1968 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

280SL Convertible

6 - Cyl.

Automatic

11304412003053

Gasoline

This is my personal 280 SL. I bought it in 2005 after a great deal of research and comparison. This car is extremely solid, no rattles, beautiful and in very good mechanical condition. The Motor is strong, smooth running, and non-smoking. I had the transmission checked by a thirty year+ Mercedes mechanic and he stated that the transmission was very strong and in very good condition. He was also taken with the exceptional condition of all the original elements of the car. The front seats were completely recovered but everything else appears to be original. The dash is gorgeous and all the wood is in tact and near perfect. All the gages and the original radio work great except for the odometer which reads 135,000+ miles. Heater and AC work well. All maintenance records show that the previous owner drove the car less than 3000 miles a year and with the miles that I have driven since owning the car, it would have less than 150,000 miles on it. We mostly drove the car once a week to church (about 30 miles round trip). We did drive the car on an 1100 mile trip and a 600 mile trip without any issues. We also took a couple of trips to the mountains (150 miles). In the years of my ownership this car was never driven by a teenager and the previous owner was a lady accountant in Southern California. She replaced many parts (I have all the records) including motor mounts, subframe mounts, all window and door seals, Fuel pump, injector pump, belts, alternator and more. The windows are as solid as a new car, with no play or rattles. the tires are the same ones that were on it when I bought it and are in fair condition. I always wanted to put michelins on it but could not justify the cost until I wore these out and they're still fine. Once or twice after the car had sat for a while the transmission was a little slow to catch. However I found that the fluid was low and when corrected it worked perfect. There is some rust on the splash panels inside the front fenders and the floor panel of passenger side. There is no rust on the exterior body(as far as i can tell) and no rust around the shock mounts in the trunk or under the hood. I am also including an electric/manual hoist for easily removing and replacing the removable hardtop. On Aug-30-11 at 17:55:20 PDT, seller added the following information: This is my personal 280 SL. I bought it in 2005 after a great deal of research and comparison. This car is extremely solid, no rattles, beautiful and in very good mechanical condition. The Motor is strong, smooth running, and non-smoking. I had the transmission checked by a thirty year+ Mercedes mechanic and he stated that the transmission was very strong and in very good condition. He was also taken with the exceptional condition of all the original elements of the car. The front seats were completely recovered but everything else appears to be original. The dash is gorgeous and all the wood is in tact and near perfect. All the gages and the original radio work great except for the odometer which reads 135,000+ miles. Heater and AC work well. All maintenance records show that the previous owner drove the car less than 3000 miles a year and with the miles that I have driven since owning the car, it would have less than 150,000 miles on it. We mostly drove the car once a week to church (about 30 miles round trip). We did drive the car on an 1100 mile trip and a 600 mile trip without any issues. We also took a couple of trips to the mountains (150 miles). In the years of my ownership this car was never driven by a teenager and the previous owner was a lady accountant in Southern California. She replaced many parts (I have all the records) including motor mounts, subframe mounts, all window and door seals, Fuel pump, injector pump, belts, alternator and more. The windows are as solid as a new car, with no play or rattles. the tires are the same ones that were on it when I bought it and are in fair condition. I always wanted to put michelins on it but could not justify the cost until I wore these out and they're still fine. Once or twice after the car had sat for a while the transmission was a little slow to catch. However I found that the fluid was low and when corrected it worked perfect. There is some rust on the splash panels inside the front fenders and the floor panel of passenger side. There is no rust on the exterior body(as far as i can tell) and no rust around the shock mounts in the trunk or under the hood. I am also including an electric/manual hoist for easily removing and replacing the removable hardtop. This is a rare "California Coupe" model. From what I understand these were special order models that boasted 2+2 seating. They had a full fold down bench seat in the rear and did not have a soft top or any of the mechanism or storage area. (check Photos) I have had two adults in the back but it was very tight. It was for a wedding and I slid the passenger seat all the way forward. It is great for small children or for a child's seat. There is much more storage room than in the model with the soft top. You can read a little about this model on the Wikipedia site on 280SL's. My information said that they only made about 600 of these per year.