“You gotta pay to play,” sang Denise LaSalle in a 1988 track. These phrases may very properly have been written concerning the concept behind driving a V8 luxurious automotive like this one.

The Choose of the Day is a 1986 Mercedes-Benz 420SEL listed on the market on ClassicCars.com by a personal vendor in Virginia Seashore, Virginia. (Click on the hyperlink to view the itemizing)

“I bought the automotive in 1994 and am the second proprietor,” the itemizing says. “For the lifetime of the automotive, it has been garage-kept and coated.”

The 420SEL rides on the W126 platform which was utilized in Mercedes meeting strains for a little bit over a decade between 1979 and 1991. Automobiles from 1986 onward (together with at present’s characteristic automotive) had been known as the “Second Sequence” and had undergone a mid-cycle refresh to design and engineering.

This automotive has a long-wheelbase physique type and evoked a sense of govt magnificence from each angle – together with its price ticket. The retail worth of this automotive was a staggering $50,950 when new – and this included a $1,050 fuel guzzler tax. I don’t suppose I’ve written about this earlier than, so I needed to dig a little bit deeper on it. What’s the fuel guzzler tax anyway? The 420SEL had a mixed ranking of 17 miles per gallon, so maintain that in thoughts as we set the stage for the dialog.

The guzzler tax took place because of the Power Tax Act within the late Nineteen Seventies and is assessed by the Inner Income Service on new automobiles that don’t meet sure gasoline financial system requirements. The tax begins at $1,000 for autos with a (mixed metropolis/freeway) fuel-economy ranking between 21.5 and 22.5 miles per gallon. It could go as excessive as $7,700 for automobiles that obtain a ranking of lower than 12.5 miles per gallon. The thought right here is to advertise power conservation. Producers cross alongside the tax to the customer, which is why the 420SEL had had a little bit further charge tacked on prime of its pricetag.

The motor accountable for that 17-mpg ranking is the “M116” 4.2-liter V8 which used a Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel-injection system. The one obtainable transmission for the 420SEL, a minimum of for autos shipped to america, was a four-speed automated transmission. The vendor outlines a number of the upkeep that has been performed lately on the 117,119-mile automotive. Included within the listing are new shocks, struts, ball joints, a radiator, an influence antenna, new tires, a coolant flush, new tires, and an alignment.

The itemizing concludes: “This Mercedes-Benz has been meticulously maintained with no prices spared to maintain in mint situation. The explanation I’m reluctantly providing the automotive on the market is I’m retiring quickly, we don’t want 4 automobiles, and to permit my spouse to make use of the storage.” Priorities take priority!

The asking worth is $19,995 – and there isn’t a fuel guzzler tax imposed on used automobiles, so that you’re good there!

To view this itemizing on ClassicCars.com, see Choose of the Day.