BaT Auction Success Story: Dillo the Benz

BaT member Sean1950 won this 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL from mjtsub in a January 2026 BaT auction, and recently completed a nearly 3,000-mile journey back home.

He writes:

My parents had some pretty special cars during the 1980s. First, they owned a ’70s E21 3-Series; that was traded in on a 1987 Porsche 944. In 1983, my mom bought a new W126 Mercedes-Benz—a 300SD in Orient Red over Palamino. Today, my brother and I share a love for cars. He has nine, including a Cadillac CTS-V manual wagon, and at this moment, I own five Benz products. There was clearly a sense of nostalgia in my family when my brother bought a 944, along with my three W126s, just like our parents did.

Last summer, I attended a fundraising event with my Mercedes-Benz group. There were several W126 cars there, and I decided that I was going to buy a 560SEL. Early on, a very special car showed up at a dealership in Indiana. But it turned out the car had been purchased the day before I got to it; I missed my opportunity, and so the search continued for a 560SEL. In the meantime, I purchased a Black over Palomino W126 for less than $9k that needed a bit of work, then another 560SEL from a friend who was selling, and a 2016 E-class 4MATIC wagon as a daily driver.

But then, the car I had missed buying the summer before popped up on Bring a Trailer. I watched the auction and made a couple of early bids. Then, I just watched. In the final 30 minutes, the activity took off. Two bidders began to volley, nudging the price up in small increments, but I was determined to be the winning bidder. When the volley finally stopped, I made one last solid bid, and the auction ended.

I paid a little more than my desired max. The seller, Michael at Kasser Motor Group, shared that the car had been driven from New Jersey to West Chester, Pennsylvania, without any fuss. I was between positions and had some time on my hands, so I decided to fly out and drive the car back home. Michael made sure the car was in top condition for a cross-country road trip. The team at Kasser really made me feel special and sent me off with fanfare. I can’t say enough great things about that part of my experience. After all, these cars were built to cross continents, so why shouldn’t I do just that now?

A record snowstorm named Fern had just passed. More than half of the continental US was impacted. While roads were clear by the time I flew to Philadelphia, there was a solid blanket of snow from Pennsylvania to the eastern edge of Missouri. I spent most of the trip on I-70, avoiding Texas.

I crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains on my first day after having an authentic Philly cheesesteak from Gentili’s for lunch. That evening, the temperature dropped below nine degrees. About two hours out from my hotel in Indiana, the heater fan went out and stopped producing heat. Fortunately, the heated seats operated perfectly!

When I woke up the next morning, it was snowing lightly; there was a dusting on the car itself. The parents of a good friend lived just outside of Indianapolis, so I drove back to their farm for a cup of coffee before beginning the longest leg of my trip—15 hours to Denver. It seemed that heaters went out frequently in Indiana, and my friend’s parents suggested a 12-volt-powered electric heated blanket. There was a Walmart less than ten minutes away, so I stopped at the Auto Center entrance, purchased my electric blanket, and was back on the road in less than ten minutes.

It seems that if you have aspirations of being President of the United States of America, your chances would increase sharply if you lived off I-70. I passed the historical sites for three former Presidents on my second day: Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois; Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas; and Truman in Independence, Missouri.

On my way out earlier in the week, I had changed planes in Denver, where the ground was completely blanketed in snow. When I woke up at the start of my third day, however, 90% of the snow seen just three days earlier had melted. The Rocky Mountains did not disappoint. Before reaching Santa Fe, I stopped at Fort Union, a trading post where the US signed a treaty gaining control over much of the southwest from Mexico in 1848. There were wagon wheel ruts from the old Santa Fe Trail, four feet deep. Then, on my way to Flagstaff, the route took me on a two-lane road, where I crossed the Continental Divide. I tested out the sunroof and was treated to a truly beautiful display of stars against the dark sky.

On my last long day, I detoured through Sedona—truly the most picturesque part of my journey. As I approached Phoenix, I saw the last remnants of snowstorm Fern in the shadowy corners. And finally, I switched on the air conditioning. Traffic piled up, and the last of the polite drivers I had traveled with since Pennsylvania gave way to what I was used to in Los Angeles. A good friend had moved to Palm Springs in January, so I stopped there for the night. My last day was the shortest. Following a stop at the Cabazon Dinosaurs and my favorite coffee shop in Upland, I was almost home.

I’ve named my cars after characters from the 1989 film Steel Magnolias. I even have custom plates for several of them, including OUIZR, MLYNNN, and KLARIEE.

This time, I will name the car after the groom’s cake from the film: Armadillo. Side note: I even had a gray armadillo groom’s cake at my own wedding. This car is Anthracite Grey over Burgundy, and the cake had gray icing on the outside and red velvet inside—just like my car. I need some time to order the correct vanity plate, but it will be some version of “DILLO”—as in arma-dillo.

This car bears a “European Delivery” badge on the grill. Kassen Motors informed me that, in addition to the orthopedic front seats, the car was also ordered with extra firm cushioning in the seats. This car was truly a special vehicle. The colors and the individual rear bucket seats were even more evidence of that. I’ll be ordering a copy of the original data card just as soon as I get the car registered in my name.

In the end, I drove this car nearly 3,000 miles over five days, seeing four states that I’d never visited before. It has been a privilege to be the caretaker of this truly special vehicle, a very remarkable piece of West German engineering.

If you have a Success Story about a car you’ve bought or sold on BaT, please send a few lines and pictures (or a video) to community.content@bringatrailer.com, and we’ll send you a $50 credit to the BaT Gear Store when your story posts to the site.

We love to hear from satisfied BaT buyers and sellers, and a Success Story feature is a great addition to any car’s history when you’re ready to sell.