1984 Mercedes-Benz 500SE - 45,200 miles

The Mercedes was bought new by a Mr. Wong, an Exeter restauranteur who was looking for a car to use on Mondays (when the restaurant was closed) and during his holidays. Wonderfully, he chose this particular shade because it was the closest he could find to the colour of his signature lobster dish!

He only ever used it when the weather was good, which meant it had only racked up 16,800 miles by the time a Mr. Back, who was friends with Mr. Wong, bought it from him in 2005.

The car was still so original at that point in its life that neither the spare wheel nor the first aid kit had ever been used, and the leather seats had been protected by covers since day one. Mr. Back enjoyed the car for a while before selling it to a collector, who proceeded to keep the car indoors and didn’t really use it on the roads at all. (He didn’t inform the DVLA of the change of keeper either, which it why the V5 Registration Document shows only two former owners.)

The car’s current owner and vendor bought it in 2011, and has spent a small fortune on it since that time to maintain it and to bring it to the condition you see today. However, he lives in central London and doesn’t use it as much as he would like, so feels the time is right to pass it on to someone who will be able to use and enjoy it more fully.

It is still in a wonderfully original condition and offers its new owner the opportunity to either bring it up to concours condition with little effort or to continue to use what is one of the best-preserved and most original Mercedes 500 SE in the country.

The paintwork is in fine condition following a comprehensive programme of paint rectification; Mercedes might cater for a very different demographic now but it sure knew how to apply paint back in the day, and the car has come alive wonderfully following a professional machine polish and wax.

It knew how to weld and screw panels together too because the shut lines on this example are as tight as any we’ve seen from the period, and the panels themselves are still free of serious damage, dents, dings and ripples. Even the wheelarches are still good, and it’s lovely to see that previous owners have resisted the temptation to screw chrome lips to ‘em.

The plastic cladding along the car’s lower body is in good shape, and has been there from the day it was built. It doesn’t seem to be hiding anything nasty either, which makes a change, although the plastic bumper has been scuffed on the front nearside corner.

The modest chromework is in good condition too, being shiny and free of damage and serious pitting.

The four alloy wheels are believed to be the originals it left the factory with, and they are still in great shape being straight and free of scuffs. However, as you might expect after such a lengthy period, they have lightly oxidized so could do with being sympathetically refurbished to bring them up to the same high quality as the rest of the vehicle. (A new set of wheel nuts to replace the rusty old ones might be a good idea, too.)

The wheels are shod with matching tyres, all of which have good tread. However, it looks like they might well be the ones that were fitted by the vendor back in 2011 as the MOT tester has commented that they’re starting to crack with age. With this in mind, potential bidders may be advised to budget for a new set of tyres. A set of Mercedes-Benz mud-flaps add to the car’s understated-yet-practical air.

Of course, it has picked up the odd battle scar over the years, most notably chips and scratches on the nearside leading edge of the bonnet and some rust on the lower edge of the front offside wing. But, and this is important, cars are only original once, and presenting it in this condition allows the new owner to take the car in the direction he/she wants to take it; they can leave it as it is, make localized repairs, or they can respray it fully depending on their personal preference and how they intend to use the car.

For what it is worth, if it were ours, we’d be tempted to make localized repairs to stabilize its condition and then leave it well alone; it’s so delightfully original that it really doesn’t need anything more.

The vendor would be delighted to show you the car in person; please use the contact button to make an appointment with him to see it in North London.

The leather seats were protected by seat covers between 1984 and 2005, so are still in fabulous condition. The tan leather is still supple and supportive, and harks back to a time when this sort of thing was done properly. Even the netting pockets on the back of the front seats are still taut and undamaged, which is possibly the first time we’ve seen this on a car of this vintage.

The carpets are good too, and don’t appear to have suffered from the sort of sun damage that even the best-maintained cars are prone to after such a lengthy period on the roads. They certainly don’t have anything so vulgar as holes or other signs of serious wear, although there is what appears to be the odd small burn in them. Mind you, that’s okay too isn’t because nothing said wealth in the 1980s like smoking a cigar while piloting your very own Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

The headlining is taut and clean and free of damage. The door cards are good too, as is the wooden veneer; the latter might have the odd blemish but there is nothing serious and certainly nothing that detracts from the overall ambience of the interior, which is wonderfully decadent while being simultaneously elegant and simple.

A Parrot Bluetooth unit adds the ability to use your telephone hands-free, and a modern Kenwood CD/radio sits in the centre of the dashboard. The air-conditioning was upgraded to R134a in September 2013.

The boot is clean and tidy and home to the spare wheel and warning triangle.

The owner has also fitted new window winder regulators to the offside front and nearside rear doors, so these are working fine and operating as they should. The other two doors will need doing though as the windows don’t currently open and close – could be simply seized through lack of use. We are told that everything else works as it should, including the air-conditioning.

Other problems seem to be limited to a few small marks on the leather seats, a small tear to the material covering the offside B-pillar just above the upper seatbelt mounting point, and a small crack to the upper dashboard. Do check the photos through for a complete analysis.

Oh, and the first aid kit still doesn’t look like it has been opened…

The vehicle has had a new battery and a complete exhaust system in 2012, a new idle speed control unit in 2014, and a new viscous coupling, thermostat and a radiator cap in 2017.

A full service, including a new offside front brake caliper, was carried out in September 2017. This recent work, which including previous services in August 2014 and September 2015, has been carried out by Cars With Stars, a Mercedes-Benz specialist.

The owner tells us that it “drives beautifully”, something we can confirm following a very short test drive, although we did note that there is a slight creak from the front suspension.

The engine bay itself is scruffy and unkempt. However, it’s still original and half-a-day spent carefully cleaning it would transform it without affecting its originality.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever bar the need for new tyres and washer jets, the latter of which has already been carried out. The MOT history also confirms the car’s low mileage, and the MOT certificate itself expires in September 2020.

The Mercedes also comes with its original owner’s manual, the stamped service history booklet, and a copy of a magazine in which the second owner talks about the car’s history and how he came to own it.

The car also comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

Every hard-nosed car enthusiast has an Achilles’ heel, and for us this is it. A wonderfully original, beautifully preserved slice of Germanic heavy metal offered in what might just be the most period colour of them all.

Its brilliant back-story helps seal the deal, as does the whispering great V8 engine and that decadent interior. It’s a car for all seasons and for all purposes, and offers its new owner the chance to continue to enjoy it as it is, or to use it as a solid base for a potentially concours winning restoration.

It isn’t going to be expensive, either. While the price of some of its (lesser) contemporaries has soared, that of the W126 Mercedes range has been more of a slow burn.

For this reason, we can’t see the price of this example fetching much more than £8,000, and it might even struggle to make £4,000 – but please remember there is no reserve, so you might be able to snaffle a real bargain…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in London N10; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.