Considering Selling: How much would you pay? 72 280SE 4.5

[tviano]

The time has come, I'm afraid, to move on. Driving a 34 year old car isn't that realistic for me any longer. Space constraints and two growing kids are helping me make this hard decsion.

To all you MB lovers out there, let me know what you think you'd pay or what other info I need to provide for a better assessment.


I can't easily post pics, but I'm trying one (some login issue holding me up, but I am logged in--go figure). Hopefully this link will show you more (logging in isn't required, just click on the pic): http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=zvw0son.5wxs3rtb&Uy=i1vcqs&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

So, I'm considering selling.
I bought it at 100,000 miles (literally rolled over from 99,999 on the way home; even have a picture of it happenning!)
134,000 miles currently
Power steering sealer kit at 110,000
New transmission at 115,000 miles
New master brake cylinder at 120,00
Rebuilt speedometer at 120,000
Rebuilt front suspension at 130,000
New shocks at 130,000
Multi-thousand mile maintenance at 125,000 miles (included gasket cover seals)
Original Becker radio (gotta love those push buttons!)
New battery.
Leather dash.
Driven daily and parked in garage when parked in the 5 years I've had it.

Paint: Good (Beige)
Body: Good to Great
Chrome: redone at 100,000 (bumpers and trim)
Interior: Original, in Good shape, light wear

I believe I'm the third owner. California car. No rust.

Small leak in radiator.
Other than that, LEAK FREE!
Shift indicator not indicating (believe indicator cable broke,stretched or came off guides)
A/C Works, but tracking down leak in system now (new compressor was put on it when I bought it)
Heater motor works, but control valve on right is "stuck." Wiggles enough where I think I can fix it through the dash. Doesn't seem really stuck like it's gunked up.
Driver side window needs regulator replacement (just haven't gotten around to it).

[lee polowczuk]

tough call....

i bought a 72 280se 4.5 in 1986 for 5500. Sold it in 1998 for 4800.

had 93k when I bought it. 158k when i sold it.

Was in great shape except for tears in the front seat leather. I used sheepskins.

i had it painted for 1600 dollars in 1990. Not a bad paint job..it was stripped then painted.

i never had what i would call a major repair. Starter, and a kingpin were the biggest items. Had to do two drivers side window regulators, maybe i didn't do them right. I didn't do much work on cars during that period due to job constraints. I had the shift indicator issue, too..i paid someone to do it.

It was the only car i ever owner where literally almost anytime i got gas someone would come up and ask about it.... it was black with parchment leather. oh well

Your car looks nice... i sold mine to a lawyer who was born in 1972. i gave him all the service records and strict instructions on how to take care of it.

Good Luck

[SatRoc]

I too have a '72 280SE which I'm planning on selling. As a point of reference, Kelley Blue Book gives us the following numbers: Poor=$2,450, Good=$5,200, Excellent=$7,900. I"m guessing that we both fall between Good and Excellent. I hope this gives you a place to start.

[Tomguy]

It's nice to be optimistic on prices... and the 108s, especially the 4.5s, have been going up in value for pristine examples in the last few years. If your car is in perfect condition, 8k might not be far off. But if it has a scratch on it, deduct 2k off the bat. That's how picky this market is! If your engine compartment is dirty, it might cost you $2k - same with a dirty interior. If your seat has ANY rips or wear spots, deduct more still. What's the price of these cars? Whatever someone will pay for it, honestly. It varies widely. Your 4.5 looks beautiful. It has a column shift, so deduct $500. Broken speedometer? Another $500. Your car should fetch 5-6, maybe even 7k.

[michaeld]

Tiviano,
The biggest single factor in how much you get for your car is how much of a hurry you are to sell it. The longer you're willing to wait, the more money you will likely get.

The overwhelming majority of the time, Kelly Blue Book is overly optimistic; the sole exception (you're in luck) is classic cars, which are notoriously difficult to price.

If you have time, I'd recommend going on ebay and putting all of the cars that fit your model on your watch list for a couple of weeks or so. What is nice about ebay is that there's a lot of turnover, so you can get a lot of examples, and there are usually lots of pictures and descriptions which will help you "peg" your car's condition relative to others. Cars DO generally sell for less on ebay because of the short period and the greater risks for the buyer (eg. very difficult to do an inspection on an ebay auction car). But you will at least have a good base idea of what the car will sell for in the real world.

If you are seriously entertaining the notion of getting top dollar, I would 1) fix the radiator leak; 2) get a mechanics inspection report detailing the condition to use as a selling point (obviously, if the car HAS significant issues, it's NOT worth top dollar). The inspection report will further help you determine value. AAA gives an inspection for about $85.

[tviano]

Thank you all for the response and some very good ideas to move forward with. I appreciate your input and will post you on the progress.

Of course, if any of you are interested in purchasing this car, you certainly welcome!

There's a lot of intangibles invovled here as well. You all know what I mean: The looks you get at stop lights, the joy you have when driving next to the same make and model on the freeway, the feeling of ULTIMATE SUPERIORITY when accellerating from 60-90 mph like it's no big deal, leaving those tin hybrids in the dust. You get the idea.

[ctaylor738]

... but Tomguy is absolutely correct. There are more of these cars than there are people who want to buy them. So any defect moves you down the list. The serious money in older cars is mainly in the cabrios and roadsters and maybe some of the coupes like the 3.5. Your car would interest the tinkerers who are not exactly big spenders.

Maybe the west is different, but $5K in the DC area would be huge for a sedan with 100K+. For that money, at least here, you can buy a well-cared for 560SEL or an exceptional 420SEL.

[BENZ-LGB]

...still considering selling it? And have you come up with a price?