Respectfully, Emmerich, you have no idea what you're talking about, especially on price. I'd give him half his asking price right now if it passed a PPI decently, clean it up, and sell it on for a quick 2-3k profit.

If an 82 380SL with nasty chrome wheels and little service history can bring 36k, and there's plenty of other ridiculous examples out there I could find, what does that say for this car? You can also find examples of the same 380SL with those miles for less than half the price with a quick search. Makes no sense, but that's the market for these cars right now. No reasonable range for any of them.

How many euro 107s have you owned, bought, or sold.? I've had 4. Each one was imported in Texas and each one was federalized differently. It was a cash cow for these importers; they did whatever they wanted to make money, and could have cared less what the actual DOT mandates were. There was little oversight. My brown one had the third brake light. The one I still have only had the headlights done. The gray one was left untouched, and the other white one I brokered had 1 inch spacers installed on the stock euro bumpers to extend them out slightly.

I forgot about that one in my first post in this thread. He sold it for $14,000. The original paint was 7 out of 10 as he let it sit outside, 80,000 miles and it never had any of the big service work done to it. I'm sure it needed the chain work and the sub-frame mounts at least, but the buyer didn't care.

The only advice I would give to the seller is to not even bother listing it here. Its a waste of time. No buyers for a car like this. Only know it alls who love to pick things apart, myself included, and seldom pay top dollar for anything.

Advice to the buyers: PPI, PPI, PPI. I really find it hard to believe with have no records of the chain work, subframe mounts, or any leaks repaired and it needs nothing right now. It would be one very blessed car. If the seller has nothing to hide, this shouldn't be an issue.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

X 2 Yup, so true.

...what's your point? He demolished all your complaints. That's not much of a point on your part, is it?

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Tyler, thanks for the comments specially since they are based on your experiences with 4 500SL euros. As for the car, frankly its qualities speak for themselves; at 49,000 original documented with registrations receipts and other verifiable documents there is no need for much work since the car never left town and has been garaged by owners. Car is dry as a bone underneath, no valve cover leaks (replaced last service); lurking under the car all I saw was a slight oil sweat from the oil filter seal. Maintenance I've done upon arrival: drained gas tank (gas was clean) preventive maintenance included new fuel pump, fuel filter, accumulator, gas tank strainer and a fuel hose that looked dry. Maintenance records with the car speak to batteries, tires and a major service (47,000 miles) at the Mercedes stealership for $1,000 + with most expensive item being ECU replacement, plus oil and filter changes. I also changed the driver side valve cover oil breather hose which was dry cracked at the base. Evidence of transmission service @ 30K miles and I plan to do another one at 50K miles as recommended by MB indie to include transmission filter seal, adjustments of bands and vacuum adjustment. That's it fellows. As Tyler says PPI or physical inspection; otherwise it's all armchair speculation.

Jooseppi Luna - To your point...


(1) Third brake light put in to comply with federal and Texas state safety mandates by NHTSA after 1986; it is a MB original item put in later model SL's.

Response: That’s BS. But they missed the headlights and bumpers?

(2) Rims are not "beat to death" and do not have any curb rash at all; in the spirit of the 80's art deco times they were chromed at some time and after 28 years chrome is flaking showing beautiful original aluminum finish.

Response: The chrome is flaking, those rims are trash!


(3) No fading in rear lights; the different euro lights look new.

Response: They look burnt to me.


(4) Emblem has white baked enamel common to SL's rather than blue enamel common to MB sedans that do not show in bright sunlight.

Response: Not sure what you're trying to say here.


(5) Suspension is tight and drive as new; no spring sagging; SL's did not have much weight at the rear and they carry more weight bias towards the front. Original Pirelli Cinturatos CN 36's 205-70's are long gone except for the original spare tire. Replacement U.S. tires of same size have a much wider sidewall that fit whole fender.

Response: What???

(6) Original chrome wipers are in the trunk; mandatory replacements by state of Texas inspection stations in compliance with NHTSA to cut glare are installed in order to get safety sticker.

Response: They’re not chrome… They are stainless steel and that’s BS.


(7) Mercedes sold different styles of convertible tops depending on models and markets; not all MB's carried the top expensive tops.

Response: What??? Mercedes aren't sold with OEM tops???

(8) Euro 500SL's of which not many were imported in 1983 have a host of appearance, performance and looks different from the U.S. 450SL's, 380SL's and

Response: I know what a 1983 500 SL looks like!

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Eric, 1983 500 SL

Why not mention the car has been repainted? I saw the ad when it had the faded paint.

Love the car, color combo!

Submit the car to BaT.

TylerH860, I looked at your brown 500SL listing on BaT, and the question was raised about the mileage and speedo.

That car had a 560SL speedo put in.

Thanks for tip! I've been trying to list on BaT; no response. Initially they told me to contact them again when repaint was done; done that several times but no response even though I've offered to pay fees.? Bat accepts submission by referral also; perhaps you can help a fellow board member and submit by referral? any fees due I'll pay for them.
BTW there is a similar 39K miles 107 advertised by a German dealer with a price of: $60,000.00 U.S. dollars!

It was in the service history for the odometer repair and I believe the eventual replacement. The odometer was mileage matched. Been a while so I may not remember the exact details. Helps to have a near complete service history to explain everything.

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Exactly what are you referring to when you suggest that he doesn't know what he's talking about?

Was the car imported after 1986? If so, it would be a pretty rare thing indeed as the government put an end to the private imports in 1985. If it was imported in 1985 or earlier, then I'm not aware of any laws that force owners to retrofit high level brake lights to older models. It is pretty common to see them added by owners who wanted to make their cars look newer then they are.

I've owned many Euro cars including an 88 560SEC that was imported through Canada in the 90's and none have had a 3rd brake light installed.

