Friday 3rd August 2012

SOTW: Mercedes S500

It's red alert for Shed this week, with a scarlet S-Class

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We imagine that Almandine red would not have been the first choice of the discerning plutocrat wishing to be whisked from meeting to meeting in slab-sided double-glazed luxury but, back in the early 90s it was apparently quite a popular colour.

So although your average captain of industry would probably be more likely to peruse the Financial Times Deutschland from the rear seat of a black, silver or grey S-Class, there are more than a few red W140s out there. Heck, there's even an Imperial Red (now more pink-ish) W140 that lives a few streets away from PH's Teddington HQ. And given the choice we'd definitely plump for Almandine over that...

But colour is somewhat inconsequential here, because beneath the nail varnish red paint lies a 4973cc V8 with 335hp. And while it's not the 6.0-litre V12 flagship of the range, that makes it a pretty darn beefy limo and a heck of a lot of both engine and car for Shed money.

This car might have done a sturdy 176,000 miles, but it does have a full history and an equipment list as long as the car itself. As well as the fantastically twee 'parking masts' (what Merc used to guide drivers into parking spaces before parking sensors) this big S has soft-close doors, double-glazed windows, cream leather, headlamp wipers, electric heated seats, MB security (including 5 original keys), electric windows, electric folding mirrors, CD player (possibly aftermarket) automatic climate control, an electric sunroof, an electric steering column and cruise control (albeit broken).

What more could you want for £995? Well, cruise control that worked would be nice, but other than that this has got to be one of the most specced-up SOTWs we've ever featured. Combine that with the V8 lump, and big barge shed-cred and you've got a pretty tempting package

The vendor does have an interesting take on haggling for a secondhand car, however, suggesting on offers 'over £995' and saying the 'best bid buys'. Which, as far as we're aware, is more or less the opposite of how these things normally work...

Advert is reproduced below

MERCEDES-BENZ S CLASS 500 SE 4DR AUTO (£995)
Red.
RED Saloon.4973 cc Petrol, Automatic. Metallic Almandine Red, MOT-08-2012, 5 Owners. LOOKING FOR OFFERS OVER 995 CALL 01895 814 814 TO MAKE AN OFFER BEST BID BUYS PLS READ THIS BEFORE CALLING. Insurance Group:19, An Imposing 1993 S500 fully loaded with cream electric leather interior, warranted 176k full service history and all original 5 keys in its original MB case. Taxed and tested until September 2012. Equipment includes soft closure doors, double glazed windows, reverse parking masts, headlamp wipers, electric heated seats, MB security, electric windows, electric folding mirrors, automatic climate control, cruise control (not working), electric sunroof, electric steering column, face off CD player, spare wheel and rear reading light. hpi checked lovely example viewing essential, FULL DEALER FACILITIES* PART EXCHANGE WELCOME* CARS BOUGHT 4 CASH TOP PRICES PAID*POST CODE UB10 0DF

[monthefish]

Why no interior pics??

[Shaw Tarse]

Now where have I seen this car before

[Munich]

A shame that the left 'parking mast' is up but the right 'parking mast' is down. But then for offers over 995 GBP...

Edited by Munich on Friday 3rd August 10:40

[W00DY]

Debatable whether it counts if he wants more than 995 (set that low because he wanted it in a cheaper Autotrader ad).


Otherwise it's not a bad choice.

[AC43]

I used to get picked up from Heathrow in one of those - a fantastic way to end a long business trip, longing around in the back, gliding into central London.

There's a car shouting out for larger rims - when you see one on staggered AMG Monoblocs you can only assume it was designed with those on mind.

And black/silver/gunmetal paint.

Still, for £1k you can't complain.

[scholesy]

Lovely waftmobile, I love these big barges for cheap, if they ever go wrong you can weigh them in and get most of your money back!

[rohrl]

This is the shade referred to on the £1K - £5K Bargain Barge thread as DCR I believe, or more correctly HSR I suppose seeing as it's German. If you can see past the paint it's a hell of a lot of metal for the money.

[Luca Brasi]

Finally, a proper shed again.

[Shaw Tarse]

monthefish said:

Why no interior pics??

See dealer website.

[Oakman]

Proper 'Arthur Daley' machine !

" The worlds your lobster, Terry"

[marshall100]

I'm guessing that replacing a wheel bearing or some other such trivial part is likely to wipe out £1k in a heartbeat right?

Anyone know what you'd get to weigh it in??

[GoodDoc]

"cruise control (not working)"

How long would it take to find all the buttons, work out what they're suppose to do, and whether or not they're working?

[JasparRivers]

Great shed - I used to have a coupe version S420. Was gigantic even in that form and felt incredibly well put together so the miles wouldnt put me off at all (its probably worth more in parts). A really well engineered car. Mine even had an electric boot lid handle that would pop out when needed to stop you getting your hands dirty! Would make good weekend transport where fuel wasnt a concern - I was getting around 15mpg ave....

[tobinen]

It was quite a few £s, 19 years ago: Top barge IMO

CHASSIS WDB1400502A137760
ENGINENO 11997022035216
POWER 320
BRAND 095=Mercedes-Benz
TRANSMISSIONTYPE A=automatic transmission
MODEL S 500/500 SE
BODY 4=Saloon
ENGINETYPE 2=Petrol
NUMBEROFDOORS 4
CYLINDERCAPACITY 4973
CLASS S
BRANCH 0
FINALDATE 06/05/1993
STOCKNUMBER 0353764723
GROSSPRICE 63019.51
NETPRICE 53633.63
TAX 17.5%
DATEOFSELL 25/05/1993
UPHOLSTERY 268=Leather grey
PAINT 512=Almandine red metallic
221=Electrically adjustable front seat, left
222=Electrically adjustable front seat, right
303=Armrest folding front with compartment
341=Additional indicators
362=RHD vehicle according to EEC regulation
412=Elect. tilting/sliding sunroof, steel version
441=Steering column adjustable
461=Instrument with mileage reading
524=Paint protection - preservation freight packaging
538=Attention Assist
551=Anti-theft warning system
581=Automatic air conditioning
592=Green-tinted thermal insulation glass all round
600=Headlight cleaning system
613=Headlamps for RHD vehicles
652=Summer complete tyres fitted
668=Prod. prot. f. freight pkging with tie-down hooks
731=Wood finish, burr walnut trim
861=TV screen in rear
873=Heated front seats
883=Closing aid for doors and luggage compartment lid

ALL OPTIONS 221/222/303/341/362/412/441/461/524/538/551/581/592/600/613/652/

[The Wookie]

I believe the correct phrase is 'fear the borkage'

[myhandle]

What a nice car. People I know have had an S320 saloon, S600 Coupe, S420 Saloon, and the next generation S600 Coupe, all brilliant.

This is almost certainly not an S500 however, but rather a 500SE with an S500 badge, if the K plate is what it was originally issued on. There are a very few 1994 pre-facelift cars with the new badging (IE 500SE became S500 and so on), but these are pretty much all on an L plate. Also, this car has the white indicator conversion which was never available on the pre-facelift cars. The rear end is the biggest giveaway as the lights are quite seriously different.

[Shaw Tarse]

The Wookie said:

I believe the correct phrase is 'fear the borkage'

Yeah, but it'll be a comfortable place to sit while waiting to be recovered

[Alfa159Ti]

I'd sooner have the cheeky two-tone MK1 MR2 poking its nose into the first picture!

[em177]

Prefer the sub grand SEL from the same dealer!

[B'stard Child]

Blimey that is a lot of car for the cash - shame about the colour