I’m not much of a fan of the R230 SL Class cars. But, they are very cool looking.
Start with signing up on this forum:
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/r230-sl-class.34/
Read a lot but seriously consider the R129 (the predecessor to the R230). After all, if you are tooling around in a 20 yer old roadster its doesn’t have to be a rocket ship.
I also like the late 1980s MB SL 550s. Except having to switch between the hard top and the rag top.
It is just hard to find one that doesn’t have a lot of miles on it. Models that do not are very expensive.
Kind of like trying to find a Lexus SC400 with low miles.
I had a 1999 one of these. The last three years of this car they bumped the valves and increased the HP to 290. The only vehicle I have ever owned that I sold for more than I paid for it.
Same story now with the 1990s Acura NSX. Ever since the new one came out the old ones doubled in price.
Same story with the Toyota MR2 turbo edition. Great fun car to drive. The second version of the MR2.