Fred also responded to the Op comment stated following: Original Pirelli Cinturatos CN 36's 205-70's are long gone except for the original spare tire. Replacement U.S. tires of same size have a much wider sidewall that fit whole fender.

205/70R15 is a size. Any tire with that size should be the same size. If it's not, then there will be safety implications. Are you suggesting that he doesn't know what he's talking about here?

Lastly, the car has had a repaint and I've seen pictures of it published on BWprior to the repaint and here are a couple of observations:

1) This car is not a garage queen, the paint was seriously burnt prior to the paint job. Which meant that the car spent a lot of time sitting outside. This is further reinforced by the color of the dials on the cluster which are a faded yellow instead of a bright orange.

If a car sat outside then all rubber components are going to be shot.





2) Speedo reads MPH and not KPH which means it was at least replaced at the time it was imported. Even though the owner indicated records of every inspection since it was bought into the country. He did not indicate service history or mileage before the car imported. This is a common issue with gray market cars. Often, no one knows what the mileage was when the car was imported or it's service history. If it spent any time in Europe, it needs to be checked for rust.

3) I've owned 7 Euro 107's and they're not much different to US cars in terms of what they need. The seller indicates documentation to prove mileage but also indicates minimal work. As far as I'm concerned, these cars have either had the work done or need it.

Now more importantly, I know Fred and I can tell you that he knows what he's talking about when it comes to buying cars. Since I met him, every car that he has owned has been clean, low mileage and well maintained. He gets them that way and he sends them off in the same way because he's always on top of any work that needs to be done.

Because I know the cars that he buys, I can respectfully say that YOU have no idea what you're talking about.....

Except for this comment.

This is very true. Rarely will anyone buy a car of someone else on a forum without wanting to take the shirt of their back with it.

My intention in posting this is only in response to your comment because I think it was uncalled for and inaccurate. It's not to blow up the sale which I very much doubt that I will given that I do not expect that anyone on this forum or BW would pay this kind of money for this car. It's just the wrong audience.

If the seller is a capitalist and wants to sell this car, then he should consider selling on ebay. It has a global audience and it will sell for whatever real buyers (the market) are prepared to buy it for... Or he can choose to set the price to whatever he wants to set it to and if someone wants it, then that's between the buyer and seller and not me or anyone else, and I wish him luck.

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With best regards

Al

I was referring mostly to his pricing and DOT certification requirements. That is what my entire post was about. You failed to address any of my points, just quoted what you liked to make your point like in high school debate class or those dirty politicians. Where in my posts do I have no idea what I'm talking about? Nobody can come up with a reliable price guide for 107s. People did whatever they wanted to make these cars road legal. Are you disputing that? Those were my only two points. That is what he talked about the most, not the tire size and other minute details.

I agree with everything you said otherwise, none of your points addressed anything I said. I think you lashed out at me to defend your friend without processing the meat of my post.

...and I did mean it respectfully as I have great respect for the man.

I said it before as well that this would be one extremely blessed car to need so little throughout its life and need nothing now as the seller represents. Seeing the before pictures makes that seem next to impossible.

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

You had no idea what you were talking about when you suggested the same about someone who clearly does, this was the only point that I wanted to address and I have no interest in critiquing the car otherwise. Sorry Tyler, it's not OK to put "respectfully" in front statement like that. I'm sure that you understand that now because you're all over me when I suggested the same about you.

Fred made 3 statements. Please review these as you quoted them in your response.

1) He indicated that cars imported or sold before 86 did not require a retrofit 3rd brake light so unless it was imported after 1986, there was no requirement. He acknowledged that the OP made no mention of import date so his statement was correct.
2) Tire size is tire size is tire size. Nothing more, nothing less. So his statement was correct.
3) He suggested that the car is worth about 1/2 the asking price. That's his opinion, as it is the sellers opinion that the car is worth $18.5k. Personally, I think that Fred is in the money. This is not a restored car, or a coveted original. It's a driver with a fresh paint job.

I have an 84 500SL which reads 69k miles, runs and drives very well and has working a/c. When I bought it, it had faded paint but the mechanically in good shape and needing seats and a top. Not only did I address the cosmetics, I also replaced the timing chain, guides, banana rail, oilers and tensioner. Did the sub-frame mount, brakes, brake hoses. shocks and exhaust and changed all of the fluids. Since then, it's had routine maintenance in order to stay on top of everything.

Even with all of this work, I think that I would be shooting high if I tried to sell it for $9.5k. But maybe that's because I don't know what I'm talking about.

__________________
With best regards

Al

Car recently had expensive repaint in original anthracite grey color to correct the faded clear coat (yes stored under a garden shed for a few months exposed to gardening sprinkler water, rubber seals soft intact and pliable). Just installed new Khumo tires all around. Recently saw German dealer ad for a comparable 39K miles 107 advertised in the fatherland with a price of $60,000 dollars!. Been around MB's all my life since 190B and imported and owned 2 euro 6.3's, owned a rare euro 6.9 AMG (heads, differential). As far as I'm concerned this car is a refreshing find with all registration paperwork (DOT/EPA paper shows 1,100 miles at time of federalization) to prove mileage through the years and repairs invoices none of which describe any of the "major" items mentioned by other owners. Even have a "twin" daily driver euro 83 500SL with 175K miles and just 10 serial numbers away from this gem which documents just reveal routine maintenance by previous owners none of them as catasthrophic as frame, transmissions, heads, etc. Perhaps all my euros also including 420SE 148K miles and 500SEL hot rod 166K miles have been blessed by good ownership karma. As with any car in my opinion you can go haywire throwing money at replacement items even if not needed. As far as I'm concerned the 107-126 V8 euro Mercs are the best, finest and more durable cars to come out of the house of Daimler Benz.