Description

1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE Saloon

Rock solid car that has spent most of its life in sunny South Africa; black leather interior; lots of history; lots to like!

An object lesson in understated elegance, the W108 Series S-Class was the default choice for any self-respecting plutocrat in the Europe of the late 1960s. Styled to perfection by Paul Braque, the W108 had a hewn-from-granite quality that made all other cars look flimsy. Even today, almost 60 years on, a well-maintained W108 is still perfectly suited to daily use and they can clock up huge mileages with ease. 

Dating from 1970, this W108 Saloon has the M130 fuel-injected 2.8 straight-six engine rated by the factory at 180bhp SAE which made it good for 0-60 in 10.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 120mph. It was supplied new via Cargo Motor Corporation Ltd of Johannesburg and was to spend the next 50 years in sunny South Africa, hence the good state of preservation today.

The service book records 11 services from new up to 83,962 miles in 1979, the majority of the services being carried out by the supplying dealer, Cargo Motors. There is also a notebook containing a detailed log of virtually every drop of fuel put into the car from the mid-1970s to 2007 during which time it seems to have averaged around 20-23mpg. The notebook also records some of the routine maintenance carried out during this period, although it doesn’t seem to have needed much, presumably being a very dependable machine.

Imported to the UK in June 2021 with all duties paid, it was acquired by our vendor a couple of months later and UK registered as TUJ 403H. He also gave the car a good service and although there are no bills for this, a cursory glance under the bonnet shows various new parts have indeed been fitted. Used as a daily driver for a short while, the car is now up for sale again because the vendor has far too many cars and not enough space to store them – we know that feeling!

Starting promptly and running well as we have moved it around on site, the car looks rock solid and has a nicely lived-in black leather interior. The rear o/s wing and door have a few bubbles in the paint (as shown in the photos) but this appears to be only cosmetic and the panels themselves look commendably rust-free. We also noted that the exhaust is blowing slightly.

Documentation includes a V5C, South African Certificate of Registration, the remains of the original owner’s handbook (with many of the pages missing), the aforementioned service book and usage log, plus an original workshop manual.

A most appealing car all round, it doubtless has another 50 years of useful life ahead of it.

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com