1985 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC | Retro Review 

It's absolutely Gorgeous! I almost bought a used one about 10 years ago but it needed too much mechanical work. I ended up buying a 92 300E that looked pretty awesome in Black on Black.Later I bought the SUV from a friend and that was a very good car..

I mostly agree. The wheels on the car shown are classic, but ugly as sin. I liked following year's wheels better. Who could knock the AMG wide-body panels too. :)

For real. What I like about older Mercs is that they had a more, idk a "durable" look to them. The body, actual bumpers lol, the ride height too.

@@clevelandaeromotive ugly? Wow, you got no taste. Probably drive a Camry.

I owned a ‘89 560 SEC Silver with navy leather interior. Folks always approached to voice approval.

Brown with a a tan interior. James May would approve of that.

@@bmstylee funny enough, he's my favorite Top Gear presenter.

My favorite is the blue-on-silver with blue interior and walnut wood combo also shown here, but the brown and tan combo is also very nice.

Definitely

I was born the same year as this car and we are 39 not 40 don't add years to us 😂

Exactly OP, that's what a well designed quality car represents. Timelessness.

That's a FACT 👍🏾

mhm. and nothing was included in standart trim. not even AC or electric windows.

@@RivieraByBuick That's how modern Mercedes are. Get on their website and notice how they nickel and dime the hell out of you for a laundry list of optional features. At least AC and power windows are standard now.

@@palebeachbum everything is standard now even on smallest and cheapest of cars. You could only dream of that in the old days. And yeah...pricewise, with correlation of inflation, lets say the S class costed the same as now in the base form, but even rear headrests and front armrests were an option back then. Think about that huge profits they were making back in old days. So i`d say in equal trim vehicles were about 30% more expensive back then. Imagine yourself paying 5k for ABS or 5k for airbags or 5k for AC in 2024 new car for 120k eur base price

Mercs from this era weren't as reliable as made out.

@@davecom3 I agree. My '87 300E was riddled with electrical failures and the transmission went out around 100k, which is common with them.

Don't forget Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse!

You guys are cool, I bet we could be friends 😃

This car is exactly what F1 drivers wanted after intense race weekends. Something comfortable, safe, and utterly dependable to just get them anywhere without any hassle.

Sharon Stone also drove one in Casino. If you know the scene you know lol

It's sad how greedy execs ruined MB quality in favor of chasing rapid growth and higher profit margins from misplaced insecurity. MB was tops of JD before Lexus came out in '89.

Kiss those days gone

​@@jmin8400Solid plastic interiors VS now Fake metal- it's all relative.

@@jmin8400 Mercedes is like air travel, they once very exclusive and expensive until they introduced cheaper models displacing affordable luxury brands such as Chrysler, Oldsmobile and Mercury etc. These classic Mercedes are true Mercedes and they deserved to be loved and preserved.

The Golden Age was 1985 thru 91 foir the S Class; '93 for the E Class and 190e

Only 1985 Monte Carlo SS gave better performance at 1/3 the price...

@@buzzwaldron6195 Doesn't matter. It was put together like garbage. When people say the doors closed like a bank vault, it's really true.

@@buzzwaldron6195 Junk car though.

This goes for every European luxury car from the 1980s that I've experienced in person. Mercedes. BMW. Audi. Jag. Volvo. Saab. They all had solid, vault-like build quality. They all started cheapening their cars in the 1990s. By the late 1990s, the quality just wasn't the same. I briefly owned a 1987 Mercedes 300E. You felt like you were driving something special in that car. The chrome grill was actually chrome-plated metal. Even the louvers on the dashboard climate vents were metal. The wood trim was real wood. Build quality was rock solid. The electrical system was a whole other story, but I digress. I also owned a couple of Volvos. A 1985 240 and a 1994 940 Turbo. Though not as luxurious in terms of features and finishes, they were vastly more comfortable and had extremely solid build quality. If only I could go back in time, buy one new, and bring it back with me.

