have it posted for sale if I hadn't bought another one recently, a one-owner 2004 CLK500 with 55k miles.

Losing Magic Mike must have been very painful for you. My sympathies, and I hope your new tech can fill those big shoes. Nice work on the 500SL.

Honestly at my older years as a retired Volvo parts manager . Trying to get older generations of cars has become a pain in the arse ! My newest is 1998 s90 . My deceased brother 2006 Colorado has 54k miles . The older are more of simple fix . $4000.00 is a normal expectation at least . More Like 6k - 10k on a car that is better than most new cars now . I would rather bye a older car that needs a lot that is simple and no major electrical modules than a newer just waiting for the newer less stylish car any day of the week ! four thousand is easy ! Plus another thing most don't even think of is insurance pricing ? You can get a valued price on a older car through haggerty or similar and be protected for the real value verses the Kelly blue book that will total a car ! Thanks for your channel ! Watched for years ! In fact I personally spoke with you about two years ago about the headers for the jagville ! I told you of a place that could custom make the headers / exhaust manifolds for your application ! I guess I was wrong or was not a fit for you at the time ? Oh well . God Bless ! I sincerely appreciate all you education of so many people . I pick up new ideas in your videos ! Thank for your service to our country . Timothy P. Kraus . A faithful subscriber !

I think I need to start making the trip to your shop from Des Moines. Whenever I hear you talk about billing, or add up Hoovie's bills, I am never shocked and think they sound quite reasonable compared to what I'm paying in Des Moines at the dealer.

Hope it ended amicably for the shop and Magic Mike. I'm happy for Mike, you can't expect him to stay there forever, and hope The Wizard would applaud them for growing up and becoming their "competitor". There's enough cars out there that need a good mechanic for everyone.

I bought a 1986 Mercedes 560sl in September and I knew what I was getting into basically. A week after I bought it I took the hard top off and tried to open the soft top up, it was stuck, ac wasn’t working. $1700. It’s leaking from the valve covers and rear main seal. Quote was $2k with more to do such as the subframe mounts. No problem for me because I knew what to expect. But for people who aren’t familiar with cars plz understand what your going through before you purchase a classic car, especially a European car.

Old tires are DANGEROUS tires. I can attest to that with my '84 VW. It had 16 year old rubber. I nearly spun around on a highway off-ramp when I was going a little too fast on the cloverleaf section. Didn't have the same issue with new rubber. BTW - Paul Walker might still be alive if the owner of the Carrera GT he died in didn't have old rubber either. GET NEW TIRES!

Here are the prices for the parts in the list Wizard gave us, which comes to just over $1400 (half of which is for the tires), plus the cost of inspection. Definitely a lot of work, but for the do-it-yourselfer it's not a big deal. Only mechanics can "afford" to repair these cars. High retail value in NADA is $10,800. You decide whether it's worth fixing. Valve cover gaskets - 45 Oil pan - 130 Trans gasket filter - 24 Trans cooler lines - 160 4 tires - 700 Right rear tallight - 160 Fuel filter - 20 Fuel pump seal - 15 Odomter gears - 18 Brake flush - 75 Brake light bulb - 17 Cam actuator magnets - 85 Oil change - 40

I have a 94 SL500 that no one can fix. Engine harness, top cylinders replaced, ne trans, etc etc. It dies in the middle of the road randomly. Just parked it. It’s had so much work done and still won’t run. It will end up at the crusher at some point. Every shop it goes to says they can fix it, nope, lol. I’d avoid the R129 altogether.

I recently purchased a lightly used Lexus GX with 50,000 miles on it. Seviced by Lexus every 5,000 miles. Looks and drives like a new Lexus. Zero issues. Love it!

Tyres are not a surprise expense. Great that you tidied up all the problems, a few grand isn't much.

Purchased a 2009 CLK350 with 80k miles for $8k without even seeing it first. Good gamble though! Took it to an independent German mechanic in town, and it passed with flying colors. All it needed was a brake fluid flush, difurential fluid and oil change. Out of pocket $500

Put back the original grille please.

$4k sounds extremely reasonable to me as the owner of a newer diesel pickup. My truck cost $21k to repair (about half of that covered under warranty) in the first 18 months of ownership.

A family member had one of these a few years back. It was a bottomless money pit. It was also the earlier model year with the dreaded Bosch mechanical fuel injection- it never ran right even after replacing every component. Complete junk. I tried to warn him before he bought it but he wouldn't listen.

