Mercedes SL500 Auto (R129), 69K Miles, 1997

Registration : R602 BAN

Mileage : 69000

First Registered : 1st August 1997

RFL (12 months) : £270

Colour : Emerald Black Metallic

Interior : Mushroom Leather

 

Mercedes SL500 V8 - this is an original UK supplied car with only 2 keepers since February 2000, first registered in August 1997 and having covered only 69K miles.

 

In current ownership since March 2008. All handbooks, 2 remote locking keys and stamped service history are all present, with even an original Mercedes pen present in the owner wallet.

 

Superb specification and build quality commensurate with the aspirational Mercedes SL of this era.

 

• 189 - EMERALD BLACK METALLIC
• 200A - LEATHER INTERIOR
• 241 - FRONT SEAT LH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
• 242 - FRONT SEAT RH ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
• 249 - AUTOMATICALLY DIPPING INSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR
• 265A - LEATHER MUSHROOM
• 284 - SELECTOR LEVER, WOOD
• 289 - WOOD/LEATHER STEERING-WHEEL
• 340 - ADDITIONAL 3RD STOP LAMP
• 461 - INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
• 501 - OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR LEFT AND RIGHT WITH PROGR.
• 533 - SPEAKERS FRONT - WITHOUT RADIO
• 565 - REAR SEATS USED ON SL MODELS
• 600 - HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
• 613 - LAMP UNIT - ASSYMETRICAL, LH TRAFFIC

 

The exterior paintwork will certainly turn heads, a very classy hue varying between blue-green and black depending on the ambient light and contrasting nicely with the mushroom interior that makes the cabin a nice place to be for mile after mile if required.

 

The car is set off with a Brabus rear silencer, a wonderfully over-engineered thing and at some point the front and rear suspension springs were also uprated with Brabus items.

 

Just fitted to the car are a brand new set of genuine Mercedes 16” Monkar alloy wheels, a rare option on the R129, and including the spare wheel. They are shod with brand new Bridgestone MO specification 225/55R16 95W tyres, with new centre caps and wheel bolts.

 

This example of the R129 SL500 drives beautifully and as it should.

 

We have checked the operation of both the hardtop and soft top and both function perfectly and a storage stand for the hardtop is supplied with the car.

 

We have a sales invoice from February 2000 for the car with the mileage then reading 21676 miles. The car was sold by the original supplying dealer at the time Savernake of Newbury. They of course carried out the PDI and then serviced the car at 9365 miles (February 1998) and 18131 miles (February 1999) continuing in 2001 and 2003 at 27120 miles and 37863 miles. Savernake became Mercedes-Benz of Newbury and continued servicing in 2005 and 2008 at 51484 and 59578 miles respectively,

 

At this point in March 2008 the car changed hands for the final time and Mercedes in Newbury continued care in 2010 at 67506 miles and in 2017 after the car had seen little use at 68760 miles and to include spark plugs and air filters.

 

More recently in 2021 and with less than 200 miles covered since the above full service, this fine SL was treated to another oil service and battery and alternator were replaced along with a fresh MOT.

 

The MOT history makes for very impressive reading with just a couple of minor advisories and no failures. The owners since 2000 are known to us and their fastidious care certainly paid off with the presentation of the car which still looks so imposing and yet elegant today. A nice touch is we also have tax discs from 2000 to 2009.

 

The 1989 Mercedes-Benz SL was revolutionary. At a stroke, it banished the 1970s styling of its predecessor, in favour of an up-to-the-minute look overseen by Bruno Sacco. It was such a successful styling job, that the R129 remained in production for more than a decade, and still looked fresh at the end of its life. But the beauty of the SL was more than skin deep - it was packed with technology.

 

The first of the new-shape cars to go on sale were the 300SL, 300SL-24 and 500SL variants. These were quickly sold out all over the world and lightly-used cars often commanded a premium over new list prices, such was the demand and impatience of buyers for many months. The performance and handling at the time of launch was a sensation for the class of car.

 

Because they were so good and so successful, Mercedes-Benz left the cars alone for quite a while and only changed engines occasionally.

 

In 1993 came a change of name to SL280, SL320 and SL500. It is the SL500 we see here with the impressive and much sought after 5.0 litre V8 with automatic transmission.

 

Because so many seem to have an SL as their dream car, everyone knows exactly what it is as you park next to them. The SL party-trick is an automatic soft-top that will stop traffic and pedestrians, fascinating to watch. From roof-up to fresh-air in seconds, unlike many contemporary rivals. In this case, because you will want to use the car all year round there is also the factory-fit hardtop with its storage stand.

 

You will probably never use all of it, but there is ample performance in these cars, together with all the gadgetry you could desire and that fabulous Mercedes-Benz build quality and crash safety as standard. For once a dream car that lives up to the promise.

Please email us for more details.

 

 

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• Technical Specs
• Performance Specs