Right Hooker Week: 1996 Mercedes-Benz S280

Back for round 2 for a Mercedes from across the pond: I present to you a little bit of an odd-ball S-Class and at the same time, an infamous one. This is a 1996 S280, a car that North America was never graced with because of it’s rather spartan equipment — if you could even use that term when talking about a S-Class. This W140 is graced with the wonderful Malachite Green paint and even better 18 inch Eltanin wheels. Surprising to me, despite how great everything looks, this S280 is really cheap. How cheap?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Mercedes-Benz S280 on eBay.co.uk

Year: 1996
Model: S280
Engine: 2.8 liter inline-6
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Mileage: 103,000 mi
Price: GBP 2,499 ($3,252 Buy It Now)

Exterior Features
This Mercedes S280 is solid and the general condition of the paint work is great, with the exception of very few age related marks. The wheels are 18″ Mercedes alloys and they all have recently changed, low profile tyres with a good amount of tread depth.

Interior Features
The interior of the S-Class is renouned for its luxury feel and comfort during every journey. This example has lots of features which add to the comfort, including double glazed windows, heated beige leather seats, cruise control, automatic windscreen wipers, electric windows, central locking and centre arm rest. Considering the car was built over 24 years ago, it has more optional extras than most cars do today!

Service History
There are some service receipts and previous MOT certificates present with the vehicle, although the service book has been lost over time. The current MOT has no advisory items on the certificate, and the previous certificate had no advisories either.

More Information
This is a great example of a classic Mercedes, which is still just as much of a pleasure to take out on the road now as when new. The transmission is smooth and the engine is responsive. The car is HPI clear and there are two keys present.

Taking a close look at this W140, you get the M104 2.8 liter inline-6 engine that isn’t under powered per se, but it probably feels a little weak if you are used to driving these with the V8s or even better, the V12. What is interesting to me about this car is that it comes with manual seats. I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a W140 with manual seats, if ever. My guess is that this was one of the things you gave up when you bought the S280. You still get everything else you’d normally see in a W140 with heated seats, automatic climate control, and power everything else. I really love the 18 inch Eltanin wheels that someone added after the fact and they really suit this car well. One more thing is that this car has a S600 grill which is basically a must do modification for any W140.

Like I mentioned in my opening, the S280 has an infamous past in England as it was the car that Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in on August 31, 1997. (Wear your seatbelt, kids!) Although the car she was riding in was actually a left hand drive S280 registered in France, every time I see a S280 it brings back those memories. One of the things I’ve been wondering for a long time is that if Mercedes saw a drop in W140 sales after the accident due to the massive impact it had on the world.

So how cheap is this car? A mere £2,499! (That’s just over $3,250) I’ve bought a lot of Mercedes in this price range over the years and none have come close to how nice this one is. It’s not like this S280 has a ton of miles either with just 103,000. Dollar for dollar, I mean pound for pound, you are getting a ton of car here. Like I mentioned with the C43 AMG, keep it away from the salt and it should stay nice for a long time. But for this cheap, maybe it’s not such a big deal?

– Andrew