2002 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG

First registered on 22 Jun 2002, this pre-facelift R230 SL55 AMG Kompressor has now covered 80,400 miles. For an eminently usable 18 year old car, even a sporty one, that works out as fewer than 4,500 miles a year on average.

As you would expect from Merc’s flagship sports model - even one on steroids - its interior equipment levels are high with plenty of toys. See the spec sheets in the gallery for a full list of bells and whistles.

The last owner was an Isle of Wight lawyer with an active passion for motorsport - being a former Chief Steward for Formula 1 and a director of the British Automobile Racing Club at Thruxton. Perhaps he saw the SL55’s capabilities as the F1 safety car 2001-2002 and bought one for himself?

In current ownership for around two and a half years (and bought from the dealer who sold it to the previous owner who then later traded it back), the car has only covered around 2-3,000 miles in that time as it’s mostly just been used on summer days for recreational drives from Coventry to the open roads of Wales. It was bought as a longer term investment but recent conversion of the vendor’s garage to a home gym has left the SL55 homeless and rather than let it deteriorate, he’d rather sell it on. Without prejudice (!!), the vendor has reason to believe that the speed limiter has been disabled on this car.

A German sports car doesn’t have to be silver any more than a British one has to be dark green - after all, we supposedly left all that behind in the late ‘60s. However, this Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG does conform to stereotype and is finished in their Brilliant Silver metallic paint. Although reportedly very strong, there are a few areas which would benefit from professional attention, all of which can be seen in the close up photos in the accompanying gallery.

There is a patch of corrosion in the paint on the wing just in front of the driver’s door and another small bubble forming on the very front of the roof panel above the passenger door. The windscreen has a small stone chip low down on the passenger side with small cracks radiating from it. It is hard to gauge from the photos the overall dimensions of those cracks but it might be repairable without a full replacement.

The wheels too could do with a refurb, suffering from a little surface degradation and cracks in the lacquer in the centres and most notably around the valves. They are, however, the original AMG V 22-spoke 18-inch alloys and were refitted with four new matching Vredestein Giugiaro tyres in 2015. If you’re a regular reader of our listings, you’ll know we have a thing for good quality matching rubber on a car. Whilst it’s not infallible, it is a good indicator that a car has had a mechanically sympathetic owner who doesn’t take short cuts where it matters most.

Whilst we always encourage an inspection in person if possible, we understand that some potential bidders may be limiting travel and social exposure. Be sure to scrutinise the detailed photos in the gallery first but then why not use the ‘Contact Seller’ option to either arrange a viewing or set up a video call to discuss the car and zoom in on any areas you’d like a closer look at.

Whilst the door tops, dash and centre console are in black with red stitching, the remainder of the interior is in a contrasting blood red. The leather multi-contour electric seats are in good condition, heated and offer a lumbar pulse massage, which is reported to be working. As is typical of Mercedes, the seatbelt straps are coloured to blend in with the seats and other interior trim to give a more premium look.

Door cards, carpets, floor mats and all other interior trim look to be in good order with just a few small scuffs in the places you’d expect like where shod feet are being hauled up and out over the sills.

The steering wheel, thankfully one of the black items rather than specified in red, has the small metal gear shifter +/- buttons favoured at the time. For those with modernising aspirations, there are DIY kits available to upgrade them to paddle-shift. Above and through the wheel, the instrument binnacle is covered with Alcantara no doubt adding both interest and anti-glare in equal measure.

The COMAND (COckpit MANagement and Data system) navigation and multi-CD/TV entertainment system pushes audio out through Bose speakers, although no navi disk is present with the car and the TV tuner is analog only.

Another nice “executive” period touch is the Nokia 6310i mobile phone handset docked in the centre armrest. Although this piece of factory-integrated communications technology was state of the art in 2002 it is by no means ‘smart’ - it was still five years before the first Apple iPhone was launched and we know how fast technology moved back then.

The vendor reports that the powered roof and all other interior equipment is working, although it’s probable that the UK’s cellular phone network has moved on somewhat since 2002 so the phone may now be a different kind of conversation starter.

Under the bonnet, the engine bay appears tidy and largely clean with just the tiniest of dots of surface rust at the top of the struts and down on some of the mountings below. The bonnet lid itself is in good order with the sound deadening insulation intact and no signs of rust, even around the hinges and catches.

Underneath the car, again some surface rust can be seen on bracing cross members and other parts but nothing serious enough to be picked up or even advised on in an MOT. From what we can see all covers, undertrays and heat shields are present and intact and the exhaust system looks in good order.

Inside what is a generous boot, even with the load cover engaged separating the contents from the folded roof, the carpets and linings are clean and in good order. Under the floorboard is a further storage recess and below that the jack, compressor and tyre repair canister.

There is a full record of this car’s MOT history online, only missing one year where the car was SORN. Since first requiring an MOT, the car has had only 3 failures in 14 tests, the last of which was in 2016 for suspension ball joints and emissions. Invoices in the document gallery show that these issues were rectified. The current MOT certificate is valid until the end of February 2021.

The service booklet appears to show a full Mercedes-Benz service history up to 2011 and 48,000 miles (the second service although not stamped is marked as SG Newport which is likely to be Sinclair Garage Mercedes-Benz main dealer). Started by the first owner who had the car 2-3 years, the second owner who appears to have kept the car for 6 years continued to use MB service centres.

From 2013 onwards, as the car passed through a few short-term owners, servicing has been done by independents and Merc specialists. Not stamped as serviced since early 2016, the car has just been given a major B service at Anker Garage in Nuneaton - specialist mechanics for German cars.

Other recent work as evidenced by the documentation gallery includes a new power steering pump in 2018 and 2 new hydraulic lines fitted to the ABC suspension in April 2019.

The car has also recently benefited from a right rear travel plunger sensor and also a complete flush of the ABC system. 

The car comes with a history folder full of invoices and MOT paperwork, and a full set of owners manuals and keys. The battery charger and krooklok shown in one photo are not included nor are the personalised plates. The car will be returned to its original registration.

The R230 Mercedes SL55 AMG was initially regarded with caution by the secondhand market due to the potential costs of fixing ABC issues and water ingress on pre-facelift models. In the last few years though, they’ve become much more sought after and seen as a genuinely super car, offering performance, reliability and enough everyday usability for them to be the coolest daily driver you can imagine.

Consequently prices are on the up. While you used to be able to buy the very best examples for less than £20,000, you’ll have to pay around twice that for a very good one now, which makes our guide price for this car of £14,000 - £20,000 look like outstanding value, especially with the reserve set even lower.

Wherever the winning bid lands in this range, the lucky new owner will still have enough headroom to be able to address the few bodywork issues and wheels for way less than it would cost them to buy an A1 example.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located in Coventry; 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’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.