2003 C32 AMG with just 160k, just had to rebuild entire crankcase ventilation system because the rubber hoses were crumbling like a sand castle. Same issue with oil cooler seals. Crankshaft position sensor went out as well. If I had paid a mechanic to do all that work I can’t imagine how much it would be! All told it was under 100 dollars for all of the above mentioned (and many hours in the driveway). German cars…

Treat those outside side mirrors like gold. The OEM replacements (including the mirror adjustment wiring and motors) are $2000+ installed per mirror. Sourcing a used mirror assembly is not easy either, especially to match the paint. All the suspension parts have bushings that deteriorate with age and I would expect the resulting loud noise eminating from normal suspension flex against worn out bushing is soon to be heard. Sometimes it means a complete control arm replacement gets quoted. Don't be surprised if a wheel spindle arm goes bad after 33 years. Why might I be stating such? I own a 1996 MBZ S320W that I bought used in 2002 with 52,000 miles and now has 317,500 miles. Mechanically sorted, but the CA sun has done a number on the paint and the interior leather seats are in rough shape. I'll drive it until the A/C stops working (its a vacuum controlled unit) or the power steering breaks.

I had a '98 SL500..it was a nice car with absolutely no issues. It had 63k miles when I bought it, had 90k when I sold it. This was in 2011.

Wizard tell the owner that grille needs to go, it doesnt look OEM or if it is for some reason it looks odd on this car.

Last year I bought a Mercedes W201 190D 1989y This was my friends dad car. First owner, He passed away. It has 184.000 kilometers. The car is in mint condition. Factory gray color. So far I change all the liquids. All engine mounts. Now I have to change 4 back sub frame mounts. Well, when the subframe is it going down I decided to restore whole suspension front and back. The battery is from 3 month 2013 I would leave the battery on the car because I’m curious how much longer it would last.

Always loved the designs of the late 80’s-90’s Mercedes. Would love to own one of these in my lifetime.

The grill and turn signals are a crime against humanity.

For convertible hydraulic line and cylinder rebuilding I have found that Top Hydraulics in Florence, Oregon is the place to go. Excellent support and response.

No surprise. In 2002, a blower motor for a 1994 E420, was $800, just for the part.

Beautiful looking car , she's a beauty ! 4 grand to fix this totally worth it IMHO .She's a looker wherever you go with this car !

A $4k maintenance bill is no problem for a fine machine like that.

In the trades you usually train people up to a successful level in order to be able to get more done and make more money .. I worked landscaping only 1 year and on my first day I knew It was going to be a somewhat short stay bc I knew I could start my own biz and be much better off.. it's a bummer bc as a company you actually lose a good bit to teach new hires after only a short time bc you just basically trained your new competition .. Like I said . I worked for a company for only one year because I wanted to start my own biz. I started with just 2 customers.. However bc of the quality of the work and my expertise in tall fescue and grounds maintenance I filled up a full 7 days with weekly repeat contract work .. My old boss was pretty angry with me when I left but I saw a great opportunity and took it. Now it comes around full circle for me bc I trained new hires and they only stay 1 or 2 years depending on whether or not they have learned all of the important aspects of quality turf Care. It's a science . Everyone who mows their own lawn can tell you that the type of care their yard needs is far beyond their understanding most of the time .. But I know that this will be a continuous circle for the rest of the time that I run the business because that's just the way it is.. I've also got problems with other companies going out and watching my guys work to see if any of them are really good .. They just watch from a distance and if they find someone they like they will scalp them from me with promises of more pay and less hours.. Sometimes I'm in-between having a helper bc one just got scalped and it takes me a long time to vet new hires. So I'll be working alone for a few weeks .. Bc I run the biz I work fast but am sure to get everything looking perfect b4 I leave a property on a weekly basis .. These scalpers come up to me thinking I'm not the owner but just an employee .. They can't help it after they see how beautiful the yards are and see how hard I work . I mess with them sometimes to see just how much I can demand the pay to be to """ leave my job and work for them "" Their all mostly snakes in the grass that promise you the world but after you leave your old job and start there none of their promises materialize.. I try to teach every single new hire about that. Yes, you will have people approach you and offer you more money per hour than you're being paid now. However, these people almost never walk the walk after they talk the talk . I hope to get lucky one day and just get the guy that simply wants to punch in during the morning and punch out in the evening and get his paycheck at the end of the week. Those are generally the only types of employees that will stick with you for a long time.. I could tell you it actually hurts loosing a good guy .. Bc you become friends after working together for a while .. I'm old but I still get my feelings hurt every time I lose an employee that I always take great care of and treat responsibly.. Dog eat dog world

My friends have a late model Mercedes car serviced by the local dealer. The mechanics are high school graduates with little to no experience. The problems they have for such a new car astonishes me. I will never own any of these cars. Its not worth it unless one has deep pockets.

