She is for Sale 72 450SL

[meltedpanda]

OK , she is still officially for sale, the other guy is a definite no. It pains me to see her driven so little , Im such a perfectionist when it comes to this car I hate to take her out unless the weather is perfect , and I am sure I can avoid crazy other drivers. If I could get past my obession with these issues , I'd probably keep her - perhaps I need a shrink more than I need to sell her??

[lee polowczuk]

I am stunned this car has not sold. This would be on my dream car list.

If I had the money (or my house sold) I would buy it immediately (with cold air for S. Florida temps)

[swh]

I'd be interested in talking to you about your 350/450sl. Is it possible to talk over the phone?

Thanks,
Steve

[meltedpanda]

I sent you an email!

[meltedpanda]

OK gang, need some input. I have had a lot of lookers, but they are casual, and most have not completely understood what is involved in looking after a 40 year old car. My wife says I talk too much , but I feel the buyer needs to know, plus I really want her to go to a good home
That said , most have asked for some "leeway " on the price and I have worked with all of them. Price does not seem to scare them, at least they dont appear that way. They call and tell me that perhaps its "not the car for them".
What I need input on is where I can get her in front of more vintage minded would be owners. ( or clueless owners ) I fear ebay, as I think the process could be a headache. I have been told that "across the pond" many look for this type car and that may be my only incentive to put her there. I have not researched the fees. I have been following the recent auctions like Mecum and Barrett Jackson and good solid models of this vintage are selling right about what I'd like to get $12,500. If I was closer I'd consider consigning.
Any other suggestions? I have tried all the MB websites, and Craiglist.
I hate to see her just sitting. I drive her once a week for at least 60-70 miles but she needs a home that can afford to "just look at her" or really drive her like she was meant to
Thanks

[350SL4spd]

Hey melted,

No much you can do about tire kickers... I have a lot of fairly wealthy ppl in my area & when I sell a nice older car there's always a high number of people that are looking for a sexy old car, but know little about the model in question. They're basically trolling CL etc looking for test drives and the like. But you never know if one of them will pop on it.

What you need to get the car in front of is R107 fans, not just vintage car fans.

Have you tried OurSL.com? They're not free, but they are REALLY dedicated to the SL's. Just a thought.

I have listed cars on eBay before with a price that I was not really expecting to get (or a high reserve), just to get the car in front of people who were looking for one. I've sold several cars that were see on eBay and then buyers arranged to come see it in person.

Best of luck, man.

[alabbasi]

Your wife is right. There are lots of tire kickers and the more info you present, the harder it is for you to figure out who are seriously interested.

I think this is a bad time to sell. Your early car will strike me as something that would be attractive to European buyers, unfortunately, they seem to have more money trouble then us.

Good luck with the sale.

[meltedpanda]

thanks guys, actually on the SL forum you mentioned, and I agree Al, but it seems a lot depends on want VS need. IMHO no one really NEEDS ( ) a car like this , so those that want one, generally have the $$ , that is if they are serious shopper for a made car , and there is the rub many are just "tire kickers"
I also agree the market has been down, but sales lately have seem to be moveing in the right direction
Can anyone give me the intro course 101 on ebay selling ( a car that is )

[alabbasi]

You're right, no one needs a car like this so there are lots of dreamers who are quite happy to talk to you all day about it. They are usually well meaning and spending an hour shooting the breeze with you is pretty harmless .... until you multiply it by 30 people :-)

This is a good example of a nice auction: Mercedes-Benz : 200-Series RESTORED in Mercedes-Benz | eBay Motors

Lot's of pictures, under the hood and on the underside. If you have pictures of records, then great also.

You can list 5 or 6 cars for free on eBay per year. I usually like to list cars for the bare minimum that I would take for them but some others prefer listing at zero and putting a reserve.

The latter will certainly yield more activity, but that does that does not necessarily mean that it will sell.

Oh, and don't bother selling a nice car like this on the forums, no one here (including myself) has the money to spend on a nice car like this.

We're also too picky. It has to have a new sub frame, timing chain and guide, new leather, new seats, new paint and cost less then $2000 before anyone here would consider it

[gsjohnson]

I feel your pain. I just sold my 107 last weekend and it took 3 months. And I took a $1000 bath to get it sold. I ended up selling the car for $6250 and it was a really nice car. Not as nice as yours, but the color change was hurting the sale of my car. It was the green interior that attracted the attention and ultimately the reason the buyer purchased the car. The car sold off of Craigslist if that helps. I ran ads on and off for the 3 months. I too didn't want the complications that ocurr on ebay. And other than the Auto Trader, there aren't a lot of alternatives. The problem with enthusiast sites, is most of them already own one...I mean that's why they're on the site. Just a little insight on what I went thru...maybe it will help.

I still own a 73 triple black 107 that I will be restoring in the future, as I love these cars. Good luck...

For Sale 1973 450SL - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

[meltedpanda]

thanks again, I am going to do a little research on listing it on ebay , just to get it in front of a larger audience, but still not sure
Also Hemmings, seems like a lot of "I want to be an old car guy" lurk there

time will tell, heck if I dont sell it by the time I retire ( oh 5-6 years) I will just keep it lol

Thanks again

[Stretch]

I agree with alabbasi it is just a bad time to sell.

Life here in Europe has a feeling of uneasyness in the car market. New cars generally have loads of extras bolted on them or have 0% finance schemes when perhaps only three years ago that sort of thing was pretty rare / only for the really cheap non-cool brands.

Second hand car prices have fallen through the floor. Three to four years ago a diesel W123 parts car would have cost between 1800 and 2200 euros here in Holland (there's a serious premium for road tax free vehicles here). Today I see them advertised for about 700 euros to 1000 euros. They don't seem to be selling.

I've been keeping my eye out for really nice 1950s American tin and there used to be a lot of choice here so long as you were prepared to pay in excess of 11,000 euros. That "garage queen hobby car" market has more or less dried up. There's just nothing available like that at the moment - it is like there's no point in advertising them any more.

"Investment" buyers don't seem to be too confident - and nobody seems flush enough to say what the heck I've always wanted one of these (before I die).

If I were you I'd put the car into storage and keep it until the market gets stronger or you retire.

(I'm still waiting for my lottery win though - so you never know your luck!)

[cushjbc]

time will tell, heck if I dont sell it by the time I retire ( oh 5-6 years) I will just keep it lol


What if I find a brass knurled nut for your power steering reservoir - will that make you keep Pearl?

[meltedpanda]

Brad, now that is what might just make me change my mind lol
and thanks Army , nice to have a perspective of one "over the pond" BTW the part you sent me looks great on the new rear brake calipers.

[Will_w202]

The trend in classics seems to be "barn finds" and "dust buckets" that haven't run in years, which still bring big money even though they've been sitting neglected for 4 decades or better.

At 40 years old, and perhaps the most-appealing of the 107s (save for maybe a pristine 560), I can't imagine you'd go wrong parking it for a decade, and then re-listing it. It shouldn't even take that long for the economy to improve, which means you'd still get more money for it 3/5/7 years from now or more, than today.

I'd mothball it for a better day