Very, very Rare - 1000SEL for sale, great addition to MBZ collection - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Johnhef · #61 08-30-2007, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by POS

Gotta believe that was Deutchmarks. My 1983 SL AMG (with all documentation) sold for $53,771USD, and it's got everything AMG could do.

I'm surprised at that- was that 53K in modifications or including the cost of the car?

Two of the receipts I have, one is for $58K (the car) and the other for $51K (the modifications). I may have to double check that to be sure but I'm almost certain thats what they said.

POS · #62 08-30-2007, 12:55 PM

What do you think? Seems like the whole car to me. As a confirmation, I have also emailed the original owner to see what he remembers.

cgryphon · #63 08-30-2007, 01:42 PM

I love these original invoices.

~1.9% sales tax and $5.00 for the title. Think what that would cost today?

Thanks for the pic!

Dee8go · #64 08-30-2007, 04:47 PM

Yeah, it's like finding a gas receipt from 1971 when gas prices were still in the low two digits.

JimmyL · #65 08-30-2007, 10:33 PM

This is a very thoughtful and spot-on post! I am very impressed, and you simply won't get better and more honest information laid out that well. My only issue is that his price estimates might be a bit high.
Nice job POS!

Quote:

Originally Posted by POS

Okay, seriously, bemaitea2. You've been a real good sport, and you seem honest. I'll toss you a "what I think" and you may do what you wish.

The most likely buyer of a car like yours will be a Mercedes guy. To most Mercedes guys, your car shows like an old, worn out 500SEL with some body paint on the bumpers and a few 80's stereo customizing things. I don't think your car is an AMG. I don't think you car is an ITS (whatever that may be, it looks like a sticker someone tossed up on there). It's been sitting for at least 10 years, has bad paint, a worn interior, a worn engine bay, and a few 80's customizing things like side valences (no AMG body kit, no spoilers, no aprons, nothing), Lorinser wheels, a 1000SEL badge (just a badge, that's it), and a Becker in the rear armrest. It's an old 500SEL - no more, no less.

Therefore, I don't think you'll get much for it. You seem honest, and it's certainly possible you've had offers in the past for $10,000+, but I don't see why. It just makes no sense.

$8000 could get you a real AMG SEL in "used" condition.
$12000 could get you a real AMG SEL in "good" condition.
$18000 could get you a real AMG SEL in "excellent" condition.

I think if you researched its history, had some docs proving its provenance, made an excellent ad with excellent photos, and tossed it up on ebay with no reserve, the market would tell you its worth to be $3500-$4500. Without any provenance, I bet the ebayers let it die for about $2500.

Good luck to you, and thanks for taking our comments (mine included!) with a grain of salt.

brucem105 · #66 08-31-2007, 11:18 AM

It's all about the mods and condition.

A poor condition car (especially cosmetically) that's also been sitting for years is nearly worthless, because it will inevitably cost you more than the purchase price of the car to bring it back to good to very good condition. Ask me how I know.

And if you want it in excellent condition, then the seller should pay you to take it, because you're in for an eye-opening budget experience.

Now, if the car is like the one I mention above, but it's extremely collectible (fully modified, part of a small production run series, has documentation, was rare/famous back in its day, etc), then sometimes it is worth taking the project on. I mean, look at all the rusted out 300SL Gullwing hulks that get fully restored. Since they are super rare and collectible, if you find an authentic one it's worth restoring even if the restoration gets to $250K.

The problem with the car described here is that it isn't really a 100SEL (ITS did make them, but they were full blown conversions, like Carat used to do, and this one is not full-blown), it's just a few modifications and a 1000SEL badge.

I concur with POS..it shows as a lightly modded 500SEL that needs major work. If you got offers of $10K, take them. I find it hard to believe you'll get near $5K, but that's just my non-professional opinion. I'm not trying to wish you ill, I hope you get good money, I just don't see it happenening.

The car is in the middle zone of not fully modified which might compensate for its condition and make it worth some money, and also not in excellent condition which would compensate for it being only lightly modified.

Here is some background:

------------------------------

The "1000SEL"
Surfing the web looking for "1000SEL" I find the weirdest things and wildest stories. According to some the 1000SEL was fitted with 10 Litre engine. Some say it was an lengthened S-class stretched a 1000mm. Could it be a limousine that would be made on special order by Mercedes themselves? I'm sorry, some came close, but here's the truth.

The 1000SEL wasn't a Mercedes you could order at your regular Mercedes dealership. The 1000SEL weren't even made by Mercedes-Benz; the cars were made by coachbuilding and tuning companies like Kugok, Styling Garage and Trasco. German tuner Gemballa even has made a 1001SEL and GFG used the 5000GFG name. How creative!
In case of an tuned SEC the name would of course be 1000SEC and that's where the name of this website comes from.

