Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.
Normally most of the Mercedes-Benz W108/W109 cars I look are at the M100-powered 6.3s and for good reason, they are really cool cars and the market on them is as hot as it has even been for them. Luckily for most of us, if you want a W108 or W109 and don’t want to pay a minimum of $35,000 just to have a seat at the table, you have some options. Today, we have one of those options. This 1971 280SE for sale in California is painted in the rare Arabian Grey and believe or not, has nearly 150,000 miles on it.
I’ve said before that I’m a really big fan of cars that are conservatively styled on the outside but have pretty wild or unique interior setups. Today’s car, a European-spec 1980 Mercedes-Benz 280SE, is exactly that. This is a very early build of the W126 S-Class as the W116 was still being sold in North America as a 1980 model year and the new W126 didn’t hit dealers until that fall of 1980 to be sold as 1981 models. The 280SE also was never sold in North America either so this is a rare bird to say the least. But remember how I said about the wild interior? Well, I hope you like the color green.
The majority if the time I check out a Mercedes-Benz W126 it is either a 560SEL or a 300SD. For good reason though as if you wanted the ultimate luxury car short of Rolls-Royce/Bentley, you went with the 560SEL. If you wanted a car to literally last you a generation, you bought the OM617-powered 300SD. But if you wanted a compromise of both models, Mercedes gave you that option towards the end of the W126 life-span from 1988 to 1991 with the 300SE. It was the tried-and-true M103 3.0 inline-6 paired to a standard wheelbase sedan that saved you over $20,000 if you selected the 300SE for $53,000 versus the $74,000 you would have paid for the 560SEL. Now that the majority of these cars are sneaking up on 30 years-old, you don’t often see them in really nice condition. Fortunately, this example painted in the rare Willow Green up for bid in Connecticut is in really nice condition and probably won’t cost you a ton of money either.
Welcome back to Fail Friday! Today we have a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550 that you can probably take one guess as to why I am taking a look at it. This first-year W221 has all your standard custom S-Class ”enhancements” with oversized wheels, custom interior, blacked out taillights and headlights, a color change but the biggest thing that sets this S550 apart: suicide doors. In today’s world, the full-size suicide door is only reserved for various Rolls-Royce models, but thanks to some actually really nice work, you can have them on your highly depreciated S-Class too. But is it worth it?
Some of my favorite cars to look at are special builds from manufactures to serve a specific purpose or person. One of those purposes is diplomat cars and all the crazy modifications they receive compared to the normal civilian version. Today, we have an already special 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 that was modified for Juan Carlos I during his rule as King of Spain. This M100-powered S-Class is fully armored and a rear sunroof was added so he and his wife, Queen SofÃa, could stand on the rear seats to wave at people during parades and events. This W116 was also equipped with the customary flag holders on the front fenders and a siren to alert all the mere normal citizens to get out-of-the-way. But now, Juan Carlos I is 80 years-old and while he still gets driven around in a S-Class, he also prefers some faster toys too.
