A Rich Owner Abandoned This 80-Mile Mercedes SL For 21 Years After Losing The Keys

Just 80 miles after taking delivery of this SL500 as a birthday present, the owner lost the keys and abandoned it in a car park for over two decades. Now it's up for sale in near-immaculate condition

Matt Kimberley

10 Apr 2017

A Rich Owner Abandoned This 80-Mile Mercedes SL For 21 Years After Losing The Keys

A modern classic Mercedes SL with just 80 miles on the clock from new is coming up for auction with a bizarre back-story.

The owner of this 21-year-old SL500 was so filthy rich that when she lost the keys shortly after being given the car as a birthday present, she never bothered to order new ones and the car simply got forgotten. For two decades.

Even more astonishing is that the letter that comes with the car, confirming the car’s history, is written by the owner’s butler. This is, well, unusual. Chris Routledge, CEO of auction house Coys, said:

“This is a car with a fantastic story! Purchased as a birthday present and driven only 80 miles before the owner lost the keys and never drove it again. It even comes with a letter written by the owner’s butler verifying its mileage and its provenance.
“Had she not lost the keys and used it regularly, we estimate it would now be worth between £5,000 and £7,000, but the fact that it has kept such a low mileage and has not been driven in more than twenty years makes it worth between £45,000 and £55,000.
“What happened with the keys remains a mystery but the car comes with new keys for the new owner.”

The 1996 R129 SL is reportedly ‘unblemished’ and forms part of Coys’ Spring Classics auction on Wednesday. Also on offer are several classic Aston Martins and Jaguars, a 1923 Rolls-Royce 20HP, a Lamborghini LM02, a 1989 AC Cobra and a number of supercars from the 1980s and 1990s. The sale is being held at the Royal Horticultural Society in London’s Vincent Square.

Comments

Probably dropped the key under the seat, this is why keyless start is useful

except an ignition key will work after 20 year unless you put 300k km on it, keyless start will fail in 10 years use maximum and costs a fkton.

OMG

I’m just impressed it looks this nice after just sitting around for 20 something years.

Well, you can assume that the auction-house had it thorougly cleaned, or at least thoroughly enough to look good on the pictures.

Either someone is going to stick it in a private collection, or it will need to be completely turned inside out and basically restored, making it, while very expensive, not very special after all.

Am I the only one who doesn’t like the sound of a 21 year old car with less than 100 miles on the clock? Cars need to be exercised and not using them for a long amount of time makes them need a bunch of components replaced. I’d rather a religiously maintained SL with 14,000 miles than one that has 80 miles and hasn’t moved in two decades