1985 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

280SL Convertible

6 - Cyl.

Automatic

WDB1070421A033995

Gasoline

INTRODUCTION: I am honored to present to you this extremely rare and never sold in America, 1985 Mercedes Benz Euro Spec 280SL Roadster. There's nothing like driving this car to get the paper and a coffee on a beautiful Sunday morning. Overall appearance and condition is of collector car quality. The car has been softly driven and pampered just a nearly unbelievable 26,000 original miles, and presents itself accordingly. Florida car. From the extensive research I've done, the 280SL is quite literally a "Diamond In the Rough" among the R107 models. I will attempt to keep this description from becoming a novel as I try to be as detailed as possible pinpointing every aspect of the car as if I were in the buyers shoes. Thank you for your patience. I have also posted a link to over 200 pictures of the car for your buying confidence. I understand it will take a while to look at them all but I encourage you to see the beautiful condition of the car. I know most people will be inclined to purchase the car site unseen so I want you to be very confident in your decision and see every inch of the car. (NOTE: If your seeing the car and the picture link the first evening it's on the auction block -Thursday evening- I apologize I'm working as we speak adding pictures to PhotoBucket as I've only downloaded about 120 so far, the rest will be up within 24 hours, thank you.) http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee31/srt425c/1985%20Mercedes%20280SL%20Aug2010/ Many enthusiasts and automobile collectors consider the high output 2.8 liter Inline-six cylinder engine producing 185hp to be the best engine Mercedes has ever offered. It's literally half the size of the late 80's gas guzzling 560SL yet only 40hp less, and drops the vehicles weight resulting in better balance and handling performance. The car is plenty powerful and I love driving it. Another positive factor is the economy, simplicity, and reliability of an inline-six vs the V8. Highway gas mileage hovers near 25mpg+ while a 560SL is 14-15mpg. I understand this may be irrelevant being the car will probly not get driven much if your intention is to show the car and keep the miles down as I would but its nice to know. This 2 owner NON-smoker vehicle is in amazing (beyond excellent) condition in and out, a 9/10. No car to me is "pristine" or "perfect" unless it is new or been ground up restored, but I can say this 280SL has be the cleanest and best condition un-restored original car you will find. This is not your average extremely low mile car because it sat for years on end but rather a car that was driven regularly and consistently in a small nit suburb of Jacksonville, FL. Solely garaged kept since new and pampered mechanically for even the most minor flaws. NOTE: The odometer shows approx 41,800. When the car was imported into the US the Kilometer Gauge was switched to MPH but the rear of the speedometer head was not changed, consequently when driving down the road at a supposively 100mph, your real speed is just 62mph. I have confirmed this at many different speeds while driving and simotaniously holding my smart phone speedometer up to the dash and reading the accurate MPH the car was traveling, then dividing it into the shown speed on odometer, and calculating the division came up with the .62 difference. This was never an issue with the original owner since he never drove but around town. Hence, dividing 41,800 kilometers traveled by .62.123 (1kilometer converted to 1mph ratio), the actual miles come to be 26k miles. There is a specialized speedometer shop in Jacksonville, FL who is authorized to convert the rear speedometer hub to the accurate MPH ratio and actually turn back the miles to 26k, but I did not want to exercise this option and will leave it up to the buyer if you desire. If this sounds confusing please feel free to contact me and I can explain over the phone, but i assure you 100% that this information is correct. MECHANICAL: The car's been thoroughly maintained only by authorized Mercedes Benz specialists. The car runs and drives literally like new with absolutely NO abnormal mechanical problems. Everything works properly including very cold air conditioning that was recently retrofitted to R134. NO leaks/smoke/hesitations/etc. Smooth idle and strong/quiet acceleration. Drives as smooth and strait as a new car with NO vibrations/etc while going down the road at any speed; NO squeeks/rattles/etc. 4 brand new Bridgestone tires from Costco (road hazzard and free rotations transfer if you love Costco too). I had the car inspected by a Mercedes specialist for pre-sale evaluation, it showed no problems and was recommended as a must have purchase. You can safely and reliably drive this car anywhere right now. RECEIPTS: RECENT MECHANICAL WORK- 1st Repair Order: All work was done 2,800 miles ago (approx one year ago). Water pump w/new high performance antifreeze, valve cover gasket, Bosch Distributor Cap/Rotor, Bosch Spark plugs and wires, front crankshaft seal and spacer, cam barrier housing gasket, cam bore gasket, power steering pump front seal, power steering sector seal kit, power steering filter, power steering fluid, throttle bushing/insert/shackle. A total bill of $2700 including labor. 80% of these repairs would be unrequired to most owners but the shop said the owner was a maintenance fanatic. Mainly as you can tell it was essentially a complete gasket resealing of the entire engine. 2nd Repair Order: Within 6 months or less. Valve adjustment (preventative maintenance), Air conditioning blower motor, Daimler Benz muffler and new exhaust (2nd half of exhaust back to muffler), A/C R134 conversion, air filter, transmission service. COSMETIC: Exterior- Beautiful original white over blue interior rare color combination. No previous accidents. Rust free body and undercarriage. The paint has a glossy mirror like shine with no oxidation, scratches, or dents. Wheels are perfect with no curb rash or flaking. All chrome and trim also in beautiful condition. All glass is perfect with no cracks/stone chips/etc. All (but one-see below) lights/lenses/rubbers are excellent with NO cracks/haziness/oxidation/etc. Original hard top comes with stand and individual cover. Original convertible soft top looks great and is in good condition (to be perfect would be new) with no tears or leaks and the windows are very clean and clear with no cloudiness. All rubber mouldings around pillars and windows are excellent with no dry rot. COSMETIC Interior- Also beyond excellent. Nothing is doctored up here like most cars trying to look good. Everything you see in this interior is original; no steamed cleaned carpets or dyed seats here. No gooey Armoral to make it shine (just suttle