Country Classic Cars - Vehicle Details

History has shown that most car models become less worthy of manufacturer upgrades post their formative years and therefore diminishing desirability, the same cannot be said of the R107.History has shown that most car models become less worthy of manufacturer upgrades post their formative years and therefore diminishing desirability, the same cannot be said of the R107. During its 18 year production run Mercedes managed to keep the model fresh and improved, being at the forefront of advancements such as ABS (from 1980) and with their M117 they enjoyed a V8 that offered a 2 decade life span across four variants. As any Benz enthusiast would concur, when it came to the R107 they had to get it right, it followed on from the legendary ‘Pogoda SL’ a tough act to follow.

A consequence of our customer focused busy workshops plus a recent storage issue has led the owner of Country Classic Cars (Paul Gravely) to release several of his own collection onto the market; one of which is this R107 Mercedes SL500. As Paul explained ‘I bought this for myself, hoping time would become available in the workshop but we are so busy and it keeps getting put back into storage.’ Now circumstances have forced the issue and the chance for someone else to take this project forward and enjoy one of the finest Mercedes models ever produced. The history file begins with the original sales invoice from Hughes of Beaconsfield, one MB 500SL finished in blue-green met (877) with cream leather interior plus rear seating. Anti-lock brakes, air con, electric aerial and the Blaupunkt Toronto all pushed the on the road price up to £24108.93; a considerable sum in the summer of 1982 when a new Ford Sierra Estate would have cost just over £8k. The maintenance book records 20 services (on a 6k schedule) were carried out by main dealers or specialists from the 600 mile inspection in 1982 to a 120k service carried out in 2004 @ 58523 miles. Invoices are available to support the service history and continues with a further £10700 spent with the SL Shop up to 2014 the milage then 70452, old tax discs plus every MOT with instruction booklets and owner’s manual. With the current milage standing at 75575 this SL has only travelled just over 1,000 miles in the past decade.

After several years locked away this SL required little more than some fresh fuel and a new battery, she selects all gears correctly and drives as it should. The brakes need a clean up and the exhaust has a slight blow and the clutch for the air conditioning is not working at this time. A couple of years ago disaster struck when the driver’s door was reversed into shuffling cars within our unit, a very nice donor was tracked down. Being the incorrect colour this door has been fitted and paint stripped, requiring prep for primer, the internals are stored in the boot and the only item missing is the window glass. Paul has confirmed the interior trim and all four parts for the rear bumper are also with the car. The hardtop has small bubbling in one area, the usual vicinity for SL’s at the base just above the rear quarter but we can confirm front wings and the bottom of both doors have no signs of the dreaded tin worm whilst underneath is best described as solid. Interior would benefit from light tlc, the leather seat covers are original and therefore showing some age as is the veneer; that said all the dials, gauges and switches work correctly. To sum up, this R107 is priced to sell, a knowledgeable enthusiast will certainly recognise the potential as you rarely see a RHD 500SL under £30k. We welcome serious enquiries and are happy for any interested party to examine every area of this car, ask questions and look through the extensive paperwork.

For additional information please message with your email address for detailed images (wheels etc) we recommend viewing our short walk-round video with the owner Paul Gravely; we will forward the file via ‘We Transfer’ a free to use and safe service or Whats Ap if you supply your mobile phone number. Country Classic Cars operate by appointment only as our cars are kept in secure storage although currently, we are happy to offer unhindered viewings and test drives.