1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC

With a 5.6-litre, 16-valve V8 engine under the bonnet and 275bhp and 317lb/ft of torque at their disposal, the new owner of this 560SEL won’t lack performance; when new the 560SEC would hit 62mph in 7.3 seconds on their way to a top speed of 149mph, which isn’t bad for a car that weighs the same as Belgium, is it?

With 187,500 miles on the clock and in the care of the current owner for the past two and a half years, he looked long and hard before settling on this one, attracted by its condition and impeccable provenance.

And he, quite rightly, ignored its mileage because it looks and drives like one that has covered a quarter of that - and yes, we are well aware that that is something of a cliché but the Doubting Thomas’s amongst you really should pop along to see it in person; it’s a genuinely stunning car that wears its age and mileage more lightly than just about anything that has passed through our hands this year.

Built at a time when Mercedes-Benz still built cars according to the engineers’ designs rather than an accountant’s memo, the shutlines are as sharp and tight as you’d expect of a car that topped the range, back-in-the-day.

It’s a timeless shape too, especially with the windows lowered, all the better to show off its pillarless coupe status. There’s no rust or rot to speak of either, just glossy even paintwork and the sort of effortless elegance that we seem to have lost from the car parc of late. Even the area beneath the rear window, a spot where they all go, has been professionally and invisibly repaired at some point in the car’s life.

It’s clearly had some paint over the years too, but we had to look hard – really hard – to find evidence of that, so whoever did it did it with an uncommonly high level of competence and several years agio. White is a forgiving colour and a non-metallic car is always going to be easier than a metallic to maintain over the years, whether that be polishing, machine cutting, or making localized repairs.

The electric sunroof opens and closes as it should, sealing tightly. There’s no rust around the perimeter either, something that enthusiasts will appreciate isn’t always the case.

Even the headlight wash/wipe system works, a feature that is something of a touchstone for us with these cars; they almost all fail, so if it works then the rest of the car has probably been maintained to a high standard, too.

Of course, any classic car is going to have the odd stonechip but that’s all there is and the boss rates the bodywork as an 8.5 out of ten.

The grey leather front seats are only very gently patinated and show only the lightest of creasing; given they’ve been used for the past 31 years and 187,500 miles that’s a remarkable vindication of the quality of leather that Mercedes used to trim them.

Even the massage function still works, as does the cruise control, electric windows and air-conditioning; all of these are known weak points and that they work as well as they do is yet more proof that this is a car that has been maintained over the years without regard to cost.

The rear seats look to be almost new, and clearly haven’t been used much.

The carpets are clean and free of damage, and lifting them shows nothing but solid painted metal underneath. Genuine Mercedes-Benz overmats protect the carpets.

The headlining, including the split two-piece part that covers the sunroof, is clean and tidy and free of damage. The wooden veneer trim isn’t badly cracked and damaged like so many are, either; it’s all in a fabulous condition and wants for nothing other than the occasional polish.

The door cards are also in fine fettle and still in their original, unmolested condition having escaped the indignity of being fitted with extraneous, aftermarket speakers or being ripped on and off multiple times.

The glovebox lids opens and closes nicely, and the lid hides two primitive cup-holders that date from a time when they were only used while partaking of a stationary picnic (generally at the seaside in the rain, obviously…) rather than to facilitate gulping caffeine on the move.

The boot is as clean and tidy as the rest of the interior. Home to the tool kit, jack, warning triangle and alloy spare wheel, the boot floor is as solid as the rest of the vehicle.

Work to do includes recommissioning the original Becker radio/cassette player. A new aerial has been fitted and needs connecting, but the owner never got as far as trying to sort out why the radio isn’t working.

The only other thing we are aware of that doesn’t work as it should is the seat-belt butler on the passenger’s side. The motor whirs but it doesn’t hand the seatbelt forward as it should. This is a common fault, and YouTube is awash with instructional videos on how to sort it out.

Oh, and the LCD display in the centre of the dashboard doesn’t illuminate the outside temperature.

It needed rear brake pads and an offside front brake caliper for this year’s MOT, which isn’t bad for a car of this age and complexity, is it? But that’s what you get with a W124 Mercedes-Benz if you look after it properly…

The Mercedes has also had a recent new gearbox oil pump, main oil seals and fresh fluid and filter, plus new front torsion bar bushes and lower ball joints. The air-conditioning was recharged at the same time, too. We’ve driven it, and can confirm that it drives very well indeed and exactly as it should. The owner also drove it 50 miles to us for auction.

The underside is utterly solid, and hasn’t ever come to the attention of any of the MOT testers that have looked at it over the years.

The engine bay is clean and tidy too, and even still features the sound-deadening under the bonnet. The metalwork under there is clean and free of rust too; it really is in remarkable condition and a testament to the men and women who have owned it over the years.

The hydro-pneumatic rear suspension has been converted to standard dampers; these will be much easier and cheaper to maintain than the complex factory system but we are told that the ancillaries are all still in place should the new owner prefer to reinstate the original self-levelling rear suspension.

This is the section that really sells this car – the level of servicing documented, plus the fact that this car must have been stored overnight inside for all or most of its life, explains its genuinely remarkable condition. In addition to two stamped service history booklets the car comes with a neatly typed summary of its service history, which shows that it has had 29 main dealer services in its life, including Hughes of Beaconsfield, who are renowned for their expertise in maintaining classic Mercedes; the W126 will run forever with the right maintenance and this one looks to have had exactly that. The record also shows that it was in storage between approximately 2005 and 2016.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and certainly nothing so vulgar as corrosion; rot and structural issues should be your main concern, and this example hasn’t come to the MOT tester’s attention for either.

The MOT history also confirms the car’s mileage and the MOT certificate itself expires in October 2020. The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a couple of old invoices and bills to confirm the recent work that has been done to it. It also has a DVLA history of the car’s previous owners.

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.

It also comes with the original owner’s handbook, the usual bumf in the storage wallet and the original handbook for the factory fitted Becker radio/cassette player. All of it in just the same gorgeous condition as the car.

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

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 timeless - and certainly the easiest to maintain - colour of them all.

With an unrivalled service history, a whispering great V8 engine and that decadent, nigh-on perfect 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 folk that understand the breed and know what they’re doing.

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 £11,000 and £15,000 – and please remember that the reserve is set lower, so you might be able to snaffle a real bargain…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in 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, 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.