PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - 1997 SL500 For Sale

I am offering my 1997 Mercedes-Benz SL500 for sale. I have owned the car since December of 2013 when it had approximately 71,000 miles on it. It now has approximately 144,600 miles on it. I am a long-time (30+ years) Mercedes enthusiast and former mechanic who maintains my own cars to a high level. I am located in the Tampa, FL area.

The car does have a rebuilt title, however, considering that I have put over 70,000 miles on the car I consider this a minor detail. The previous owner had the car rebuilt to what I could tell to be a high standard, which I considered when I purchased it. It has been maintained at a high level, with regular maintenance at specified intervals and repairs made with Mercedes OE and quality OEM parts.

There have been a number of appropriate and tasteful enhancements to the car, such as European headlights, a major improvement over the poor quality DOT headlights, staggered 18” R230 MB Avior - OEM Launch wheels that make the car completely different from a handling standpoint compared to the original 16” stock wheels and tires, and sound deadening panels added to the hard top, making the interior as quiet as a library when the hard top is in use.

The top hydraulics were rebuilt by Klaus of Top Hydraulics, one of the best in the business. The convertible top is like new, as it was rarely used during my ownership.

The AC is ICE COLD, as you would expect. The interior is clean and intact with some wear on the drive's side bolster, as is common on nearly all Mercedes of this vintage. The factory BOSE sound system works great with the Blaupunkt Toronto head unit that has Bluetooth capabilities for your phone or streaming device. The power seats work perfectly,, including the memory functions for at least three different drivers. Everything on the car functions unless noted below. A new battery was recently installed, and it's up to date on it's services.

Being a 25 year old car, it’s not perfect. Here are the issues I am aware of at present:

Clear coat on the hard top is failing. This isn’t a big deal, as the top can easily be removed and taken to a body shop for painting.

Low oil level switch is failing. Oil pressure isn’t the issue here, it’s oil level. Mercedes installed a float switch to alert the operator that the oil level was low. The part is inexpensive, but requires dropping the oil pan to replace it. I haven’t had time to do it.

Right side front fender trim panel is cracked. I attempted repair without success. I have a good (uncracked) replacement that requires paint.

Front tires need replacement soon. Tire shops will want to sell you high performance tires, which I don’t recommend, as the compound is soft, they have no mileage warranty, and will wear out quickly. Rear tires are very good.

Left front driving light needs to be mounted in the bumper. It was poorly secured and as a result of which, the mounting tabs were damaged. Some creative work with some metal brackets can resolve this. The driving light is included.

Other items of note:

Professionally tinted with LLumar metallized tint

A box of assorted parts, including the original front corner lights, DOT headlights, headlight wipers, valances and some filters and other miscellaneous parts.

A set of sheepskin seat covers I could never figure out how to install

Lifting straps for the hard top

A Harbor Freight electric hoist for lifting the top off the car

A storage rack for the hard top

Heavy duty Mercedes rubber floor mats

Windscreen for roll bar (stores in compartment in trunk)

Complete service records since purchase (December 2013)

Questions? Please email me, I don’t give out my phone number. Feel free to ask for more pictures, I've got lots of them. No, I’m not accepting offers at this time, the price is firm, and I won’t respond to such. The car is being sold as-is, where-is, with no guarantees or warranty. Cash only.