fair price for a 74 450sl

[lutzTD]

I have a lead on a 74 450sl for $1500. bad interior passable exterior, light rust (we'll see)..... the car does not run so I would have to take him at word the engine and tranny are in good shape other than an issue with an ignition module. is this a good deal or should I wait for a car with a better interior, no rust? I like the price point and I can fix anything except paint and body...... but I would drive it with a maaco job if it is dependable... any thoughts appreciated, I am a 300d guy and I dont know much about the value on the gassers

[al76slc]

As has been said many times on this forum, the most expensive car you can buy is a cheap MB.

You are not saying anything about miles or having service records. Especially make sure you get service records.

The good - you don't have the 5 mph bumpers or all the emissions stuff.

Having had mine for 16 years, I wish I had bought a better example - and mine was "only" 15 years old with about 47K miles when I bought it. You never know - you may want to hold onto yours forever - and then with the time and effort you put in you may have wished you had a better one to start with.

My $.02.
Al

[nobby]

Thank God you have deep pockets and lots of time and patience. You do, don't you?

[Strife]

Well, if you are aware that you are getting into a project..."not running" is Very Bad. If you are willing to work at it yourself, you can probably get by with a 1K Maaco paint job, bondo, etc, and it probably would be OK for a few years...I'd have 3K in my pocket after buying the car for parts,"surprises", etc...I am in sort of this situation with my 380SL. I knew of it's faults, and I knew that it was never going to be as nice as my 560SL. But I priced out what it would cost for me to bring it up to a condition that I would find acceptable to be seen in. For example, the seats weren't too good. A $6.00 can of black vinyl dye made them very nice. The dash was cracked. A $90 dash cap looks great, although any concours events are "right out". The bumper rubber and side moulding rubber looked like crap. Wetordri sandpaper and some buffing with watered-down Kiwi shoe heel restorer worked wonders and the results don't look much different than my "good car" - $4.00 and time/effort vs maybe $900 in new parts. _IF_ you have more time than money to spend, I've found that the quality of the original parts was pretty good and that they respond to refinishing/restoring very well.

"Light Rust"...this scares me. You can replace and fix a lot of things, and they stay fixed. Rust...well, it can be fixed permanently by very skilled people and with a lot of money on parts like rockers and floorboards that you can't just remove and replace. Anything less is a band aid that keeps falling off.

[eoECHO]

I recommend waiting for a better example for all of the reasons listed above. I have a 1972 350SL in great shape with over 300k miles; very dependable. There are plenty of fine examples below $20k and you'll spend significantly more to "fix" a $1,500 car. Buy one already done and save yourself a lot of time and money.

My colleague and friend, John Olson, wrote the book on SLs. I have a copy of his book. I highly recommend buying the book before buying an SL. It is a small upfront investment and you'll save a lot of money in the long run.

Both John Olson and myself are on the National Board of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA). John is a world-renowned Mercedes expert, book author, and editor of the SL Market Letter (newsletter).

The SL Market Letter (paid newsletter subscription) tracks pricing trends for all SLs and provides info on what to buy, etc.

John is auctioning off a 300SL - use the $1,500 to buy lottery tickets then get this car! (link to John's website).

Another great read for those buying an SL is this article published back in 1994: 1972-1989 MERCEDES-BENZ 350/450/380/560 SLs Status-symbol bargains for the not-so rich and famous By Peter Bohr. The article discusses a few things you'll want to know about the 1972-1989 SLs (107 body).

Hope this helps.

[lutzTD]

Originally Posted by eoECHO

I recommend waiting for a better example for all of the reasons listed above. I have a 1972 350SL in great shape with over 300k miles; very dependable. There are plenty of fine examples below $20k and you'll spend significantly more to "fix" a $1,500 car. Buy one already done and save yourself a lot of time and money.

My colleague and friend, John Olson, wrote the book on SLs. I have a copy of his book. I highly recommend buying the book before buying an SL. It is a small upfront investment and you'll save a lot of money in the long run.

Both John Olson and myself are on the National Board of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA). John is a world-renowned Mercedes expert, book author, and editor of the SL Market Letter (newsletter).

The SL Market Letter (paid newsletter subscription) tracks pricing trends for all SLs and provides info on what to buy, etc.

John is auctioning off a 300SL - use the $1,500 to buy lottery tickets then get this car! (link to John's website).

Another great read for those buying an SL is this article published back in 1994: 1972-1989 MERCEDES-BENZ 350/450/380/560 SLs Status-symbol bargains for the not-so rich and famous By Peter Bohr. The article discusses a few things you'll want to know about the 1972-1989 SLs (107 body).

Hope this helps.

great info thanx... love those gullwings.

I am going to look at the car. luckily I am not a purist so if the body is in great condition and the drive train becomes eccessively expensive, I am not above swapping in a chevy motor and trans