This is literally my favorite Mercedes-Benz in the 1980s.

When Mercedes were built like tanks!

@misterpotato4775

10 ай бұрын

Only time :')

@faheemabbas3965

10 ай бұрын

And now they’re the definition of planned obsolescence. Luxury as a peace of mind is dead.

@Clement.V

10 ай бұрын

When Mercedes do real cars :/

Peak Mercedes. I love the color, the look, everything.

The people who drove these cars back in the 1980s either ran corporations or entire countries

One of the best cars ever made. Too bad all MBs are crap today.

I have the W126 as an icon. If I was to point a single automobile that epitomizes timeless elegance, it would be the W126 560SEL. As said within sports "form is temporary, class is permanent".

Dang, that’s so interesting how you can change which sound you want the horn to make!

@Kmzhr

10 ай бұрын

It’s the “city” and the “country” horn mode

I love the 560 SEL the best Mercedes Benz ever built in my opinion. The reason why I like foreign cars especially from Germany 🇩🇪 is because the attention to detail. I love how complex the engine is and the drive quality is amazing. I just wish newer model’s of Mercedes Benz would be reliable as the 560 SEL.

@faheemabbas3965

10 ай бұрын

They will never be ever again. The idea of luxury providing a peace of mind is dead. They’re running on their badge for status now. Even a Genesis nowadays is higher in quality compared to a modern Benz. Look at Mercedes’ advertisements as of recent. All show off and making it “the thing”.

You put the price sticker. The thing is, it might seem like a lot today, but people's salaries back then were livable. Growing up back then, I can tell you that the price was reasonable for that model of Mercedes. My father had a similar model that he paid $75,000 for; it was a 1989 Mercedes 300. He later upgraded to a Mercedes 600 SEL 1992, which cost $100,000. Keep in mind that my father was a diplomat, so he didn't pay any taxes on top of that. The point is that the prices look extreme now, but back then, they looked the same as they do now. The difference is that people's salaries have not gone up since the '90s. Of course, this is my observation and opinion and I'm speaking from a European perspective.

so back in the day, and bentley/rolls were known for this, the horn is called a country and city horn, the idea being that one reverbed less in the countryside. fancy

Back when they were durable cars and worth the premium.....

It's hilarious that Lincoln and especially Cadillac were selling absolute dinosaurs as the best in luxury while this was also in showrooms. Their *only* advantage was price and unsophisticated mechanicals.

@bwofficial1776

10 ай бұрын

You bought a Cadillac or Lincoln if you loved chrome and wanted to show off. You bought a Mercedes-Benz if you cared about the engineering and solid driving experience. You bought a BMW if you liked Mercedes-Benz but wanted a little more sport in exchange for a slight tradeoff in quality.

@doug6191

10 ай бұрын

@bwofficial1776 Now, they're all ugly, and Korea has the best-looking, best-equipped choice. Sure, the Germans have more powerful options and better prestige, but...they're hideous and ridiculously expensive. And the Escalade is a nice Tahoe.

@TassieLorenzo

10 ай бұрын

"unsophisticated mechanicals" Isn't the front wheel drive in the Sedan de Ville meant to be "more modern" than the old-fashioned rear drive Mercedes according to GM? 🙂

@wigletron2846

10 ай бұрын

Eh, I'd argue it's more if you prefer driving a floating couch VS a more performance oriented machine.

Those SELs Brought back a lot of memories. They were cast cars when I worked on ‘the fifth element’ back in 90s. Great video.

Love these old Mercs

I had my V126 for 2 years. Only complaint was the fuel consumption. I always thought the 126 cars were the pinnacle of MB build but recently I bought a 92 W140 400SE and it’s a toss up. The early W1240 took the 126 chassis to a higher level with more gadgets but the ride has even more waft. I feel like setting the cruise at 120mph. The ride is that good.

If they built the W124/126 today. A car for life.

