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PRINCIPAL FACTS:

A car that’s been used, and enjoyed, this 420SL has recently had a lot of money spent on it to refresh and renew. A 1988 example, it’s covered just under 83, 500 miles in the 36 years it’s been around, its previous owners not having scrimped on its upkeep during that time. That presents a fantastic opportunity for its next owner, who’ll benefit from lots of recent work, enabling another few decades of use before you’ll need to consider anything more costly than filling it up, or regular, annual maintenance.

CONDITION SYNOPSIS:

Benefitting from a lot of restorative work over the past few years, this 420SL now presents like a car that’s done a fraction of the mileage displayed on its odometer. Overall, the paintwork is in fine condition, as is the interior, which shows very little sign of use. Mechanically, it’s sound, too, with plenty of evidence in the accompanying paperwork of regular maintenance. There are areas where a little bit of titivation – an example being the hood window has some fold creases/ cracks – these all relatively simple and not prohibitively expensive to fix. Addressing these would elevate this car to another level and add value to its next owner. Crucially, though, none of this really affects the potential enjoyment of the car as it stands.

HISTORY FILE:

A car that’s clearly been loved, given the fastidious nature of the history file that accompanies it. Besides many years’ worth of regular maintenance documentation, previous MOTs and suchlike, there’s a sheaf of more recent paperwork highlighting some restorative work to get it into the condition it presents itself in today. Owners who find bags that fit the service book, create pocketed folders full of invoices aren’t the sort of people who scrimp on necessary work, and that’s clear with this car. Checking the options codes at the back of the maintenance schedule reveals this 420SL comes with the factory-fitted limited-slip differential to sharpen it up a bit on more interesting roads, too.

SLSHOP SUMMARY:

We like cars here that have been owned and enjoyed, and clearly this car has been. It’s spent some time in Spain, but even during its time in the sun it’s been blessed with owners who’ve placed real value on its upkeep. A good condition, fine-looking car that’s more than ready to continue to be enjoyed as it has been previously, with the added reassurance that its recent work means you’ll be able to do so for years to come without any big bills.