1982 Mercedes SL clocked up just 42 miles after British man stored it for 43 years in climate controlled garage

This 1982 Mercedes SL has just 42 miles on the clock, after a British man stored it in a climate controlled garage for 43 years.

Mr. Hough, who hails from the English county of Staffordshire, bought the car back in the year of its release.

But rather than drive it, he kept it in storage, never once taking it out on the road.

43 years on, and this car is still in pristine condition.

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Taking a closer look at this immaculate 1982 Mercedes SL

Sitting inside a climate controlled garage had done this Mercedes SL a whole lot of good.

The quality of this car is so high that you’d almost be tempted to believe this is a car that had been meticulously restored.

But no, it’d just been perfectly preserved inside a garage for the past four decades.

Purchased from the Carols of Wolverhampton dealership in 1982, this car had every factory option on offer, autoevolution reported.

However, this didn’t mean he wanted to take it out on the road.

Instead, it was destined to groww old gracefully.

Mr. Hough sold the car to SLSHOP, the world’s ‘leading classic Mercedes destination’ in August 2025, having previously told them of the car more than 15 years ago.

Back then, they’d expressed interest in buying it, but he wasn’t budging.

But after all those years, he’d decided it was time the car got a new custodian.

What sort of state was this car in after decades in a climate controlled garage?

SLSHOP carried out a full check of the car once they got it, and the results were undeniably impressive.

Having never driven outside of its delivery, the 305.5-cubic-inch V8 engine was in near-mint condition.

There was no corrosion to be found anywhere, and the interior looks like it had that ‘New car smell’ we all love.

SLSHOP decided that it wouldn’t sell the car on – it would instead become part of a permanent and climate-controlled display at its facility in Stratford-upon-Avon.

So once you’ve done seeing all the William Shakespeare tourist spots, you can head along to bask in the splendor of this automotive time capsule.

We can’t help but love a car that’s been so perfectly preserved.

There was this Pontiac Grand Ville that still had untouched cigarette lighters from 1973.

In a similar vein, this 1976 Chevrolet Vega left the showroom nearly 50 years ago but had never worn a license plate.

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