Check out this 109 auction!!

[jerhofer]

Originally Posted by berfinroy

Well, at least two people thought it was worth it, and judging by the many enthusiastic comments, probably more than that.

The 300SEL in this auction appeared to be a very nice car with a great color combination.

Not too long ago a W108 sold for $30K on BAT. So there does seem to be strong interest in these cars. After having owned mine now for a year and doing quite a bit of work on it, I can better see the attraction than before I was so acquainted with it. The quality of the car is obvious. Plus it has an undeniable presence compared to both contemporary cars and especially to today's cars.

Back in the day, I am sure Cadillac and Lincoln owners had a difficult time understanding how someone would pay the big dollars for a luxury car that did not have power seats and the other luxury items taken for granted in those cars. Not to mention that the Mercedes was much smaller. Another example of how luxury means different things to different people.

During the mid '70's I was a salesman in the manufactured housing industry for a manufacturer. My job was to set up and service dealers to represent our product, with my territory being Michigan. I had some Detroit high rollers (at least in their eyes) who typically drove new Lincolns and Cadillacs. However, my most successful dealer drove a 450SEL. I rode in all of those cars and soon looked forward to riding in the Mercedes. I was not very aware of cars at that time but I quickly realized that I would much rather have the Mercedes than the other cars due to both the quality and the handling. Those large American cars wallowed their way down the road while the 450 felt like it was in control. Which fostered my lifelong love of European cars.

[Larry Delor]

A lot of the industry back then was automotive centered, and it would've been bad form not to drive some form of behemoth Detroit steel. Times have changed a little up there, when I left the metro Detroit area, you didn't see many foreign cars - when I moved to Florida, American cars were definitely in the minority.

[Tony H]

I think the V8 makes the difference. People like cars with V8's.

[Benz Dr.]

Originally Posted by berfinroy

Well, at least two people thought it was worth it, and judging by the many enthusiastic comments, probably more than that.

Possibly. Enthusiastic comments are easy to make on an internet site ( or elsewhere ) but would they translate into real dollars if you tried the same thing? You could say that the guy is a visionary and restored the right car and the guy buying it is a brilliant investor, or you could just as easily say that two fools met.

Either way, beauty is in the eyes of the beer holder.

[FreddMersaid]

This model 1972 had a swing axle ?
A 3 year restoration ? @ $64K, This seller must have lost money on it.