§ V.01What a 1990–2002 Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) is worth
A 1990–2002 Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) sold for a median of $20,750 across 1,236 completed auctions from January 2016 to October 2026 (BidBetter, as of 3 November 2026).
The middle half of those 1,236 sales fell between $16,000 and $28,525 (the typical range), and the full range after cleaning was $2,600 to $196,000.
Data as of 3 November 2026 · 1,236 sales · January 2016 to 31 October 2026 · auction results only
§ V.02What moves a car within the band
Within that band, convertible cars are the most frequently traded body style in this set (1,128 of 1,236 sales), and manual cars account for 1,076 of them. Condition, originality and documented history move a car further than any single specification, which is why the middle half of the range is wide.
The spread by variant, printed in full above, is usually wider than the spread by year: a convertible at $20,900 and a roadster at $19,500 are not the same market, and a single median that mixes them describes neither.
§ V.03Recent sales
| Car | Sold for | Date | Mileage | Sold by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $10,250 | 31 October 2026 | 73,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1997 Mercedes-Benz SL600 | $26,250 | 26 October 2026 | 49,600 mi | Cars & Bids |
| 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $8,500 | 25 October 2026 | 77,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 24k-Mile 2002 Mercedes-Benz SL500 Silver Arrow | $55,001 | 24 October 2026 | 24,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $40,129 | 23 October 2026 | 52,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 11k-Mile 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SL | $53,000 | 22 October 2026 | 11,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1990 Mercedes-Benz 500SL Brabus 6.0 | $55,500 | 20 October 2026 | 243,200 km | Hagerty |
| 38k-Mile 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $25,000 | 20 October 2026 | 38,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $13,750 | 19 October 2026 | 89,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500SL | $11,999 | 18 October 2026 | 78,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 2,300-Kilometer 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $95,500 | 16 October 2026 | 2,300 km | Bring a Trailer |
| 29k-Mile 1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $42,750 | 16 October 2026 | 29,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1995 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $6,696 | 16 October 2026 | 104,400 mi | Cars & Bids |
| 32k-Mile 1997 Mercedes-Benz SL600 | $85,000 | 16 October 2026 | 32,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 18k-Mile 1998 Mercedes-Benz SL500 | $43,000 | 16 October 2026 | 18,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
§ V.04Price by model year
| Model year | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $26,875 | 16 |
| 1991 | $15,750 | 54 |
| 1992 | $13,375 | 36 |
| 1993 | $16,961 | 37 |
| 1994 | $16,714 | 52 |
| 1995 | $16,750 | 72 |
| 1996 | $16,612 | 47 |
| 1997 | $20,250 | 123 |
| 1998 | $20,750 | 143 |
| 1999 | $21,250 | 199 |
| 2000 | $20,000 | 136 |
| 2001 | $24,500 | 143 |
| 2002 | $29,500 | 178 |
§ V.05Price by body style and transmission
| Variant | Type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convertible | Body style | $20,900 | 1,128 |
| Roadster | Body style | $19,500 | 34 |
| Manual | Transmission | $20,250 | 1,076 |
| Automatic | Transmission | $22,125 | 98 |
§ V.06Questions
What is a 1990–2002 Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) worth?
A 1990–2002 Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) sold for a median of $20,750 across 1,236 completed auctions from January 2016 to October 2026 (BidBetter, as of 3 November 2026).
The middle half of those 1,236 sales fell between $16,000 and $28,525 (the typical range), and the full range after cleaning was $2,600 to $196,000.
What affects the price of a 1990–2002 Mercedes-Benz SL (R129)?
Model year: by year, medians run from $13,375 for 1992 (36 sales) to $29,500 for 2002 (178 sales).
Body style: a convertible holds a median of $20,900 on 1,128 sales, against $19,500 on 34 for a roadster.
Transmission: Manuals hold a median of $20,250 on 1,076 sales, against $22,125 on 98 for automatics.
Condition, originality and documented history move a car further than any single specification, which is why the middle half of sales spans $16,000 to $28,525.
Is the Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) 1990-2002 going up or down in value?
Up. The 256 sales in the 12 months to 3 November 2026 had a median of $21,000, against $18,583 on 178 sales in the 12 months before, a rise of 13.0%. That compares whichever cars came to auction in each year, not the same cars sold twice, so read it as the direction of the market rather than a rate of appreciation.
How many Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) sales is that based on?
1,236 completed auction sales, from January 2016 to 31 October 2026. The table above lists the 15 most recent, each linked to its auction record. The figures were last rebuilt on 3 November 2026.
What is the difference between the typical range and the full range?
The typical range is $16,000 to $28,525: half of all 1,236 sales fell inside it. The full range is $2,600 to $196,000, the cheapest and dearest sale that survived cleaning. The full range is set by outliers, so it is a boundary rather than a guide to what most cars bring.
Which body style holds its value best?
On this set, convertible is the most frequently sold at 1,128 sales with a median of $20,900. The highest median among body styles is convertible at $20,900, though it rests on fewer sales. Each variant's median and count are in the table above.
Do manual or automatic cars sell for more?
In this set, manual cars account for 1,076 of 1,236 sales. Manuals hold a median of $20,250 on 1,076 sales, against $22,125 on 98 for automatics.
Does mileage change the value?
Mileage is recorded for part of this set, not all of it, so it is not used to adjust the median. It is shown in the sales table wherever the auction record carries it, and you can see the effect directly by comparing rows.
How current is this figure?
Data as of . The figures are rebuilt from completed sales on a schedule, and the date above is the date of the last rebuild, not the date this page was loaded.
§ V.07Method and sources
What these figures are. Every number on this page is computed from completed auction sales of Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) cars built between 1990 and 2002. The median is the 50th percentile of the sale prices; the typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile; the full range is the lowest and highest sale that survived cleaning. Percentiles are linearly interpolated on the sorted prices.
What is excluded. Asking prices, reserve-not-met results, withdrawn lots and unsold cars are not prices and are not counted. Parts, memorabilia, literature, scale models and other non-vehicle lots are excluded. Sales not made in US dollars are excluded, so these figures describe the dollar market. Duplicate records are removed. Sales below a plausibility floor (5% of the median) and above a ceiling (10× the median) are set aside, because a $22 "911" is a data error rather than a cheap car.
What was set aside. The highest recorded sale in this set is $610,000 (1999 Mercedes-Benz SL 73 AMG, 2 March 2024), and 5 sales above $207,510 are held out of the median and the ranges: at that price the lot is a different asset, and including it would pull the headline figure away from what a typical car brings.
What it is not. This is not an appraisal or an inspection, and it does not predict what any particular car will bring. Two cars built the same year can differ by more than the whole typical range on condition, originality, documentation and provenance.
The set. 1,236 sales from January 2016 to 31 October 2026, drawn from 14 auction sources, principally Bring a Trailer (1,026), Cars & Bids (69), Mbmarket (49), Barrett-Jackson (25), Hemmings (19), PCARMARKET (13), Broad Arrow (10), RM Sotheby's (7), Hagerty (6), Collecting Cars (4), Gooding (3), Mecum (3). Data as of .
See the disclaimer for the limits of a valuation of this kind.
§ V.08Compare with
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class 2001-2026 — $65,500 median · 870 sales · as of 3 November 2026
- Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda (W113) 1963-1971 — $70,000 median · 807 sales · as of 3 November 2026
- Mercedes-Benz W123 1976-1985 — $14,250 median · 528 sales · as of 3 November 2026
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