1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SL

This 1987 560SL R107 in well-kept, original condition for its age. The 560 catered to the American market and this car was originally registered there, though it has spent the last year or two in the UK. The owner has maintained this motor well and it comes with a current MOT, an Alpine stereo, a spare key, roof stand and custom cover. This car has done just shy of 74,000 miles over its 35-year life span and, in the words of the vendor, this is: “A beautiful and cherished car.”

The first things you notice are those rubber-tipped impact bumpers, the quad headlamps and the fog light assemblies framing the underside of the front bumper. The next thing to notice is the lustrous white paintwork, which is complemented by the matching hard-top and a camel soft top. Bodywork and chrome-work don’t show any signs of corrosion and the four original alloy wheels are in great condition.

Going deeper, there don’t appear to be any signs of accident damage: the panels are straight and just about ding-free and the panel gaps are Merc standard. The fit of the manually folding soft top looks slightly jarred around the rear driver’s side, but otherwise it looks to be in fine order.

The timeless combination of white paintwork and tan leather works well and the hide has held up well, largely thanks to the car’s modest mileage. The visor on the passenger’s side is slightly damaged and the driver’s door sill and lower part of the door card show evidence of wear, with some blemishes and light scuffs, commensurate with the car’s age. The original radio has been updated with a modified replacement (though the owner still owns the factory Alpine radio). The carpets and mats are in nice order throughout and the passenger door card is in good condition. Under the passenger’s carpet, there’s evidence that the floorpan has undergone some repair.

The original black leather steering wheel, upper part of the dashboard and veneer on the dashboard are in fine order. However, the veneers on the centre console show the usual cracks in the lacquer, most of them at the rear of the panel around the gear selector. That being said it’s a well-equipped car with lots of late-model toys like cruise control, an in-dash thermometer and even climate control.

The headlining of the soft-top is a little marked, the metalwork shows evidence of corrosion and it looks to be a bit worn in places. That being said the roof is not torn and it looks perfectly sound and useable. The hard top is in great shape. Some argue that an R107 SL looks even neater and better-proportioned with its hard roof. There’s a good spare under the boot floor, together with a cloth tool roll.

The 560’s Bosch fuel injected system is reliable and this gigantic engine does a good job of filling its bay. Under the bonnet gives the general impression of providing a clean and serviceable environment. The hydraulic lifters keep the proper clearance between rocker arms and the camshaft. The car looks to have been fairly well maintained, which bodes well for protecting the valvetrain from wearing out prematurely. The engine cover, drivetrain and fan are in tidy order, and there are no obvious signs of leakage of brake fluid, oil or water.

The front subframe in early cars is prone to cracking, but there are no signs of this here, that we can see. The only thing of note is some mild surface rust on the body sills and exhaust, but the wheel arches and suspension wishbones don’t show any obvious red flags.

This SL doesn't come with a vast array of paperwork, but it has a current MOT & an invoice dated 5th March 2022 for a total of £887.82. The invoice shows a rebuild on the offside right front brake calliper, along with some other misc jobs.

If you’ve been looking for an R107 SL bargain, this might be it: you don’t have the kind of corrosion worries that cause buyers of elderly UK-market examples to wake up in a cold sweat, but neither do you have the significant premium usually attached to the UK/EU specl SLs. The low mileage on this car also makes it an attractive prospect.

The car’s original, lightly blemished condition means there are opportunities to enhance this car. So, to take this car away, we think a prospective buyer will need to part with somewhere between £17,000 - £23,000. This is a lot of car for the money and offers a sound basis for a lovely V8 SL with room for some minor cosmetic tinkering.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, 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’.