Looking at a 98 sl1 with 118k miles. Haven't been able to drive yet just look at it at the dealership. What should I look for? Looked and engine and pretty much clean except head cover seems to be leaking. Looking for a commuter vehicle.

 

Water pump
Cracked radiator drivers side top
Oil in coolant
Coolant in oil

 

How do I check the water pump?

 

see if it overheats sitting still.
make them fix the cam cover gasket.
should also idle at 850 when warmed up if manual, slightly lower if auto trans.

 

Yea its an auto forgot to mention that. I doubt they'll fix anything. Its a trade in at a large dealership. They don't even wash or detail them. They just leave them on the lot for a week or so to see if anyone buys them to save the trouble of sending it to auction.

 

be advised that many developed oil burning issues so you don't know what you'rw getting w/o the service history.

IF you are serious, take it to your mechanic for an independent eval w/compression check, etc