2002 Mercedes-Benz SL500

First registered on the 20th of June 2003, this lovely Mercedes-Benz SL500 is still showing just 55,000 miles and three previous owners. In the care of the vendor the past two-and-a-bit years and around 4,000 miles, it has a great history and is very well presented.

Always garaged and mainly used in the summer, the vendor tells us that the car’s first owner bought it and kept in in storage for a while before he registered it. If true, then this would help explain the car’s condition and mileage.

Now only for sale because it isn’t being used to any great degree, it’s on auction with a very sensible guide price and, more importantly, no reserve so it’s going to sell from the very first bid…

The silver paintwork is lovely. Really, really lovely. Of course, the sleek, minimalist design helps, as do the tight Mercedes shutlines and complete absence of dents and dinks and car-park ripples; this is a car that’s clearly been pampered throughout its life.

The light lenses, badges, trim and glass is all good too but the star of the show is, of course, the folding roof. Extraordinarily ingenious, it blurs the lines between a tin-top coupe and a full-blown convertible better than anything that went before - and better than almost everything that came afterwards, come to that.

This one benefits from a new hydraulic pump for the folding mechanism, a significant investment that’s left it fighting fit and operating as it should. Completely weathertight and yet able to offer the full wind-in-the-hair experience, it works and looks exactly as it should.

All four alloy wheels were refurbished in August 2018. They’re shod with two new Maxxis tyres on the back, while the front wheels rest on good Continentals.

Faults? Well, there are a few little stonechips, undoubtably the odd minor mark and one or two very minor bubbles too, but it is otherwise on the button and looking quite splendid.

The grey leather interior is in a very good condition still but then you’d already guessed that, hadn’t you? With only light creasing to the front seats, minimal colour loss and no damage whatsoever, they could pass for being five years old instead of coming to the end of their second decade.

The rear storage area is even better but then it’s almost impossible to access so that’s not the biggest surprise you’re going to hear today. The door cards, carpets, wooden veneer and dashboard are all very, very good too; its miles have clearly been racked up with unusual care.

Still hugely original, the first aid kit is still in place in front of the passenger’s seat with the driver having ready access to the fire extinguisher. Even the cupholders are still intact and working, and that’s rarely the case with older cars like this.

The boot is a bit grubby but is otherwise as it should be and very solid underneath.

Faults? Well, we can’t get either the driver’s seat heater or the heating fan to work, although both switches do illuminate. Oh, and the SRS light is on.

New front discs and pads were fitted in August 2018 along with a fresh oil filter and oil. A new offside rear electric window motor was fitted in September 2019, and it also benefits from a recent battery, two new rear tyres, and a hydraulic pump for the roof mechanism.

We’ve driven it and it drives “perfectly well” according to the chap who took it out for the test drive. Now, you might think that’s damning with faint praise but it isn’t, not from him…

The engine bay and underside are both a bit grubby but perfectly presentable and we can’t see anything in either area that cause us even momentary concern.

The Mercedes’ MOT certificate is valid until June 2021. It also has a number of expired MOT certificates plus a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years.

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 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.

This has been a fairly short write-up but then there really isn’t much to say – and when you’re looking at buying a 17-year-old V8-powered convertible sportscar that’s exactly what you want to read.

As is its astonishingly low price; we think this car will sell for somewhere between £6,000 and £9,000, or about the same as you’d pay for a middling, mid-range Mazda MX-5, which is flabbergasting value given how well it drives and how good it looks.

And it, like every good R230, is a very versatile car offering saloon-like comfort when the weather’s bleak and genuine topless fun when it isn’t. It goes like stink too, and sounds epic thanks to that V8 engine; if you can manage with just the two seats then it’s probably all the modern classic you’ll ever need.

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’.