Description

1982 Mercedes-Benz 500SL (W107)

Runs and drives but idles too fast; recent new soft top; decent hard top; an ideal candidate to use and improve

Dating from November 1982, this Mercedes 500SL has been used as its makers intended and has probably clocked up over 200,000 miles to date. The speedo currently shows 192,897 miles but a glance at the 15 old MOTs on file shows that it has been stuck on this total since 2006 so the true mileage is not known, although it appears to have been off the road from 2006 to 2011. The last MOT expired in July 2015 with no advisories recorded, nor did it have any advisories in the previous two MOTs issued in 2011 and 2012.
There is no service book present but there are around 20 invoices from 1990 – 2005 showing regular upkeep over this period and in late 2019 it had £1,400 spent on it at M-B specialist Don Jackson of Rock. The vendor states that the car is in good running order apart from the idle control unit which is faulty so it idles too fast (c.1,500rpm). He also advises that the power steering pump is noisy from cold but quietens down once the fluids warm up and that the ABS light is on due to a sensor fault, not the ABS unit itself, and braking is unaffected. Since arriving on site the car has been starting promptly and although it does indeed idle too fast, the engine certainly sounds very healthy otherwise.

As you can see in the photos, the bodywork of the car looks to be in good shape with no obvious signs of corrosion on any of the outer panels although there are a couple of paintwork blemishes, as shown in the detail shots. The soft top is in good condition and appears to have been renewed fairly recently. The hard top is also present and in serviceable condition. The black leather upholstery is also in good shape for the year/mileage with no rips or tears. The wood trim on the centre console has some minor damage, as shown in the photos.

We are told that the gearbox works fine and that the car is driveable (see video) but it really needs to be trailered away because of the high idle speed which makes it a bit of a handful in stop/start traffic! Being offered here as a straightforward project, it has a modest guide price which should leave plenty of scope for the remedial works required.
For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com