1999 Mercedes-Benz SL600

The vendor of this vehicle purchased it from the wife of its previous owner, in 2019. He had unfortunately passed away and, with the car having sat for a couple of years, our vendor undertook a light re-commissioning programme.

This involved a service at 57,285 miles in February 2019, followed by a number of shakedown miles and completed works, and another follow-up interim service at 57,419 miles in March of this year (please see the photographic Gallery below, for full documentation).

As the current mileage sits at just 57,453 the next owner can be assured that it’s absolutely on the button. The included V5 document shows that this car has had a total of five owners from new and it also comes with a current MOT certificate, which runs until the 14th of January 2021.

V12 R129s are becoming very hard to find, especially facelift examples and even more especially in this kind of condition. “It’s very hard to fault,” says the vendor. “Its condition is excellent and everything works, from the electrics to the air conditioning and the soft top.”

It also comes with a lovely glass panoramic hardtop, which transforms it in an instant from glorious soft-top to rakish Coupe.  

Even with our magnifying glasses out there is very little to quibble about here; the Brilliant Silver paintwork remains superb, retaining its factory lustre and consistency. Take a look at the pictures though and you’ll see absolutely immaculate door-shuts, panel drains and fuel filler housing.

The virtually unmarked paint has only a few small imperfections – a couple of touched in stonechips on the lower bonnet edge, a small touched-up area under the hardtop on the nearside rear wing and a some lacquer lift on the lower nearside sill.

The hood remains very serviceable with clear Perspex panels and has plenty of life left in it, while the glass panoramic roof remains in exemplary condition with the finish matching the very high quality of the rest of this car.

Similarly the alloy wheels all present beautifully and its Dunlop SP Sport Maxx have not seen very many miles at all (see History section, below), so have oodles of tread left.

What’s its best view? The side profile with front wing air vents and V12 script is lovely, but for us it has to be wide and planted rear end, complete with proper old-school traditional Mercedes-Benz ribbed rear light clusters.

Open the door and you step over clean unmarked kick plates into a cabin that’s the equal to the exterior. The leather seats have minor creases and unworn bolsters (Mercs of this period have harder-wearing seats than contemporary BMWs), while the carpets are virtually like new – take a look at the pictures of the pile (in the cabin and boot), if you don’t believe us!

The electrically adjustable seats work as they should and benefit from replacement heated-seat elements. The soft-top mechanism retracts and rises with a smooth, efficient action and all other cabin electrics as well as the air-conditioning function just as they should.

You get the extra wood on the centre column and that part-wood steering wheel, both of which are SL600 touches – very nice, indeed .

“It drives very well,” says the vendor. “The V12 engine is like a turbine and it pulls like an absolute train. The automatic gearbox changes as it should and the brakes are extremely sharp.”

As the car is now located at The Market’s Abingdon headquarters we can confirm that it does drive very, very well. It’s a typically over-engineered R129 and as such features that supremely capable chassis, which endows it with excellent body control.

Here it’s matched to that walloping, big V12 engine – win, win, win. On the straight and narrow it’s a colossus, a brute and high-speed chariot. Get down dirty and twisty, and you know what? Unlike many previous generations of SL, it can do the sports car dance with aplomb.

A quick look underneath shows nothing untoward, just a lovely clean undercarriage. While under the bonnet it’s absolutely spotless and there are twelve reminders of this car’s piece de resistance – it’s not quite Alfa Romeo ‘Busso’ engine visuals, but it’s titillating all the same.

When buying a property it’s ‘location, location, location’, but with a classic car it’s ‘history, history, history’. If you think that sounds excessive then after that, ensure you check the history. That’s even more important with a technological modern classic masterpiece such as the SL600.

The great bit of news with this example is that its history is very strong – just check out the Photographic Gallery, below. There you’ll find a well-stamped service book.

Its pre-service inspection was carried out on the 15th of February 1999 and there’s an additional eight service stamps, from a variety of Mercedes-Benz main dealers and independent specialists. Birmingham-based independent Clarke-Evans Service Centre completed more recent of these (in 2019 and again in 2020).

There are two gaps between the fifth and the sixth and the sixth and the seventh, but the vendor explains that this was due to the then owner having oil change services carried out by his local MOT garage in the first instance, and then his unfortunate passing in the second. An MOT history check confirms that it was tested every year between 2011 and 2020, except for 2019.

As well as the service book (and V5 document), all owner’s manuals and both keys, you’ll find numerous previous MOT certificates and invoices for works carried out. These most recent ones include £398.78 for a new ECU Control Unit Module and £604 in March of this year for its service and general health check (which included new front brake pads and some indicator lens and headlamp glass changes).

Prior to that it had a new acceleration sensor (£106.38) fitted in April 2019 and a new brake servo (£511.01) fitted the following month, both at Mercedes-Benz of Wolverhampton. New tyres were fitted and balanced (£580) in August 2015 at 57,000 miles, the Active Body Control system was overhauled in 2010 (£1,149.39), and new heated-seat elements (£300.11) fitted in 2006.

There is also a selection of HPI search documents that previous owners have carried out. 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 very high standard.

NB. We know that you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so 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, contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call, where you can direct us in real-time.

You can’t fake condition and this SL has clearly been cherished all of its days – another indicator of this is the fact that it’s worn a number of cherished registration plates, and it still does (this comes with it!).

A look through the history file shows that it’s always received the attention necessary to keep it in top fettle, and in the last year it’s had even more works carried out to ensure that remains the case.

R129 prices have firmed up in recent years, but if you compare them to previous generations the £17,000 to £26,000 estimate that we have on this example shows that there’s still a lot of value growth potential.

If you’re going to buy an R129 SL to enjoy then surely it has be a top-of-the-range V12 and it without a doubt makes sense to buy a superb, low-mileage example.

Feel free to use the "Contact Seller" button 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.