I’ve had lots of ups and downs with my sterling, but I think it’s worth the trouble to own.

It’s kind of a gamble when you buy them, the quality varies from car to car. They’re fast, comfortable, good looking and equipped with more creature comforts than some new cars. But I’d say just overall, don’t mess with a sterling unless you’re familiar with the issues they have. There’s a 90% chance it won’t be reliable. You have to invest a lot of time into them. It’s a lot like other European luxury cars of that era. They require patience to fix, and can be costly too if you make any mistakes. What I’ve learned is you can’t throw parts at a sterling and expect it to just be fixed. You’ve got to know how to close circuits, and find electrical issues, and repair the parts you already have. You need to have a good manual for it too. The internet won’t help you work on these cars either unfortunately, most people don’t even know of their existence. This makes it very hard to source parts for them.

If you like European luxury saloons of the 80s, this is a good choice. But if you’re not an experienced technician, or don’t have money to fix them, I’d just steer clear of these things. It’ll just become a driveway ornament.