Pre-purchase report
43,000 miles · asking $11,000 · 5.6L M117 V8
6 known failure points for this generation · cost data pending verification
The final and most powerful US-market R107 roadster, a long-lived boulevard cruiser built like a bank vault. Money goes into deferred maintenance on aging rubber, timing components, and the complex fuel injection, plus rust remediation on cars that lived outside.
AI-drafted profile
This failure-mode list was drafted by AI and cross-checked against this car’s real NHTSA complaint data. It has not yet been verified by our mechanics or owners, and it deliberately shows no cost figures: we never publish a dollar amount we can’t source. Own one? Your cost submissions below are what turn this into a verified teardown.
What you’ll notice: Hard starting, rough idle, hesitation, or stalling when warm.
The mechanical/electronic CIS injection relies on aging fuel distributor, warm-up regulator, and OVP relay that degrade with time and heat.
Condition-driven: inspect, don't assume
AI-drafted, unverified · cross-checked against NHTSA complaints · submit what you paid below to verify it
What you’ll notice: Overheating in traffic, coolant leaks at hoses or radiator end tanks.
Plastic-tank radiators, aging hoses, and tired auxiliary fan and viscous clutch all fail with age on a heat-sensitive V8.
Condition-driven: inspect, don't assume
AI-drafted, unverified · cross-checked against NHTSA complaints · submit what you paid below to verify it
What you’ll notice: Torn or shrunken canvas, sticky latches, worn rear window, binding folding mechanism.
These tops are decades old and the pivot points and latches wear, while original glass rear windows crack or cloud.
Condition-driven: inspect, don't assume
AI-drafted, unverified · cross-checked against NHTSA complaints · submit what you paid below to verify it
What you’ll notice: Doors, trunk, or fuel door lock erratically or not at all.
The pneumatic central locking uses vacuum lines and a pump that crack and leak with age.
Condition-driven: inspect, don't assume
AI-drafted, unverified · cross-checked against NHTSA complaints · submit what you paid below to verify it
What you’ll notice: Bubbling at rockers, jack points, floor pans, spare tire well, and around the windshield frame.
R107 bodies rust in classic spots when drainage channels clog and cars sit outdoors, and repair on structural areas is costly.
Condition-driven: inspect, don't assume · applies only if found
AI-drafted, unverified · cross-checked against NHTSA complaints · submit what you paid below to verify it
What you’ll notice: Rattle on cold start, chain slap, or in worst cases a jumped tooth and rough running.
The M117 uses a single-row timing chain in these years, and stretched chains with worn plastic guides and tensioner are a known age-related failure.
Typical window: 80k-150k miles
AI-drafted, unverified · cross-checked against NHTSA complaints · submit what you paid below to verify it
AI-drafted for this chassis. Hand it to your inspector.
0 owner complaints and 0 recalls on file for the 1987 MERCEDES-BENZ 560SL (public federal data).
Tell us what a job actually cost you. Submissions are reviewed and folded into the report as owner-reported data. Never auto-published. Have the actual invoice? Upload it here (that’s the gold standard).