2010 Mercedes SL Convertible

Highlights

• Gorgeous example of Mercedes’s classic folding roof GT
• Low-rate VED/road tax
• Lovely condition inside and out
• New MOT to July 2025
• Facelifted model with improved cabin

Overview

It’s impossible not to like any generation of Sport-Leicht Mercedes-Benz, because every generation of the brand’s SL sporting flagship has been incredible in one way or another.

The R230 model, though, is perhaps closest to the original concept, which was inspired by the company’s motorsport endeavours.

If such provenance floats your boat – and why ever would it not? – then the 2001-11 SL brought things full circle, developed with the input of F1 constructor McLaren, whose Grand Prix cars wore the three-pointed star during the same era.

Admittedly, Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t have had one like this as his company car – but that’s because he doesn’t have to balance the realities of running costs and road tax against his household budget. If you do, but want to still experience the genuine pleasures of R230 ownership, then the 2008-on 300 SL is the one to go for. Unlike the other models in the line-up, it falls into the Band K VED bracket, and while it’s not very PistonHeads to get tied up in knots over road tax rates, they’re still a very real part of owning a car.

If you want an SL as a daily, or even as an occasional plaything, then the 300 SL is a great choice because it doesn’t cost you seven hundred quid a year to tax. After all, it still has 228bhp to give from its peachy V6, and that’s enough for pretty decent acceleration, lighter and sharper handling than the V8s and sensible fuel economy.

Did we just say sensible? Well, yes, we did. And while that’s not necessarily the ethos of buying a car that appeals to your heart, bear in mind that this one will appeal to your head (and to Domestic Management) almost as much as those near flawless lines, sumptuous cabin, fabulous road manners and pub-car-park-party-trick roof will sucker up to your inner petrolhead.

It’s a terrific example – a great colour, sensible miles and in lovely overall condition. The vendor has kept it at his holiday home for the past year or so and has only used it when visiting, but now the dog comes on holiday with him, it tends not to get used so much these days and a more practical car is taking its place.

History and documentation

• UK V5C
• MOT July 2025
• Limited service history – two recorded services in May 2022 (88,219 miles) and April 2013 (14,278 miles) on the Mercedes digital system but the vendor reports it has been well serviced during the past few years
• Supplied new by Mercedes-Benz of Sheffield in Meadowhall in October 2010
• Current odometer reading of 92,256 miles
• Two sets of keys
• Original handbooks and manuals in Mercedes-Benz wallet
• Two old MOT certificates
• Invoice for new battery in June 2024

Interior

• Stunning cream leather with no notable signs of wear
• Two-tone beige and ivory dash and door cards
• Some very slight creasing to leather on driver’s seat
• Electrically adjustable heated seats
• Dual-zone climate control
• Mercedes-Benz COMAND head unit with sat nav and voice control
• Cruise control
• Very good carpets and door cards with undamaged storage bins
• Stainless steel Mercedes-Benz kickplates
• Factory fold-up windbreak
• Tidy luggage area with original Mercedes-Benz tools

Exterior

• Gorgeous Tanzanite Blue pearlescent paint
• Very smart bodywork with no notable damage or dents
• Excellent paint finish all over
• One very tiny scuff on right-hand front bumper corner
• Very minor chips on driver’s door edge
• Immaculate 18-inch alloys with just one very small nick on one wheel
• Good Michelin Pilot Sports on the front and recent Nexen N-feras on the rear
• Perfectly operational ‘Vario-roof’
• Bi-Xenon headlights

Mechanical

• 3.0-litre V6
• 228bhp
• MOT until July 2025 – passed with no advisory notices
• Rear-wheel-drive
• Seven-speed G-TRONIC automatic transmission
• Recent new main and supplementary batteries
• All controls and buttons function as intended
• According to the vendor, the car drives brilliantly and with no known or apparent issues

Summary

One of the great things about any Mercedes-Benz SL is its ability to ooze class regardless of its age. This one typifies that image – it’s in truly lovely condition inside and out and is finished in one of the classiest colours, offset by a two-tone interior that really stands out against it.

Its ripple-free panels and plush cabin still scream quality, yet you can buy it for a fraction of what it would have cost when new. It’s a very classy car indeed, and one that drives in a manner as sharp as its looks.

To arrange a viewing, please request this in the Q&A section. You can click through to the seller's profile and use the 'Email Me' function to arrange a viewing privately. This seller is located near Ely, Cambridgeshire.