For many car enthusiasts, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class from the W140 generation is one of the best – if not the best – models ever engineered by the company. Some even argue it was the "last true S-class," as its successor had reliability issues and lower quality interior. A total of 432,732 examples from the W140 generation were produced and one of them was recently found sitting abandoned for more than 10 years.
The folks over at WD Detailing decided to save this car from being scrapped and bought it from its previous owner. It is a 1996 Mercedes S500 that hasn’t been driven for around a decade and is now covered in dirt and debris. It needs a full wash and detailing and the WD Detailing team is ready to give it exactly that.
Actually, under the dirt, the car is in very good condition. There are just a few bubbles of rust here and there and the interior has just minimal wear and tear. Everything looks original and working, which means that with good detailing, it will look almost as good as new again.
However, the engine isn’t starting and it needs to be fixed. A new fuel pump, new fuel filter, new plug wires, new MAF sensor, and a few other components are changed but the 5.0-liter V8 isn’t ready to start yet. What’s the problem, then? The team is yet to find out but the car now belongs to an S-Class enthusiast who surely knows how to get it back on the road.
With just around 22,000 examples of the S500 (W140) ever produced and considering a good number of them are probably not working today, it totally makes sense to us for the team to try and save this one. The black sedan looks so much better when fully detailed with just a few spots of rust on the wheels arches and doors. Hopefully, it will be returned to its factory condition very soon.