So what did you get when you ordered your own 1000SEL? Well, a 1000SEL could be anything. 1000SEL was just a badge and the contents were defined by the wishes of the customer. Those contents could vary a lot. I've seen the most extravagant creations but also I've seen cars with just the 1000SEL badge and that's it. So really, the badge doesn't say anything, but it does raise expectations!

Interior
A real 1000SEL Mercedes has a new interior. This interior should at least have a new upholstery, most likely in leather and preferably in white, creme or red. A mid console that runs through the whole car is also very “important”. This console was in most cases made of high-class wood and fitted with all kinds of compartments to store your personal belongings. A champagne cooler and a TV for the passengers must be included. High-end over-the-top HiFi-Stereo by Clarion or Pioneer were no exception.

Exterior
The exterior of the 1000SEL could include many extras and options. More chrome, gold instead of chrome, paint instead of gold, new rims, bumpers, spoilers and a
boomerang- antenna . All were options. In fact the badge "1000SEL" meant that anything was possible as long as you paid the bill.
One of the options offered by companies like ITS, Kugok and SGS was the so-called 600-nose. This new bonnet incorporated the style of the 600 Mercedes of the 1960's. The chrome parts could be sprayed in the car's colour, could be gold-plated (e.i. Kugok, SGS) or sprayed in a completely different colour (SGS).

So where does the name 1000SEL come from? Well, somewhere in the early 1980s an Arab customer from Styling Garage ordered himself a heavily modified Mercedes 500SEL. When he received the keys he told the owner of the company, Chris Hahn, that his car was twice as good as a regular 500SEL. Well there you have it: 500SEL x 2 = 1000SEL

So there you have it, the 1000SEL was nothing more but sure nothing less than a superlative luxury vehicle, something the Mercedes-Benz factory wasn't able to make. It took another 20 years for them to invent the Maybach...

--------------------

Bruce

bemaitea2 · #67 08-31-2007, 02:49 PM

Hey guys,

thanks alot for all the input and advice, I really appreciate it.

I've been trying to get in contact with some people locally who detail classic cars and have them come on out and spruce her up.

Also, I'm in the middle of getting some background info on this car. I'm in the midst of talking to ITS to see if they can pull up some records of the car and can show what exactly has been done.

I'll keep you guys informed and post some of the pics after a nice detailing.

Best,
BM2

POS · #68 08-31-2007, 03:28 PM

Just as a conclusion to this; I sent the previous owner of my car an email confirming the $53,771 and he responded with "Yep, that's what I paid."

corts007 · #69 10-03-2007, 04:23 AM

Hey,

I stumbled accross this thread and couldn't resist to post a reply.

The ITS company you posted the link from is a different company. I'm quite sure they bought the name from the original owner or something similar. ITS was a company from Aachen Germany and was owned by a man who now owns a Peugeot dealer. ITS used to make cars using parts from Styling Garage, Duchatelet among others. They also made some cars for Styling Garage when they had too many orders and couldn't handle the "pressure".

As mentioned the car in this thread isn't a full spec "1000SEL" but one should know that there's no real standard for what's a 1000SEL and what not. The 1000SEL badge was an option, you didn't have to have all leather and 2 TVs.

Bram

Larry Delor · #70 10-03-2007, 11:12 PM

The item that caught my eye, was the dash - it wasn't black like all the others that I have seen. (I kinda like it)
The Centra wheels were popular back then.
The steering wheel looks like it is from a 124 - no matter....either get a 124 center pad or get a piece of wood to match the rest of the trim (zebra wood or burlwood).
The reflector fill-in piece between the tail lights is something I saw on ebay a year or two ago - it would be nice to see it aligned better.
Get a replacement snorkel for the air intake. (it should peek out between the headlight and condensor).
In order for the sunroof switch not to look so odd, you can take out the switch, take off the rocker (watch for parts!) and gently push out the round plastic piece with the symbol on it - turn it 90 degrees, and put it all back together.

Good luck!

truckinik · #71 10-04-2007, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnhef

I'm surprised at that- was that 53K in modifications or including the cost of the car?

Two of the receipts I have, one is for $58K (the car) and the other for $51K (the modifications). I may have to double check that to be sure but I'm almost certain thats what they said.

I like the wagon, but not crazy about the Ghetto two tone paint job, and wheels. If the car were either all original blue, or perhaps all silver, with stock wheels I'd think about it.

TOPGUN · #72 10-04-2007, 10:24 PM

I Think The Odometer Numbers Should Line Up Straight. Topgun

Johnhef · #73 10-04-2007, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckinik

I like the wagon, but not crazy about the Ghetto two tone paint job, and wheels. If the car were either all original blue, or perhaps all silver, with stock wheels I'd think about it.

It was painted how he wanted to paint it, reminicient of the MB service wagons of the 80's. it was done with the original colors available at the time, the 904 blue and 744 silver and 040 black. It has the stock wheels on it. the ones pictured were mine.