Couldn't agree more. This should be the top comment here! I absolutely hate digital gauges. I don't care how customizable and elaborate they are. Many automakers require you to buy their base model to get analog gauges. Mercedes doesn't even give you a choice. I look at screens all day, my car is the last place I want to see them.

The only iconic gauges from the 80s was the Atari dashboard from the Corvette. These boring, dull gauges that look like something out of a Dodge are not even worth remembering.

They’re not the most stylish but dang do they work super well and present everything clearly

The 1985 Lincoln Continental and Mark VII had ABS too, I believe Ford was the first U.S. auto manufacturer to offer it - The Chevy Corvette got ABS the following year. It was a rare feature in 1985 but it existed.

Some big body GM cars actually offered airbags in the mid '70s but VERY few people opted for them so they were quickly discontinued.

​@@brians8794yup, 74-76 Buick, Cadillac and Olds. It was actually a highly regarded system and still is today

@@brians8794 Yes! In 1974. And don't forget the Lincoln Mark 2 had a primitive form of ABS in 1970!

​​@@Stressless2023Corvette was solidly irrelevant by comparison. Great leap the C4, but pretty dismal in quality.

John is funny as heck

what year? fuel system likely gummed up?

The engineering was far simpler under the hood back then. I read somewhere that modern Mercedes have over 100 computer modules in them.

Except 1985 Monte Carlo SS gave better performance at 1/3 the price...

well at the time American car like Z28 came standard with the 5.0 L LG4 4-bbl V8 rated at 145 hp lol

@@hassyg4083 - And Monte Carlo, also, with 175 - 190 HP optional...

I just laugh when someone has to post about how today's basic 6 cylinder engines make 50 to 100% more power than a V8 engine from 40+ years ago. Look at it this way. If a 1985 V8 is making 180-200hp, a 1940s V8(flathead Ford) was making 85 to 100hp. I think people who never lived through a certain era just don't grasp what engineers were up against in terms of available technology even as recent as 20 years ago. Be grateful for what we have today, I'm sure 50 years from now people will compare how a car made of batteries only had a range of less than 300 miles in the 2020s, while what they are accustomed to(in that future) can go unlimited miles while self-charging along the way...

Yes some day, this and next to it in the climate controlled garage is a 850CSi

1985 Monte Carlo SS gave better performance at 1/3 the price...

@@buzzwaldron6195absolutely HOWEVER the G Body wasn’t exactly a work of art. Flimsy tin-can like construction where the body flexed so much it caused tears in the sheet metal. Premature wearing of door hinges, plastic tape driven window regulators that were broken by 1987. HVAC blend door failures. Hood latch broke. The infamous drooping GM headliner and bubbling interior plastics. Seat belts that didn’t retract (and was occasionally caught hanging out the passenger door dragging on the ground). Standard equipment undersized Chevy brakes. An alternator that would noticeably bog down the 305 V8 when the turn signal would (slowly)cycle on and off. All of these issues were when the car was only a few years old. The car was black and pretty damn good looking. Lived in San Diego at the time and back then it was THE car to have…which is also why it got stolen and never recovered. Got an Astro Van instead. The 80’s were not a good time for GM

@@craig0769 - We had a Monte Carlo LS from new and it was mostly trouble free until went into junkyard at 250K miles... although I do oil my door hinges yearly...

@@craig0769 uh, I like this Mercedes, but are you seriously trying to say it's better looking than an 85 Monte Carlo SS? Wow. Talk about Eurotrash.

That's not really true still. MBUSA lazily half-assed it and came up with a compromise for the '86 model year, still slightly inferior to global spec cars. Instead of the flush units of global models, North American spec cars got new composite units inserted into the space of the sealed beams. Compare a '91 560SEC to a European spec example, you'll see what I mean. Same problem with the W124.

My father had a couple of BMW 3 series coupes that did the same. It is cool and I don't understand why Motor Week scoffed at it.

Wow, that's amazing to hear. Like to hear some history from veterans like you.

You went to Mexico on the way to Vegas from LA?

@@mediocreman2 Hmm, great point. It's a complete contradiction.

What camp did you father guard?

