After teasing myself with the perfumed inner thigh of the W126 last summer with a 350SDL, I knew I wanted to experience another one for long term, and preferably a drivable one. (
I'm borrowed the opening line from one of the more literary adept on the forum, btw.)
I came across a brief yet well written craigslist ad last week, and after a few exchanges I knew it was worth looking at. On sort of a whim, the GF and I made a trip to Dallas, and stopped in Enid Oklahoma on the way back to take a look.
The previous owner is a 30 something lawyer who just moved from Oklahoma City after a divorce and job loss. She bought the car because when she was growing up the W126 was the standard lawyer's car, and she always dreamed of owning one. In the last few years, she spent over 4 grand catching up on deferred maintenance and a few big repairs, including a head gasket. After falling on hard times, she decided to sell. It was a first for me seeing a seller close to tears over it. The car came with a name too: Ingrid.
Ingrid drove home 2 hours comfortably flawlessly while the GF followed in Ol' Turbo. Other than being very dirty from sitting out for a few months and cracking center console wood, she is in fantastic condition. The dark gray with black leather color combo is striking.
I will have to sort out a few things though, but its a much shorter list than what I'm used to with old benzes. She does have a mild exhaust leak somewhere, and while not obtrusive it does give it a sort of embarrassing ricey sound.
I also feel a little vibration at high speeds and braking coming from what seems to be the front right brake rotor. The back driver's side window regulator is smoked, and the antenna mast was ripped off at some point. Everything else, including the AC, heated seats, and cruise control, work fantastically, and the fire sale price, nice cosmetics, and excellent service records more than made up for the shortcomings.
First things first, as always, will be a thorough cleaning. Ingrid is in need of a good clay barring compliments of the tree it sat nearby for the last 2 months. I plan on doing that tomorrow, and will take a thorough photo shoot then. Until now, this is all I have:
The sellers photos were from her old place that had a carport.
and back home:
