98 MB SL with V-12

My buddy has a cherry one for sale with 27k on it. It's red with AMG 18inch wheels on it. These things ever gonna be worth anyting? Or do they just keep going down in price? He would take 20K if anyone is interested.

In my humble opinion, a top-shelf Mercedes will always have value and always be desirable.

An SL with the V-12 fits the bill. Don't count on it appreciating wildly, but it should hold value pretty solidly.

angela

I would be amazed if your buddy got anywhere NEAR $20K for his car. Here in car-crazed SoCal you can pick up one of those SL500 ('97-'98) for $13K. He might have better luck trading it for an 'entry-level Speedster! 8-)

Marty's buddy has a 600 not a 500, but that is most likely worse, since the average guy will steer away from 12 cylinders, be it MB, Jag or the like.....very poor re-sale

No really good Mercedes have been built since 1975. Early SE and SLs' were quality cars designed to really last.
Here is one my son restored and is for sale.
http://www.ranchomerced.com/1971_280_Se_3.html

Bill, I LOVE THAT CAR!!

But I have to differ with you on quality MB. The 300SD Turbo Deisel, the in-line 5, built up until 1984 or so, was the last of the real MB quality cars. Those cars are tanks! Yes, I know, not much on performance. But damn they are well build. I'd never hesitate taking my 83 across country again...and its never been restored or even had the engine touched other than maintenance.

But I have a 2004 E320 now and although I think its a pretty good car, the quality is not there like the 300SD.

But damn that 280 is beautiful! Trade you my IM. ;-)

Dang! I knew that was a 600 but still typed 500. Never the less, you can pick up a really nice '98 600SL here in SoCal for $17K.

Bill - that MB 'vert is one of my favorite cars! Kinda like the one in the movie 'Hangover'! Wish I could afford one.

Brian - what you said about older MBs x2! I had a '82 MB 240D! An absolute DOG, but it was solid, comfortable and reliable. Wish I hadn't sold it!

Bill, you have a son? they actually let you reproduce......my bad

Now that there is funny!!

Brian: X3. A friend of mine had one and gifted it to another friend, '84 300 TD. Love that thing, they are tanks. This one went ok too, for an automatic. An old Doctor bought it new and sold it to my friend around 2000 or so. Immaculate condition, I borrowed it for a few days, very comfortable.

Amazing, this car cost someone 127,000 when new.

Yup, a 3 year old Benz usually sells for 1/2 the new sticker.

How about a 300SL Gullwing replica??

Marty, find your local MB repair shop, (not a dealer) and ask the owner about what year/models are good. There is a reason the car costs over 100K and now is less than 20K.

Here is one of my son's Gullwing chassis he built from scratch. He is center in the white shirt. The 300SL is a true MB sports car!

I sold my '98 500 for under $10K last year. Some of the real issues come down to cost of repair and service parts. Hydraulic self leveling suspension system that is prone to fail and VERY expensive to replace/repair. 6 or 8 computers that control everything, and they are not easy to trouble shoot and replace... things of that nature...

I replaced the air springs on my self levelling E320 4-matic wagon myself. Cost me $355 a spring (genuine MB parts too from discount dealer) and took all of 2 1/2 hours to do both sides. MB wanted more than $2,000 and said it couldn't be done without STAR analysis equipment that cost thousands. BS!

IMHO, the value of these types of cars is directly related to who ends up driving them. Lots of silver haired little ole ladies means the prices will go down. To me,80's and 90's MB SL's have about the same sex appeal as that of a new Thunderbird- down around zero.

And I loved that new SL when it came out in 1989. We were in Portugal when MB launched it with jounalists. There were over 100 of the cars made available to them to drive around there. Saw lots of them on the road and just drooled over them....

I think the observation though that these high end cars are just getting too expensive to fix when they get older is spot on. I saw an ad for a 1999 Aston Martin DB7 convertible with less than 25,000 kms on it for $49K yesterday. That's a big hit on one of the most expensive marques on the planet...even though that particular car was not a Vantage or anything like that, it was still super expensive when new.

I thought...I can afford that. But I can't afford the maintenance on a car like that that is 12 years old now. And I doubt very much that I could actually do much work on it myself. It'd put me in the poor house.

Much rather have one of our simple little cars...I can work on these without any special computers, etc.

I sold my 64 230 sl to some Germans and it went back to the homeland It looks like the same color as your sons Gullwing ,Bill.

You know, I've been thinking about this subject for a few days - have alot of random thinking time when I'm on my bike. Anyway, I think you guys are right and I'm wrong. This car won't have noticeable collector value. It will always be cool and desirable as long as everything works, but I agree - not going to gain value.

Let me share with you the reason I think you're right. Now again, this thought was born of sweat incurred pedaling up a mountain with an AVERAGE grade of 9.1 percent. The reason that muscle cars were so collectible is that their production was stopped and something far less desirable took its place for a looonnnggg time. Big ugly 5mph bumpers, emissions testing, low horsepower, etc. Slow ugly cars replaced fast good looking ones. Those that were replaced were immediately coveted and when the people who desired them got older and had some money, they paid well for these cars.

The 98 Mercedes 600 V12 was a phenomenal car. But it wasn't the end of phenomenal cars. Even better cars came after this one. Beautiful, fast, good handling from a variety of auto makers. No yearning for the "days of old with the V12 Mercedes." If no one yearns for it, it won't be collectible.

So...do you think I'm on track here or I pop a few brain vessels on the bike ride?

angela

I am kind of an authority on dead brain cells, but that aside, as it turns out, everything is collectable once it gets old enough...
Look at some of the $hit people collect...

I agree with Angela's excellent sweat-induced analysis. Supply and demand still works, even after they stop production.

Where I get confused at car shows is when I see a perfectly restored, 100 point, 50s Nash Rambler whose owner is just bursting with pride of ownership. I find myself wondering if some "significant emotional event" occured in that car - perhaps in the back seat?

I often see cars at shows that are best described as random acts of automotive passion and senseless acts of restoration. We know a guy who spent big $$$ restoring a bench seat, FOUR CYLINDER nova without a/c.... to exact original standards. He was convinced that the four cylinder bench seat model was rare and therefore super desirable.

Rare sometimes just means that nobody liked the vehicle enough to buy one when it was new...

angela

C'mon, it's got to at least have the straight six and 2-speed automatic to make it desirable!!

I guess Danny wouldn't have liked my 250,000 mile Corvair, with a FLAT six and a 2 speed automatic (without any PARK!).

Quick, put a rock, I say a ROCK, under that thar wheel, boy!

Oh good God we had one of those... A 66 or 67 Corsa coupe. I think it was actually a standard one that someone put the corsa engine into as you weren't supposed to get a corsa engine with an auto. Worst running car that always started that I've ever seen. Pig slow, carry a fan belt, fuel pump diaphragm and tools every where. Front end shook so hard that the license plate fell off one day. The day we sold it, it stuck in first gear when we were delivering it.

Steve said - "have fun, it's yours now..." and left.

angela