@@mediocreman2 😆

Mercedes quality and design has gone waaaaaay down. None of their vehicles look good. Terrible design language. Overpriced crap.

There are still a few gems in the modern era like the W212 and W166

You need elementary school. Capital letters...FAIL.

There's a few SUVs out there that are like sports cars and they're very nice to drive.

had this been a station wagon, you would have a more valid point of comparison.

I had a 2021 Porsche Macan GTS (briefly thanx to a red light runner) and Id rather I had a wagon or coupe, but I didnt fit well in a 718 and to get ventilated seats wouldve cost me $110k for a Boxster.. I wasnt sad to see my Macan GTS go

@@Butchcub75 years ago I hit a red light runner with my Caddie coupe. At work they called me the Monte Carlo killer

People don't understand SUVs are useless these days and slurp more gas than compared to a coupe or sedan

Sounds like all it needed was some marvel mystery oil every few tanks lol, it's great for fuel systems, lots of guys with carburetors use it in the fuel tank to help prevent the carbs from gumming up and it definitely works

@@monikhushalpuri I would say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Tyler Hoover’s mechanic “The Car Wizard” (here on YT) was pulling his hair out on the same system on a Bentley Turbo R application. He had to send it out to a specialist to clean up. Naturally those fuel systems have long since been discontinued.

@clevelandaeromotive yup it ultimately depends on how far gone the system is, these old k jet systems have multiple filter screens throughout the fuel system that often go overlooked if I remember correctly...I can tell you from personal experience with my lawnmower carbs...once i heard about the marvel mystery trick the carbureted car guys were doing I never had to rebuild my lawnmower carb, even with gas in the tank over the winter, a little bit of marvel mystery oil helps keep the gas as fresh as possible over the winter plus it helps to keep things clean throughout...its one of those little tricks thats worth it in these old carbed and K jet mechanical injection systems just help seals from drying up and keep the system clean...I have a 2016 golf 1.8 tsi...known for burning oil, marvel slowly helped dissolve the caked up carbon on the rings and oil consumption great reduced from a quart every few days to now a quart every 40 days...changed pcv valve before that and made no difference...also swelled up my oil level sensor rubber gasket to the point it seals properly again after leaving it in marvel oil for a few hours...worth a shot!

That blows my mind!

That's not even correct. It's $170,211, but as usual many of y idlots will calculate this generically with 1985 as the reference. The video is from 1984 clownius, not 1985. This video being made in September 1984 and airing 1984/10/16, means $57,000 is equivalent to $170,112 not $166k. If you can't be bothered to check the actual episode description and get the right EXACT info, stop lazily misleading people with poorly researched information.

​@@jeremytimko9990It's $171,000, OP calculated the wrong figures and is off.

It's nearly $175k in today's money. Not sure if you guys are using the wrong sites or what. Or I guess it's possible bidenomics increased the inflation by $9k in one day.

@@nwezetx1 Name calling and hostility? Dad, is that you?

I hate those radios the rest of the car is wonderful

Try that with a Grand Marquis, Caprice Classic, Cadillac or Lincoln of the same era🤣 Yes it was expensive, but they knew it was for a completely different market. The engine, suspension and build quality was way ahead of everything else. Mercedes spared no expense designing and building these legends, therefore the high price. Later the accountants took over and yes the era of quality took a dive. Remember this though. Even the later year cars ended up being driven more miles than other manufacturers cars before they got crushed. People complain about Mercedes of the later 90's 2000 and beyond models being money pits and complete junk, but fail to realize that many of these cars ended up being crushed with 250k to 300k miles on them still outlasting many cars of that era minus Honda, Toyota etc. Still, you were driving a Mercedes and you were willing to pay extra. People who purchased these cars that were 10 plus years old with 200k miles and poor maintenance shouldn't be the ones to judge if a car was good or not.

