1988 Mercedes-Benz 300SL

The vendor bought this wonderful 300SL from well-known marque experts the SL Shop in March 2018. In his own words “I probably paid too much” but he did so knowing that a company with its reputation wouldn’t stock or sell anything but the best.

First registered on the 30th of December 1988, it is finished in vibrant Signal Red with a matching factory hard-top and a contrasting folding soft-top. Beautifully curated over the years it has a huge history file and an excellent service history.

Garaged and only ever used in the dry since he bought it, the vendor has covered around 3,000 fault-free miles. Now only for sale because he fancies a change (hell, we’ve all been there…) he knows he’s going to take a bit of a financial hit, which is his loss but could be your gain.

The Signal Red coachwork is really very impressive. Bright and vibrant, the finish is complemented by tight and even shutlines, ripple-free flanks, and dent-free panels. The R107 is rightly lauded for its ability to shrug off decades with impressive aplomb, and this one is a fine example of that.

The chromework, rubber trim, light lenses, glazing, and badging is also very good indeed. Beautifully fitted and aligned, the car shows an impressive attention to detail, something that says only good things about its owners over the years.

The folding black fabric roof continues the theme. Only lightly creased – a good thing, as it demonstrates its near-new condition – it fits very well, being taut and watertight when it’s up, and yet it folds away neatly when the sun comes out. Raising and lowering it is a doddle too, and the plastic rear windows are clear and free of the sort of milkiness and yellowing they tend to develop over time.

The Signal Red hard-top is equally impressive. A genuine factory item, it comes with a fairly new stand to keep it stored safely away in your garage when it isn’t being used. Fitting it might be a two-person job but it does make the convertible as dry and cosy as a proper coupé, massively adding to the SL’s all-season versatility; we’ve seen a few in Swiss ski resorts on proper snow tyres carrying skis, and always think how much cooler they look than any modern all-wheel-drive SUV could ever hope to be.

Speaking of tyres you can use in all weather, the factory 15-inch alloy wheels are not only in a very good condition with a complete absence of kerbing, scuffs and other signs of a less than careful owner, they’re also shod with matching 205/65R15 Michelin Cross Climate tyres, which were fitted new this summer.

Also, as we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Of course, it has had some bodywork over the years including repairs to the nearside and offside rear wheelarches, the nearside front wing, and the front bumper area in May 2001. More unspecified bodywork was carried out in April 2005, and the offside front wing, offside rear quarter, nearside front wing, and offside rear valence received some attention in March 2009. The work has been done very well, and we can’t see where the old paint has been blended in with the fresh.

Blemishes are few: aside from the usual minor stonechips and marks outstanding work includes rectifying a small dink on the top of the rear offside wing behind the tonneau cover.

The MB-Tex/imitation leather interior is really rather good, but then you’d probably guessed that would be the case, hadn’t you? Fitted with the optional rear seats, which look almost unused, the seat facings are excellent with no damage whatsoever bar some small marks to the centre of the base of the rear seat.

The front seats, the one place where you would expect to see signs of wear, are excellent and the only sign of use is some slight colour loss to the outside bolsters. They were resprung in 2014 too, so are still as comfortable and supportive as they were when the car was new.

The extensive wooden veneer is very good and free of chips, peeling lacquer, and other wear. A very nice period Blaupunkt Cambridge radio-cassette player sits in the centre console, and there is a fitting certificate for the Cobra alarm that was fitted in 2014.

Lifting the (very good) carpets shows solid, rust-free floors with evidence of rust-proofing having been applied in the past. The door cards are just as good, as is the dashboard, the trim panels, and the headlinings of both the soft- and hard-tops.

It all works too, but then that’s not a surprise given the R107’s reputation for being bulletproof, is it?

The boot is home to some very good trim and carpets in addition to a factory spare alloy wheel and Michelin tyre. The underlying metal floor is utterly solid.

Faults are very minor and seem to be limited to some light cracking of the trim panel that sits above the handbrake lever and a few black marks on the offside door card.

