For some odd reason, I have a fascination with old limousines. It’s a combination of being a product of the 80s and 90s when such vehicles were inherently cool and always getting a kick out of some random luxury sedan stretched to ridiculous proportions. This 1989 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL is both of those things, since here in the USA, most of our limos were based on Lincoln Town Cars and the funky European conversions usually stayed in their home country. The seller of this stretched W126, listed here on Facebook Marketplace, claims it has under 50,000 miles, but those have been hard miles. The asking price is $3,500.

Now, there was certainly a time when almost any car or truck was like catnip for some limo conversion company, and if you flashed enough cash at them, they would chop the thing up and re-assemble it to the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship (sarcasm detected.) On occasion, I’ll see a Hummer H2 limo, or a Cadillac Escalade stretch, so these conversions still happen – but it does seem like the use of limos is almost entirely focused on proms and weddings. The corporate executive riding through Midtown in a car like this Mercedes isn’t as frequent of a sighting as it once was, especially with services like Uber Black taking hold.  However, you have to admit – having a TV and a bar, along with an L-shaped bench seat, is still pretty cool.

But in the case of our subject car, what happened? The W126, like many Mercedes products from this era, is known for being constructed of highly durable materials, with leather seats that could seemingly withstand untold amounts of abuse. It’s clear that this Mercedes limousine has been left outside for decades, as relentless sun exposure seems like the only obvious source of this much damage. I’m actually shocked to see in the photo above that the headliner is still intact, especially since that’s an interior feature installed by whatever aftermarket company performed the conversion. At a minimum, you’re looking at total replacement of the front seats and wood trim, but the good news is there are still plenty of W126s showing up at California wrecking yards.

While I doubt that the paint can be saved, I suspect that’s the least of your concerns on the outside. The landau-style roof has obviously succumbed to the elements, and it looks like a back window has either dropped in the door due to a failed regulator or has been smashed out. In addition, you can see visible rust right where the edge of the roof lining meets the body, a common fault associated with these goofy roof coverings intended to mimic a convertible-style top. That alone will make this a difficult project to justify restoring, but knowing that the mighty M117 V8 under the hood would likely come back to life with ease, a die-hard Mercedes enthusiast may be willing to take a chance on its revival.