The Mercedes-Benz W140 platform is one of those vehicles that represents the pinnacle of the brand in the early and middle 90s, but sadly has fallen on hard times. However, when you find a decent one, you can forgive the reputation it’s earned at the hands of neglectful owners. The car shown here is a top-shelf 500SE that was reportedly sold new in Europe and brought to the U.S.A. by its single diplomat owner. The M119 V8-powered sedan has just 65,000 miles and looks quite nice and the seller claims it needs nothing with $2,000 in spare parts included. Find it here on craigslist for $9,800.

We try to use the term “survivor” sparingly as it does get bandied about quite a bit. In this instance, I’m going to call the 500SE a survivor solely because the W140-era models have traditionally been abused and neglected by their 3rd- and fourth-owners. There’s no escaping the fact that these cars have higher costs of maintenance than a Cadillac, but it’s important to separate some fact from hysteria: the issue with European luxury cars like this is that the problems often become a bit of an avalanche because increasingly cheap owners refuse to fix the one problem when it materializes, eventually abandoning the car after the snowball becomes a roaring avalanche.

Mercedes has always been known to build cars with a reputation for racking up huge miles with basic upkeep, and that holds true for a car like this. Yes, you’re going to have some finicky things that fail like window regulators and suspension components, but those faults typically don’t hit you all at once. The M119 V8 is a proven workhorse that is also somewhat exotic, and is rated at 315 horsepower and 347 ft-lb of torque. The M119 was found in the incredible Sauber-Mercedes C9 race car that dominated LeMans in 1989, and with this same engine in my 1992 500E, I can tell you it’s an extremely robust mill. With only 65K on the clock, this one also has many hundreds of thousands of miles to go before it’s even close to retirement.

The seller’s car lives up to the hype he gives it, at least in photos. It looks fantastic, and like it has been genuinely cared for. The tell-tale signs usually involve torn leather, broken switchgear, and a steering wheel that looks like it’s never been gripped by clean hands. The driver’s seat shows some signs of wear but the rest of the cabin is mint, with the passenger front seat looking like it has never been sat in. I am curious if the diplomat owner is retired or still active, as the listing sounds like it was written by someone for whom English is not a first language. While the market for one of these cars will forever be limited, it looks like a home run for anyone hunting one of the last well-maintained W140s in existence. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.