The description for today’s Nice Price or No Dice 560 SEC calls it a “great example of a legendary car.” Let’s see if the price tag makes this a bargain of equally historic proportions.
According to recent statistics, there are currently 1,012 dedicated tapas bars in the U.S. The highest concentration of small plate specialists is in Florida, where 120 locations account for approximately 12% of the overall total.
Despite that profusion of places, small things in the U.S. just aren’t all that popular. We like our food piled on big plates and phones so huge they need to be folded in half to fit in a pocket. It’s the same story in the automotive industry. Small cars and trucks make up only a microcosm of the market, giving the 1994 Toyota Corolla wagon we looked at yesterday an even steeper hill to climb to earn our admiration, on top of its current condition. Obviously well-liked by its current owner, the modifications and the spurious claim that the condition was “excellent” didn’t pan out with your collective opinions, nor did its $6,500 asking price. Ultimately, that fell in a hefty 84% ‘No Dice’ loss.
Coupe d’état
In light of yesterday’s Corolla not being more universally appreciated due to its mods and bodywork blemishes, let’s go for something more venerable and, at least according to its ad, almost all original.
This 1990 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC hails from the penultimate year for the W126 line. First conceived in the 1970s, this line was the last of Mercedes’ range-toppers to be built nearly by hand and with tank-like quality. The arrival of Toyota’s Lexus line of cars caused Daimler-Benz to rethink how its cars were built, making later models more obviously cost-conscious and less special as a result.
This being a late-in-the-game player means it is also the ultimate expression of the W126 coupe line. Under the hood lies the largest engine Mercedes has ever mounted in the U.S. model, a 5547cc edition of the M 117 SOHC V8. In U.S. guise, that offers up 238 horsepower and 287 pound-feet of torque. Those may be pittance numbers today, but they’re enough to make the big coupe move smartly. Matched to the mill is a Mercedes four-speed 4G-Tronic automatic, the same gearbox Porsche deemed acceptable for its 928 grand tourer.
Peerless and pillarless
Primary competition for the W126 coupes in the 1980s came from BMW’s E24 6 Series. The Benz, however, one-upped the Bavarians on two accounts. One of the party pieces of the big Mercedes coupe is its ability to drop all four windows—front and back—giving the cabin an airy feel owing to the lack of central pillars. BMW didn’t match this feature with the E24. The Bimmer also lacked a V8, even as an optional engine under the hood, because the company hadn’t yet brought its eight-cylinder engine to production by the time the E24 ended production. Mercedes, on the other hand, offered V8 power in the W126 coupes from the get-go.
In this car, the motor has benefited from 25 years of single-owner appreciation. According to the ad, the driveline is tight as a drum and has had recent maintenance on both the transmission and final drive, refreshing both fluids and seals. Other updates include a replaced fuel pump along with new BF-Goodrich tires all around. Those are mounted on what is the only major deviation from the factory look, a set of aftermarket ASA Motorsport alloys. They look OK, but a bit out of place considering how iconic the factory wheels are.
Drives like new
Those wheels are a bit rashed, so perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst thing to give them the heave-ho in preference of a set of factory alloys. That would complete the car’s old-school look and would likely be worth the effort, since the rest of the car is in pretty nice shape.
The seller claims the car has an accident-free history and “never had a spec of rust.” It’s said to drive like new, despite its 121,850 miles, and presents as clean, both inside and out. The only obvious issues are some scratches on the rear bumper cover and some peppering of the paint on the nose. That all seems very minor and easily fixed by any decent body shop.
No complaints are to be found in the cabin, save, perhaps, for the Alpine stereo, which looks a little out of place standing in for the factory Becker Grand Prix. Everything else, the fine leather upholstery, wood grain trim, and buttons and knobs, all appear to be in great condition. It’s all said to work too, right down to the R12 A/C. A clean title is an added incentive.
Add another one to the books
While the ad for this 560 does provide a good bit of information about the car itself, more column inches are dedicated to comparative values of the model and, oddly, some one-offs like an AMG widebody that’s really an apples and very brutish oranges comparison.
That’s not really necessary, as when we compare this car’s $22,000 asking price, it’s plainly obvious it is at the low end of what the market is bearing at the moment. These W126 coupes are having a moment right now, with values heading well above this car’s asking price, making it a good candidate for our discussion and adjudication.
What’s your take on this 560 SEC and that $22,000 asking? Does that make it a fair deal even with the less-than-excellent wheels? Or would you pass it over for one with fewer flaws even if it cost a little more?
You decide!
Henderson, Nevada, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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