I had one just like it with 65,000 miles and it was a nightmare. I had it a year and then the wire harness and the throttle actuator died $4850 (even though they were replaced at the dealer it never ran right after that) then the top cylinders went bad ($4500). Tons of other nickel and dime things. Got rid of it after two years. I loved the car but it requires a LOT of maintenance and repairs

Apart from the leaking lift cylinders, these are really great cars - last of the bank vault Mercedes. These cars are built like tanks - Wizard I don't think you emphasize that enough when talking about this era of M-B. There was nothing comparable when it was introduced in '89.

What a great review showing us a real world of cars.

8 months of a $500 per month car payment is $4,000. That is only a $30,000 car and not including interest rate and you still need to do maintenance. An older car that is in good condition is almost always worth the money to keep on the road.

11:39 Wizard where were you a few years ago to tell me about riding on 20 year old tires. I saved an old car that had practically brand new tires on it. Well were new in 2001. But it had alot of thread but slowly as months went by tires would dry rot and deflate. Eventually got to the last tire that kept going. One day on the highway on the way home from work it exploded and obliterated the inside of the wheelwell (metal banding inside tire) So I learned my lesson that day and experienced my 1st blow out.

My mom is the original owner of a 2007 BMW X3, the one built in Austria with the normally aspirated straight six. It's her grocery getter, only runs maybe 3k/year so oil changes are by annual date, not mileage. The worst part now is like this SL in the video, age is causing seals to dry up. They want nearly $3k to fix the oil pan seal that now weeps oil onto garage floor. It's a shame the labor is what costs so much to get to things now. The actual seal costs peanuts to replace.

Great video illustrating that this car was NOT maintained. It may have been cleaned and lovingly driven but it was not "maintained". Any car that is 30 years old should have had a lot of this stuff done along the way, a long time ago -- just for safety's sake. Some of it, like brake fluid, fuel filters, timing chain, head gasket, repairing the dented oil pans, etc., perhaps more than once. Like your teeth, cars need maintenance. At a certain point -- perhaps after 8 - 12 years, any owner wanting to keep their classic as a "family member" (in other words, no intention to sell) should budget a yearly repair-maintenance amount ($1,000 - $2,000). Rust proofing, car covers, paint buff and ceramic seal, trim restorer, dehumidificaiton packs. If you get lucky one year and nothing goes wrong, great! You've got extra money for the next few years. The next year might be more than that, but you've already got the money set aside. Like a horse, a swimming pool, a dog, a child, a house, a garden, your teeth, cars need maintenance. It's a habit, like brushing your teeth and your yearly check up. Buying a new (or newer) car every 3-5 years costs money too! And the new models will cost more with all the electrical nonsense. And you may not like their styling as much. If you have a classic that you consider a member of the family (a keeper), then treat it like a member of the family. Don't just wait until stuff goes wrong. Every single part has a certain life expectancy -- timing chains, water pumps, brake discs, fan belts, brake fluid, transmission fluid, fuel filters. Some parts -- like fluids and brake pads -- are designed to be replaced regularly. Even paint needs maintenance. Ten-year-old tires? Are you kidding me? That's just bad maintenance -- you shouldn't be driving on tires over 6-8 years old anyway due to safety. If you don't visit the dentist for 10 years, you shouldn't be surprised at the gravity of the problem, the sharpness of the pain or the size of the bill! Of course, you can trade in your teeth for denturres (the new car) every 3-5 years -- or you can maintain them. Classic cars are the same. It's a matter of attitude. And I don't understand the attitude -- that people expect cars to work forever without maintenance. This is expecially true of some "quality" car owners (MB, Land Rover, RR, Bentley) -- they think these cars are "self maintaining". That would be a case of too much money, no brain. Worst of all, if cars are not maintained, it is hard to enjoy them, trust their roadworthiness. I agree completely with the previous commentator Hamish Cruden: They will go on forever -- and be super enjoyable and safe -- if maintained !!! 😚

I had a '93 500SL. Great car and one of the best engines Mercedes ever designed. Coming up if not already done are the hydraulic cylinders for the top, perhaps the intake manifold gaskets between the upper and lower manifold. Other than that a very reliable car and a real looker.

It sure is a gem. Worth maintaining it.

Can't wait to see your newbie! Another great video dude. Rock on!

