This is truly a car with a great and completely documented history.  It was bought new and lived its entire life in the south by my aunt who lives in Greeneville, TN.  She and my uncle cherished this car and kept it even after a ’73 450SLC and two more new Mercedes.  Always garaged and supported with a chronological order of records from day one to last year.  Always maintained at no cost, she only passed this car on to me because I am close to her and because I am a car collector of the first order and she knew I would take care of it.  I grew up visiting this car every few years since it was new.  Last time I saw it before my ownership was at my uncle’s passing, he was a GP doctor who had more than 500 patients attend his funeral.  He was a devoted, intelligent man who used a Subaru everyday and the 4.5 was only for special occasions after my aunt got a new Mercedes 300E in 1991 and a 320E in ’94.  Before the ’72 Mercedes my aunt and uncle bought a new Oldsmobile Ninety Eight every two years.  Their last one was a ’70 model which was traded in on the new ’72 280SEL 4.5 at Dan Hill Mercedes/Oldsmobile in Asheville N.C.  Remember this was back when Mercedes were still a novelty and could not support a dealer on their own.  The $11,198.00 price tag also helped considerably to keep the American sale numbers down.

 This Mercedes is in fantastic original condition for the age, the slight patina only adds to the great character these cars were imbued with.  I wish Mercedes still made them like this.  No silly air suspension, a taught, trim body, incredible body structure, good vision out, and great ergonomics.  Nowadays Mercedes just dollops on the trick accessory goop and scales back the hidden structure that some people who are not automobile enthusiasts cannot see or feel.  This Mercedes drives, brakes, and accelerates with vigor and precision that is not out of place on any modern car.  It drives considerably better than Cadillac’s that came a decade and half later.  In my opinion it drives better then a 6.9 or most S Class since they became so large.  The current E Class still carries the flame though if configured correctly.  This might be a humorous statement coming from such a devoted Cadillac collector but Cadillac’s to me were always about the styling and reliability, they can be easily modified enough to drive good, but not as good as the 4.5 came from the factory.  Where the Cadillac wears its arrogance on its sleeve for all to view, this old Mercedes keeps its arrogance hidden for the driver to FEEL and not for others to see.  This old Mercedes still gives that feeling of vast superiority when driven.  You cannot hide thorough engineering.

This 1972 280 SEL 4.5 liter, overhead cam V8 with the long wheelbase has no equal when it was made when it came to world class sedans.  The 6.3 gives you better power, but you have to put up with the always leaking air suspension that gives no direct benefit over steel springs.  The bronze paint still glistens and the cognac interior has NO tears, sun fade, or holes in the original carpet.  The dash board has no cracks and the rear package shelf no damage.  The trunk still has the original unstained rubber mat.  The original spare has never been on the ground.  You get the idea by now the luck I have in adding this car to my car collection.