One thing about living in the tropics: gardens need constant care or they’ll turn into little jungles. After all, the terrain in Central America was mostly jungle when the Spaniards arrived and built their cities. Their inhabitants like to think of them as ‘modern cities,’ but below the asphalt and concrete, a dormant jungle lies.
Leave anything long enough in those little jungles, and they’ll soon become part of it. Just like this late ’70s Mercedes 280SE. It’s the kind of thing that occurs in this surreal land that is Central America; walk into the overgrown garden of some relatives and an old Mercedes appears. First, doubts in the mind: Am I seeing right? Then acceptance and questions: How did this thing get in here?
In all honesty, I’ve no idea if this is really a ’78 or not. But it’s somewhat close. And while no one at the house had the details on the car’s provenance (?), I do have a picture made out in my head. As I explained in a few previous posts, we have a thriving gray market of used US imports in El Salvador. While most are run-of-the-mill sedans and SUVs, a few oddball models make it too; the occasional 928, or BMW 8 series, or a late ’70s 280SE. All sold for ‘cheap’ to a few enthusiastic buyers who have no idea of the ‘curse’ of the used luxury car; high-maintenance costs.
The fate of luxury cars that reached the bottom is rather fascinating to me. Give it enough time, luxury rides end up preserved in pristine condition or junked by the wayside. There’s little in between, or so anecdotal evidence makes me believe.
Let’s take a look inside, shall we? Many creatures live in the tropics, from snakes to scorpions, to fingernail-size ants and large beetles. I can go on. We only took a quick peek with my wife and it looked like everything had already made nest inside. On the other hand, whatever creatures reside in this Mercedes do so surrounded by true German luxury. They must be the talk of the town. Or the garden, more precisely.
The more we looked around the car, the more questions kept piling up. Whoever was the previous owner didn’t have the means to keep the car in shape, but did have the local instinct for curious customizing. I’ve absolutely no idea about the reasons for the Salvadorian-Spanish flags. Your guess is as good as mine.
For a moment I wondered if I should pay a gardener’s service for these relatives; to make their garden tidy, and clear the car’s view. Then, on second thought, I figured the Mercedes works better now as part of that miniature jungle. It won’t ever shine with the luster it once did, and in the end, better for nature to just take its course.
(Today’s photos are courtesy of my wife and brocito).
I can’t decide if the Mercedes in the garden is the Salvadorian equivalent of the El Camino on cinder blocks in non-HOA American suburbs but it certainly (okay, maybe) paints a classier picture. However, it’s a better end for the 280 than the crusher. It probably didn’t run when parked, but doubtlessly the AC just needs a recharge to create a little cocoon in the woods as it were for a comfortable reading nook in which to perhaps enjoy some of Walden’s prose and commune with nature, both inside and out.
The non-embossed license plate would suggest it really hasn’t been there more than about 10 years, I think. They need to swab that backup lens, I’m pretty sure whatever is growing on that could cure cancer or something.
NVM is embossed, but that’s a US market car, so I’m still betting its time in the woods is 5-10 years.
One more discarded W116 .
This one has the vaunted M110 engine that will easily make it pass everything but a filling station .
Looks like it was in decent cosmetic shape when abandoned .
You’re very correct about old luxury cars ~ I see so many like this in my local LKQ self service junkyards, typically they’re great for sourcing raw never couched/rebuilt/repaired cores like carbys, alternators, P.S. pumps, cylinder heads and the like .
Always nasty to touch often they get crushed without being touched .
-Nate
That car looks surprisingly complete; and so I’m actually going to guess that it DID run when parked. It’s anyone’s guess whether it will ever run again. Given the resourcefulness of the local population down there, I’d think that it could be made to run…but given the condition of the interior, it may be too far gone for anyone to bother with.
Just the other day I was taking about the number of houses I’ve started to notice in my corner of New England that have been for all intents and purposes (but probably not legally) abandoned with cars in the driveway. I can think of 2 or 3 of these in nearly every town near me. The yards are entirely over-grown, small trees are sprouting where there formerly was grass, gutters have fallen off the houses, and inevitably there are 3 or 4 cars in the driveway looking not too different from the Mercedes in this post. There’s one place about a mile from here where the owner has 3 parked C4 Corvettes that I’ve been watching become part of the landscape for years. I’m not sure what’s up with this “trend”.
Your old cheapskate Uncle was right. Every luxury and powered convenience is just something else that can go bad. The power window that is stuck open lets in the moisture and bugs. Likewise the sunroof. The automatic a/c goes bad and soon besides losing interior cooling, you lose the heater and defroster. The power seat breaks just after your kid adjusts it all the way forward, “just for fun.”
Anyone that has had an old 50’s or early ’60’s pick up truck has an idea of how basic cars were back in the 30’s and ’40’s. I appreciate a lot of the modern conveniences but after ten to fifteen years the reliability an old luxury car is definitely a crap shoot.
Could be I’ve watched too much Miami Vice, but can’t help thinking maybe the druglord will come pick it up after his release? Or maybe he is in the trunk?
In the 1990’s, i encountered a comparable white MB inhabitted by fungi & algae just like this one.
That was in St. Augustine, FL.
It wasn’t until i saw the Salvadoran flags on this one, that I could believe it was not the same vehicle.
A guy can dream, eh?
I had one, or at least a 280S, somewhere in the late 80’s, bought for cheap bevause owner could not figure out an electrical gremlin. Turned out to be some bad ground, failry easy fix, and my then wife enjoyed the car for a year or so before I traded it on a Mazda 929.
I ran into something similar while doing an environmental inspection at one of our logging camps on Vancouver Island. It is amazing how fast the nature can re-take what was once hers. These pictures are only 17 months apart. The car has since been removed.