1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SL

Welcome to our latest auction listing, this time for a wonderfully preserved Mercedes-Benz 280SL. First registered on the 30th of December 1984, it has no fewer than 18 stamps in the service history booklet and still has its book pack, toolkit, jack, warning triangle, first aid kit and the alloy spare wheel.

Beautifully presented with a matching Signal Red hardtop in addition to an unusual but attractive brown fabric roof, it has been in the vendor’s care for the past three years. Barely used by him, he loaned it to his brother-in-law to use during the summer months at his home in London, a fitting location for such an elegant sportscar.

Now barely used, it is being offered with a very sensible guide price and reserve, making this your chance to install a vibrant, well-fettled R107 SL to your garage.

The Signal Red exterior is in a very good condition with excellent panel alignment, even shutlines, and an absence of the sort of dents, dings and other damage that marks out lesser examples.

The paintwork is very good with the Signal Red colour being a cheery alternative to the more usual silver, white or black. Looking fresh and vibrant, the black rubber trim has an impressively deep lustre to it that is offset by the gleaming chrome, just as MB intended, back-in-the-day.

The brown folding roof is in great shape too, being taut and well-fitting. It furls and unfurls easily and is free of damage. There’s a matching Signal Red hardtop as well that is in an equally good condition; used in turn they transform the 280SL from a fair-weather friend into an all-season grand touring car that would be as much at home on the ski slopes as it would at the seaside.

The original equipment 14-inch alloy wheels are in great shape - and even the spare matches. They’re shod with Corsa tyres on the front axle and Michelin on the rear. All look to have good tread, with the rear tyres looking almost new.

We can’t see any problems with the exterior at all bar the usual minor stonechips and marks that any car picks up no matter how carefully they’re looked after.

The tan leather interior is very well preserved. The two front seats are the bits you notice first, so it’s good to see that they’re in fine fettle with a wonderfully light patina that is, to our eyes at least, much more attractive than a freshly retrimmed finish ever could be.

The lower half of the interior is a matching colour, while the upper dashboard is the usual MB black. The combination works very well and the whole lot is in a very good condition; even the wooden veneer trim, often the first area to show the years, is decent. The carpets are good too, as is the headlining of both the fabric roof and the hardtop.

In fact, the only glaring note is the head unit, which is incongruously modern but then if that is the extent of your woes then an hour on eBay would turn up something suitably period at minimal cost.

The boot is very neat and well presented. It’s home to the toolkit, jack, warning triangle, first aid kit and original alloy spare wheel and lifting the (good) carpets shows only solid, rust-free metal underneath.

Work to do is minor and, looking through the photos, is probably restricted to cleaning the sunvisors, and sourcing a new sill plate to replace the worn offside one.

The Mercedes-Benz’s servicing history is impressive, with the same garage looking after the car for the first 17 years of its life. It reads:

19.10.1984 and 366 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

19.11.1984 and 1,236 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

02.07.1985 and 8,571 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

19.03.1986 and 16,449 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

21.05.1986 and 18,022 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

27.01.1987 and 23,123 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

07.09.1987 and 29,467 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

07.09.1988 and 37,494 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

26.06.1992 and 42,139 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

20.08.1993 and 47,605 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

12.07.1994 and 52,600 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

31.03.1995 and 57,132 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

28.07.1995 and 60,479 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

24.05.1996 and 69,411 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

06.08.1998 and 78,126 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

03.08.2001 and 84,364 miles – Jim Russell Mercedes

31.10.2005 and 89,282 miles – A Lambert

03.05.2011 and 92,689 miles – D Phillip Mercedes

14.09.2016 and 96,763 miles – ML Autocare

The engine bay is well presented. You’ll note in the video that it starts well, ticks over beautifully, and revs nicely. The vendor assures us that it drives well, too.

The underside looks to be solid (it certainly hasn’t come to the attention of an MOT tester at any point) but the underseal is worn in a few isolated places so we can see the new owner will probably want to touch it up before winter arrives.

The vendor state that he has tested the front bulkhead and all is strong, leakfree and as it should be.

The SL’s MOT certificate expires in December 2020 and was gained without any advisories, something it’s been doing for the past few years.

It 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. As described above, it has an excellent history and one that is the envy of many a lesser R107.

It has retained its owner’s handbook, book pack and wallet plus the stamped service history booklet.

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.

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

And yet, despite its many attributes, it’s still very reasonably priced.

Take this one, for example. In a beautiful condition and sporting an attractive and unusual colour scheme – is there a better combination than Signal Red with a tan leather interior? - we think it will only sell for somewhere between £15,500 and £18,500, which is remarkable value even given the current market.

And, while the price of good Mercedes R107s has yet to take off in the way we expected, we still think they should be a safe place to put your money in the medium- to long-term.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller in Shrewsbury; 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.