1977 Mercedes 450SEL - Clean, Great Running Daily Driver, Ready to Go Anywhere!

Description for Mercedes-Benz 400-Series 1977

1977Mercedes Benz450SELVIN: 11603312062484 Here’s another great-running & driving. W116 Body Mercedes we’ve just acquired for our Ebay customers. From the moment I first laid eyes on this clean sedan. it was obvious that it’s received love and respect. The books and records that came with the car tell a bit about the Mercedes past: It was sold new to a business owner on March 10. 1977 by Smythe European Mercedes in San Jose. CA. The factory warranty booklet and the maintenance book show regular service was done at two European dealers/shops in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara through the mid-eighties. I'll be passing both of these along to the next caretaker along with the original owner’s manual. rare factory engine/chassis "C" catalog. emissions system manual and even the red hang tag that was on the car's turn signal stock in the dealer's showroom. The previous owner took much time and care restoring the vehicle in 2010 and. for the past four years. it was used as his wife and daughters daily driver. He passed along a list of replacements/repairs/maintenance done at that time. These included all-new window and door seals (a big deal if you plan on driving the car in a wet environment). both fog lamps. a new exhaust system including BOTH catalytic converters. new front and rear brakes. tie rods. tires and front-end alignment. Under the hood the water pump and belts were replaced. the radiator was cleaned and tested. new fuel injectors were added. the battery box. battery and wiper solvent pump were replaced. A complete major tune-up was done. On the interior. he replaced the Vacuum Servo for the heater system (also significant. as these cost about $700). I had my mechanic check over the car two weeks ago. He changed the oil & filter (using Castrol Synthetic) and pronounced it ready for a long-distance drive! I’ve got to tell you. having commuted in it every day since. what a treat! Where else will you find this kind of luxury. vintage style. safety. mechanical reliability. ease-of-maintenance AND decent economy wrapped up in one great ride? Feel free to contact me with questions or to make an offer before the auction ends. My name is Mark Thompson and my direct phone number is 206/914-1173. You’re encouraged to make an appointment to inspect and take a test drive here at my Auburn warehouse. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION Have you ever had the opportunity to drive one of these Mercedes with the powerful 4. 5 liter engine? Smooth is the word for sure. Smooth powerful acceleration. Smooth handling in the curves or on the highway. too. 1980 was the last year for the vaunted W116 chassis and I’ve always considered these earlier sedans constructed during the 70’s as the last hand-built. truly high-quality Benz with many others saying the same thing! Take a look at the photos and I know you’ll agree with me what a nice find we've come across. There was no need for a full-bore detail. What you see is the result of a wash and vacuum only. Climb over. under and throughout and I know you’ll come up smiling! Rust? Please. this Benz hates rust and you WON’T find anything to worry about here. Yes. the Puget Sound area is famous for rain. but our winter roads are rarely ever salted. We only have one or two days of light snow each year. Everyone panics and stays home. Climb over. under and all around this car - I know you’ll come up smiling!! Having personally owned more than twenty Mercedes over the years. I’ve developed a great appreciation for their style. mechanical reliability and overall driving experience. THIS CAR RUNS OUT JUST AS IT WAS MEANT TO. I know you’ll be proud to own and drive it as well. CONDITION: In total. this is a well-cared-for. smoke-free car. I take pride in the vehicles we sell and feel that you should know as much about them as possible before bidding. Accordingly. here’s a list of what I’ve discovered: Hop in. turn the key (even when starting cold) and the powerful V-8 engine fires right up every time! The car idles. runs and drives like a Mercedes is supposed to – instant. strong oil pressure (that stays high even at idle; see my photo of the dash gauges with the car running). good battery and charging system. no overheating. no brake pull to either side or alignment issues! The automatic transmission shifts smoothly between all gears. just as it should. with NO slippage. I’ve now put on several hundred miles over the past three weeks including freeway cruising at 65 MPH for hours at a time. The gun metal gray paint has had one medium-quality re-spray and. though not perfect. is in decent condition; no thin spots or peeling clearcoat anywhere! I’ve not come across evidence of accidents or past body/frame repair. Nice chrome and exterior trim all around as well. The front fenders. doors. rear quarters are all solid; in fact the entire undercarriage is better than what you’d expect on most any 37 year-old car! The factory wheels feel straight and true. They’re wrapped with matching 215/75R14 Hankook “Optima H724” radials all around. each with at least 75-80% tread remaining. Take another good look at the interior pics. Most folks probably won’t recognize the front and rear seats are from a later W126-body Benz as they fit the original vibe completely! I think they’re actually superior to what this rig came from the factory with and the front buckets have six-way power adjustment to boot; something you’ll never find on the originals with their always-broken manual handles and stuck height adjusters! There’s no cracked. shrunken or splitting leather here either. The matching rear bench has not suffered the fate of most W116 sedans and has strong underlayment and great upholstery on both the seat base and back rest. All door panels are in good condition as shown. When restoring the car. the previous owner installed better-than-factory noise and heat insulation through-out and nice carpeting. You’ll love the very large sunroof! Open it year-round and it’s almost like driving a convertible. No movement from the mileage counter. but both the speedometer & tach work perfectly. There are two small cracks near the top center of the dash as pictured. The heater/defroster system blows warm & cold. though the fan is a bit slow. There is no factory air conditioning and the clock has stopped working. The right rear door opens only with the inside handle and the locks work with the key only. On a positive note. all four power windows and the power seats function as they should and I find no evidence of any water leakage ever on the headliner or carpets. It’s a mystery why Daimler has always had difficulty coming up with a quality. long-lasting German stereo radio for any of their cars. Even modern Mercedes seem to always have troublesome factory stereos. so it’s not surprising that the original Becker Europa tuner was changed out long ago for a nice Kenwood CD model with a handheld remote. The jack and spare are in the trunk as shown in the photo. I’m always very happy to work with any shipper you choose. but you’re also welcome to do what many of my previous buyers from as far away as Alaska. Arizona. the Midwest. Canada. Florida. New York and even the Mexican Baja have done – fly in here to Seattle (We’ll pick you up at Sea-Tac International just a few miles away) and then start a road trip home the same day! As a respected Ebay seller with many. many satisfied online buyers. I want you to bid with confidence knowing that this Benz runs and drives as it should AND that it is being properly represented to you! Please don’t be upset if I miss a minor flaw or some small issue comes up on the car as NO used vehicle is perfect. Having said that. I won’t hesitate to drive long distance in this Mercedes today! Please check the photos over closely and call me with any questions BEFORE you place a bid! You’re encouraged to stop by. inspect the car at my Auburn. WA warehouse and take it for a test drive. As always. it is being sold “as-is. where-is” with a clean. free & clear Washington State title. Because of the amount of money involved with a vehicle purchase. I reserve the right to cancel your bid if you have any negative feedback. I also ask that potential bidders with a feedback rating of five or fewer transactions on Ebay contact me before placing their bid. Please feel free to contact me directly through Ebay’s system or. as outlined above. call me at 206/914-1173 anytime. My name is MARK THOMPSON. A Few Additional Terms and Conditions: A nonrefundable $500 deposit is due within 48 hours of the auction’s end. We can accept PAYPAL. but only for the deposit amount because of the high fees they charge. The balance is due by cash or certified funds within seven business days unless prior arrangements have been made with me. Please remember you are bidding to buy and I fully expect the winning bidder to fulfill their Ebay contract! You’re not bidding to hold or then come inspect and test-drive the vehicle later -- You’re more than welcome to do this before the auction ends. If you do decide to have the Benz shipped home. there are numerous vehicle transport companies to choose from. We deal with them regularly and I'd suggest that you get a transport bid from Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS). They're Ebay’s preferred transporter and will give you a fair quote. Call them directly toll-free at (888)817-6203 and be sure to give my affiliate number (2362642) so the rep can pull up all our information for door-to-door or even station-to-station price quotes. As an alternative. you might also get bids from the U-Ship. com website. You’ll be able to choose a transport broker from multiple offers. The zip code for pick-up would be 98002 (Auburn. Washington). The shipping of the vehicle and company chosen are the responsibility of the BUYER. The Mercedes can be stored free of charge at my location for up to two weeks after the auction ends assuming full payment has been received. After that period storage is $20 per day.