I picked up a '91 300SE about 2 years ago, the polar opposite of the W126 price spectrum. A rebuilt title $1500 beater of a car, but it is AWESOME. Despite a checkered past, the car has never let me down. It always starts and always gets me where I need to go. Sure there are a lot of little problems here and there, but it has all been straightforward to fix in my driveway with easily available (and cheap) parts!

@M123OCT

8 ай бұрын

I'm interested to know how and where you get parts. Do you mean new, or do you have to hunt down used parts? This is my dream car, but that aspect worries me. Cheers.

@damilolaakanni

5 ай бұрын

You can't say that about newer Mercedes models, unfortunately. These days they chase profits at the expense of build quality and reliability.

The previous gen had hvac issues, it was an overly complex electronic controlled valve system that failed. There was a manually activated valve repair. The “L” in SEL meant it was an extended wheelbase model The “E” meant it was optioned with an ethanol/gasoline engine. If it had a diesel it would be SD or SDL. Nice. Review, thank you.

@garyzhang5099

5 ай бұрын

e means injection gas engine, not carburetor

Back when they built cost no object automobiles and charged accordingly.

Many will tell you this was peak S class - build quality and overall competence compared to anything offered at the time - though the successor W140 also has its fans (who tend to like the more tnaklike feel and available 12). By the early 2000s that had started to fade and big Merc became just another luxo sedan.

If you had a 560SEL, SL, or SEC, you knew you absolutely made it in the world.

Crazy how US emissions choked those engines. In Europe that exact engine could have up to 300hp

@bwofficial1776

10 ай бұрын

That's why we have the 25-year import ban. People were importing 500SLs and 500SELs that were both more powerful and cheaper than the officially imported 560SL and 560SELs. Mercedes-Benz was getting mad about the lost revenue so they lobbied Congress for the ban, claiming that the imports were not compliant with US regulations.

I remember reviewers gushing about this car when it was brand new, but I also remember that they often highlighted how vague the recirculating ball steering mechanism of it was, especially when compared to the BMW 7-Series of that era.

@TassieLorenzo

10 ай бұрын

I thought BMW also had recirculating ball steering, at least on models with the V8 engine. Or was that only for the E34 5 Series (and presumably the earlier E28 as well)?

@sammyt3514

10 ай бұрын

@@TassieLorenzo It did, but BMW's implementation was markedly sportier/more alert per the reviews I remember reading at the time.

An absolute icon, majestic, elegant, timeless, everything Mercedes isn’t today. A real shame for the oldest car company in the world whose reputation for quality was hard earned through the decades, now has effing accountants making the decisions and spotty faced marketeers who wouldn’t recognise a W126 if it fell on their heads.

A beautiful, solid and prestigious car especially when new..

That’s funny that the car didn’t lurch when putting it into gear. Mine would lurch along with the rear suspension dropping down in drive or lifting in reverse. Also I had a lot of fun toggling the horn back and forth when the Saints won the super bowl. I miss that feature

Such a fine car and that green is fantastic. I'd take one of these in good shape over an American land yacht. American land yachts were like tractors compared to this. They're cheaper to fix but the S-Class is more rewarding to drive. It's a shame Mercedes-Benz had to abandon their cost-no-object engineering and start chasing gadgetry and flash like everyone else.

The 560 looks majestic in that Green! Absolutely beautiful.

Missed opportunity to hold the horn down and toggle the switch back and forth

This was my first car which my late father passed it on to me in 1999 when he bought w140 s600 1996 Drove it until 2013 it was incredibly reliable except issues with fuel distributor, God i miss that car so much

When Germans were still on the assembly line.

What a cool car, I love everything about the interior!

Town and country horn. I owned 3 W124 Mercedes-Benz, best built cars of that Era! That color on your test driver is my favorite, I really thought black on black would be gangster, but this color is beautiful!

Should you desire, these cars are built to cruise at triple digits speeds until you run out of gas.

@bwofficial1776

10 ай бұрын

American land yachts were designed to cruise at 55MPH, maybe 65 if you wanted to push it. Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs were designed for the Autobahn.

Actually, the two horn settings are intentionally designed when driving in city and in countryside when distances are longer. Town and country horns.

