1997 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

Convertible

8 Cylinder 5.0 Liter

Automatic

WDBFA67F1VF146866

Gasoline

Let me start by saying that my car is the nicest looking SL on ebay currently!! The most desirable Black on Black combo!! It looks amazing for a 13 year old car!! If you are looking at this car then you know that 1997 is the only year which uses the M119 V8 which produces 315hp and 347 ft-lbs of torque. It is more than even the newer R230 SL500s which came out in 2003. Yes it is quicker and a lot more fun and dont have the expensive air suspension on the current cars. The engine is healthy, pulls very strong and sounds amazing while doing so. Please review the article by Ken Rockwell on the 1997 SL500: http://www.kenrockwell.com/sl/index.ht The car is definitely one of the cleaner R129s out there. Its been in Florida all its life and i bought it and had it shipped to California. i have loved this car and enjoyed driving it. My only reason of selling is that i have moved to a smaller house with two car garage and i hate to leave it outside. And lately i havent been driving it that much. I spent months looking for one in this condition and color combination that wasn't $20k. The car was garage kept and the previous owner waxed it regularly. The paint looks amazing and is free of door dings and scratches. You will be amazed at the paint condition. The interior is very clean and the wood has no cracks. All the options work as they should. The hard top looks new and the soft top was serviced and is in new shape. ISSUES: I like to mention issues even if they are non issues. One of the speaker grilles on the rear deck area is damaged (hardly ever see it) Dealer quoted me a $39 price to have it changed (it says BOSE on it) its not missing just broken!! Since the car was lowered (properly) by myself........it has had couple of cracks, few lower bottom scratches from coming and getting out of parking lots! I have fixed it once ($250) but dont wana do it again cuz i did it again!! So i guess one has to be super careful! But i wouldnt trade the new aggressive stance of the car for the original springs!! You can fix the bumper again to make the car absolutely perfect if its an issue but be careful and be conscious of curbs and all!! carfax shows an accident ( previous owner had the front bumper replaced and charged it to the insurance) so hence it shows!! It cracked in his ownership!! This is being disputed with carfax but if insurance pays $1267.00 for the minor repair, it will show!! It was a non issue for me when i bought it! Since i have owned it, i have made a few tasteful modifications. I will try to list all of them including maintenance! OEM XENON Headlamps (close to $1200 per side new)Eibach Pro-Kit Springs (awesome handling improvement, lower and more aggressive ride height. Stock springs included as well)Custom Exhaust (custom fabricated Y-Pipe in place of back muffler. Sounds great. Little to no difference in cabin volume at cruising speeds but sounds mean if you punch the gas. OEM muffler will be included)Newer syle (years 99+) OEM tail lightsReplaced older AMG wheels with the newer style '02 SL.New DunlopsOEM Mercedes Audio 10 CD player with hardwired FM modulator for ipod/MP3/Aux hookup (200 watt BOSE Acoustimass system with sub)And a few other little things like LED instrument cluster with chrome surrounds. LED license plate bulbs, wood grain AMG shift knob, chrome gear shift surround. Phillips 6000k xenon bulbs, and more.....)Maintenance: All O2 sensors and spark plugs at 74ktransmission flush, new rear shocksdifferential drain and fill at 74kserpentine V belt and fuel filter at 77kreupholstered hard toprepaired and resealed all hydraulic convertible roof pistonsnew insulation padnew transmission plug and O-ringnew oil change and new fuel pump and filter $654 just last week.Whats included: Hard top, hard top cover, car cover, OEM springs and muffler, all manuals, original window sticker Roll bar windscreen (close to $700 if you can find one) You cant miss this awesome deal!! It will be a joy to own. I hate to sell it after spending so much on mods but life goes on!!