'78 450SL w/63K miles in san diego - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

4NDELIT · #1 11-10-2002, 12:54 AM

Well, I got in an argument with my parents, and they won't let me cut off my muffler [last thread]. Instead, they will let me sell the car, and I will get some money if it goes over what they expect to get. Seriously looking at the car, it has 63K miles on it, a new transmission [less than a year old], a new soft top [about 2 years old], new halogen bulbs with euro lenses [hella e-codes with 100/60W H4 bulbs], a new cd player with boxed 6x9's on the bench [sony head unit w/blaupunkt speakers], new billsteins, a K&N drop in filter, new water pump, and a new master cylinder. The bad things are some cracks in the window seals [no leaks, but lotsa wind noise], a dent in the passenger door [didn't scratch the paint, so might be easy to get out], and an oil leak. If any of you guys had an idea what this is worth, [I was thinking in the area of 20+ because of the mileage] I would be happy to hear your opinion, and if anyone is interested in buying it, leave a reply, or email me at yojimborobert@netscape.net

btw... the car was origionally purchased in louisiana, so it has the federal emissions package, not the restrictive california package.

suginami · #2 11-10-2002, 02:39 PM

Well, my honest opinion is that it's probably worth in the $8k - $12k range.

I check out the prices everyday in the classifides section of the paper, and 450 SL's in average - good condition are listed in this range. I've been looking everyday for the last 3 years or so, and I've probably seen 100-200 cars listed in this range.

It is only an extremely pristine original or restored 450 SL that is listed for maybe as high as $15k.

It is extremely hard to find even an '89 560 SL listed in the high teens - $20k.

4NDELIT · #3 11-10-2002, 04:34 PM

I am asking more, because I consider it well above average, considering the extremely low mileage, the new transmission, the new shocks, new fuel injectors... the list goes on. I realize that 20K may be a little high, so I have lowered my price to 18.2 and I have also posted a web site with pics I took today

http://thedotcommune.com/tim/450sl4sale.htm

suginami · #4 11-10-2002, 04:37 PM

Yep, it looks like a very clean car with very low mileage.

Pricing it at $18.2 is harmless anyway, as buyers know that it is just a price at which negotiations start.

Good luck to you, but what do you plan on replacing this with?

It seems just a little odd to me that you're getting rid of this car just because your parents wouldn't let you cut the cats out....

4NDELIT · #5 11-10-2002, 09:24 PM

it's more than that actually... I needed to get it smogged, and it has been relativley stock up till that point [K&N and bilsteins aside]. After I got the smog, I told my parents that we were either going to keep it, and I was going to modify it [cut out muffler] or we were going to sell it. My dad said that he wants to keep the car stock, so I wouldn't ruin the value, and then from there, the discussion went to the mileage, and how if I drive it everyday, it devalues it also. All in all, it is kind of an impractical car for a college student to drive it everyday, because it gets bad gas mileage, and I wouldn't want to put too much mileage on it anyways. It's a baby.... it hurts to see it rack up miles. In replacement, I was thinking of getting an e-class or maybe a 5 series.