Beautiful and rare color combo. the folks had a 91 560SEL, beautiful car, kept it till 2013 and Dad told me he was kicking himself for selling it, I'm kicking myself for not buying it.... the S550 he bought wasn't as nice...

Great review of an exceptional car !

They gave the horn a nice mode and a mean mode

This car is a really cool and it's reliable, V8 and RWD But OMG I really really hate the automatic gearbox

@travisseabrooks2739

10 ай бұрын

Mercedes slow shifting transmission and that stiff gas pedal lol

@bldontmatter5319

10 ай бұрын

Super slow and smooth

Great cars. My Dad once had a '94 E320 that was in a similar green color. But that color was rare on S-classes, as I recall. Most of them were black or blue.

Me patiently waiting for the 300 SDL review:

Love it. Hate Bosch fuel system. Crave and earlier model! I currently drive a 2002 s500 and a 2006 r500 in winter! Hate the R. Love the S!

My father had one of these and he loved the car. Until something broke every 5 weeks, even though it was only driven about 3 times a month. It’s pre ‘93 Mercedes, classic Benz. We realize years later, that as much time went into planning the elegance of the car, the same amount of planning went into obsolescence.

Love that car!

This design isn't timeless imo but it's somehow nice to see it's design especially in the wider body version. I'm not quite sure which one but the wider ones was and still one of the greatest widebody on luxury cars.

Nice job. I'm near Toledo. Shopping an '89 560SEL with 135,000 miles. I hear the problems are few, but expensive.

It didn't have air suspension, it had rear hydraulic suspension called SLS which is very reliable. The patent was bought from Citroen and was also used by super cars

The Becker radios were fairly panned for their button labeling.

You need to push the gas pedal through the kick down switch at the bottom if you want the lowest gear possible for acc, or it will drop max 1 gear down only.

And the horn switching was for use in the city and the country.

This was true luxury back in the day. I do not believe the gap that this car had over others still exists today. Also I just saw this on Coming to America 😀 As always Zack, great job

I has the same but in the short body a 280SE the 6 cilinders

My brother had one of these. It was sparkle blue. It was also a Hot Wheels.

Exquisite

Rock Hudson movie star bought this same car when very ill with AIDS took his friends for a drive upon receiving delivery from the dealership and while driving down his drive took out the gate stone pillar on the way out and never even stopped to check the damage and just kept driving in to BeverlyHills . He passed away not long after the event 🙏 RIP Rock

Should’ve hit the switch to downshift when you floored it(switch built into the gas pedal). Would’ve felt a bit quicker for sure.

This car is from a different mindset era. Talk soft walk with big personality/ stick.

This was the time when Mercedes Benz made the iconic cars. I had the 1986 E300 ,I got depressed driving others cars after I sold it. I am thinking to get one of these Sel 560 or 500E but I am not sure if spare parts are available and most important, are mechanics able to fix a Mercedes car that is 40 years old?

The rear suspension is hydraulic not air . It’s similar to the Citroen system, if it maintained it’s not less reliable than standard springs

@immortald8417

7 ай бұрын

Mercedes bought the patent from Citroen

Nice 😀

City horn and Country horn.

smooth cars.

I have fallen so out of love with contemporary cars, built like cheap shit with crappy screens everywhere - this is my dream car. Analogue class. Are parts available, or would you spend your whole life searching for used stuff?

Мечти няма вече коли само кенефи

I have one now

Fit for JR

Mechanical fuel injection, and mechanical ABS. Think how complex that needs to be, not having a motherboard running the show.

God forbid that Mercedes would make the S Class, or even the E Class for that matter, front wheel drive.

Horsepower was 275 from 87 to 91

Mi gusta

This channel is just keeps improving and has reached an amazing level in car reviews IMO, And Zack my buddy thank you so much for making such fascinating videos and sharing knowledge with petrolheads like yourself 🫡🫡.

A 1500 dollar gas guzzler tax to drive this car in the mid 80s, that is some perspective

Hydraulic windows too. Yikes.