1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC AMG Wide Body

First registered on the 19th of February 1987 (the day this writer was recovering from a hangover after celebrating his 18th birthday the previous day…) this epic Limarit Blue Perle Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC is the car your mother warned you about.

In the care of the vendor for the past 18 years and a genuine UK model, it was heavily refurbished at the end of the nineties and then again only recently. Sitting on Eibach suspension and breathing through a custom stainless-steel exhaust, it sounds amazing and goes as well as it looks following a recent respray and a peerless servicing regimen.

With 150,000 miles on the clock, only around 5,000 of which has been accrued in the vendor’s hands, this is a well-fettled, regularly used example that’s just about run-in by now. Dry stored and with plenty of life left in it, this is your passport to all of your Greed Is Good eighties fantasies.

The Limarit Blue Perle paintwork is the same colour it was delivered in back in 1987. Still looking utterly amazing following a complete respray around four years ago, it really pops in the sunlight.

You see, the vendor is a long-time garage owner and classic car restorer with 48 years in the trade and the quality of finish is a testament to his skill and experience. The paint has a real shine to it too, and the overall effect is to draw a huge amount of attention wherever it goes.

A large part of that appeal is, of course, the AMG wide-body body styling kit which adds presence and menace in equal measure. It’s been well fitted too, but then the above average panel condition and fit of the base car’s underlying metalwork helps, of course.

The 17-inch, split-rim alloy wheels are in good order. Shod with Avon ZR1 tyres on the rear axle, and Nankang Noble Sport on the front, we can’t help but think a car of this quality and performance deserves matching rubber and given the rear tyres are the oldest, they’d be our choice to replace. A couple have minor cracks starting to appear anyway.

Other problems? Well, we don’t find the body coloured headlamp wiper arms totally convincing (but they could have been original?) but other than that we can’t find much to criticise bar the usual stonechips and minor marks any car of this age will have accumulated.

The seats were retrimmed in 2003, and the headlining was replaced at much the same time. Originally grey Alcantara (which looks lovely when new, but can become very tired and sad after years of use), the seats are now beige and blue perforated leather with the AMG logo on their headrests. It’s a very neat job and they’re all still in great shape with only the very lightest of patinas to their finish. They are still very supportive and comfortable, and the overall effect is very pleasing, both aesthetically and practically and compliment the exterior.

There’s a four-spoke wooden steering wheel too, plus a matching gear knob and lashing of wood. Again, it’s all in very good order, and we suspect all very expensive when it was new.

The carpets and door cards are good too, as is the boot. The metal floor of the latter is solid and free of rust – and rust is the one thing you really do need to be aware of on the model so its absence is not to be under-estimated.

Problems? Well, aside from that gently developing patina the sunroof works but is very, very slow, neither the radio nor the vacuum-operated central locking work, and there are a couple of cracks in the top of the dashboard where the sun has caught it.

A custom Cobra Sport stainless-steel performance exhaust was built and fitted in 2005, a move that gives the SEC a genuine throb to the exhaust and allows the mighty V8 engine to breath properly.

The Mercedes has been given a fresh oil filter and oil every year regardless of miles covered – the vendor has only covered around 5,000 miles in the 18 years he’s owned it – and his dedication to maintaining his car properly is impressive: take the rear window, for example. It went a little milky, so he stumped up the not inconsiderable sum of £800 for a new one…

The engine bay has received as much love and attention as the rest of the car; it’s clean and neat and shows off the V8 engine to perfection. The underside is pretty clean and well-presented bar the odd patch of surface corrosion and some overspray.

We’ve driven it and can confirm that it drives as well as it looks, albeit with a hard ride. As you can see in the video, it starts promptly and revs nicely – and it’s probably worth turning the volume up for the final few seconds, all the better to enjoy the exhaust note!

The Mercedes’ MOT certificate, which is valid until May 2021, was gained without a single advisory point. How’s that for vindication of careful maintenance and rock-solid Germanic engineering?

It has a number of expired MOT certificates plus a thick sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years. Obviously, given his trade, there are no receipts for the materials and labour associated with the annual oil changes but we’ve no reason to doubt his word that they’ve been carried out diligently.

It also still has its original owner’s handbook and book pack plus the storage wallet, CD-based service manual, and a period brochure.

Sadly, there is no paperwork to confirm that it is a genuine AMG model but the owner tells us that he has had the car checked and has been informed that the welding pattern under the wings is consistent with that of AMG cars, as is the underlying colour (underneath the blue is a coat of white, standard fit for cars going to AMG). He’s raised the query with the classic department at Daimler and is waiting to hear back from them with what he hopes will be a definitive answer.

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 a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

UPDATE: The seller has contacted us to try and address the question over the cars AMG heritage. He states: "Mercedes head quarters GB have stated AMG chose a white vehicle for their conversions and this vehicle was originally Artic white, they also informed me that the rear quarter panels were welded in place in a certain manner as this vehicle has been done. The camshafts are of AMG specification as a upgrade. 

 I have been in contact with a retired Mercedes parts manager of some 35 years plus who knows my vehicle very well who says he has no reason to doubt that the vehicle is genuine AMG and says that who else but AMG would go to so much trouble of removing all engine components and ancillaries to paint the engine bay.

I have emailed both Classic Daimler and AMG Daimler direct and am waiting for a hopeful reply

  A potential purchaser will have to look at the facts and base their own judgment until I can get a definitive result. "

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 is possibly the most impressive colours of them all.

With an unrivalled service history, a whispering great V8 engine and that decadent interior this is a car for all seasons and for all purposes.

And while you might think you want a low-mileage example, you really don’t, not if you are going to be using it on a regular basis; what you want is a car like this, one that has been exercised regularly and maintained by a man who has come to an intimate understanding of his car following two decades of ownership.

And yet, for all its considerable charms this delectable slice of late eighties’ gold isn’t going to be expensive; while the price of some of its (lesser) contemporaries has soared, that of the W126 Mercedes range has been more of a slow burn.

With this in mind, we think this wonderfully preserved example will only sell for between £27,000 and £45,000 – and please remember that the reserve is set at an even lower point than this, so you might be able to snaffle a real bargain…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; 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, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and an array of regional providers for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. 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 the result of a long test drive.

Also, localised paint repairs are common with collectable and classic cars and if they have been professionally carried out then they may be impossible to detect, even if we see the car in person. So, unless we state otherwise, please assume that any vehicle could have had remedial bodywork at some point in its life.

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.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.