1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE Saloon (W108)

Description

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 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 had just one owner. The notebook also records some of the routine maintenance carried out over this period, although it doesn’t seem to have needed much, presumably being a dependable machine.

Imported to the UK in June 2021 with all duties paid, it was acquired by the previous owner 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.

Our vendor acquired the car on a whim via Brightwells in 2022 to join his collection of cars – as you do! He sent it to a Mercedes specialist for a check-over which resulted in the cold start mechanism being overhauled, the cooling system flushed, the valve clearances adjusted, the gear selector mechanism rebuilt plus various other jobs, as detailed in invoices on file. Although the car has air conditioning, the compressor was removed to create more working space under the bonnet and is now stored in the boot (condition unknown).

The car has been sat in storage since and has not been used on the road, the vendor reporting that it always starts easily and has been running well when taken for short drives on private land. It is only up for sale again because the vendor has far too many cars and not enough space to store them – we know that feeling!

As you can see in the photos, the car looks rock solid with excellent chromework and a nicely mellowed black leather interior. The rear o/s wing and door have a few bubbles in the paint (as pictured) 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 some of the pages missing), the aforementioned invoices, service book and usage log, plus an original workshop manual.

A most appealing car all round, it has barely been driven since arriving in the UK and will doubtless benefit from some precautionary checks before any long journeys are undertaken.

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