1989 Mercedes-Benz R107 300SL - 19,800 Miles

“It’s only original once” is a saying often heard within the world of classic cars and, although a bit of a cliché, it’s undoubtedly true. During my many years of experience dealing with Classic Mercedes, I have seen a good number of honest and original R107s, however, this remarkable 1989 300SL must be one of the very few that has never been close to a spray painter’s nozzle or a trimmer’s knife.

Dating from 1989, it was supplied new to M-B dealers, Jacksons of Guernsey, finished in Diamond Blue over Cream leather and optioned with a Hardtop in Nautic Blue, Rear Seat, Cruise Control, Illuminated Vanity Mirrors and fitted with a Fire Extinguisher before being collected by its first proud owner. Some years later it was acquired by its second owner in Guernsey and, in 2012, it arrived on these shores.

With the first two decades of its life on a small island, and the last 12 years being cosseted and lightly used over here,it’s not surprising that the car has covered a mere 19,800 miles from new, all carefully detailed in the Service Record. To say that the current owner has cherished the car is an understatement, however, in fairness, it has regularly been enjoyed on road trips with like-minded SL owners. Every job carried out has been documented in a hand-written booklet kept, with every receipt possible,in the original leather dealer book-pack alongside correspondence, sales leaflets, etc. and both sets of keys, demonstrating that its owner, has not only enjoyed driving this fabulous R107, but has relished simply being its custodian for the last five years.

The car’s condition appears little different to when it left Jackson’s showroom in 1989, and it continues to present superbly in the stylish combination of Diamond Blue and Nautic Blue with a classic R107 cabin in cream leather with polished Burlwood trim. The cruise control eases the strain on long journeys and those occasional rear seats come in handy for family picnics.

The very low mileage, fastidious ownership and remarkable level of originality mean that this lovely, matching-numbers, 300SL is hard to fault, mechanically or cosmetically so, if you are in the market for an R107 of this quality, please feel free to contact me, Bruce Greetham, and I will be delighted to show you around this rather special motor car.