1995 Mercedes-Benz SL500

Built in January 1995 and first registered that March by Yanase Mercedes in Yamaguchi City (extreme west of Japan’s main island Honshu), this SL500 has the 5.0-litre V8 engine delivering 322bhp through a 4-speed “4G-Tronic” automatic gearbox.

Having been imported to the UK in early 2016, its first British owner kept the car for only a year before it was sold through a dealer in Croydon in April 2017. The second and most recent owner is a serious car collector from north east Essex who went to the dealership to look at a different car but was bowled over by the condition of this SL.

Originally buying it as a collector car, he liked the SL so much he ended up more than doubling the mileage on it but has kept the Mercedes looking immaculate.

Whilst the exterior bodywork looks a very dark grey, it is in fact Mercedes’ “Blue Black” metallic finish. Regardless of what it’s called, it looks to be in an utterly incredible condition. There are a few scrapes on the bumper and chips in the paint at the front, no car is ever perfect, but they are very few and far between and only to be expected of a car of this age. Another minor thing is a chip in the offside headlamp glass, but it’s not in the center of the lens so probably doesn’t affect its operation in the slightest.

1995 was the last model year where the bumpers and side trims were coloured a dark grey - going body coloured the year after - and although they represent a sizeable portion of the car, they are in such a good condition on this SL that they don’t detract from the delightful overall appearance.

As with most SLs up to and including the R129, the car came with a removable hardtop - which is typically a two-person job to install or uninstall and often would be tucked away unused and forgotten. This car still retains its hardtop and it too is finished in immaculate body coloured paint. Such is the effectiveness of the roof’s styling that when fitted, the car has the look and feel of a coupé.

Most of the time, you’ll want to be out in the car in good, or promising, weather - so you’ll stash the hardtop in the garage and rely on the folding roof. It remains fitted to the car and has a powered mechanism, so it requires little in the way of effort to lower it when the weather allows and close it when parked or if clouds gather. The black fabric on this car’s roof appears in very good order, with just the odd wrinkle from being stored folded, and it deploys and stows away as it should.

The car sits on its original 16-inch 8-hole light alloy wheels, which are in very good condition and all are fitted with Mohawk M105 tyres (a Yokohama-owned brand), dating from 2018 but fitted in early 2019.

The seats are upholstered in perforated black leather and are largely free of undue wear, although there is a slight crack or tear on the lower right corner of the driver’s seat and a small area of wear on the side bolster. The sports steering wheel and gear lever are also clad in matching leather and look barely used.

The centre console and door control panels are faced in a dark walnut wood veneer, which adds a touch more refinement and is in good condition with a deep lustre to the finish.

The rest of the interior trim is a mixture of leather, vinyl and soft carpeting in differing shades of black and dark grey and is all in very good condition. Although not pictured, the car also comes with floor mats from the supplying Mercedes dealership.

The stereo head unit is an up to date Pioneer DAB CD/MP3 model replacing the original Becker Exquisit radio/cassette but it is still linked to the onboard CD changer as well as a 4 channel amplifier. It also has Bluetooth, USB and smartphone connectivity. Sadly though, you will no longer be able to take advantage of selecting your tunes from the pop up cassette storage in the centre armrest.

As far as we’ve been able to test, all the electrics and interior equipment is working as it should, including the central locking - although the remote keyfob doesn’t work.

The engine bay is very clean and orderly - with this era of SL we’ve now reached the time when engines started getting covered up and hidden behind big chunks of plastic. Nonetheless, judging by the sweet noise there’s a burbling V8 under there somewhere that appears to be in superb running condition. The bonnet itself seems in very good order too with its sound-deadening lining still present and undamaged.

The undersides of the car also now have multiple plastic covers and shrouds particularly at the front, but what you can see of the underbody appears to be solid and intact, with no signs of corrosion anywhere beyond tiny glimpses of surface rust on some of the fixings. Pretty much what you’d expect from a car that spent most of its life driving on unsalted roads. The floors have good coatings of underseal and are undamaged and the exhaust system looks to have some relatively new sections - especially the cat and the back box.

Inside the boot, the carpet and linings appear clean and tidy and the contents look to be complete. There’s a warning triangle mounted under the boot lid and a full size spare alloy wheel with Michelin rubber under the floor, along with the jack and wheel brace.

The SL500 has a current MOT valid until March 2022, which it passed with no advisories. According to the online history, it’s had a fairly clean report on each annual inspection since its first in the UK in February 2016. It also shows its low mileage on entering the UK at just over 27,000km and a progression to its current 63,480km (39,400 miles).

The SL500 comes with some Japanese documentation including its original Maintenance Booklet - quite rare for a Japanese car - although there’s only the Pre-Delivery Inspection (22 March 1995 - Heisei 7) and the first customer registration that are completed.

The previous UK owner has also kept the sales details from early 2017 when he bought the car plus several invoices from his ownership including:

Mar 2020 - service and MOT

Jan 2020 - repaint front grille and rear panel

Dec 2019 - ignition amplifier and wiring harness replaced

Aug 2019 - spark plugs and distributor cap replaced

Feb 2019 - 4 tyres, brake pads and sensors

The R129 is as pretty as it is tough and is considered by some as the last of the enthusiasts’ SLs - before the folding metal vario-roof made weather-based decisions too easy for lazy owners of the kind who want to have their cake and eat it. The R129s are pretty affordable too but we are already seeing a resurgence of interest as they pass the “30 years ago, my favourite uncle had one” stage of nostalgia.

But how affordable is this one? Well like all SL models, prices vary hugely depending on condition and specification. This imported example scores well on both counts, it is a delightful car to drive and very, very sharp with lower than average miles.

We think this SL500 will sell for between £12,500 and £15,000 – which is average classic R107 SL money - but these cars are on the up and although this one is a cracker, it’s not a museum piece and is ready to be enjoyed now that summer seems to be upon us.

Viewing is always encouraged, within Govt. guidelines of course, and as stated this car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; 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’.