50,000 miles, $50,000: a Signal Red 560SL in a crowded market

The 560SL is the last and most powerful of the R107 roadsters, and 1989 was its final year. This one came from the original owner to the current owner’s relative in 2012, and it has covered only about 7,000 miles since, for 50,000 in total. Signal Red over beige leather, black soft top, color-matched hardtop, 15-inch Gullideckel wheels, the 5.5-liter V8 with a four-speed automatic and limited-slip differential.

Nothing about this car needed explaining. The power steering pump was replaced in 2021, the left inner seat hinge in 2024, the air-conditioning compressor in 2025, and the oil was changed right before the sale. The Carfax is clean.

Why we set a reserve

560SLs are everywhere on Bring a Trailer, and they sell across an enormous range. Over the eight weeks around our sale they went for anywhere from $6,350 to $136,000. In a market that wide, a reserve is how you keep a good car from being priced like an average one on a slow afternoon. We set it at a number that respected the miles and the condition, and let the listing do the rest.

The listing ran 99 photographs covering the car inside, out and underneath, and set out the ownership history, the equipment down to the Becker cassette stereo, and the dated service work. With a clean Carfax, service records and a Pennsylvania title, there was very little left for bidders to ask.

The auction

The auction drew 8,045 views, 821 watchers and 39 comments. Fifty-four bids came in, the reserve was met, and the car sold on Thursday, August 27 at 10:29 in the morning for $50,000.

What the number means

Forty-eight 560SLs sold on Bring a Trailer between August 1 and September 24, 2026. The median was $25,500. Only three brought more than ours, and all three were very low-mile cars: 4,000 miles at $136,000, 17,000 miles at $90,000, and 18,000 miles at $68,000. The same day ours sold, a 23-years-family-owned 1989 sold for $33,806.

That tells you where the money is in this market: condition and color first, miles second, and a clean, well-told story tying them together. At 50,000 miles this car sold for roughly double the median, and within a few thousand dollars of cars with far lower odometers. A 50k-mile 1989 two weeks later brought $48,500, which says the number was right.

If you own one

The cars that bring top money on Bring a Trailer share three things: honest condition, complete paperwork, and a listing that answers questions before they’re asked. If you have a R107 SL, a 560SL you’ve been thinking about selling, we’ll tell you where it fits in the market and what we think it will bring. We’re a Bring a Trailer Local Partner and we handle everything from photography to the last comment.