*now with no reserve* - 1988 Mercedes 560 SEC black on black

1988 Mercedes-Benz 500-Series Description

As a high school kid this was one of my many dream cars. The 1988 Mercedes 560 SEC. I was just a sophomore in high school but I knew I needed to get this and so I finally did 29 years later. My ideal candidate would be very few owners and as close to being factory original as possible and from the south to avoid any salty winters.
I met the second owner of this beautiful black on black 560 SEC in Virginia with the rare auto power rear shade. He bought it when the lease was up from the local dealer and when I bought it from him, he had added about 90k miles and accumulated 131,382 miles in Virginia until 2005 over a 13 year period. In 2005 he noticed the transmission was starting to slip. As an aerospace engineer he figured that since he was a rocket scientist, how hard could it be to repair a Mercedes transmission on your own? As many of you likely know, this is difficult and not for the faint of heart and it's also why many auto shops outsource this work to specialists since pretending to do it is very easy, but actually doing it right, takes skill and lots of practice. The previous owner put the car up on cinder blocks, dropped the transmission and there it sat in his garage for 12 years until I literally brought a trailer and brought it to New Jersey last August.
My mechanic is an expert in all things German, especially Porsche and Mercedes. Within a few weeks my car had a freshly rebuilt transmission, a whole new suspension since the rubber had disintegrated and the AC is nice and cool and the Becker Mexico radio works again. The notorious leaky power steering pump has just been recently corrected too, and I even repainted the odometer needles and fixed the odometer clock and put in a new antennae grommet. I also had some body work done. The bumpers look new and are original in color, none of the tacky blacked out stuff. The hood is super smooth and the original alloys are refinished with new Michelin tires. I even got a new HVAC color wheel sticker.
What I have not done is replaced the gears in the driver and passenger extending seat belt mechanism, refinished the wood around the transmission console and the gear knob. I don't know if the sunroof opens and I haven’t tried to open it. There is a slight N scratched into the front driver fender which we tried to buff out but it needs some expert touch up and ideally the door handles get repainted since they aren't as good as I'd like them to be. Also I had the choice of paying to fully clear out the fuel injectors or add fuel cleaner additives and make many spirited runs. As you can imagine I chose the latter and the next owner can continue to have spirited runs in this silky smooth 1988 Mercedes 560 SEC. I have since moved to Seattle and now I walk to work and as great as it to have this in my apartment garage it is not getting the love and attention that it deserves so it is time to let this baby go.
Full list of what has been replaced and improved:
8/28/17 - $7,966.48

2 Front calipers

2 Front rotors

2 Rear rotors

1 set of front pads

1 set of rear pads

4 Brake hoses

New battery

Brake hardware kit

2 Accumulators

1 Radiator

2 Engine mounts

1 Steering damper

1 Center link

1 Idler arm repair kit

2 Tie rod assemblies

1 Transmission mount

2 fuel pumps

1 fuel filter

1 fuel pump relay

2 fuel injectors

2 intake hoses

8 injector seals

Brake sensors

New Hood Pad

2 Lower ball joints

2 Sway bar link

2 Upper control arms

Rebuilt transmission

Install tie rod assemblies, centerline, idler arm, upper control arms, adjust height, replace ball joints. Install brake pads and rotors etc.

Install radio repair harness. Add harness w/30 amp fuse for supplemental accessories

Install fuel pumps & filter

Charge AC w/1340

Restore fuel filter - restore fuel tank

New tires - Tire rack - 8/27/17 - $467.804 Michelin 205/65R-15 Michelin Premier A/S SL
4 wheel Alignment - 9/1/17- $133.97
Body work - 9/14/17 - $2500

Front hood

Left 1/4

Right 1/4

Rear body paint

Front bumper

Rear bumper

Remove pin strip

Install new pin stripe

H/W cover

Buff out and wax full car

Refinish 4 wheels

Additional repairs - 9/18/17 - $342

Replace drive shaft bearing

Additional work - 9/24/18 - $683.02

Replace power steering hose and hose clamps

Buff out driver left fender

Install idler arm repair kit

Seat antenna rubber seal

Perform 4 wheel alignment

Shipped from NJ to Seattle, WA - $1150
Total receipts: $12,093.27 + price paid for the car