As usual another exceptional video thank you for keeping us up-to-date on what happens in the shop meeting. Thanks for telling us about Magic Mike with a little more detail. You might want to encourage hubby to share with his audience us about what’s going on with him I know the situation is a little different, but when rumors start to fly, that can hurt people who have even somewhat of a celebrity status keep up the good work will see the Chevy when we see it and we’re looking forward to a bunch more good videos

I remember reading about these when they were introduced. They were something special at the time. Well worth spending on it. Have you or are you going to cover that white S class I noticed in the background. Looked good.

I had a 92 500SL - fun to drive, expensive to repair, everything you go over happened to mine as well. I got it for "free" and after $7500 in repairs/parts, most of which I did myself, I sold it for $4000. My wife love it, and that's all that mattered. Never again....

Great ride this SL ! 4.000 usd shouldnt kill the fun. In fact its just one year of depreciation on a newer car. And this one will increase in value from now. Great eye opener, this warning for old tires.. reading all the comments, P Walker story. Ill check my SL tubes first thing tomorrow morning. Could be well over 10 yrs..

Nice video. I can confirm that old tires are dangerous… they get hard and braking action is scary.

Love the videos as always Wizard! From personal experience buying my 03 Terminator Mustang with 24k miles, The gremlins eventually come up. Had to put money into it, but so worth it, I love my Mustang. 🤠👍And I'll never sell it! 😂 This goes for any car you buy. Just expect the unexpected.

97,000 miles, sure there is. Never rolled back 😮

Just went and checked my tire date codes. Thanks Wizard.

Great video Good analysis Keep them coming Show the work

the timing of this vid is perfect. ive been thinking of buying one of these for a couple weeks now

Hope the new guy likes to do cameos like Magic Mike did. I see the Chevelle, but wonder about the bus.

David has been hitting the gym! Looking good Car Wizard ! Fitness is an important part of living longer.

Always worth changing the oil for the hood hydraulics as it’s not listed as a service item and so it doesn’t get changed, then the old oil caused the hydraulic struts to leak. Also easy to do. Also worth refreshing the suspension bushes and shocks, it will transform the ride. These old SLs really do have a magic carpet ride even on the old steel springs. I did a lot of the work myself as they are quite easy to work on, the parts prices can vary massively - the SL shares a lot of its parts with the E class of the similar era and those parts tend to be cheap, but anything specific to the SL is super expensive! Great cars though, they are very reliable if you look after them and great cruisers. The 500 is quick too!

Great video Wizard! Thank you. Nice to see you ditched the Crocs.. ;)

Nice video Wizard. Sales tax at 10%. In the UK we dream of 10%. 20% here

As a retired tire engineer I can corroborate the age limit on tires. Truck fleets which have the most robust tires are tossed after 7 years.

I have a W126 300SE 1990. Love it. Very reliable and smooth on the road, but not easy to find a mechanic to do the work

I love seeing that 66 Chevelle in the background of your videos.

Endless money pits as they age - Scotty

You are a very fair, and honest mechanic. That's an estimate, with book time, I'm sure. I'd like to see what the final bill is though.

i love these types of videos /your doing a great job/you have saved me tons of cash because now i am aware of the cars to avoid to save my wallet some pain

Good luck to you Magic Mike. Wish you well

Again you have shown us your honesty and expertise about these older beautiful cars. If I had to use one word to describe the Car Wizard it would be INTEGRITY

Thank you Sir. You are a world treasure!

I am a big fan of the M119 motor, I had a 400 and 500E in 1992.. one of the best motors ever from MBZ

Nice cars I had a friend that had one he restored himself. Beautiful vehicle. Cheers.

"making them look nice doesn't make them younger" Dont tell the ladies this :D Famous last words.

Wizard I bought a 1995 f-150 it sat for almost 20yrs well preserved but on I paid 3 grand for it on flip side I put 10 grand in it people would why you so much money in it to me it’s worth the because it’s in very great condition and I get lot complements on it and in area there’s not like this in condition also I the owner of and they maintained it very good . Awesome video 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👏👏

Saw one of these for sale here in Durham, NC. Beautiful car!

That Merc is well worth putting the money into. Mercedes cars in general seem to be well engineered and most parts are still available. When I bought my W204 it was useable but it did need work. I dsicovered a rusty rear subframe which was fortunately covered by warranty. The dealership which inspected the car (2009 C200 Sport CDI sedan) uncovered a few other issues most of which I've fixed and the car is now mechancally perfect and an absolute joy to drive (for a Merc with a diesel engine and a manual trasmission). I do most of my own repairs but I will gladly pay for any work that I have to farm out. It is a shame that Magic Mike has parted company with you but when one door shuts another opens. I'm sure your new guy will work out.

