1992 Mercedes-Benz 300SL - $14,000 - Santa Barbara, CA - Offered for sale following long term ownership by a prominent Mercedes collector is a 50k original mile 1992 Mercedes Benz 300SL, finished in its factory original Signal Red over its original saddle leather hides. An incredibly well preserved original car, this 300SL left Stuttgart in September 1991, equipped with the more powerful 24-valve straight six and optioned with both a power hardtop and power soft top. Few more advanced or well appointed cars could be bought when the original owner drove off the lot: automatic climate control, 10-way power and heated seats with 3 memory settings, passenger side SRS airbag and automatic pop-up roll bar system were all standard fare.
Having traveled just 50,000 miles since new, this fantastic original example is truly a head-turner that still looks fantastically sporty and luxurious despite being 22 years old. The exterior is near perfect, the body straight with excellent panel fits and gaps and no dings and certainly no accidents. The finish is fantastic, marred only by the most minimal of imperfections, none of which were significant enough to appear in any of the pictures. The same is true of the interior, the rich original leather seats showing only the most insignificant wear, and the carpets, interior panels and dash all flawless.
Both power soft and power hard top systems have recently been overhauled at a cost of over $3,500. Both tops are in excellent original condition. Mechanically the car is incredibly strong, indicative of the careful use it has received over its lifetime. The engine starts effortlessly, idles consistently and pulls strongly and smoothly through each of the gears. The compression is even and strong across all cylinders. The 3.0L Inline 6 Cylinder engine puts out plenty of power and has the added benefit of having the lowest average maintenance costs and the the best fuel economy of all of the R129 SLs.
One of our owners has been using this car sparingly around Santa Barbara for the last year and while we typically only purchase vintage European cars, we've always admired this era of the SL. The R129 Series SL is considered by many in the collector car world to be the last standard production Mercedes that will ever be considered a classic. This example is as fine as they come and will undoubtedly provide many happy miles for its next owner.