Description
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PRINCIPAL FACTS:
Leafing thought the service booklet and checking the mileage isn’t necessary to understand that this Astral Silver Metallic 500 SL has lived a charmed life since it rolled out of the showroom back in April 1987. It’s passed through five more owners since, all of whom have evidently shared the desire to keep the miles low and the condition as close to showroom new as possible.
That original buyer didn’t scrimp on ticking option boxes when ordering, though given its eventual, occasional, use the heated seats, heated electric mirrors and headlight wipers are unlikely ever to have been used, similarly, the blue fabric roof’s unlikely to have ever been closed and the hardtop has almost certainly been garage stored since new. Other, notable, additions include a limited-slip differential, allowing you to better enjoy the creamy power from the 5. 0-litre V8 that powers this lovely example.
CONDITION SYNOPSIS:
Plentiful dealer stamps, regardless of mileage underline that this car has been looked after without consideration to cost. That’s evident in its condition, which is superb. The Astral Silver Metallic paintwork glistens, that exterior colour being perfectly complimented by the blue leather interior. Opening the doors, inspecting the shut areas and under the bonnet underline that this is a car that’s barely been used, and when it has been it’s clearly been used in perfect conditions. There’s nothing that stands out as wrong, except perhaps the somewhat haphazard placement of the Mercedes-Benz Club sticker on the windscreen. Nobody’s perfect, but this car’s a peel and re-position (or remove) from being so.
HISTORY FILE:
That there’s a club membership card in the box file paperwork, along with fully stamped up service books, a sheaf of invoices and receipts as well as spare keys, the stereo booklet, and more, in the files demonstrates the level of care and attention that’s been applied to this lovely 500SL. We’re always happy to see former tax discs in the history files and this car doesn’t disappoint, while there’s plenty of MOTs, too, with a previous owner even sourcing a CD-ROM (remember them?) copy of the R107 workshop manuals. That’ll have been for reference, as it’s evident there’s been no amateur mechanic tinkering with this pristine example.
SLSHOP SUMMARY:
Low mileage 500SLs don’t come much better than this example, it unusual that unlike most, this car’s been used sparingly from the first day it rolled out of the showroom in 1987. Around 540 miles annually have turned under this 500SL’s wheels since then, and that much is clear in its overall condition. With its excellent specification we think it’s crying for a little bit more use, in all weathers, even, just to make sure the original owner’s specification of those heated seats, rear-view mirrors and headlight wipers wasn’t a completely wasted effort…
