JUST CURIOUS........

CAN ANYONE POST AN ESTIMATED COST TO PAINT THIS MODEL AUTO?

Loaded question. No one can guesstimate the cost without knowing all the factors. Body damage? Rust? Extreme oxidation?

Much of the cost is in labor. If you pull all the trim, headlights, tail lights, etc., you can get the cost down quite a bit.

I'd give an estimate of about $1500.00 for the paint job if you do all the prep and replacing of the items. This is for a same color re-spray.

If they do all the work, figure on about $3K and up.

thank you for the info.
none of the above that you mentioned.i.e.,condition

You cannot even begin to paint a car as big as a W126 SEL for $1500 Properly. There is at least $1000 in materials alone and then you have labour on top.
Budget for at least $5000.
The value of a cheap paint job can always be used as a factor to diminish a cars value, usually a negative factor ...