1996 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 Auto

The vendor, who is well-known to us here at HQ, has owned this excellent SL 500 since 2017, when it first joined his impressive collection of fine classic cars.

He bought the car from another chap with a fine collection, primarily of high-quality Mercedes-Benz classics, including ‘Gullwings’ and the like.

So, in other words, this car has been bought – twice – by people who know their classic Mercs and only buy really, really good examples. 

The vendor believes that he is just the third owner of the car from new.

The car starts, drives, handles and stops with all the ability and competence you would want and expect. 

It was driven to our Oxfordshire HQ from Cardiff. It didn’t miss a beat and the vendor didn’t expect it to. 

We’ve also driven it and can attest to its mechanical integrity, dynamic competence and superb build quality. 

The car is in very good original condition, thanks in part to its very reasonable mileage of 82,218.

The bodywork is really very straight and true on this car and we failed to find any dinks, dents, ripples or other aberrations of note anywhere.

The only exceptions to all that good news are a couple of vertical splits to the base of the front valance on the driver’s side.

The doors close with all the trademark gravitas and precision we’ve come to expect of Stuttgart’s finest from this era, and the car’s shut-lines and panel gaps are reassuringly consistent and even.

The metallic ‘Brilliant Silver’ paintwork has held up pretty well and, in general, the finish has maintained a good degree of lustre and shine. 

But, it’s our job to find stuff to moan about, so here’s what we found.

There’s a scattering of stone chips at the front of the bonnet and around the ‘nose’ of the car; a scratch and a couple of chips to the paint atop the o/s/r wing near the boot lid; and all four wheels have some corrosion under the lacquer, with the nearside wheels bearing the brunt of it.

The hard-top is very good indeed, and even standard scratches and scuffs gained during removal and replacement are more notable for their absence than their presence.

The fabric roof is also very good, goes up and down as it should, and has only some light clouding to the rear screen as evidence of its use and age.

From what we can see, the badging, lights, lenses and other exterior fixtures and fittings are all in very good condition.

If anything, the interior is an even better showcase for the Teutonic over-engineering built into these cars than its exterior counterpart.

Everything is solid and strong. Nothing creaks, wobbles or rattles.

The blue leather upholstery is in good order even for the car’s mileage, let alone its age, and the only signs of wear are on the outer bolster of the driver’s seat back-rest.

The door cards are in fine fettle, as are the carpets, mats, and the linings of both the hard-top and the soft-top.

There are one or two scratches to the glossy wood veneers around the gear selector.

As far as we’re aware, all of the refreshingly analogue dials, knobs, switches, levers and instruments are fully functional and do what they’re supposed to do without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

The boot is as good as the rest of it and, very usefully, contains a two-part metal stand for the hard-top.

There’s not much to be learned by peering into the engine bay of this car as most of the power unit and its ancillaries are hidden under various shrouds and cowls. 

But what we can see of Mercedes-Benz magnificent quad-cam 5-litre M119 V8 looks clean, dry, orderly, present and correct.

The undersides of the car have given us no cause to tut, frown or in any way doubt the car’s structural or mechanical integrity.

The car comes with a service book containing 18 timely service stamps, most of the earlier ones carried out through main dealers.

The most recent stamp, dated 21.5.25, was for a particularly thorough service carried out by marque and model specialists, the SL Shop.

The work included a proper shakedown of the car, fixing issues with the roof, conducting diagnostics and remedial work on the ECU, and generally doing everything to give the car a clean bill of health.  

The car comes with plenty of old invoices and MoT certificates, a recent HPI report a V5C, various cuttings and articles about the model gleaned from the motoring press, and an MoT certificate that’s valid until 26th May 2027.

Every iteration of the SL gives its successor a tough act to follow. 

The R129 rose to that challenge and, frankly, knocked it out of the park.

Good, well-maintained examples with the right history are pretty much bullet-proof mechanically and are still fast, competent, luxurious vehicles even by modern standards.

And this is a very good, well-maintained example with an exemplary history.

It ticks all the right boxes for us.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £9,000 - £12,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.