Mercedes Benz 560SL - Matt Garrett

Mercedes 560SL, 5.6 Liter V8. Midnight Blue/Palamino (Code 904 Blue), garaged, a very nice car that has been well kept all its life. 100% original paint!! I am going to verbally abuse this car to the point you hit the back button... but look at the photos. The car is unarguably nice, attractive and it simply does everything perfect. This car goes against everything I stand for as a collector as what the odometer shows, (as an investment collector) the car is simply used up, nothing left, done finished, crush it... but is it really? Not every car in a collection has to be brand new, perfect, unused and "0" miles. Being that the car is miled out of its gourd, it makes it a nice car to drive vs wasting more expensive no mile investment level cars. Its a darn nice car to go to dinner in, be seen in. This is a car that I drive, take to shows and just enjoy. There is something to be said for that. The color combo on the car is also great, the Midnight Blue is very much a black car with a hint of blue to it. The Interior is the Palamino and you simply wont see a nicer example here. The Midnight Blue is Hard to tell if its black or blue and its just a great contrast. Possibly the best color on these cars and it is well received by all.

The Mercedes R107 began in 1971 and ended in 1989. The 107 is probably THE car that represents Mercedes at its finest and may go down in history as the face of Mercedes Benz as these cars get up in age. Even in the last year 89, this car had a vintage flair to it by that point as the body style had run so long. Having a body style run for so long is the best thing in the world for the integrity of a vehicle... Every year they figured something out to make it better or correct the mistakes of the previous. The crown vic and town car is the best US car ever simply for the fact by the time they ended the run there was little left to chance due to the length of the run. The holy grail of the R107 is the 560SL, and that was the 86-89, then they were over. 86-89 are virtually the same with only some very small insignificant changes in the 4 years. The extensive run of this body style also helped the car become a time proven platform with each motor series getting a little better and this car has always been an "instant" classic for the entire run. It its not a car (like newer Mercedes) that they literally change the style on almost every 2 years making the former car just a recyclable item like a water bottle and never giving time to really perfect upon the platform or gain a loyal following over time. These cars were built to last, more in the quality level vs the bell and whistle check box that seems to mandate what sells today. Also the crowd that bought these cars new were a whole lot more savvy than the current buyers. These cars actually held a good % of their resale for many years. A new Mercedes can literally lose 100K in less than 2 years when that water bottle is ready for the bin yet people are still lining up. They really have me asking why. Many 560s survived well as they were a "toy" car vs daily transportation for many. If you could afford one of these new, you probably had another car to drive. Today the resale of the mega low mile as new 560SLs have seen as high numbers. However you do see a few sell at low prices... But you will have to really know these cars well before you go make that a price point... As good is never cheap.... and condition is everything on these cars.... Hands on for a few bad examples is the only way to learn not to buy down..... buy up!

The car here is an original, well kept garaged car that has been driven. It was owned by a friend that was a car dealer back in the 80s, long since retired when I got it from him, and now unfortunately deceased as I add some new photos and update this some. This car was something he just held on to in his garage and took out when he could. It was never part of a collection to the level some of my cars are, but it was not your typical bump and grind Benz owned by a neglectful image first person. He took care of it and it does not show like it does from some sort of magic... its just a really nice car that looks like many 20K mile well kept 560s. Nothing has been dyed or doctored on this car. For me, I am driving this car on nice days a bit. It is a liberating car to drive as I am not counting every tick of the odometer as a detriment. Going out in public, the car receives incredible reviews from everyone that encounters it. In fact most drop their jaw. This car is all original, dealer serviced, always quality maintained. The only non OEM item is the very tasteful edition of a Kenwood KRC-302, separate amp and matching 12 disc changer. This is a nice sounding system. If you know the weak points of the R107, its the Becker Stereo. I can attest I have original Cadillac tube radios from the 50s that sound better than a Becker. I do not have the original, at least I cant find it, but they are commonly traded on Ebay for 50-80 bucks all the time. Readily available and little desired.

Adding some new photos in 2025, this car I had to go back and realize I have owned for 17 years now. This car just gets better with age, I cant say that with most. Pictured more recent are some rare BBS 133 wheels that were made only for the 560SL for 3 years in the late 80s and now the car is on vintage registration as it became a classic in my hands. The BBS wheels are super rare as they are made to fit the larger brakes. The BBS wheels, at least for me and most anyone who sees these cars in person, makes the car. Although very nice, R107s are pretty lackluster in the wheel dept all of the years made. Especially the early on steel rims. Both my Euro 500SL and my 560SL are on BBS. The 560 has the 133s, which are the really hard to find.

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Pictured with super rare BBS RS 133 16x8 3 piece wheels. The RS 133 model is the only vintage BBS wheel that fits the 560SL due to the big brakes special to 86-89.