Why buying a 33-year old Mercedes SL is brilliant – yet brutal

"It would be thousands of pounds to renew the electrical system and the same again to renew the 12 hydraulic cylinders that power the roof mechanism." I'm confused. A moment ago, Zag Ji was telling me about the work he's had done to his 1993 Mercedes-Benz SL 500, but now he's talking as if it hasn't yet happened. And then the penny drops: his wife is in earshot. "My wife is not far away," he whispers, before adding: "But it's all right: she knows." Well, if she didn't, she does now. Zag's story about renewing his car's wiring system is shocking literally. The plastic sheath around the wires in some R129-generation SLs was biodegradable, a fact he only became aware of when his car started misfiring. "I noticed the plastic was dry and brittle and breaking apart, causing the wires to be exposed," he says. "I had no choice but to have the wiring harness replaced." Then the car's electrically powered, folding roof developed issues. "Twelve hydraulic cylinders raise and lower it. When you open it up, it looks like central heating plumbing in there. I had problems with all of them and had to have them replaced," he says. "Resolving the wiring and roof problems was expensive but a labour of love." It certainly was. Since he was a boy in China, Zag had dreamed of owning a Mercedes. "I was born in the 1980s and moved to the UK in 1993. Back then in China you didn't see many luxury cars, so having moved here and seeing all the cars I'd only known on posters was hugely exciting. I'd see a car like this and think: how could I ever be able to have one? And now I do. I still pinch myself," he says. Zag's SL 500 was originally registered in Japan and later exported to Singapore before making the journey to the UK in 2015. "I bought it in 2022 when it had done 35,000 miles," he says. "I've put 10,000 miles on it since. It's a pre-facelift model, with three vents either side at the front. I prefer these pre-facelift SLs. They look quite brutalist. Many were two-tone, as mine is. It's not immediately obvious but the lower half of the body is a slightly darker silver." Zag has no garage so parks his Mercedes on the street: "In winter, I put a cover over it to protect it and instead drive my other car, an E39 BMW 5 Series. Like the SL, it's also a Japanese import. I like Japanese imports, because they are always in better condition than UK cars." Zag calls the SL his "summer car". He says: "Last year, my wife and I drove to Italy in it. It didn't miss a beat and was a fantastic car to do the journey in. You could tell the SL was designed for the autobahns and for the motorways of continental Europe. It was so comfortable and easy to drive." His SL 500 is powered by a 32-valve, 5.0-litre V8 producing 318bhp and driving the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic gearbox. He says: "The power is linear. There's no sudden surge at any point. It's a very rapid car that keeps up with modern motorway traffic but it's also a very dignified one that is lovely to drive slowly." Is it a keeper? Without pausing, Zag replies: "I will never sell it."

main menu

Why buying a 33-year old Mercedes SL is brilliant – yet brutal

Zag Ji discovered the legendary R129 Mercedes SL can come with eye-watering garage bills

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

Legal bits

About Autocar

main menu

Why buying a 33-year old Mercedes SL is brilliant – yet brutal

Zag Ji discovered the legendary R129 Mercedes SL can come with eye-watering garage bills

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

We recommend

Legal bits

About Autocar