1968 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL

We are delighted to offer for sale a beautiful 280SL Pagoda. Presented in the stylish colour combination of cream with both brown hard and soft tops, this car is a head-turner par excellence.

The car was acquired by our seller’s father in 1973 and he certainly knew what he was buying as he ran a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Leicester at the time. The ‘Pagoda’ SL was his favourite car.

In latter years, our seller has had custodianship of the prized car, which he has used sparingly, being out of the country for long periods at a time. The car has been carefully stored in his absence.

The SL’s mileage is a scarcely believable 38,340 but this is of course confirmed by the MoT history.

With the car unlikely to be used a great deal in the future, our seller has made the decision to end nearly 50 years of family ownership and has entrusted us to find a new loving home for the car. And that we are more than happy to do!

The cream paintwork positively sparkles and rather suits the SL’s graceful lines. Imperfections are hard to spot, but we do notice some chips on the painted soft-top cover, no doubt from the hard top fitting.

Panel gaps are neat and even, a testament to the excellent Mercedes build quality on a car which we must not forget is now well over 50 years old.

The car was extensively restored by Mercedes-Benz specialists Truro Motor Services around ten years ago, a full respray of course being part of the process. Less than 400 road miles have been covered since.

The brown soft top tones in nicely, though there are some white marks on it, visible in our pictures. They may clean off. The plastic rear window is a tad creased and marked, likely to be the result of being folded away for long periods at a time. There are also a couple of small tears on the rear edge.

The SL comes complete with its factory hardtop, also brown in colour. Once fitted, the car is transformed from cool convertible to cosy coupe. It’s a two-person job to fit, with many installing a hoist in their garage to aid the process. It is in reasonable order and boasts a cream headlining which looks very smart.

Period-correct hub caps are fitted all-round, being a mixture of chrome and body colour. The chrome is somewhat tired and perhaps could be improved. Avon tyres are fitted, but these are old and we would recommend early replacement.

As did most cars of the period, the SL is adorned with plenty of chrome work and whilst it looks splendid from afar, look a little closer and it does show its age, with light pitting most obvious. Whilst we like its originality, the perfectionist might seek the auspices of a chrome restorer.

We also note a small stone chip on the front windscreen, just to the right of the interior mirror.

The cherished registration number is being retained by the seller and when fitting new plates, we would steer towards the more traditional black and chrome. The registration number is now PFJ 675G.

There’s an air of solidity in the Pagoda’s interior that is missing from most classic cars of the period. Built to last, the Mercedes-Benz cars do just that.

Seats and door cards are both brown in colour and are really in quite excellent condition. A little light creasing to the seats.

The instrument panel is a pleasing combination of body coloured metal and chrome/aluminium trims. Centrally in the dash is period push-button radio.

What looks like the original large two-spoke steering wheel with a vinyl trimmed central boss and chrome horn bar is present and it is a delight to hold.

Brown carpets look to be in fine order, with just a little cleaning to the driver’s footwell required. There’s a generous carpeted space behind the front seats, ideal for an overspill of luggage.

The boot is quite large, making the SL and ideal car for a touring holiday or long weekend away. A selection of tools and a rather tired spare wheel are concealed within and there is even a brand-new spare tyre not yet fitted to a wheel.

In our picture gallery you will find an assortment of photographs of the car’s underside. There looks to be plenty of underseal protection and other than some light surface corrosion to some components, we cannot spot anything of concern.

It’s the same story under the bonnet, where it all looks spick and span, with the painted areas in generally good order. There’s even a proper Mercedes-Benz branded battery, which says a lot about the owner’s desire to ensure this lovely car fires up first time, every time.

And once that old smoothie of a six-cylinder engine bursts into life, the automatic gear lever slipped into drive, that’s when the fun really starts. Be prepared for plenty of admiring glances as you cruise on by.

The SL Pagoda comes with its original book pack. Contained within are the owner’s manual for the car and the original service book. The latter charts the car’s early life, with the last stamp in 1991, the mileage recorded being 31,328.

As we have already mentioned, the car was fully restored by experts Truro Motor Services some ten years ago. They are a family run business, established in 2002, that specialise in the service and repair of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

Our seller is trying to locate the invoice, but from memory the cost was around £10,000.

An MoT test were carried out in December 2021, the SL passing with no advisories and with the recorded mileage at 38,355. A service by Truro Motor Services was carried out at the same time.

Prior to that the car was last MoTed in June 2014, mileage 37,912.

Our seller did mention that the fuel gauge has stopped working, but this should be an easy fix.

This SL Pagoda is undoubtedly one of the very best we have seen. Having remained in the careful ownership of one family for nearly 50 years is quite rare today and it is clear that it has been loved, enjoyed and cherished.

It is a pleasure to drive and will impress with its sheer usability, something that is not necessarily true of classics cars from other marques.

Of course, it is a matching numbers car and when restored, care was taken to keep the car as original as possible.

We estimate this low mileage beauty will fetch between £80,000 and £110,000 and interest will undoubtedly be high.

Viewing is always encouraged, within government guidelines of course. The car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’