Sunday 21 November 2010
Wednesday 1 September 2010
"This is a very special example; totally unspoilt, virtually unmarked and looking disgracefully young for its age."
That's what Mercedes Enthusiast magazine said about this car in a 2002 article and nothing has changed since. With a baby on the way the time has come to part with my wonderful W126 SEC and this web page will give you a few details and a good look at the car.
I have owned the car since 2006 when I bought it from a lovely chap called John who'd owned the car since 1985. The previous owner to him had it for one year and traded it in for another brand new Mercedes. He called John not long after wanting to buy the SEC back. The answer was 'No!'. John loved this car and seriously looked after it, it felt like a real honour to take on this brilliant machine. The result of his long ownership and no expense spared maintenance, which I have been sure to continue, is a car in wonderful original condition. The interior is particularly good, beautiful blue leather and burrwood that goes fabulously with the Silver Blue bodywork. This paint colour was only available on these pre-85 models and is wonderfully subtle. I won't list all the features of an SEC here, I expect the buyer will probably know about these cars already. It's important to say though that everything works, the air con blasts cold, the cruise control is fine and all the window and seat motors do their job. It also has a Blaupunkt unit contemporary to the era. The car has covered 93,000 miles, I've done about 20,000 miles in the last four years. I think this is good and appropriate mileage on a car this age. I realise some people may think this is a little high but these big V8 motors don't like sitting around not doing anything. Low mileage cars might be good to look at but engines like to be run and suffer if they're not used.
Regular but sparing use has kept this one in fine form and it's an extremely impressive machine. Whether cruising country lanes with the windows down or wafting down the fast lane, it's a joy. All the original details are still there, an untouched first aid kit, Mercedes tool kit and I have all three original keys. It is the definition of a 'usable classic' although it would also make the good basis of a concours car for those with the time and inclination.
The car has an MOT until January 2011 and is taxed to October 2010. The asking price is £6450. If you think you might love this car as much as its previous owners have then please give me, David, a call on 07909 547232 or email david.bradbury@me.com. Thanks for reading.
I have owned the car since 2006 when I bought it from a lovely chap called John who'd owned the car since 1985. The previous owner to him had it for one year and traded it in for another brand new Mercedes. He called John not long after wanting to buy the SEC back. The answer was 'No!'. John loved this car and seriously looked after it, it felt like a real honour to take on this brilliant machine. The result of his long ownership and no expense spared maintenance, which I have been sure to continue, is a car in wonderful original condition. The interior is particularly good, beautiful blue leather and burrwood that goes fabulously with the Silver Blue bodywork. This paint colour was only available on these pre-85 models and is wonderfully subtle. I won't list all the features of an SEC here, I expect the buyer will probably know about these cars already. It's important to say though that everything works, the air con blasts cold, the cruise control is fine and all the window and seat motors do their job. It also has a Blaupunkt unit contemporary to the era. The car has covered 93,000 miles, I've done about 20,000 miles in the last four years. I think this is good and appropriate mileage on a car this age. I realise some people may think this is a little high but these big V8 motors don't like sitting around not doing anything. Low mileage cars might be good to look at but engines like to be run and suffer if they're not used.
Regular but sparing use has kept this one in fine form and it's an extremely impressive machine. Whether cruising country lanes with the windows down or wafting down the fast lane, it's a joy. All the original details are still there, an untouched first aid kit, Mercedes tool kit and I have all three original keys. It is the definition of a 'usable classic' although it would also make the good basis of a concours car for those with the time and inclination.
The car has an MOT until January 2011 and is taxed to October 2010. The asking price is £6450. If you think you might love this car as much as its previous owners have then please give me, David, a call on 07909 547232 or email david.bradbury@me.com. Thanks for reading.
Thursday 5 August 2010
On the way home from The Ace Cafe
A bit of (low quality) video of the SEC in its natural habitat - cruising effortlessly along the motorway.
Friday 23 July 2010
Monday 14 June 2010
New Mercedes Enthusiast story out now.
The car is featured for the second time in its life in Mercedes Enthusiast magazine this month (July issue).
Thursday 28 January 2010
New shots for Mercedes Enthusiast
Mercedes Enthusiast will be running a follow up article on the car later this year.
Photographer/Writer and all round good bloke Dan Trent came out to take these great shots of the car yesterday.
Photographer/Writer and all round good bloke Dan Trent came out to take these great shots of the car yesterday.
Service History
I have all MOT, service and maintenance paperwork going back to when the previous owner bought the car in 1985. It's seriously comprehensive and shows how the car has been maintained over the years. It's important to know that all the common SEC issues on this car have been dealt with as they have arisen. For example I have just (Jan 2010) put a new exhaust on the car as the silencers were finally rusting through after 25 years of good service. The thermostat housing has also just been cleaned, it's also had a new thermostat and radiator in the past so the running temperature is good. Worn timing chains can be an issue so it had a new one a couple of years ago. It's had a new steering damper, four new tyres and had the wheels properly balanced, it goes wonderfully on the motorway. It has also had the notorious rear screen area sorted (see below). It was last serviced in April 2009 and has an MOT til Jan 2011.
Hightone Restoration work 2009
All SEC's suffer from corrosion around the rear screen.
The trick is catching it early before it spreads. On seeing a small rust spot under the seal the car went off to Hightone Restorations last summer to get sorted. Whilst there I also had other minor rust problems sorted on the rear wheel arch and on the bottoms of both doors. By the way the chrome is also in great nick, not unusual on these pre-facelift models as it was of a better quality than later ones.
Concours Win - Brooklands Festival 2007
Took the car to the massive MB Club event at MB World Brooklands in 2007.
Entered the Street Class Concours and was rather chuffed to win.
Mercedes Enthusiast Article 2002
When previous owner John Cornish first thought of selling the car in 2002 Mercedes Enthusiast thought it looked so good in the small ad they contacted him to do a feature on it.
The article was printed but John decided he couldn't part with it, he changed his mind about selling and had to let a lot of callers down. Luckily for me as I then bought the car through an agent in 2006.
Kulbir Thandi shot
Whilst working with acclaimed car photographer Kulbir Thandi on a commercial shoot I couldn't resist popping the SEC in front of the camera for a few minutes. Very good of Kulbir to indulge me, not often you get chance to have your own car shot 'properly'. Unless you have about 15k handy of course.
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