Buying and Maintaining a 126 S-Class Mercedes

Nik Greene was born in St Albans in 1964, before his family moved to Norfolk for a farming life. Having always had an interest in cars he got into the classic car scene soon after buying his first Jaguar at the age of 20. Joining the Jaguar Drivers’ club led him to take his first  steps into writing; initially writing newsletter articles, and then as a Jaguar S-Type model representative, which involved writing monthly articles. This became more serious when contacted by Paul Skilleter, the eminent Jaguar historian, to write a few articles for his new magazine Jaguar Quarterly. This opened the door to writing regular copy with other classic car magazines. Not satisfied just 'owning' a classic car, Nik Greene always threw himself deeply into the history and design of the vehicles he has owned and restored, which has led to a good knowledge base. He often says: "There is no better way of knowing your car than by taking it apart, whether physically or historically." Nik Greene's first Mercedes was a 123 model 280TE, and being a lover of quality and precision design and engineering his love for the marque grew, encompassing the robust G-Wagen then the S-Class 126. After moving to France in 2004, he went on to buy and restore many old Citroens and Renaults, but never moved completely away from his love of the Mercedes Marque. He still owns his beloved G-Wagen after nearly 20 years and having previously owned four 126s, he has settled on a very rare 126 560SE, which remains pampered in his collection.

The Mercedes 126 S-Class of 1979-91 remains the most successful premium class saloon in the company's history and is considered by many to be one of the best cars in the world.