1983 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

380 SL - W107 Convertible

3.8L V8 gas

Automatic

WDBBA45A1DB025724

Clear

Gasoline

The car has original owners manual and all related marketing materials still in glove box. The original owner was from Minnesota but it ended up in Florida. The car has a clean Kentucky title. Mechanicals: The car runs perfectly and has as long as I have owned it. It was my only car for several years. Most of the mileage I put on it was going to and from the airport (I travel for work). These cars are called "panzerwagons" for a reason, they just keep going. The car has 88K miles which I believe is an accurate number, judge for yourself based on the AutoCheck. It seems more likely that the car was driven about 10K miles between 1992 and 1995, rather than 110K (as that would be the consistent pattern) - also the reading was set correctly in 1999. It should easily be fine for another 50K miles, as other examples for sale show. Other than oil changes the car has not required any major service (I replaced most of the belts and hoses when I first bought it as a precaution against rubber rot). The car starts easily even in the coldest of weather, this is because the entire starting system was replaced when I moved the car to the Midwest. I brought it into a mechanic I had never used before for a tune up a few days before I moved (mistake). They changed the plugs and were not able to restart the car. In the process of troubleshooting the starter, alternator, relays, cap were all replaced but it still didn't start. So I towed the car to my new home without being able to start it. When I brought it to Jim Stephens in Cincinnati, he fixed it in 5 minutes. The other mechanic had the distributor cap miswired! The car has gone to Jim Stephens since then for all service. New battery was installed in winter of 2012. The car has a full size spare, which looks new but may need a little air. Interior: The leather seats and door panels were restored by the previous owner as well as the soft top (not sure what year this was done) but as you can see the interior is in excellent shape. There are two small cracks on the top deck of the dashboard. There's also a small chip in the wood paneling on the passenger side of the dashboard. Otherwise the interior is great, even the analog clock works perfectly. The radio was replaced by a Clarion FZ501 media player. The AC works as well as early 1980s air conditioning is likely to in a black car. There is a small leak in the refrigerant system somewhere, I have charged it in the spring each year and it works until fall. My mechanic charged the system with dye each time but we did not locate the source of the leak. Since the charge holds for a summer season, I just opted to have the system charged each year instead of replacing components as guesswork. The hardtop has a rear window defroster which does not appear to work. I have used the car on numerous occasions below freezing the heater was adequate to keep the rear window clear since the cab is so small. Exterior: The car comes with both the hard top and the convertible top (and the little wrenches to swap them). Both tops are in good condition as you can see from the pictures. The soft top was replaced by the previous owner and the rear window plastic is still clear and not yellowed. Its not crystal clear to see out of but this is just how plastic windows are. The paint is excellent and has the "mile deep" shine as you can see. There are a few nicks and chips as you would expect from car this age. This car has some rust. I purchased this car in June 2010 from the owner of European Auto Service in Dania, FL (it was one of his personal cars but had been sitting for some time.). As a condition of the sale he agreed to repair the rust (in his body shop) that was appearing on the front fenders and by the gas filler and replace several sections of rubber trim. About a year later the rust bubbles returned and I had already moved from FL. So he clearly did shoddy work with the rust repairs (see pictures). The other place the car had some rust was the underbody. There was a small section of rust in the fenderwells as well as near the forward jack points (under the front of the doors). I took the car to a master welder (and former Mercedes specialist) in Cincinnati in the winter of 2011-2012 to see about the rust. The fenderwell rust had spread much further than it appeared and was jeopardizing the suspension. We ended up cutting out and replacing the wells. I spent $3000 on the repair. He also looked over the rust near the jack points but we decided that a repair could be put off for a while as nothing was at risk. A word of caution about rust on W107 cars. These cars were sprayed with a new formula of undercoating when they were built. The undercoating is a 'paint' that was applied several millimeters thick, (which is incredibly thick for undercoating). What appeared to be a small amount of rust in my fenderwell, turned out to mean I needed new fenderwells. The only way to truly tell if there's rust and body damage is to peel this layer of undercoating off. It's so thick in fact that it will maintain the shape of the car even if the car has rusted away. So I learned. When my welder had peeled back all the undercoating the extent of the damage made it clear I needed new fenderwells. This is something to keep in mind about these cars, especially ones that claim to be rust-free. Be incredibly diligent when inspecting them, even the smallest whiff of rust is likely a much bigger issue. This is why I'm trying to list all the defects up front. This is a modern classic and in very good condition for a 31 year old car. With a little time and effort you can repair the remaining defects or just use it as your daily driver. I will be glad to supply more pictures if there's a specific area or angle you wish to see. I am willing to deliver to local buyers in the greater Cincinnati Tri-State area (25 miles). Other buyers will need to make arrangements for transportation. $500 deposit due within 48 hours. Balance due within 7 days. US Buyers only.