8:14 same with the bmws, the gear fixes are so nice

Hi Car Wizard! I'm not sure if you're willing to or would be up for another Buy This Not That that's brand-specific, but I personally or maybe others would really like it if you did one for Mitsubishi. I always get a tear in my eye whenever I see a Gallant or Montero at my local scrapyard, so I was wondering how you felt about them and if you'd be willing to do a video like that. Thank you so much and keep up the amazing work!

While it may not be my cup of tea, this car is worthy. I know Mercedes customers that swear by these in Arizona because if they get reasonably maintained these can save your life in the desert heat. Good find and the new owner will have a solid car thanks to you, Wizard.

Hi from Scotland Wizard . In your vlog about cars not to buy you said " Some people do not maintain their vehicles because they don't have mechanical knowledge " Well a friend of mine had a Ford Box van for his Landscaping business , and his business was going through a lean time , so he put Lawnmower Engine oil in his Truck .......and it seized up ! I told him he should have used the best oil he could get ! 😂

I have a 1990 300sl….it did need some work. I have done a lot of work already with some things to do. Definitely worth the effort….gorgeous. The only thing better might be a 600sl. One thing, replace both crankshaft and camshaft position sensor. Absolutely vital.

When I bought my 1994 Opel Calibra in 2021, the tires on it looked good - until we saw they were from 1995... It obviously stood in the garage for 10 years before I bought it. All nice, not as nice as the 500 SL, but it adds up one after the other in the two years: New air condition compressor and cooler, new alternator, new ignition coil, new exhaust, will get new rear shocks and front brake discs tomorrow.

I am literally on the precipice of buying an early r129. great timing.

Great video man those car have become of interest to me thanks to guys like you me few others to point the quality but yet the financial reality of what to expect in order to safely enjoy these particular Mercedes Benz models

Remember that scene from the The Rookie(1990)? Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen escape a bomb in a warehouse just in time from the top floor in a silver 500SL. Clint punches the throttle and we see the Benz peel out massively with lots of bleach smoke, v12 screaming inside of a hollow building. After they crash through the window and the bomb explodes, you can see the pop up roll bar going up mid air, almost covered up by the explosion touching the car. What is very impressive about this scene is I'm pretty sure that's a model car flying in front of the explosion in the wide shot. If that is so then they built that pop up roll bar into a model car and had it shoot out at just the right moment for detail sake.

That's a pretty unit but I'd have to do something about those headlights... That yellowish tint clashes with the silver and it just kills it...

I love that Mercedes, but I miss you and Hoovie fixing cars.

Hello Wizard. Yes I have a Mercedes 2006 CL500. Inherited for free 5 years ago only 7000 miles then. I spend about 6 grand on fluids, tires, rear oil seals, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, ABC fluid flush. Still have some things to sort out. Folding mirrors not working, soft close on drivers side door, and some minor paint scratches.

l like magic Mike.....This is a fine Car....Thanks David & your Wife 👍

I just spent over $4k on my 1987 VW Vanagon but they replaced a lot more than on this Mercedes. I did supply most of the parts though.

Best kind of owner, " I know it'll be expensive, just fix whatever is wrong"

I dig the Skynet shirt!

Nice piece.

In 1998, I bought a red 1991 500SL with 88k miles, flawless with a palomino interior to boot. In six month, radiator split, trans pan seal blew out, plus a few more issues, totaling $4,000. No more German cars.

My free 320 ml was 15k in repairs from 150k to 220k miles....i could have 5 much nicer all around buicks with 3800 for that.....and all of those would be worth something and still be running. The alabama trash can (320 /420 nickname) is at the junk yard

I have a r129 sl500from 1994. In the Netherlands they always say iff you buy a r129 please be aware that the price you paid for it you need to add the buying price to get it in perfect condition again. And after 3 years i know now by myself that’s true. But it stays a very nice and special car

"wait there is more" special 😁😁

Every so often we get cars like this. Low mile, paint looks spotless on the outside, but there’s a few bruises & minor stuff that needs fixing. Had a 96 GMT-400 1500 come in. Truck looks pretty clean on the outside but once you get inside it that’s a whole different story. Broken inner door latches on the inside & out. Door needs hinges, severe front end work. Brakes, & a bunch of little stuff where if they just put some $ into it they’d have a pretty nice truck instead of trying to kill it with only 165k on the clock. Engine starts nice, transmission doesn’t bang into gear. Things been at the shop for a while.