The Pick of the Day is a 20-year-old Polar White drop-top 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL500 with only 73,000 original miles. The car retailed when new for an MSRP well into the $80k range, but it’s being offered on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Fort Worth, Texas, for just $13,900.
The iconic “R129” chassis SL marked the 4th iteration of a car originally launched in 1954 as “Super-Leicht,” German for Super Light. The R129 lived for more than a decade, from model years 1990 through 2001, and it had a long life with consistent updates throughout that time.
Among those options were 13 different engine varieties from a 196-horsepower inline-6 all the way up to a 518-horsepower 7.3-liter V12. There were 3 different transmission configurations, including a rare 5-speed manual. The Mercedes’ overall shape, however, stayed consistent aside from minor cosmetic enhancements.
This Mercedes SL is powered by a 5-liter V8 that produces more than 300 horsepower. It’s said to have been “exceptionally maintained and garage-kept,” and the selling dealership also reports that it “drives and looks like new.” There has been recent service performed and the available records will accompany the car at point of sale, the ad says.
Innovative for its time on the SL500 model was an automatic roll bar designed to deploy in the event of a rollover. The Mercedes for sale has that feature, as well as two different available roofs: a folding soft top and a removable hardtop. Isolation from the elements and heightened interior refinement were important reasons why Mercedes-Benz insisted on making a hardtop available on this expensive luxo-roadster.
With summer weather around the corner, people are dusting off their convertibles, applying their sunscreen, and hitting the boulevards around America. Perhaps this SL500 is just the ticket to fresh air and freedom.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Everyone should own a convertible. A ride in an open car is just like having a little holiday – even if you’re only going to work.
This carlooks good.think it would be a good car for my grandaughter to take to tech.what maintenance was recently performed on the car?why is the owner selling this one?was it water damaged,whats the vin number?
Why not look at the listing?
JDG- Mr. Hugie just writes the online article for the site.
You have to contact the dealer for the stuff you’re asking; the information is on the site. Re-read, then select the highlighted link to contact the seller.
In college I dated a sorority girl that had one of these with the V8. Mommy&Daddy were absent for most of her life growing up (money money money & promotion & climbing the ladder) but they provided her with lotsa stuff. As nice and quick as it was, in my mind these will always be “chick cars”, and your granddaughter would probably sell her soul to drive a flash machine like this.
I would guess that it’s not water damaged or defective in any way, but the owner is selling because routine maintenance on any Benz is eye-wateringly spendy, and you don’t take a car like this to Billy JoeBob’s Fix-it ‘n’ Lawn Service- not if you want to drive it, anyway.
Good luck. It’s a brilliant machine and for the most part anything Benz makes is as reliable as an anvil. But… there’s always something needing fixed. Google up the tires for this, or the all-wheel alignment, or a simple tune&oil change. It’s a Benz, cars made for those with significant income, and it is 20 years old, and even the best made stuff wears out.