Heavy. Sluggish. Ungainly bumpers. Expensive to fix. No manual transmission. Just a few years ago, these were the complaints lined up against the last of Mercedes’ R107 cars made from 1986 through 1989. The 560SL was derided as the “wife’s car” and in fact, this one is exactly that – a car purchased for the seller’s wife in 2022 but sadly not driven much. Defying the scorn of a decade ago – when one could pick up a 560SL for four figures – prices have seen a substantial lift recently. I’m keen to follow this sale here on eBay, as it may set a benchmark for the value of a high-quality, last-year example. The bidding has reached $28,600 but there’s a buy-it-now option at $49,500, a beefy premium to the market’s current appetite. Drive it home from Savannah, Georgia if the weather cooperates.

Mercedes danced between US emissions and fuel economy regulations in a trial-and-error kind of way. The facelifted R107 introduced in 1973 was equipped with a 4.5-liter V8. This engine was gradually larded up with pollution control devices, downgrading the horsepower. In 1975, Mercedes installed a catalytic converter under the hood, effectively overheating the entire neighborhood. When the thirsty, heavy 450 was thoroughly outdated, a 3.8-liter alloy block was introduced. The car was lighter, and the engine already incorporated pollution controls, but horsepower was no better and timing chains broke. A real improvement arrived with the 240 hp 5.6-liter in 1986, as seen above. This car has a new OEM radiator, new tune-up parts, a recent complete fluid change, and new tires. The AutoCheck report contains a footnoted odometer discrepancy – a possible error at DMV (!) when the title was recorded after an auction; we can probably trust the 26,680 mileage reading given the undercarriage condition.

The interior makes a good show of luxury. M-B had abandoned leather by the 1960s, using instead its own faux version called MB Tex. If you can live without cow hide, MB Tex looks great for longer with minimal care. This example’s carpets, upholstery, wood dash and console look fabulous. I’ve never seen a 560SL without wrinkled door cards, so don’t hold that against it. The original Becker radio was rebuilt with Bluetooth capabilities. The hardtop is in excellent condition as far as we can see. The AC was serviced recently, and several documents accompany the car.

The 560SL was nearly identical from year to year except for one detail: the third brake light. In 1986 and 1987, that third light was unceremoniously stuck onto the center front portion of the trunk lid – yuck. By 1988, Mercedes found a slightly better solution, installing it near the trailing edge. The ’89 was also a low-production year, with only about 5350 examples made. One word describes the driving experience: tranquil. While not fast off the line, and not a sports car by any means, the 560SL behaves itself in nearly every circumstance. It will run forever, as happy during mile one as during mile 1000 of a long road trip, though the rare mechanical problem most certainly will be expensive. A quick scan of prices reveals that low mileage last-year 560s are lurching toward the six-figure realm. We’ll see how much it takes to find this one a new garage.