1987 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

The 300 SL you are looking at here is fitted with a 3.0-litre six-cylinder inline engine and auto ‘box.

It comes to us courtesy of a vendor who is passionate about the marque, is well known to us and who has bought, owned and sold more Mercedes-Benz classics than most of us could hope to shake a stick at over the course of a lengthy lifetime. 

These cars remain relatively plentiful and there’s rarely a week when we haven’t got one or two of them gracing the floor at The Market’s HQ.

So, when we say that this is one of the very best we’ve seen, you should know that we’re talking about an exceptional car that stands out even in the midst of a sizeable, high-quality cohort of comparable R107 SLs. 

We have driven the car and can attest to the fact that it feels properly sorted, solid and sound in every respect. It starts on the button, pulls strongly and smoothly across the gearbox and goes about its business with quiet, assured confidence. 

The brakes work well, the handling is balanced and predictable, and the only groans, squeals, rattles and creaks we heard were coming from the driver.

Driving a really good example like this serves to underline just how exceptionally well Mercedes-Benz built their cars back in the day. Everything is weighty, tactile, and over-engineered. 

All moving parts feel as if they’ve been hewn from polished and lightly oiled granite. 

These are cars that were built up to a standard, not down to a price, and the no-compromise, no-expense-spared attention to detail runs through every nut and bolt like words through a stick of rock. 

The car has a very full and meticulously documented history. Its service book has more stamps than Stanley Gibbons. 

It was also subject to a very full, very high-quality and very expensive restoration in 2017 (more on this in the History section), when everything that needed refurbishing, restoring or replacing was refurbished, restored or replaced.

The vendor has shod the car in new Michelin rubber, sorted out the central locking system, made sure the heater blower works, and fitted a new exhaust.

He drove the car to and from Limoges in October. He tells us that it didn’t miss a beat, despatching big mileages with all the matter-of-fact Teutonic efficiency one could reasonably hope for.  

Splendid.

The Signal Red paintwork is only four years old and hasn’t lost any of its shine, lustre or vibrancy. 

Aside for the odd tiny stone chip here and there, the finish is very good indeed.

The panels are largely free of any dinks, dents, scuffs, scratches, warps or folds. 

The shut lines and door gaps are crisp, even and consistent. The doors slam home with the satisfyingly heavy thunk of old-school Mercedes build quality. 

The chrome work is bright and unmarked all round. The refurbished wheels are in first class condition.

The hardtop (which fits well and comes with two roof tools) is equally free of anything likely to raise an eyebrow or prompt a tut.

The black fabric soft top works as it should and is in good condition. It is original, so it fits snugly. The rear panes have been expertly replaced. 

The lights, badging and exterior trim are all in very decent nick.

There is no rust visible that we can see.

It’s quite hard to find fault with anything. And we’ve tried. 

We really have.

The beige cloth interior is equally impressive and is, again, a testament to the skills and workmanship of Herman and Gunther (possibly not their real names) who screwed it all together on the production line at Sindelfingen in 1987. 

The seats are comfortable and supportive, with the beige vinyl and check fabric in exceptional condition for both the car’s mileage and age. 

The door cards, carpets and hardtop headlining are all very good indeed, as is the inside of the fabric roof, although it would benefit from the application of a soapy cloth in one or two places at the rear. The metal parts of the folding roof have had any rust dust professionally removed and are shiny and bright. 

The rear seats have the unspoiled and innocent appearance of structures that have rarely encountered a human posterior and have spent most of their existence untroubled by either time or use.

Two negative things that often apply to R107 SLs of a similar vintage - cracks in the dashboard, yellowing of the numbers inside the dials - are conspicuous by their absence in this vehicle.

The third negative thing that usually applies - a clock that has long since downed tools and retired - is present and correctly non-functioning. We’d be suspicious if it worked, frankly.

Aside from the clock, we think every knob, toggle, lever, switch and button does what it’s supposed to do.

Lifting up the carpets in the cabin or the boot reveals….nothing to worry about whatsoever.

There are plenty of new/newish bits and pieces in evidence underneath, most notably the exhaust system. 

There is nothing more than an entirely standard bloom of rust dust on one or two suspension components. 

The undersides have a decent coating of wax/bitumen on them. Everything appears to be possessed of plenty of structural integrity

Everything in the clean, dry and tidy engine bay is in its right and proper place.

The virtually bombproof engine is the original and has not been rebuilt.

The car has an MoT certificate which is valid until 30.3.22. 

The current mileage is 81,000. Prior to the major restoration in 2017 the car’s mileage was around 77,000. 

As mentioned, this car has been maintained and serviced to within an inch of its life. Not only does it have every service stamp in the book, it has stamps for pretty much every oil and brake fluid change, detailing the brands, viscosities, etc.  

It’s extraordinary.

The following restoration work was carried out by Exeter Engineering in 2017:

Bodywork

A complete strip down of the body including trim, front and rear bumpers, door and window seals. Rust issues found and addressed on the external and internal o/s/r arch, inner n/s/r arch and boot floor, n/s/f inner footwell and sill, n/s/f wing front and rear, o/s/r inner footwell and sill, o/s wing lower front and rear. 

All areas had rust areas cut out and new panels formed and fitted. All external panels were replaced with pattern or OEM panels where available. 

Other areas with light surface rust were fully cleaned back to bare metal, KURUST applied, followed by primer and then final paint.

Areas with no obvious paint defects or rust were not stripped back.

The body then underwent a full respray with ‘Classics and Customs’. All trim was then refitted with various new fixings, fittings and keepers.

Bumpers were removed and completely stripped down. Critical rust areas repaired and cured, then powder coated. Front lower valance repairs to wing fixings. Rear bumper valances replaced with new. All chrome cleaned and polished before refitting. Door seals have coated in silicon grease to revive and waterproof. Mushroom-coloured door shut covers replaced.

Engine Bay

Lower side undersealed, Air filter housing and front framework powder coated. Various vacuum lines replaced.

Front and Rear Subframes

Completely striped down, dry blasted and powder coated. New Items fitted as follows: wheel bearings, front and rear swing arm bushes, front and rear antiroll bar bushes, front and rear anti-roll bar links, front and rear shock absorbers, rear subframe bushes, front subframe bushes, steering idler bushes, all track rod ends, tie rod, and steering damper. Lower front ball joints. New discs and pads all round. Upper front swing arm ball joint covers. Brake pipe flex all round, brake callipers refinished, rear brake line replaced.

Underside

Stripped, cleaned and undersealed.

Wheels

Refurbished, rebalanced, new centre caps fitted.

There are plenty of bills and invoices for all of this and other work, plus a collection of stamps that would put a decent sized Post Office to shame.

The car comes with two keys.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork.  

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment. 

There were 237,287 R107 SLs made and you still see plenty of them around. 

By way of comparison, there were 1,516,792 Vauxhall Vivas made. 

When was the last time you saw one of those?

R107 SLs, then, were very well-made, high-quality vehicles. Of those that have survived the test of time, inevitably some are better than others, have more impressive histories and have clearly been cared for by people with deeper pockets and stronger passions.

Well, we think this is better than most of them.

It’s genuinely one of the best we’ve driven or seen. 

What’s not to like?

We’re happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate of between £31,000 and £37,000. 

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.