The routine service history is comprehensive, and recorded as follows:

06.10.1988 and 620 miles – service by Carols of Wolverhampton, Mercedes-Benz agents

20.06.1990 and 6,414 miles – service by Carols of Wolverhampton, Mercedes-Benz agents

16.03.1992 and 10,840 miles – service by an independent Mercedes-Benz specialists

25.07.1994 and 12,694 miles – service by Evans of Leicester, Mercedes-Benz agents

15.04.1996 and 20,269 miles – service and fresh brake fluid by Evans of Leicester, Mercedes-Benz agents

13.06.1997 and 30,407 miles - service by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

13.10.1997 and 35,878 miles - service and fresh coolant and brake fluid by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

13.05.1998 and 41,681 miles - service by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

20.10.1998 and 48,677 miles - service by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

01.06.1999 and 55,076 miles – service by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

03.05.2000 and 60,175 miles – service by Pentagon Mercedes-Benz

11.06.2001 and 65,528 miles – service by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

13.06.2002 and 72,905 miles – service and fresh coolant by Cruikshank Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

02.07.2003 and 74,155 miles – service by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

16.06.2005 and 78,100 miles - service and fresh brake fluid by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

28.07.2006 and 82,113 miles – service by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

30.05.2008 and 89,058 miles – service and fresh coolant and brake fluid by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

19.03.2010 and 92,829 miles – service by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

28.05.2012 and 93,899 miles – service by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

19.03.2014 and 95,625 miles – service and fresh coolant and brake fluid by Mercedes-Benz of Weston Super Mare

17.08.2014 and 96,055 miles – service by The SL Shop

21.08.2015 and 100,247 miles - service by The SL Shop

10.01.2016 and 101,467 miles - service by The SL Shop

13.03.2018 and 102,231 miles - service by The SL Shop

01.07.2019 and 104,186 miles – service by Halfords Autocentre, Bournemouth

14.03.2020 and 104,625 miles - service by Mercedes-Benz of Watford

There are invoices for plenty of other consumables such as brakes, tyres and batteries, etc. Please see the photo album for these invoices.

We’ve driven it and found it starts promptly, ticks over well and, as the owner puts it, found that it “drives very nicely”.

However, there is a ‘thunk’ from the offside rear when you turn left, which will need investigating. The power steering box also seeps oil but the vendor tells us that he’s never had to top it up, so it’s probably more of a nuisance than a problem.

The engine bay is, and we’re not being hyperbolic here, glorious. With only a smattering of surface rust on the exhaust headers spoiling its appearance, it’s the sort of underbonnet that can be shown-off with pride. (An indication of the care with which it has been maintained can be seen by the fact that the underbonnet sound insulation was replaced in December 2013. This is not the sort of job we see very often…)

The underside is clean and solid and showing signs of diligent maintenance in the form of paint alignment marks on some of the more important bolts and fasteners.

The SL’s MOT certificate is valid until July 2021. It also shows the mileage accruing only slowly, with around 12,000 miles having been covered in the past decade.

It has a number of expired MOT certificates plus a thick sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years.

It also still has its original owner’s handbook, fully stamped service history, and the book pack and storage wallet plus two sets of keys.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

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.

NB: Some of the paperwork shows the car fitted with the vendor’s cherished numberplate. This does not come with the car and it has been re-registered with its original number of F224 MNU.

The R107 Mercedes-Benz SL is a staple of the classic car world for many reasons, not least its durability and reliability. It’s also relatively cheap and easy to service and maintain - and the fact that it is so effortless elegant doesn’t harm its cause any.

But, while they will soldier on with only minimal servicing, good ones are getting harder and harder to find, something we attribute to the fact that, while we love ‘em, the market has yet to put them where we think they’ll eventually sit in terms of value, which means some folk don't spend the appropriate amount of money to keep them looking good and running properly - unlike this one.

But, this dilemma also means that even when you do find a good one, one that has been pampered and looked after as well as they deserve to be, it probably isn’t going to cost you a fortune.

This one, for example, will probably only fetch somewhere between £19,500 and £27,000, which is a pitifully small sum to pay for such a beautifully engineered and maintained car.

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’.