It has been regularly serviced by John Welch's company Fleet Automotive and for those who don't know who John Welch is, he is the three times British Rallycross champion who now runs three cars in the Seat Cupra championship. I have a small sponsorship interest in the company so it goes without saying that the servicing has been carried out religiously and the car is in outstanding condition. I am replacing it with a new E Class because with two monster sons who have to be transported back and forth to boarding school and university I need a higher carrying capacity.

Being a diesel it is very economical and it returns somewhere between 40 and 50 miles per gallon - I think. Actually it will give you a readout of its fuel consumption by pressing the various buttons on the steering wheel. It has alloy wheels, CD player, cruise control, auto transmission with both comfort and sports settings - I use comfort all the time because the common rail fuel injection gives you all the acceleration you need when you floor the pedal and in these days of high fuel prices I am more interested in economy anyway. It has the Merc equivalent of tiptronic so you can push the gear lever to the left and right to change up and down if you feel so inclined or to hold it in gear under acceleration. The climate control is split between the left and right side of the passenger compartment, the windscreen wipers change speed depending on how hard it is raining and there are all kinds of computer controlled options which do most things except tell you your horoscope. The MOT runs to 4th July 2008 and it had a new set of tyres about 5,000 miles ago.

The bodywork has one or two very minor blemishes - like most cars with 60,000 on the clock do but nothing particualrly significant other than someone has dinged the filler cap cover slightly in a car park. How do they do it? God knows - I suppose it was probably a child getting out of the back of an X5. Obviously replacing the filler cap just involves going down to Mercedes and buying one but I haven't bothered because I don't have the time.

I suppose the photos speak for themselves. There are no catches, no ifs, no buts, I don't smoke, we have always kept a rug in the back to protect the carpet - it's basically a one-owner privately owned car which being blue rather than the ubiquitous silver is coveted by most people who see it.

As regards terms, the car will be available for collection from Sunday 25th May (Monday is a Bank Holiday) and before it goes I must have cash in the bank. Oh yes, it is taxed until the end of September so all you need is to arrange insurance. You bid to buy - not to haggle - I sold a vintage motorbike to someone last year on ebay and the first thing the buyer did was pick holes in it. As it was 70 years old and pristine I was a bit fed up about it and he nearly went back home without it with a flea in his ear. If you want to see it please email me through ebay, I won't be around on Saturday 24th as it is speech day at my younger son's school but I am available other than then. It is not advertised elsewhere except that another friend who is a dealer is hassling me to buy it but I am more interested in a private sale for obvious reasons. I am not in the motor trade by the way - nothing to do with it but I am an engineer so I look after things and maintain the highest standards with my cars.