1990 300 SE...a lovely car! Low Miles..Documented.

Description

Today, I have my lovely Mercedes-Benz S-Class up for auction. The venerable W126 series had an extraordinary reputation for durability. And this car is no exception. It has the dead reliable in-line 6 cylinder: there is a reason that Mercedes stuck with this engine for decades, (in various similar displacements and in various models), and that was because it was easy to maintain, with enough horsepower and more importantly, torque, to move fairly heavy cars. This car has a very low 83k miles on it. We are the second owners, and this car, Alice, has been sort of passed around to different family members as a back-up car when someone needed wheels. Otherwise, it has remained in a heated garage, and so, we have not really added that many miles to it. But, the collection has grown, and one of them needs to go. We have run out of space, and actually have another car that is almost finished being restored that will be coming back to us shortly. So, there you have it. This is a good, honest car...not a trailer queen or museum piece, but a fun driver that will give a new owner lots of years of service. As I said, the collection has grown to 9 cars, and we really only have room to store 8! (See pics...LOL. Yes, I know...I have a problem!)
Finished in a classic Burgundy, the car did have a respray at some point in its life. Its CARFAX shows some light damage to the front, hood from the first owner, I suspect, as the hood paint is just ever so slightly a shade off from the rest of the car, and I did need to replace the entire front grill when I purchased it. Not surprising, someone managed to get the whole car written off, probably due to the cost of the grill, (they are rather expensive!), but I've I've never really figured out why other than that. The radiator is original, (indicative of minor damage at some point as mentioned above, so clearly not serious), and the car runs and drives wonderfully. Other than that, the paint is shiny and only has one minor rust spot on the upper left passenger side door that appears to be bubbling through. There is a little bit of pee, (not rust), around the trunk lid trim over the license plate, (hence my thought that the entire car was resprayed at some point), but thats it. Still, keep in mind this car is 30 years old.
As for the interior, there is some minimal wear in the front passenger seat, and a larger tear in the drivers side seat bottom. Otherwise, the interior is in great shape, and the seat bottoms upholstery can be replaced easily as there is still plenty of cushioning in them. No cracks in the dash, the wood inlays are in great shape, (the pic makes it looks like the veneer is coming away, but it was a shadow of a leaf off the front windshield), and every thing works as it should. No problems with the power seats, and the A/C blows cold. The sunroof operates as it should, as do the power door locks and cruise control. The rear trunk lid model insignia cracked at some point and the only one I had in the bin of parts was for a 300SEL I used to own...so, thats why it is different. I had planned to put new hood insulation in, but, I'll never get around to it. I promise! Just too busy!
Mechanically, Ive stayed ahead of maintenance items in it, as well as some more significant repairs. Ive had the local Mercedes Dealer doing some of the work n the past, until I recently found a private shop that I think does a better job. I've also had it to a very well known shop down in Roanoke, but, it became just too far to send it there, (From Charlottesville). You will discover that when I turn over the paperwork to whomever wins this auction. Most recently, I had all of the springs and shocks/struts replaced, only because I was noticing the ride had become a little sloppy, and wanted to get it back to rock solid, and it is now! Supple over the road, but tightens up nicely in the corners...additionally, only a few years ago and thus only within the last thousand miles or so, if that, I had upper control arms replaced on both sides, as well as new bushings and a new steering stabilizer. Its was just recently in the shop for a state inspection, and passed with no problem. The belt tensioner was replaced within the last 1k miles, as well as a new water pump and a few other things that did not fail, but were due to be replaced, just due to age. I have paperwork for all of this work, as well as more that I'm not thinking of now...but ask and I can confirm what I've done. Like I said, too many cars and I can't remember all of it. It has new Michelins all the way around, and I replaced the original wheels with modern slotted OEM rims...one of the originals had a bit of curb rash and they are very very hard to replace, so, I changed all of them. There are OEM Mercedes center caps that go with it that I just never installed...
The original radio and speakers were pretty lame, so, I replaced both with a modern head unit, as well as all of the speakers. Bluetooth, satellite, integrates with your phone...the works. I had all of that installed by Crutchfield here in Charlottesville, and, at the time, I originally thought the automatic antennae was broken, so, purchased a new one.. but, turns out it was just a loose wire and the original works just fine. But, I'll throw in the new OEM Hirschmann antennae, still in the box, just in case you forget to lower the antennae while going through a car wash!
Happy to answer questions, and to help in any way I can. Shipping is up to you, but I can help coordinate on my end. Deposit is requested at immediate close of auction, and then once fully paid for, as instructed, I will send the title to you to facilitate whatever you need on your end.Thanks again, be safe, and good luck bidding.