1999 Mercedes-Benz SL 280

The vendor of this SL280 has owned the car for three years and during that time it has always been garage stored. As part of a significant collection it’s been exercised regularly, but sparingly. Prior to that the previous owner carried out quite a bit of work on it, which is detailed in the History Highlights section below.

As signified in the V5 logbook it’s had a total of six owners from new. The first of those certainly went to town on the options list… as the entry level model it’s rare to see a fully-loaded SL280, but this example comes with electric folding mirrors, electric heated seats (on both sides), cruise control, cream leather and a half wood steering wheel. It also has a hard top, which we are told is unmarked, and hard top stand.

There’s a fresh MOT, two days ago in fact! And flew through this with no advisories. The vendor says it’s now time to let it go to a new home, as the car needs an owner who’ll exercise it a little more regularly.

The odometer currently reads just a tad over 101,000 miles.

“I’d say the bodywork is about 8 out of 10,” says the vendor. “The paintwork is nice; there’s a few blemishes here and there, but with a machine polish it’ll look really good.”

There’s also a small kink on the front nearside wing, which can be seen in the Photographic Gallery below. It looks as though the bonnet may have been has been closed with something underneath it.

The insulation on the underside also needs replacing, but other than that it’s a smart prospect. The metallic blue paint finish provides a fantastic contrast to the cream leather interior.

It had two new wings fitted and re-sprayed in 2015, and the colour match looks to be excellent. The nose is fairly free of stone chips, although there’s a small graze and a couple of tiny chips just by the Mercedes-Benz badge.

Given that it also comes with its original hardtop, if you get someone to help you (it’s a two-man job) this SL can easily be converted into a rakish Coupe. Its ‘as new’ condition suggests that’s an option that’s only been very occasionally utilised.

The pictures show that there’s a slight issue with the offside rear soft-top latch into the body, as there’s a slight gap. We’ve encountered this before with the R129 and it most likely only requires a bit of greasing or oiling and a touch of brute force to rectify.

The previous owner fitted new tyres all round in 2015 and the current owner has only added minimal mileage in that time, so there’s still plenty of tread on all. The alloy wheels were refurbished at the same time and remain pristine.

“The interior is really clean, it’s a nice cabin,” says the vendor. “The soft-top is good with no rips or tears, and works well – although it could do with a clean.”

All electrics function as they should, except for the passenger side electric seat adjustment – it’ll go forwards, but not backwards so needs a bit of electrical fettling. Most importantly the soft-top mechanism works perfectly.

A good R129 cabin is a lovely place to be and this car is no exception; there’s relatively little wear and tear, and the cream leather remains supple and crack-free. The carpets are in good condition and protected with black mats up front.

The wood veneer on the centre column and steering wheel looks to be free from damage, and there’s a pleasing lack of scuffs or other marks on most of the light coloured interior surfaces (the driver’s door card speaker cover being the exception, but this should clean up easily).

In the back, the plus-two rear seats look as if they’ve never seen use. Best of all are those delicate chrome-ringed gauges up front, which lend this SL280 interior a real touch of class.

The vendor states “It drives really well. The engine is really smooth and powerful; and on the move the car behaves perfectly, there’s no pulling to one side. The rebuilt braking system also ensures that the stopping power is sharp.”

The car is located at the vendor’s home in Leicester, so if you want to confirm the above then we recommend hitting the ‘Contact Seller’ button.

Lift the bonnet and you’ll find a clean, business-like engine bay – a sign of a nicely looked after example. Underneath there’s a touch of surface corrosion on the exhaust system centre box and one or two suspension struts, but nothing of an untoward nature.

The hardtop stand also currently resides in the boot.

With any classic car it’s nice to see main dealer invoices in the history file, and this example has plenty. The flip side is that there’s no service book, but that’s offset by the fact that the current owner’s family owns a garage and the car has been serviced there in recent years.

A good root through the paperwork shows that Mercedes-Benz of Derby has carried out much of the maintenance including the replacement of various struts and tie rods.

There’s also a typed letter from the previous owner detailing all the works that he had completed. These include: the complete restoration of the braking system by The Brake Caliper Specialist in Long Eaton (this included a front calliper rebuild, Brembo brake pad set, Zimmermann front discs, new hard brake pipes where required and new rear hoses), new Continental Contisport Contact 3 tyres (£484.10), repainted alloy wheels, and a new Bosch battery (£86.38).

There’s also an invoice from April 2015 from Bromham Bodyworks Ltd of Derby for the fitting and re-spraying of two new genuine Mercedes-Benz front wing panels (a common R129 rust spot).

You’ll also find numerous previous MOT certificates and tax discs, as well as the current one and the V5 logbook.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a high standard.

Have you looked out the window recently? One word: scorchio. The long, wet winter is but a distant memory, and it’s time to get the roof down and the wind blasting through your locks.

It’s true that 2020 has been a bit of a merde sandwich so far. However the green shoots of a return to normality are starting to appear, so why not indulge in a bit of high-end top-down action?

Given its very nice condition and fresh no-advisory MOT, we think this smart SL280 will go for between £6000 and £9000. Most R129s remain at the bottom of their depreciation curve, which makes them a bit of a bargain – that’s not a situation that we can see continuing for long.

The vendor says this example drives beautifully. There’s a touch of very minor fettling to do (soft-top, electric passenger seat and front wing), but once complete the next owner should be guaranteed a lot of smooth, drop-top satisfaction.

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