1993 Mercedes 500SEC 32V V8, 12 month MoT, £2495, LE17 J20M1

I got tired of no-shows (particularly of the "can I see it tonite", changing plans, then nothing variety) and decided to MoT it. It passed without needing any work, advisories for brake pipes. Since it was a stress sale, and the deadline for that stress passed, I haven't bothered to readvertise.

It's still for sale, I'd also consider swaps for something easier for me to work on.

I'll PM you some details and pictures. 125,700ish miles, 4 owners, two long term, one car nutter who mostly stored it, and me (so two car nutters who mostly stored it), it has a few glitches and the front wings are bad at the leading and trailing edges of the arch (but new wings £600/pair roughly, say £200/panel to paint, you've spent a grand and then are closer to a £4K car).

Double-glazed, bank-vault isolation, usual cliches, cost £77K new or "twice the price of my first house the same year this car was sold". Has the parking pole things, they work.

Coils not active suspension, M119 32V, reasonable history, minor electrical glitches typical for one of these but still irritating. Drives well but needs to be used. Soft close working on boot but not doors, seatbelt butlers work but get a bit hyperactive sometimes. A/C needs servicing or regas - was working last year, but not now. Some droplink or bush rattle from the front - it drives well for the weight and age of the car and only stresses me out in really potholed/speedbump places but then I'm oversensitive to that sort of thing.

The original original advert was for it without MoT at £1500; I needed to get money in and thought "easy project for someone, chances are it'll pass an MoT with minimal effort, I just have too much LIFE to deal with right now". And sure enough when I'd had to deal with the issues in other ways, and had some time and some help (couldn't drive at the time) to get it sorted, it passed. The worry for not just taking it in February was that I'd have to replace a £100-300 electronic module to fix an indicator glitch for the MoT, which turned out not to be an issue (if the engine is running the hazard lights flash double speed on the left, and if lights are on and engine running the right indicator sometimes gives a single flash at random). Did buy a module cheap from Germany thinking I'd be smart and get the one for the towing-kit car (surely it's going to be the same loom, just different tolerances, as this is right in the fusebox with 50-odd wires going to it). Nope. The looms are different from standard and towing kit cars!

Most irritating thing - aside from the rusty wings, which make me sad but are bolt-on and easily sorted, just money - is the driver's side rear window scraper/rubber is badly worn and pulls the b-pillar seal off if you lower the window. I bought and paid for a new one from Mercedes last year - it was backordered. I should have had it in January and still don't...

Taxed now - needs a wash as the building work around the farm gets everything covered in dust almost instantly. Just been out for a 20 mile "warm it up a bit" run. Slight misfire after 10 miles, which cleared rather than getting worse. As it's been unused for a while, I'm going to change the plugs, oil and oil filter, use it a bit and see how it behaves on a 100+ mile run.

I can't edit the title anymore as I deleted the original post, but as it is now, serviced as above (i.e. not a full service - it'll be good oil and genuine filters/Bosch plugs, but a full service would include fuel and air filters and the like), A/C will be attempted to be regassed but that's a case of "either it didn't work and I'll tell you, or it did" - it makes no difference to the price.

I am open to PX, maybe swaps - currently seeking a nice Volvo 740 or 940 Automatic, petrol with sunroof, estates only.

Things that will interest me: Mercedes C/E/A class (E or 190 saloons if they're essentially a bargain), BMW 3/5 touring, compact or cabriolet, VW Golf Mk II manual/GTi, Jeep XJ/WJ Cherokees, Delicas, Subaru Legacy wagons, and other things of that ilk also considered - basically I want a useful, practical daily car that looks reasonable. Automatics preferred but not essential, particularly if they're a model of car that is known for eating gearboxes. LPG conversion will make me run a mile.

And if you do PM/message and say "Can I see it today" and I answer yes, FFS, COME AND SEE IT. Or at least tell me you're not coming.

Not that anyone's interested - filled this up and took it to Ferry Meadows car show, lovely day and it seems pretty happy with a full tank of super unleaded - should have chased the last of any fuel that had been sitting since it was last used (not that long, actually, just feels like it). Inchcape have got the new seal for the window, so one of the most irritating issues will be sorted out when the service is done, too

Now it's taxed, it's in use. The wings, I have checked, are slightly more expensive than I thought (damn economy) - £410 inc. VAT each for genuine (wouldn't bother with third party if they did exist, though I would consider good secondhand if I found some, it's pretty unlikely). So £600/side to fix the rust there inc. paint. excluding time to strip and prep where necessary. Doesn't seem too bad; if the lack of interest continues I think I'll enjoy running and sorting this after all; will have to get a garage to do the brake pipes at some point though. Can't DIY that :/