McGuires leather treatment on the leather surfaces for softness not appearance), just like it left the factory. Original high quality leather seats in beautiful condition with very very minor wear. The carpet and floormats are literally like new (you wont hear that terminology much with me) and all original with no wear or stains. Almost seems as if nobody but the driver was ever in the car according to the floormats and the back seat condition. Wood and interior trim is excellent/complete/beautiful with not even one crack. Door panels are perfect. Original dash is beautiful with only three very small cracks in the middle near the windsheild hardly noticable. Ashtray's never been used. ALL interior mechanicals/options in proper working order. FEATURES: 2.8L High Output Inline-Six cylinder engine, automatic transmission. ABS brakes, leather upholstery/steering wheel, heated seats, optional rear seats, power windows/locks/passenger mirror, cruise control, automatic climate control, anti-theft alarm system, power antenna (works), rear defrost (hard top). Original owners manual, full size spare tire, and first aid kit. Based on research most 280SL's were equipped with cloth upholstery, no A/C, and even manual windows. This is the first of the three that I've seen online to be a leather A/C fully optioned car. CONS: Dent in driver side rear bumper (bodyshop said the bumper can be rolled/straitened), 2 small cracks in passenger side tail light. Even with the incredibly low miles it is still a 25yr old vehicle and thus has very very minor superficial flaws that are not noticable unless being judged at a car show more then likely. I also did not fix the above items (tail light/dash/bumper ding) because I believe the car to be nicer being original and not restored though if you desire these fixes can be made at a minimal investment. INSPECTION: I am so confident in the car if you are even remotely local to St. Augustine, FL or know someone who is I encourage you or them to come see the amazing condition of the car in person as pictures don't always do it justice. If this is not an option, for your peace of mind, I have heard of inspection companies to hire that can immediately come check out the car on your behalf. I also have no problem taking the car to the local Mercedes Benz specialist on your behalf if you'd like for your buying confidence. You can however be self assured that with over 200 detailed pictures, lengthy maintenance records, and a very recent mechanical inspection, you can buy this car comfortably with the click of a mouse while imagining yourself soaking up the sun driving with the top down this summer and fall :) WORLD WIDE SALE: I have never listed a vehicle for sale worldwide due to the assumption there will be hoops to jump through for the sale, however with this particular car I believe there will be a few European folks very interested so I'm offering it available Worldwide. For those bidders outside the United States, please, I will only deal with payments verifyable through my bank and not at the least bit suspectful of fraudulent. I'd prefer you have a contact in the US to pay for it which sounds easiest. Also, you are 100% responsible for pickup and shipping. Jacksonville, FL is one our north of me and is a major shipping facility I believe so this would be easy to arrange I assume. Please only bid on the car if you are prepared to follow these guidelines. Thank you and happy bidding :) PRICE: Very fair and low reserve. The value of the R107 SL's is always going up but in the last year or two is climbing thousands based on seeing similar low mile cars I've been watching on Ebay in the past few weeks. Also keep in mind, 560SL's though rare themselves, are like a dime a dozen compared to a 280SL, so this is definately a collector car opertunity. RARE! RARE! RARE! However, my reserve is very reasonablely low and will be met so bid away :) I am a part time Auto Broker and once in a blue moon I purchase a rare car like this for myself. In the past 500 miles of driving the car I am not exagerating that this car is amazing to drive and I know why it's a sought after classic. Everything is perfect, from where you sit and the controls are laid out, to how smooth the drivetrain runs and the perfect line it drives in down the road, I truely love driving this car and can't say enough about it. I say two owner car above because I have owned less then a month so I did not want to initially upset you thinking the car has had several owners. Very much the opposite in fact. The original owner (85 years young) possessed the car up until just a year ago when the 2nd owner had known the gentleman personally bought the car as it landed in his lap. Unfortunately while driving his 67 Mustang he was in an accident and is now physically straining for him to drive sports cars, so I was lucky enough to purchase the car. So esentially it's been a one owner car 99% of its life. The title is clean and clear and registered to me. PAYMENT: A $500 deposit is due within 48hrs of close of auction, with the remaining balance due within 24hrs thereafter (possibly a 5 day exception if out of country, only if neccessary). Cashier's check, money order, wire transfer. SHIPPING: 100% buyers responsibility though I'd be glad to be available for truck/transport pickup. Vehicle is sold where-is, as-is. NOTE: Picture of the wheel below has reflection of clouds, these are not flaws, none of the wheels have flaws :)On Aug-20-10 at 13:27:23 PDT, seller added the following information: NOTE: I've been asked about what kind of paperwork comes with the car. I appologize I just remembered, I have all import DOT paperwork from when the car was brought into the US. Also all recent maintenance records and original owners manual. I am trying to load the pictures of the paperwork on Photobucket as we speak, not sure why its not working but Id be glad to email them to you directly. Thank you again.On Aug-22-10 at 09:43:41 PDT, seller added the following information: I've been asked a few times if the car comes with a hard top. The answer is yes, I put it in the ad but I apologize with the lengthy ad its overwhelming to read everything. Yes original hard top in excellent condition comes with the car, I will load pictures of it on the car on photobucket tomorrow. I encourage you to click the link above to see all the pictures of the car. Thank you again and happy bidding.On Aug-23-10 at 12:04:31 PDT, seller added the following information: NOTE: I appologize about having to keep adding notes into the item description but people keep asking questions. Yes the car has a hardtop as mentioned twice above, but just wanted to let you know I have finished uploading the pictures of the car with the hard top on so please click the link above to PhotoBucket and you can see them :) Thanks again and Happy Bidding.