Is it just me or has the market value gone up?
 

I've just noticed in the past 4-6 months or so, that the "asking" price for diesel w123 w126 w116 and similar vehicles has gone up to pretty much a minimum of $5000 up to $7500ish

But the question is, are they actually selling for these prices? At least in the Craigslist areas that I stock most of them seem to just sit for months and months but I dunno a few must sell.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I know if you wait for the right buyer anything can be worth anything but it just seems to be trending upward

Anecdotally, yes.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the SoCal w123 market for about 18 months now. At the beginning of the search, I remember there being a lot more options, with some decent ones around 2k. Now, the decent ones are at 4-5k. Again, this is anecdotal, but I see a lot less vehicles for sale, so the demand has increased.
Where do you live?

I think I would take the US$2000 for my 85 300D :)

Yes, the pricing for all older German steel has went up. Compounding matters is that old German steel in the yards is drying up. As the number of real clunkers has went down, and the price of true survivors has jumped, the middle of the road cars has jumped in pricing too.

Good point Greazzer. It’s getting very hard to find cheap parts in junk yards

As the list of NLA parts grow, the junkyard cars as a resource will increase in value. However, will the yards stop crushing them after 30 days? I wish I had the storage a few years ago as I got rid of literally a ton of parts. Now it’s too late since ‘it’ is gone. I’m clearing out the remainder as it makes no sense to hang onto this stuff at this point

I'm getting ready to sell an 84SD and hate to think of the money and time that is sunk into it. Unfortunately there is more that needs to be done before i would consider it comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.

Front suspension, brakes and lots of little things and not so little remain. We'll see what happens. Perhaps it will be wrecked. Then the insurance company will pay $3k to get it settled. Probably won't sell for that.

Im in Seattle, so Ive been stocking all of washington and oregon for a few years.

Ya we used to have a lot of turbo diesels for about 2500 now its all up.

but like i said, i dunno if they are actually selling

and ya id love to pay 2000 for your car but getting it from canada titled in washington state and shipping would be a night mare and another 2000. Making your car $4000 USD lol

Here in New England the w123 cars in 1K- 2K price range sell fast. Cars above that take longer to sell. Don't know where these cars are going. Rare to see a w123 as daily drivers on the roads.

The days of the $2,000 Craigslist cars are pretty much over. If you want an above average or pristine example, you have a ton of options, but the beater cars are about dried up.

Definitely seen a marked increase. W123’s around me have been riding for a while, $4000 is pretty much base price for anything reasonable. You can’t get a good SD for less than either. Then in the last year or so w116 prices have suddenly jumped as well. They were very low for a long while, I think they jumped because everyone that couldn’t afford a w123/w126 around here anymore saw them as an option, driving the price up.

This is for diesels only of course. Gas w126’a are still cheap, as are gasser w116’s.

It would have to be a lot more than $2000 now!
- new guide rod supports and bushings
- new front springs
- new starter motor
- new oil cooler lines
- new rear axles
- new motor mounts
- new engine shocks
- valves adjusted

With only 75k miles on rebuilt engine, almost new tires and body in reasonable shape, now worth more than anyone would pay for it! Based on my $1000 rule, I need to drive it for another 4-5 years! It might outlast me :(

I always look at the upper echelon of sale prices to determine where a well kept vehicle will end up selling.

In the US, J.G. Francis gets really good prices for his cars.

Bring a trailer is a less reliable barometer as there is no way of knowing how good the car actually is.

Here in the UK, you cannot get a fully sorted diesel W115/ W123 for less than £15-20K. But neglected cars are often available for less than half that. 5 years ago, both types of cars were sold for half of their current amounts, making investing in a Classic diesel Mercedes an excellent decision.

decent cheap CL buys are few and far between these days

had I a trailer I would have grabbed a parts car or two

intact classics in good shape are over 5k

with prices above 10k not uncommon

glad I got mine when I did

Worth considering buying an unmolested gasser cheap and popping in a diesel engine.

A critical review of J.G Francis (mercedesmotoring) suggests long on skin deep prettification of his cars short on mechanical, systems and bodily integrity i.e. not as advertised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ixQeXOoQU

Just got back, from looking at a 1982 w123 240d for sale. Owner is asking 10K with 107K miles. No maintains records, has rust, disconnected vacuum lines, needs brake job, etc. Needs 5K of TLC.

I’ve noticed the LA and Orange County prices are up lately. But the cars don’t seem to be moving that fast. It’s like people are valuing their cars higher but they are there week after week. Same old cars. Then they disappear presumably when somebody gives an acceptable offer.

The phenomenon I’ve really noticed is 380SLs, 450SLs etc are out in droves on CL. In SoCal there are 4x as many of those two seats for sale as w123s. The prices aren’t low, there are just a lot more for sale in the last two months. My theory is that some owners are trying to turn their cars into cash while under pandemic pressure. The last thing they need is their sunny day car when bills are due. But it’s just a guess.

It seems that all makes under $10k on CL are overpriced a bit. I was thinking (another pet theory) that people are trying to dump their financed crossover SUV for a lower payment loan. Maybe the MB diesel market has gotten sucked into this madness?

I regularly surf the CL in SoCal looking for our cars. Kind of a hobby. Admittedly things are off balance now.

Here in Texas in last 12 months we've seen an increase in prices as well, mostly W123. However, it is not backed by the condition of the car itself. It's more likely that the owners saw the concours value somewhere on TV and thought they can make a quick buck. And they can, if they can find a sucker.
Otherwise, these don't sell, they are for sale for months, they are usually in poor shape.
W116 diesels range from 2 to 4 thousand. Usually around 3k. All need work.
W126 diesels can be had from 1000 up. PnP sold a 160k mile pristine 300SD for 2500. All it needed was glow plugs and suspension. Shortly later, a friend bought a 300SD with 180k miles, in excellent condition, repainted, no leaks, every worn thing replaced, for 3500. Sold it for the same price. My opinion: he should've kept it. That car needed nothing.

300SDL are more rare, because people don't sell them often. Nice examples usually 3000, but now more turds for 3-4k.

Gas W126 are flooding the market and they are so overpriced...people want 4-10k for an average example that needs engine rebuild. Crazy. But there is enough 2-3k cars which are priced spot on.

We have a $20k W115 coupe for sale on fb marketplace, the car runs like crap, I've seen it in person. It's ridiculous.

No matter the price, they all need work and everybody lies.

On a good note, another friend acquired 06 CDI for $1700 with a misfire and "engine light for bad engine mounts". He had to reseal the injectors, get rid of black death and buy one new injector. Car runs good now, but still needs some work. CDIs here are usually around 6k, bluetec 4-7k. Of course no one heard about oil cooler seals ;)

TLC in this case = Truck Loads of Cash

:)

Owning a classic can be a bit more involved/ expensive/ unexpected than most amateurs/ new enthusiasts would like.

Imagine spending a bunch of money on a Classic car only to breakdown multiple times with no end to the spend in sight.

That's where, I believe, OM61X motor powered cars will continue to shine as awareness grows. They're slow, noisy and some would say boring, but they will never let you down and offer just as much appeal as something less dependable. As long as genuine parts are used, they will not die.

I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years, prices would have continued to rise exponentially, given how hard it is to find a good one. Took me 5 years of hard searching to find my W115 617.917 240d 4 speed. They'll have to bury me in it.

Good. I’ll go get another. :P

I think some of the increase in prices of the W123/W124/W126/W201 is part of the Radwood effect. 80's & 90's cars of all kinds are really rising in value over the past few years.