1986 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC

• Supplied by Jackson's Mercedes-Benz of Jersey in right-hand drive, with Petrol Blue coachwork
• Registered in the UK in 2002 and now showing a warranted 44,830 miles
• Has been part of a private collection held at our vendor's ancestral home, Rode Hall
• The substantial history file includes the original bill of sale, handbooks and invoices and previous MOTs
• Now firmly considered a modern classic, the SEC has a road presence and build quality matched by few

There were only a handful of sporting but spacious coupes on offer to the affluent driver of a certain age during the 1980s. Demanding luxury and power the major car manufacturers of Europe vied for their attention of the successful plutocrat who wanted an understated but sporting coupe as a daily driver. The natural choice for reliability, power and build quality was obviously the Mercedes-Benz SEC. Based on the W126 S-Class saloon, the SEC was immensely popular despite its huge price tag. According to this 500 SEC's original bill of sale the first owner paid ú32,860.21 in 1986 when the average house price was ú38,000 and the average today now stands at ú214,000.

It is perhaps without surprise that Mr Bugden, the first owner of this magnificent car, resided in the tax-friendly island of Jersey. Supplied by the island's Mercedes-Benz main dealer, Jackson's Motor Garage Ltd., on the 02/06/1986 in Petrol Blue with a cream beige leather interior. The original order form, supplied, listed the optional extra of rear head restraints at a cost of ú82.11.

As an eminently driveable luxury car, the natural home for the SEC was the motorway which Jersey obviously lacks and it was registered in the UK mainland in 2002 with the low mileage expected of an island that is forty-five square miles in total. The car joined our vendor's collection of older Mercedes at his ancestral home Rode Hall, Cheshire in 2016 and has travelled some 1,000 miles since, bringing the total mileage to 44,830 miles.

The car is presented to auction in superb order and the history file includes the aforementioned bill of sale, original service book, previous MOTs and reams of receipts. An oil and filter service was carried out by marque specialists Nick Webster of Cheshire in February 2019. The car is only offered to auction because our vendor prefers older Mercedes-Benz, deeming this thirty-three-year-old car too modern, and this, therefore, presents an excellent opportunity for the next owner.