'72 450SL - Is it really worth it??

[gsamuelson]

Hi folks, I posted this on the SL list without much consequence and thought perhaps those who love the oldies might be of more assistance. I am looking for two pieces of advice: 1)what can I do to see if this things works(without repairing it before purchase)? What can I expect in terms of cost for repairs, best case vs. worst case scenarios?

I have found a '72 450SL that has reportedly been garaged for the past 8 years. The car was repainted 10years ago, done cheap and dirty. The PO said to have paid $14,000CDN for the car 12 years ago.

There is slight rust at the right front fender(easily repairable), the right rear outside bumper section(replace), and the driver's side rocker panel (the rust in this is area seems to have been started by a minor dent in the rocker that was not looked after). The driver's side floor pan was previously repaired for rust and may need to be re-done(ie done properly). The passenger side floor pan is rusty but mostly surface stuff and should be repairable without sheet metal work. The trunk interior has seen some water accumilation but the corrosion is surface rust. Underneath the car looks fairly good, the undercoating on the seam that runs from front to back on each rocker is starting to come loose, however, the seems look pretty tight. The area behind the front seats is in good shape, no rust. All metal around the wheel wells looks to be in good condition. No rust on passenger side rocker or the front and rear approns.

The interior centre console is in poor condition, having tape on the upper edges etc. Some covers are missing in the area where the seatbelts attach. The seatbelts have seen better days. The carpets and seats(MB Tex) are in good condition. The rasio is not original.

The hard top was on at the time, so I could not inspect the contact areas around the hard top nor the soft top.

The car will not start but will turn over. Given that it has not been run in possibly 8 years this is not too great a surprise. Would a compression check be worth doing even without a running motor? The odometer shows 47,000km, could it be the second time around?? The original owner was siad to have kept the car out of the snow and salt (Ontario) but 47,000 seems to low to be true. Can the odometer be easily fiddled with on these cars?

I would suspect the wheel brake cylinders are not doing too well at this point although there are no leaks showing, not yet.

The asking price was $6,500 CDN, but he would take $5,000 CDN at this time and has been offered $4,000 CDN. I have seen prime examples of this model (1977) sell for around $11,000 CDN.

So here it comes....... is this poor ol'450SL worth bothering with at any price?

Breaks my heart to see such a fine car being neglected but I don't want to buy a money pit either.

[bstreep]

With some cars, free might not be worth it...

[suginami]

I've read your post over the weekend and thought about it a bit.

If you're worried about the car being a money pit, then I wouldn't buy it.

It is always cheaper to pay full price for a clean, well-maintained example, than to buy one that needs a lot of work for a cheap price. It is easy to spend thousands on a tired Mercedes and not know where the money went.

I believe on older cars like this one, that it really isn't about the money. It's a labor of love - a hobby for some people. People who enjoy rehabilitating older cars, fixing them up bit by bit. Doing what you can by yourself, and what you can't do yourself, doing the research, visiting shops, and having the work done for you.

In the end, you'll surely spend more than the car is worth, but it's not really about the money, is it?

[gsamuelson]

Thanks for the response folks. There is much truth in what you have said. I have seen newer 450SL's (1977) for $11,000 to $15,000 CDN that have been well maintained, albeit, they are not the 1972 models. But at $11,000 they probably need very little work and are driveable NOW.

As for the '72 450Sl, the body work, paint and interior are obvious problems. The brakes, motor, transmission etc could easily eat up the difference between the purchase price and the final value of the car.

Once again, thanks for the advice, I needed to hear it from someone else besides the little voice in the back of my head.