Money laundering? Really?? I can think of a few easier ways to scrub money...

Ad states that the car has stone chips, etc. but paint is original. Stating original paint doesnt exclude the possibility that touch-ups have been done (not to me anyway). A properly maintained (washed/waxed) car, garage kept, in CA will look like this after 20+years. Yes, inside fenders were painted body color. Door jambs look fine. My non-garage kept, desert car, doesn't have mismatched door jambs and exterior paint either...


I can see the value in paying these collector prices/premiums. I don't suspect that these cars are placed into DD duty. Probably parked in a temp controlled garage and driven rarely. Give 'em another 10, 15, 20 years and see what they're worth. $30,000-$50,000, or more? Most of our DD's will be off the road by then, certainly be considered very high-mileage cars, and showroom condition examples will be more rare than ever.

__________________
1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

[quote=sd300td;2133926]Money laundering? Really?? I can think of a few easier ways to scrub money...

But can you think of a more enjoyable way?
Besides, the key to a good laundering operation is selling something
for way more than it's actually worth without looking suspicious.
Something these guys are doing very well.
Friend in collage "sold" bows for violins/cellos/violas etc, for WAY more than they were worth, but he also was able to drop 50k/year into a nice legal
bank account. Never did see any one buy his premium bows, but he sold a couple dozen every year.

[QUOTE=cmbdiesel;2134289]Understood. Tyler is right about Mbeige and turbobenz' rides..nicest w123's I've seen personally that are driven daily/regularly. There are a couple of coupes as well (one in palm desert, one in FLA) that are uber-clean.

The cars sold by this operation are destined to be modern museum classics. I bought the finest wagon I could afford, yet it requires significant time and investment to be even close to this seller's cars.

For someone with $20,000 to spend on a pristine, restored, w123, I imagine that they have a lot more disposable income to use for investment, collections, joy-rides, etc. I believe that these guys who sell a handful of cars each year do just that...it takes time to find these cars and clean them to this level of "freshness". They're not making big bucks selling these cars for what they're asking. Making a living? Yes. Making a ton of cash? Maybe. Living high on the hog? Probably not.

They could call me tomorrow, offer $7000, maybe $8000 for my wagon. It'd take at least $3000 to bring it up to speed mechanically (steering box, tach, cruise control, getting the rear window washer working, refreshing a few old hoses, etc.) Double that for interior and exterior refinish...then you have a $14,000 wagon. Problem is that it has 187,000 miles on the thing...it'll never be one of these cars for the mileage alone. But it's mine, cleans up nicely and show well, is extremely reliable and I drive it everyday. Lets not talk about the pending front-end work that'll likely need to be done in a year or two...

FYI, one of the most efficient ways to launder money is to visit a casino. That's fun! Again, folks with that sort of disposable income don't worry about things like taxes and money laundering...you're absolutely right in that the cost is probably expensed elsewhere.

On another topic, I like the fact that someone is refurbishing these cars. It'll only add value to our cars. At the very lease keep them from depreciating significantly...

__________________
1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

Paint ,Polish , and Replacement.Investment in parts such as hoses belts ,tires ,headlights and doors,rear lens units,replacement seat covers for front seats, window seals ,window motors(if needed),brakes,dash pad,a/c compressor ,wheels refurbished.After that cost Im guessing his out of pocket cost is $3500 & change in parts.Paint $350 if he does himself.A/C himself .Car bought for $3000 or under . Doubling his money.Time, effort and overhead ,hes about right.The motor and trans would be in question though.Trannie and motor rebuild would be over budget .Just an educated guess,my 69 Mach 1 didnt make it thru total restoration, ran out of the budget and sold it under investment. He needs to be more detailed though , no rust means no rust.

Sorry about your Mustang
If it'll make you feel better, watch Barrett-Jackson some time and watch some of those beauties sell for what has to be way less than what was invested in them