W126 560SEC well over priced...

[Flash]

If you click on the link below it is the 560SEC in metalic smoke silver priced for £12950 (bottom of page)...

They claim it has done only 39000 miles (yeah right) - the steering wheel looks very worn (very shiny) and leather is not in great condition either unless a very "heavy" person was the main driver...

The after market PTS on the rear bumper looks awful too.

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/cars_search.asp?searchform=&modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&photo=1&state=none&sort=&hassearched=Y&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&min_pr=10000&source=0&model=SEC+SERIES&max_pr=14000&agerange=&mileage=&miles=1500&postcode=ub7+7qp&ukc****arch_full.x=49&ukc****arch_full.y=10

 

[dougl65]

Guess who the seller is?

Charles Ironside

 

[dougl65]

Cheaper on his own site!

By the way the link doesn't work is this right?

http://www.charlesironside.co.uk/Action.Lasso?-database=ecar2dta&-response=f-cardetail.html&-layout=Data&-sortField=Price&-sortOrder=descending&-op=bw&-LogicalOperator%20value=AND&-op=bw&Operator%20value='=='&-op=bw&DealerNumber=1044&-maxRecords=1&-skipRecords=10&-search

 

[Flash]

The seller is a complete.......

I bet if I was to take my 2004 Mercedes Sprinter van to him it would automatically be worth £16K...

 

[Flash]

Dash looks pretty worn too and so do all the other seats (if you can click on to the auto trader link which doe snot appear to be working ATM...)

 

[KLP 92]

Leather isn't in bad shape at all, i think you're forgetting the car is still 17 years old.

Shame about the colour combo, not really my cup of tea.

The thing with SECs is that you can buy a cheap one, but thats what it is. The W126s that are this sort of price brand are genuine low miler FMBSH examples, maintained regardless of cost. You won't have to do any restoration work, worry about rust, paint imperfections etc.

SECs hold their value well, especially low mileage examples, so to be honest its not way overpriced. I've seen similar mileage ones on ebay sell for £10k+.

I've heard alot of Charles Ironside bashing on this forum for overpriced cars etc BUT at the end of the day what you get is a genuine low mileage concour MB, and hence the reason why he runs a very successful business.

 

[Flash]

Leather isn't in bad shape at all, i think you're forgetting the car is still 17 years old.


SECs hold their value well, especially low mileage examples, so to be honest its not way overpriced. I've seen similar mileage ones on ebay sell for £10k+.

I've heard alot of Charles Ironside bashing on this forum for overpriced cars etc BUT at the end of the day what you get is a genuine low mileage concour MB, and hence the reason why he runs a very successful business.

Leather on my W126 which I sold with 22K miles on clock (had been in the family from brand new -FMBSH) was in perfect condition and so was rest of the car inside/out (whole car was in show room cindiiton). When I sold it I did not fetch a big premium. Put an extra £6K in and you could get a very early W215 CL on a W plate in far better condition and FMBSH...

There is no mention of FMBSH for the W126 SEC.

 

[Flash]

Pic of the worn steering wheel - should not look like that on a genuine 39000 mile car... Leather should also not be in this condition on a mint W126 with 39000 miles as mine was not like that...

Pic of lovely PTS (after market as PTS was not available back then)

I may call this "Charlie" up and express interest in the car and ask him to verify with proof the car's mileage and see what response I get. Knowing him he'll probably try scare me by threatening to sue me like he did to some other members...

 

[KLP 92]

I may call this "Charlie" up and express interest in the car and ask him to verify with proof the car's mileage and see what response I get. Knowing him he'll probably try scare me by threatening to sue me like he did to some other members...

Personally don't see the point, you're not interested in buying it so its just a waste of time.

The guy shifts his cars quickly, he must be doing something right. He has a great rep for selling some of the best concours MBs.

I nearly bought an orignal Lorinser 560SEC from him, 40k full MBSH, immaculate condition at a negotiable price of £13500 a few years back.

A car is worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it.

 

[Flash]

Personally don't see the point, you're not interested in buying it so its just a waste of time.

A car is worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it.

Reason why I wanted to call Charlie is because I doubt that the car is genuine 39K and no docs/FMSH to verify this and if questioned he will not be able to verify the mileage.

However, I totally agree with your point that a car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it as their are some nutters that would pay well over the market value if hang on to the vehilce long enough.

With my W126 insuarnce companies would only insure it for it's book value regardless to it's show room condition/miles etc. I guess same must apply to Charlie as if anything was to happen to his cars he would only get paid the true book/market value of the cars he sells.

This Charlie makes MB Dealers not look like stealers...

 

[KLP 92]

The only way you can insure a classic/future classic is by an agreed valuation policy. You have to provide proof of what they are worth such as other ads, documentation to verify mileage, reciepts for restoration work etc. I'm going down this route with my SEC, need to increase the valuation.

The potential reason for the leather consition in that W126 lies in the advert, if read properly. Car originated from a hot climate country, this takes it toll on leather.

 

[Flash]

Car originated from a hot climate country, this takes it toll on leather.

But what about the very worn/shiny steering wheel (signs that a car has been used a lot ?) - This is a one of the first instant give aways for a "clocked" car against the mileage. For a steering wheel on a W126 to get that shiny it would take a lot more than 39K miles!!!

I did see a note that the car has been kept in a warm climate but it did not state if it was in another country or at least what country. Only warm climate market that I can think of for a RHD car is the Middle East. There is a lot of info that Charlie is not stating about the car and it's history on his web site. Warm climate could also mean a heated garage...

Heat cannot make a steering wheel go that shiny and if it did then the paint work would be dull too in addition to the entire dash being extra shiny from the wear just like the steering wheel.

 

[ADY1983]

But what about the very worn/shiny steering wheel (signs that a car has been used a lot ?) - This is a one of the first instant give aways for a "clocked" car against the mileage. For a steering wheel on a W126 to get that shiny it would take a lot more than 39K miles!!!

Heat cannot make a steering wheel go that shiny and if it did then the paint work would be dull too in addition to the entire dash being extra shiny from the wear just like the steering wheel.

Maybe the owner only used to go to the shops on a very windy road every day for 15 years...
I still think I got a bargain at £400...:bannana:

 

[Flash]

Maybe the owner only used to go to the shops on a very windy road every day for 15 years...
I still think I got a bargain at £400...:bannana:

Your sure did get a bargain Ady...