Mercedes SL300 24v Convertible 1991

An extremely nice example of the W129 series of the SL300 24 valve convertible Mercedes-Benz. First registered on the 1st February 1991 as H434YNH to Mercedes-Benz at Milton Keynes as their demonstrator, It then had two further owners before me. The first was a lady near Solihull, West Midlands who acquired the car in June 1992 and put a personal plate on it and the next was someone near Warwick who owned the car from October 1999 and put another personal plate on.  I purchased the car in October 2008 when the mileage was 78,000, believed to be genuine. Certainly I can vouch for the mileage in my ownershipwhich is now about 93,000 and I have all the MOT's demonstrating the recorded mileages. I too have put a personal plate on of H10THP, which will come with the car.

The car has a five-speed automatic gearbox with electrically selectable sports or economy modes and a low-range hold facility which locks out top gear. There are anti-lock brakes and the tyres are good.

It has a number of 'extras', including twin air-bags, which were optional at the time. The car runs on unleaded fuel. It has electrically adjustable front seats with memory and both seats are heated. The interior trim is walnut. The headlamps have a 'wash-wipe' facility and there are twin front fog lamps and eight-hole alloy wheels, as they were known at the time. Both the exterior and interior mirrors are adjustable electrically, as is the steering wheel and all are linked to the drivers seat memory.

Historically I have only taxed the car in the summer months (April until October) and last year with Covid the car was only on the road from July until September. This year I put the car back on the road in June, but I am now in my mid 70's and feel the time has come to move on. However I would emphasize that I do not have to sell the car so please don't make any silly offers.

When new the car had air conditioning but this did not work when I acquired it and I've never bothered with it, since I've always thought A/C in a soft-top to be something of an anachronism! I believe it needs re-gassing but that is not straightforward now as current systems us a different gas so the system would need to be modified.

The car still has its original Becker Mexico Radio/Cassette which is in full working order and comes with the handbook. I've never replaced it in the interests of originality. One little 'quirk' with the car is that the electricaerial on the nearside rear wing has a mind of its own as to when it will raise and lower. It always does both eventually, but only in its own time when it is ready!

The original tool-kit is still present and the car also comes with the original key presentation box containing the two remote keys and three manual keys, including the 'service key which operates the ignition and door locks but not the boot.

The handbook also comes with the car, along with the original service book which is part-stamped, but not complete. However I have kept all the service history from my ownership. The car also has additional M-B front floor mats and an M-B draft screen which attaches to the rear anti-roll bar. This makes a tremendous difference when the hood is down, especially as it includes a horizontal section which fits around the anti-roll bar and effectively stops drafts between the front seats.

The electrically operated hood is in good condition and full working order. There are notional rear seats which have lap seat belts but realistically these would only accommodate children. They fold flat giving an additional area for luggage etc.

I have always had the oil and filter change regularly, together with whatever other maintenance work has been necessary. The rear silencer box was replaced in July 2010 and I also had two new offside springs fitted in August 2009 as they had been replaced previously with incorrect ones. The car has a new MOT.

I have only had one major problem with the car, which was in June 2016 when the car broke down on the road. It was recovered to the Mercedes agent in Basingstoke, who replaced the entire fuel injection system at considerable expense. Since then I have only run the car on Shell V-Power premium fuel in case the fuel problem was caused by cheap supermarket fuel.

In addition to the radio aerial matter the windscreen wiper does not always park properly first time but does eventually or the blade can be parked with the switch. I suspect the problem lies with the self-parking switch but it's never been a big issue and the car is 30 years old. Also if the car is left parked in the sun on a hot day with the hood down the warning lights on the anti-roll bar manual switch flash, although the bar still raises and lowers. If I remember to fold the seat backs forward against the fascia, thus keeping the sun off, all is well and normal service also resumes when the interior cools down. I suspect there may be an issue with a sensor but, again, the car is 30 years old!

The car can be seen near Alton in north-east Hampshire from the 25h August but enquiries are welcome in the meantime so please feel free to contact me if you wish.

Payment can be made by BACS preferably or by cash, but cheques will requireclearance in the usual way. PayPal NOT accepted.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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