1987 Mercedes-Benz 420SL

This Mercedes has been with the same owner since 1997. He has enjoyed his time with the car but drives very little these days so the car has been taken off the road and garaged in advance of selling. It has fairly low miles for the age, the odometer shows 13,400 but was changed a few years ago when it had reached 67,000 miles, the old speedo is with the car and the service books and receipts tally with this.

For the first decades of use it was always maintained by Mercedes dealers, first in Huddersfield and Leeds, and then Kent when the current owner bought the car. As it matured into a modern classic he began using a local garage for all service and repair work and who have maintained it to the present day, including age related repairs.

In 2001 it had a parking knock which required the front wings to be repainted. The body shop did a good job and it is not easy to spot.

Although regularly MOT’d (except in 2021), the car has been barely used for some time and so the owner has decided to part with it. In preparation for sale it was MOT’d in April this year.

The metallic pearl grey paint looks very good on the car, with just a few stone chips and the odd scratch around it. The panels are generally very good, with no door dings along the sides.

Looking around the lower edges, at the bottom of the front wings, the corners of the doors, a couple of tiny spots on the arch lips and around the jacking points there are the first signs of bubbling coming through which would need attention sooner rather than later but does not appear serious at this point.

At the front the three pointed star, the grill and other brightwork around the car all look good with a nice shine and no pitting. The bonnet badge does have a little lacquer peel though. All four factory alloy wheels are in excellent shape with no curb marks or flaking paint, and it has recent Continental tyres all round. As well as the folding soft top - the dark brown hood fabric being in very good condition, and the flexible window panes looking nice and clear - it comes with a removable hard top in body colour paint, with heated rear window and nice headlining, this is in excellent condition.

The hardwearing materials Mercedes used for the interior have lasted extremely well. The plaid fabric of the seats and door cards looks virtually unworn, and the half synthetic leather of the seat bolsters has very little patina, and likewise show some discolouration which would likely clean back to the original colour. In the rear, the seat back folds down to make useful storage area.

The carpets are almost unworn and have just the odd mark in the footwells. The dashboard has no marks and the dark wood panels of the centre consul and trim pieces are excellent. There is a small crack in the windscreen on the driver’s side bottom right hand corner.

It has an original Blaupunkt Toronto radio cassette head unit, as fitted from new.

The SL has been garaged most of its life and not used as an everyday car for decades so looking under the car it appears very solid, with just some surface corrosion showing in places.

The V8 engine starts easily and idles smoothly, as the tax and insurance are not current we couldn't experience it on the road but it moved easily around the area it was photographed. The engine bay gives an honest impression of the car, not having been detailed we can see no tell tales to suggest anything is leaking.

Over the last few years the 420 has been in the care of Crown Garage in Orpington, who as well as servicing have repaired anything else as needed. Earlier this year it had new auxiliary belts, and in October 2020 new brake pads, only a few hundred miles ago, likewise the Continental tyres were fitted in 2017, again having driven just a few hundred miles and stored indoors. The brake calipers were also rebuilt around this time.

Prior to this the car had just received annual servicing from local Mercedes main dealers.

This is a very nice SL, with perhaps the ideal engine - lots of V8 power and smoothness but not the MPG of the larger motors. It hasn’t been used much over the last few years but has always been garaged and so is in very good, usable condition and with a very nice interior.

We estimate this car to reach between £15,000 - £25,000 in auction.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located in Chislehurst, Greater London, United Kingdom, 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’.