I think a good 6.3 would be in the $30k-$40k range, probably closer to $40k. But if I were to buy one I'd hunt all over the country for an unrestored totaly original and perfect example. I'd stay away from one thats been messed with unless it was done by a known 6.3 place.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

You're probably correct, I'm afraid to start looking at them because I would probably end up buying another toy that I don't need. I've seen decent looking ones advertised in the $20-30 range, but I have no idea of their real condition.

I agree, a good un-restored car is the only way to go. I've also heard that the 6.3s had a reputation for eating transmissions, not cheap. Speaking of gassers, I bumped into a guy in MN last week with a 76 450SL with about 30K original miles, he's going to bring it to work next week so I can check it out when I get back there.

I think a 6.3 would be a good car to buy, if you purchase right how can you lose much money? A good example isn't going to drop in value.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Maybe so, but I can think of many other places where it would be wiser to invest $40K.

Cars are never a good investment. Period.

LOL, cars are not investments, they are toys. The point is to lose a little as possible on your toys (at least if your wife is paying attention). Besides, I would rather put $40K in a 6.3 than in a new car that will be worth $5-10,000 in a few years. I'm not going to buying one anytime soon anyway (my wife is paying attention).

I wasn't talking about an investment, I was talking about a toy that would probably hold its value enough to not cost much.

As for investing, I can think of some really great places to put $40k, want to buy some real estate?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

There are buyers out there for this car at this price. Think about it, new corolla or almost new 300CD???? Give me the 300D any day. Although, Id rather the 300D over the coupe. Yes, if I where car shopping I would concider this car, no matter how many people tell me im crazy.

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1977 Mercedes 300D

Cars are generaly not good investments. A 300D, you will have a hard time finding a buyer when you are ready to sell a pristien example. But its possible to buy this car and loose little money if you have the time to resell it.

The semi exotic or exotic car market is much better for this. Say you buy a classic 911, or a ferrari or even an E500. It will be much easier to sell for top dollar, and if you do a good job buying a decent example it might just even apreciate a little. Basic demand and supply. As time goes on, decent example s decline, but not as fast as demand.

One can argue This is happening right now with 300Ds. I wanted one 10 years ago. Price was around 8K for a decent one. A decent one now is about the same.

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1977 Mercedes 300D

Yup, a friend of mine (also my indy mechanic) just sold a pretty decent 84 300D (120K miles) for $12K within 24 hours of listing it. This car was a nice driver, but not even close to the CD listed here. I don't think I would have paid more than about $10K for it, but there is definitely a market out there. As you said, look at what kind of new POS you can get for $20-30K now.

99.9% of the time, cars are not good investments, they are abysmal investments!
By the time you figure out maintenance in real today dollars, storage, and opportunity cost plus any restoration put into it only cars that you have a chance to sell north of 100 grands are even worth considering...

As mentionned above cars are toys...

As for 6.3 and 6.9 you can get decent drivers for $7000-10000. I have seen a few over the last few months in Dallas. Granted, they were no garage queens but they were running nice and did not have rust.
Last month I was checking a 6.9 in Mexico City, absolutely flawless as far I could see. The dealer was asking $18000. It had 95000 mi.

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Aquilae non capunt muscas! (Eagles don't hunt flies!)


1979 300SD Black/Black MBtex239000mi
1983 300TD euro-NA. White/Olive Cloth-MBtex 201000mi. Fleet car of the USA embassy in Morocco
1983 240D Labrador Blue/Blue MBtex 161000mi

Agreed. Im already thinking 5-6 years down the line, when my current car will be close to the end of its life. It's going to be very difficult to find a quality car to drive!

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1977 Mercedes 300D

I agree, the market for a good 300D driver has been pretty flat for quite a few years. There are still a few good ones around, and a lot of junk. The WVO crowd is driving the price of the junk up a little, but that's temporary. In a few years, the junk will be gone and the prices of the decent ones may start to slowly climb.

Why is your car going to be at the end of it's life in 5-6 years, what are you planning on doing to it?

Yep the heard is thinning, at an amazingly fast rate, I see fewer and fewer nice W123's and W126's every year. Most are rusting out.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I'm not questioning the re-sellers' integrity in any way and I may kick myself ten years from now for not negotiating a deal on this one, but for now, my opinion is steadfast. I would be wasteing his and my time. It simply is not a good value proposition and not worth that price.

Rationale for my position? The least of which is the risk associated with all the typical problematic items on this model car which will very likely require replacement soon simply due to their age or dry-rot from lack of use. I suppose it is my concern for all of the known unknowns that have not materialized, yet which are predictable under normal use or forecast within a historical interval range. When these issues do occur, and you can trust that they will, you will still have to make the repair and pay the price...anyway.

I know the description stated the 30K mile service was performed twice (and I do not understand that) but that service does not include R&R of any of these suspect parts!

For example, front and rear windshield seals, brakelines, flexdisc, front end bushings, rear sway bar bushings, motor and transmission mounts, oil filter housing gasket, AC compressor, HVAC controller, cruise control module, window motors and the vaccuum system. Not to mention the cost of a transmission failure and brake system problems which are heightened risks in my opinion because of the low frequency of use indicated by the unusually low mileage. Repairs such as those means the $21K purchase price could easily and quickly translate into a total $27-30K expenditure for what amounts to car with a value of only $12-15K at best.

To me, a moderate mileage example is more of a known quantity since many of the problematic issues will have been realized and repaired or at least are predictable and can be factored into the value proposition equation.

Simply stated, his asking sales price is at least 25 percent over the realistic value of the car. I am confident he will eventually find a buyer and they may be perfectly happy to pay that price.

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Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis