1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE

This 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250 SE, which is finished in dark green with a complementary tan MB-Tex interior, spent time in Germany, Colorado, and Ireland before arriving here in around 2015.

Driven to us by its owner of ten years, ‘YTA 876E’ transported his daughter when she got married and was used in a music video, roles it was eminently suited for as it draws appreciative comments, and even thumbs-up from passers-by, wherever he goes.

It shared garage space with a few other classic cars, including a VW Beetle that he’s currently restoring with his son. Now in need of some tidying up, the seller has reluctantly concluded that he simply isn’t going to have the time to restore it in the foreseeable future, hence this listing.

The Mercedes presents well as you walk up to it with good panel alignment and a decent shine to the dark green coachwork, a hue that supports the 250’s timeless and elegant lines – and as you can see, the side profile is at its very best with the windows rolled down to highlight the lack of a B-pillar.

The stacked headlamps and huge radiator grille provide much of the car’s considerable presence, with the three-pointed star acting as a gunsight to help you aim the car through bends.

Other nice touches include a sprung aerial on the offside front wing, conical door latches that ensure precision closing every time, and a metal sliding sunroof.

The 14-inch steel wheels have some corrosion to them, but this is largely obscured by full-width chrome hubcaps that have body-coloured centres. These are in an acceptable condition, with only a few scuffs and scrapes around their perimeter Three of the wheels are fitted with 205/70R14 Joyroad HPRX3 tyres. Made in 2021, all have good tread and no obvious damage to their sidewalls. The nearside front is a Pirelli P300, which is old and has developed cracks to its sidewalls.

As for bodywork issues, we noted the chromework is pitted and rusting in places, most notably the front and rear bumpers, with the latter also showing significant dents. The paintwork is also generally faded with widespread ‘orange peel’ to its finish.

The bonnet is bubbling, as is the boot lid, the offside front and rear wings, and the nearside rear wing. The offside rear wing is also dented, as is the trim on the nearside sill, the boot lid, the driver’s door, and the roof.

The nearside front wing has had a localised repair made to it, as has the driver’s door, which also has chips on its trailing edge. The nearside rear wing also has a high spot near the bumper plus a chip behind the wheelarch, while the offside front door has a scratch near the mirror, which is also missing its glass, plus a chip on its leading edge.

Finally, the offside front indicator lens is faded, and the two auxiliary Hella lights have tarnished reflectors. The main headlamps are in good order though, with no chips, cracks, or other signs of aging. The nearside rear lamp unit is also in a very good condition, although the offside unit is less vibrant and has a crack in it.

Mercedes’ proprietary MB-Tex material is a bit of a wonder product being much more durable than the leather is so successfully emulates and the 250 SE is so equipped, with the tan colour working beautifully with the dark green coachwork; it’s a classic combination and the coupé’s pillarless design helps blur the line ‘twixt interior and exterior, showing off the complementary palette to great effect.

The seats and door cards are in a decent condition, wearing their half-century more lightly than most unrestored cars of this age. The seats are still fairly resilient too, with only a little crumpling to the front ones and almost none to those in the rear. The door cards are also in a very good condition bar some marks to the lower edge of the driver’s side.

The burl woodwork, which is beautifully designed and features some unusually attractive shapes, hasn’t fared as well though, and shows significant sun damage, predominantly to its upper surfaces.

The wonderfully of-the-period ‘safety’ steering wheel and white gearknob are both in a decent condition, as are other touchpoints such as the seat handles and foot pedals.

The switches and controls have also weathered the vicissitudes of the past 50-plus years with impressive aplomb, as have the white-on-black VDO instruments, which are still nicely legible with good chrome bezels.

The main headlining is in good shape, although it is a bit stained around the sunroof.

An untested push-button Becker Europe radio is fitted.

The boot is a bit crusty and rusty, but it is a good size and contains a full-size spare steel wheel.

As for faults, the sunroof doesn’t open, which the seller thinks is down to a broken cable. The rear central armrest is also damaged, the rubber boots around the steering column controls and the window seals have perished, the trim is peeling away from the rear parcelshelf, multiple seams have split at the top of the rear seat, and the nearside sill trim is cracked and worn.

The carpets are lightly stained and have a damaged driver’s heel protector but are otherwise in a decent condition.

As you can see, the engine starts easily and idles well. It also shows good oil pressure, which further improves when the engine is revved, something it does freely and, being an inline-six, very smoothly. The Mercedes drove well on our test drive.

But then the seller’s friend worked for the Mercedes F1 team before setting himself up as an independent marque specialist, and he tells us the two bartered, swapping parts he made in his engineering workshop for servicing.

This was a satisfactory arrangement for both men, although it means there isn’t a paper trail. He also tells us he’s carried out work on it himself.

As for its cosmetic condition, the engine bay is a bit grubby but a deep-clean would make a huge difference to the way it presents – and after assessing it more closely, we wouldn’t be surprised if you decided to leave it in its lightly patinated condition.

It’s simple and reliable engine too, so home servicing would be a pleasure thanks to good accessibility and the widespread availability of both parts and knowledge.

There is rust underneath, although the underseal makes it hard to judge the extent or seriousness. However, there are obvious rust holes in the sills and at least one wheelarch. The front crossmember is also dented and has been pushed out of place.

The Mercedes does not have an MoT certificate, and the recent Vehicle History Check is clear bar the marker for being an imported vehicle.

As with so many imported cars, sadly most of its paperwork has been lost bar a V5C Registration Certificate in the seller’s name, a photocopy of its VIN plate, shipping paperwork, a Colorado Certificate of Title, and notes on maintaining and starting it.

The Mercedes has enough character to carry off its developing patina, leaving you free to focus on preservation rather than restoration, a course that would be easier and, of course, far cheaper.

If it were ours, we’d sort out the underbody rust and then live with it for a while; we suspect it would worm its way into your affections to the extent that you’d end up restoring and respraying it anyway, but at least this course of action would delay further expense.

As for the upfront costs, we suspect the virtual hammer will fall somewhere between £18,000 and £23,000, which is very reasonable when you see how much show-quality examples fetch these days.

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