2007 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG

Finished in Obsidian Black, this Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG also features a contrasting Flamenco Red Nappa leather interior. An extra-cost option, the leather upgrade alone set the car’s first owner back £2,000 - and that was on top of the car’s base price of £83,600. The final bill topped £103,000, with a £5,557 discount…

First registered on the 24th of January 2007, as the much sought-after facelifted model it features a better sealing roof and 510bhp courtesy of a faster-spinning supercharger and a larger throttle valve.

And, while it is showing four previous owners it has actually only had three keepers in total; the vendor is a dealer and he sold it to the car’s second owner in around 2015, a man who managed to get his name put on the V5 twice when he added a cherished number plate to the V5…

The vendor ended up with it back in stock before selling it to a friend of his in around 2016. She let her partner use it and when the relationship broke down put her name on the V5 too, even though she has never driven it.

Confused? Don’t worry, the short story is that it is a three-owner-from-new, beautifully maintained, very respectable SL55 AMG that drives as it should and comes with an appropriate ‘SL’ cherished number. And our vendor is no longer an active dealer due to retirement and other plans.

Being offered with a sensible reserve, this is your opportunity to get your hands on a car with more mid-range urge than any sane person really needs.

The Obsidian Black coachwork is good; with the AMG styling kit and 19-inch alloy wheels, the SL55 looks purposeful and utterly fit for purpose, even now.

The shutlines appear still tight and even, and the panels are straight and free of car-park dings and other damage. The complex roof furls and unfurls as it should, sealing tightly and offering a staggeringly effective compromise between a full-blown convertible on the one hand, and a fixed-head coupe on the other.

A recent nigh-on four-figure bill for work to the hydraulic system has left it all operating as it should – and the work included a modification to stop it getting wet again, which should keeping it working like for a good few years to come…

The five-spoke 19-inch AMG alloy wheels are largely unmarked and shod with a mixture of Pirelli P-Zero tyres on three of the wheels, and a sole Continental tyre on the offside front. Sure, there’s a little peeling lacquer here and there but they’re still straight and looking good.

The Bi-Xenon headlights are supplemented by heated washer nozzles and, more importantly, the AMG Driver’s package that removes the factory speed limiter.

Problems seem to be limited to the two glass panels that sit either side of the rear window. These are both a little patinated; this is a common issue with the model, is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the roof’s operation in any way.

Other than that there are only the usual stonechips you would expect on a car of this mileage, plus the odd age-related mark.

The Flamenco Red Nappa leather seats are heated and ventilated (the latter is untested), and supplemented by an Alcantara headlining and Ash Black wooden veneer. It’s a winning combination and, as you can see, it’s all rather lovely in there; few cars wear their years as lightly as an SL55 AMG, and this one is no exception. What creasing there is to the seats is entirely consistent with its age and mileage, and that’s not to damn with faint praise as it could easily be a five-year-old car rather than one that’ll never see its 13th birthday again.

The interior also features the optional Parktronic, Linguatronic, and Distronic systems plus pre-wiring for the telephone, the tyre pressure monitoring system, an OE fire extinguisher, a Harmon Kardon Logic 7 sound system including a CD multi-changer, TV tuner and a DVD player, Keyless Go, and the wonderful – and expensive – Panoramic Glass Vario sunroof. It has also been fitted with a Tracker.

It all seems to work too, including the air-conditioning but then you’d expect that of a car that cost over six-figures when it was new, wouldn’t you?

The boot is very clean and features the optional luggage restraints and remote boot release. There are some rust stains on the floor (please see the photo) but it is superficial and the rest of the boot is fine.

Problems? Well, there is some light creasing to the seats, plus the odd minor scratch to some of the plastic surfaces but there really isn’t anything in there to worry us at all.

The servicing regimen is comprehensive and comprises:

28th March 2008 at 10,158 miles

3rd June 2009 at 20,963 miles

14th October 2011 at 42,127 miles

13th July 2012 at 51,030 miles

19th September 2013 at 62,506 miles

These first six services were all carried out at Mercedes-Benz dealers. The following two services were carried out by independent garages:

23rd March 2015 at 67,182

7th March 2017 at 71,064 miles

We’ve driven it and can confirm that it drives as it should, although some might say it is due a service on a time-served basis, if not mileage.

The SL’s MOT certificate expires in June 2021. It also comes with 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.

It also still has its original owner’s handbook, book pack and wallet, plus the original sales invoice and two keys. (NB: one of the remotes seems to be struggling; it might just need new batteries or it might need replacing.)

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 and modified to a very good standard.

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.

Time has been kind to the R230 Mercedes SL55 AMG; initially viewed with suspicion by the secondhand market, they’ve moved seamlessly up through the ranks to become genuine platinum-coated, diamond-encrusted jewels, offering performance, reliability and enough everyday usability for them to be the coolest daily driver you can imagine.

It’s also easy to dismiss their performance; familiarity tends to breed contempt and yet the boss, no stranger to this model, still came back and smiled: “Yep, goes like thunder!”

All of which means that prices are on the march. 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 between £16,000 and £21,000 look like outstanding value.

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’.