@@peterarsenault2671 yeah, a GM or Crown Vic or Caprice with police or taxi package would do ok, but when this car rides like a Cadillac or Lincoln and can out handle them its worth it. This is when Mercedes made great cars. I have a 1991 350SD. Obviously someone (see above) has never driven any of the cars you mentioned. (I have a 1998 MGM, Lincoln Mark V and VII among other land yachts) and Mercedes will lean but corner surprisingly well. :)

compared to an American car of the day it was 100x better

How old are you? Ever seen another 1985 sedan perform like that? BMW yes but nothing else.

3700lbs for that era is quite heavy. What is very impressive, even by today's standards, is the braking. 55-0 in 100ft? That's what, 110ft maybe from 60? On those tires? That's remarkable. Put some modern tires on that thing and you could be under 100ft from 60, which is remarkable.

You could get SRS on the S Class starting in 1980 in Europe!

@@compu85 that’s so cool! Probably still works too

Hey! That’s my nickname for my wife too!

Mercedes would probably sell you a new one for the car for like $8,000.

​@@Mdtttttt40 year old airbag. This car was built in 1984.

My dad had the Sedan de Ville with that same crappy engine. I could drive circles around it in my 1966 Corvair🤣

Actually there's tons of cars like it today. In fact my BMW 4-series is very very similar in terms of size and weight, even the little arm that hands you the seat belt.

Actually GM was the world leader in tech in cars. Had airbags in the 70s, antilock brakes before this. They had touch screens in the mid 80s. It's why Ferrari even today licenses magnetic ride control from GM. The issue was always cost, and people didn't want to pay the huge price to get those goodies. Which is why this car cost well over $250k in today's numbers.

Which is double speak for among Detroit's utter junk.

@@MercOne Haha, wouldn't catch me dead in an American luxury car in 1984. Hell the F no. Funny how the Germans beat the Americans at their own game, by investing in the large sedan segment and achieving global domination with the W126. Without fleets, our automakers still wouldn't be able to bring out an S580 equivalent via Cadillac, Chrysler, or Lincoln and succeed at 70% the price.

should have kept it 😐

😆

Not sure what site you're using, but it's actually closer to $175k. You have to add the $1,000 gas guzzler tax.

Catalytic converter, that's why.

I bought a W116 3 yrs ago...had considered a W126 too....😁

W140 was the last in that sense.

They had their ups and downs in terms of build quality. After the W124, W201/W202 and W140 and with their "merger of equals" with Chrysler, build quality went down. After the merger ended in 2007, it got better, but from 2015, it went down again.

@@damilolaakanni Chrysler's build quality also went down when Daimler took the helm. They became rental fleet specials.

This is 1984 not 1985.

@@nwezetx1 John Davis begs to differ with you

Yeah the only other car I think you could get with ABS around this time was the Corvette - The airbag I think was exclusive to Mercedes in the U.S. until the late 80's although I remember some Chevrolet's offering one as kind of a novelty in the 70's.

GM offered dual multi stage airbags from 1974 to 1976 in their full size Cadillacs, Buicks and Oldsmobiles. It was actually a ground breaking design for the time, the IIHS tested some decades later and they still functioned

@@jameswillard1 DumsxuII, this was taped in the early fall of 1984 and later aired *October 16, 1984* . Therefore, U.S. currency, that point in time, and automotive market environment are all reflective of the YEAR 1984, NOT 1985. Next time check the effin' episode description before ignorantly commenting and stupidly taking John Davis out of context yourseIf. I keep seeing yvo cIueIess dingus extraordinaires commenting "nInEtEAN A8ty FIHVE" everywhere on this video, missing the damh obvious. We currently in May 2024 have 2025 models out right now, doesn't mean we're already in the year 2025. Get a clue and use common sense. (All misspellings above are deliberate)

Yeah that was definitely what a well kept decent sized house cost in most parts of the country back then.

And you calculated the wrong figures, because you lazily assumed it's 1985. The actual amount is $172,600.71 against a September 1984 MSRP of $57,800 in the video. Check the date before commenting...

Actually with the gas guzzler tax, it's closer $175,000. Not sure what site you're using, maybe it's not accurate though.

@@mediocreman2 Data BLS GOV calculator, September 1984 against April 2024? I got $172,600+. Probably even higher using May 2024 inflation rate.