1993 Mercedes-Benz R129 - 300SL

In the care of the vendor for the past year, it was bought from a friend of his who found himself with one too many classic cars and no easy way of rectifying his very #FirstWorldProblem.

Not that the vendor was necessarily hurting for wheels, as it joined his collection of 20+ cars. Still, it’s a lovely old bus and we’re hoping that someone else will fall for its charms now that the vendor’s wife has (understandably, let’s face it; he’s had a bloomin’ good run…) insisted on a “two-out, one-in” policy now he’s easing himself into semi-retirement.

We’re told by him that “it never misses a beat” and that it has “no known mechanical faults”, two statements we can believe as he’s a lifelong engineer and car enthusiast who is, by his own admission, extraordinarily fastidious; he even insists that we tell you that the wipers were a little slow when he first used them after a year in storage. Not slow now they’ve freed off you understand, just a little slow back then.

But, that’s the kind of bloke he is, a chap you can buy a secondhand car from with confidence.

The bright red coachwork is in fine overall condition, looking sharp and clean – and not only for a car of this mileage and maturity. The panel fit is good, and the car has a distinct lack of dents, dings and other age-related wear and tear. And, importantly, all the doors open and close with the sort of authoritative ‘thunk’ that the German firm used to be known for. This does not appear to be a car with an ‘interesting’ history.

The black fabric folding roof is in a great condition, and works exactly as it should. It is in a decent condition, and should still be waterproof but there is a small hole on the lower nearside edge and it does look like it could do with a deep clean and then reproofing with something like Fabsil Gold.

The red removeable hardtop, on the other hand, is good with a nice finish to the body coloured paintwork, and one that would respond to a light machine polish very well. The headlining though, is a little stained in places and looks to have sagged here and there on the inside, and there is the odd small dent and dink from storage. Mind you, that’d be a nice little winter project, wouldn’t it?

The SL sports a body coloured AMG rear spoiler and a set of five-spoke 18-inch AMG alloy wheels are in a great condition. Free of kerbing and other damage, they’re shod with decent tyres.

All-in-all, it looks great. Sure, there is a small rust bubble to the nearside front wing that will need sorting out, but that’s it really for significant problems.

If we are being ultra-critical then the offside front corner of the bonnet doesn’t quite align with the top of the wing, which may just be down to the catch requiring minor adjustment, and there are some scratches and a couple of deep cracks to lower edge of the front valence, as well as a small crack to the paint on the offside corner of the rear bumper. Should you look closely, deep into the corners of the door shuts for example, there is some evidence of overspray.

None of these is serious, and given the car’s likely intended use we’d be tempted to leave well alone and just enjoy the car as it is. Mind you, red is an easy colour to match, so a bit of a rolling restoration of the bodywork as and when funds and motivation allow would be straightforward.

Oh, and the SL500 badge? Like the AMG wheels and rear spoiler, it’s lying. This is indeed the 300SL.

The interior is in a fabulous condition considering it has covered the equivalent of going around the world five times. The black leather on the driver’s seat is creased and a little loose but it is free of damage and significant wear, and remains firm and comfortable.

The other three seats are lightly creased but still very presentable; these old R129s really are all but indestructible if you pay them a modicum of respect.

So, the steering wheel is a bit shiny but that’s all. The carpets are good (bar a small hole on the driver’s heel pad) and the top of the dashboard is free of cracks and sun-damage. The switches all still work as they should, as do the instruments. In fact, enthusiasts won’t be surprised to learn that everything we’ve tried works. Old Mercs are good like that, although we did notice there may still be a slight issue with the wipers when we tried them. We also suspect one of the vectors on the electric driver’s seat may be wired up incorrectly!!

The wooden veneer is sharp and shiny too, and the door cards, complete with ruched leather inserts, are still virtually as fabulous now as they’ve ever been.

The headlining is clean and a little wrinkled, but this is a well-fettled driver’s car that has served its owners faithfully for the past quarter-century and more, so it can be excused not being still in the first flush of youth.

An Alpine radio/CD player headunit has been fitted.

The boot is clean and solid, and home to the non-AMG Mercedes-Benz spare alloy wheel, tool kit, warning triangle, and Sony CD multi-changer.

Given how little use it’s had over the past couple of years – no more than 200 miles is the vendor’s best guess – it hasn’t need a ton of work recently. But, true to his nature, the owner has fitted new front sidelight holders and high-power bulbs, because that was the only thing he thought needed fettling.

Serviced last year, he can, he tells us, jump into it at the drop of a hat and set off into the sunset – and he’s done just that, wafting into North Wales from his Cheshire home a couple of times without a care in the world.

The engine bay is clean and nicely presented. Not concours, but then this is very much a well-preserved driver’s car rather than a trailer queen and all the better for being so.

The underside looks to be very solid, and still wears its factory protection.

The SL’s MOT certificate expires in November 2020, and was gained without a single advisory point. This online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and the car comes with a typed summary of the car’s history via a MyCarCheck report.

It also has a few old invoices and bills to confirm the recent work that has been done to it, plus the V5 registration document. Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing to see these.

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. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

The R129 is as pretty as it is tough - and that’s worth something in today’s troubled times; apocalypse-ready vehicles don’t have to be finished in camouflage green and fitted with four-wheel-drive because only two things will survive in a post-nuclear world: cockroaches and Mercedes-Benz cars of the eighties and nineties.

But, you need to buy the right one; the vendor bought this car from a friend based on condition, rather than an extensive service history, it’s lightly patinated condition means that it’ll be fairly cheap, but we all believe it should be safe and reliable.

How cheap? We think this one will only sell for between £4,000 and £7,000 – or around half what you’d pay for a lower-mileage example that you’ll be too scared to use for fear of getting it dirty.

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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.