1989 Mercedes 500 SE W126 For Sale – Jalopy Fleet Car
The Car & Its History
The 500 SE has been a long term member of the Jalopy fleet since 2014 and has seen periods of use and periods of storage.
It’s been a great continental cruiser, ok, driving to France and has been a reliable and stylish way to get around. I know due to the amount of people that pay attention to it as you rumble gently through towns and villages. Or belt down an Autoroute late for the ferry, again.
It does each of those tasks really well, and it’s actually reasonably economical, returning a best of 26 mpg and a typical 20 mpg. Which includes the rumbling through villages, towns and being late for a ferry.
High speed is dealt with rather effortlessly and quietly too, with the car being really tall geared it does 50 mph in first, 85 in second, 135 in 3rd and as much as your license can stand in fourth. In fact, it’s so fast it caused delamination of the GB sticker on more than one occasion. Being late for the ferry is a common occurrence, not caused by the car as it has been totally reliable.
Well, it did break down once when the somewhat oversized battery, fitted by the previous owner’s mechanic, made contact with the bonnet in France. The replacement French battery is still in the car and when given a charge, started the car first time.
It’s one of those cars that I wasn’t sure what to do with but seeing how good it looks in those pictures from France makes me want to keep it. So, someone please talk me out of it.
It’s not perfect, far from it. Always had a few outstanding jobs, but it was always well sorted mechanically, it had to be as it was used for foreign jaunts.
It’s been hiding in a nice dark garage since the MOT ran out waiting to be used again. An impending move means I might part with it, or simply move it to new storage for a few more years.
Exterior
Imposing and reasonably good. The green metallic paint really looks good on the car and complelements the nice green tint to the windows.There are some marks and scratches to the paint, but it looks presentable in most parts.
Though there issues and some investment could resolve them quite easil which can be seen below.
The front wings have bubbles and some rust bleeding from under the paint. They were bubbling when I bought it, so they probably need repair, or replacing. Wings are available new from Mercedes, it was on the list to do and represents the worst part externally.
Underneath a part of the right front chassis was repaired on the outside by cutting an intircate shape out and butt welding a new piece in, a plate was put in behind due to access.
A futher repair was made beneath the battery and the boot floor had seen water ingress due to a leak around the seal and was treated with POR15 and strenthened as it had not perforated.
The boot seat has been addressed, but probably needs to be completely removed and replaced now.
The good news is that the panel beneath the rear window is solid and rust free, so doesn’t have what some other have that is considered terminal rot, even some expensive ones are bad there.
The rear chromes on both sides have gone, they don’t look too bad from a distance. The mid section has been replaced and looks fine. They are obtainable, but I never bothered.
And the wheels could now do with a refurb, but I did fit proper Continental Tyres which still look good with lots of tread.
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Interior
Generally, the interior is fairly good, the driver’s seat has a worn bolster, but the seat other than that is pretty good. Electric adjustment too, which I must check as I haven’t adjusted it for a while.
There are a couple of loose bits of door cards as clips have broken and the glove box wood could do with resticking.
The sunroof has never worked, the cables make noises and go back and forwards and investigation seems to show broken lifter arms at the roof itself. Pattern ones for the W124 fit apparently and they are pretty cheap.
The air con did work, until the condenser leaked which is a shame as it blew ice cold until then as I had some new parts fitted. And the last time I drove it the cabin fan stopped.
The sun visor retaining clip broke, which is an annoyance, and the steering wheel needs to be put on straight.
The original Blaupunkt radio is available, needs a code of course to work and the aerial is stuck in the up position, but receives FM fine.
Otherwise, it has provided comfortable transport, often four up over decent distances. Oh, the cruise control was great too, the vacuum system pulling the throttle pedal down is amusing.
Engine & Running Gear
This bit is rather good, approaching 114k on the clock it is believed genuine due to the wealth of history that came with the car. Starts on the button and runs cleanly. There must be a missing tooth on the flywheel as one time in 100 or more the starter doesn’t engage but rocking one way or another on gear and it goes. Happened once to me, haven’t repeated it since.
It’s due a service having been in hibernation, I was going to go and do all the fluids this year and take it out, but it didn’t quite work out and a couple of events kept moving and I made other arrangements.
The transmission is as smooth as they can be, I guess, seeing as I don’t have too much W 126 experience, but is so much better than the taxi in Morrocco.
When servied at Silver Star the technical director of the MB owners club drove it and said it drived very well. I thought so too, but was pleased to have my suspicions confirmed.
The brakes are good, the rear calipers were replaced soon into ownership as they were seized, so were the brake pipes and the flexis, so I replaced those too. The fronts were much better and remain on the car.
The alternator belt failed once, so it got a new one, these things are easily accessible to replace and maintain.
The Viscous coupled fan works fine and contributes to the sound signature when running so whilst not as efficient as an electric one it is rather a cool feature.
If you’ve made it this far then you may be interested, or worked out that I rather like owning it. Excellent ones are now fetching lots. Rough parts cars with intersteallar mileages make over a grand. Mine is somewhere inbetween. The relatively low mileage on the M116 V8 is attractive.
For sale to the right person for the right price of £2,500. For everyone else, lets say £3,000, maybe more…
Classic Shows & Events
Manufacturer
Model
Colour
Country/Region of Manufacture
Year
Previously Registered Overseas
Drive Side
Body Type
Seats
Fuel
Transmission
Engine Size
Mileage
Service History
MOT Expiry
Mercedes
500 SE
Green
Germany
1989
No
Right-hand drive
Saloon
5
Petrol
Automatic
5 Litre
114,000
Most
TBD
| Manufacturer | Mercedes |
| Model | 500 SE |
| Colour | Green |
| Country / Region | Germany |
| of Manufacture | |
| Year | 1989 |
| Previously Registered | No |
| Overseas | |
| Drive Side | Right-hand drive |
| Body Type | Saloon |
| Seats | 5 |
| Fuel | Petrol |
| Transmission | Automatic |
| Engine Size | 5 Litre |
| Mileage | 114,000 |
| Service History | Most |
| MOT Expiry | TBD |
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1989 Mercedes 500 SE W126 For Sale – Jalopy Fleet Car
26/09/2022
The Car & Its History The 500 SE has been a long term member of the Jalopy fleet since 2014 and has seen periods of use and periods of storage.