Future value of a 450SE

[joshhol]

My uncle inherited a 1974 450SE from my Grandfather after he passed away a couple years ago. It is in excellent shape, except for the heater and A/C which aren't working right now. Now he wants to know if the value will appreciate in the coming years.
It is dark green with tan MB tex interior, 179,000 original miles. Aside from minor wear and tear, it is still stunning after all these years.

Any opinions?
Thanks,

Josh

[deanyel]

I would not be bullish on the future value of a 1974 450SE, even a low miles one which this one really isn't. It's a lovely car, except that was the first year of the big ungainly bumpers, but four door sedans rarely become collector items. I'm sure it has sentimental value and some potential to be daily driver or back up car - but I really doubt future appreciation potential. Without future appreciation potential it's sometimes hard to put in the maintenance dollars that it's going to need. You're always wondering if your just pouring money down a drain.

[300SDog]

early version of the 116?? .....here's the best one I've seen in long time - it topped out at $5,500......

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2440222038&indexURL=5&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

[joshhol]

My uncle is complaining about the $40 bucks a month in insurance money. He can well afford to spend this and I'm disappointed that he would not see beyond the bottom line on a beautiful work of art like this car.
It could stand to have some maintenance, but if he is balking at 40 a month, then that is hopeless.
I told him that it would be way cool to drive around in a unique car like this, especially in the coming years as they disappear every day. I think he was a little wierded out by the thought of being an old man, driving his father's car who was older when he had it too!
Maybe it will stay at around 4-5 grand, but I thought maybe in ten years it will be 7 to 9. ?
Oh well,
there is no way I can take on another Benz

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Unless it could be the replacement for the 4.5 with the "future bleak".

Happy Motoring, Mark

[gerryvz]

A run-of-the-mill 116 will never be worth much of anything, unless it is a time-warp car (say, less than 10K miles) or it is a time-warp 450SEL 6.9 (say, less than 50K miles).

The prices on 6.9s (which arguably are the most collectable 116s) have nose-dived over the past few years. I sold a pristine 6.9 with 83K original miles on it (I bought it with 57K) for $11K and I was DAMN glad to get that. And that included nearly $1K worth of suspension work, so the real sale price was closer to $10K.

A car with that many miles on it, no matter the condition, is probably worth $2-4K TOPS. Likely closer to $2K. However, it is a very reliable car, largely if not totally exempt from emissions in many places, that is extremely solidly built, relatively safe, and if not rusty will provide hundreds of thousands of more motoring miles if not abused and well-maintained.

If you don't want it, sell it to a collector who will drive it and take care of it. The worst thing for these cars is not to drive them -- to let them sit in a garage somewhere. They rot from the inside out. Remember "garages kill"

Cheers,
Gerry

[joshhol]

They rot from the inside out. Remember "garages kill"

! Not another thing to worry about. Do you mean in the sense that the car doesn't get used, or is it a moisture content thing?

You're right. I'm sure I could find someone on this board to take care of it. I replenished the coolant a few months back, but that's all I've done.

Unless it could be the replacement for the 4.5 with the "future bleak".

Nah, it's probably not going to go that way. I'm up to my eyeballs in old Benzes as it is. The nice thing about the 4.5 is it is a beater. The 450 needs quality care and I'm spread too thin already. I've been struggling with the idea of a commuter type replacement.

Probably the best thing for the car is someone on this board. It's not getting used enough.

[gerryvz]

Garages Kill and "rots from the inside out" mean that when these cars don't get used, they disintegrate before your eyes.

Hoses rot, rubber mounts collapse, tires get flat spots, coolant gets weak, brake fluid acquires moisture and rots brake hoses, oil doesn't get circulated around the engine, air conditioning loses refrigerant because of seal leakage, gaskets disintegrate and leak, transmssion seals seep, gasoline chemically disintegrates, and so on.

A vintage Benz needs to be driven at least once per month, preferably once a week, in order to be maintained in tip-top shape. This means driving at least 10-15 miles to circulate things, heat up the engine oil, and so forth. Fluids need to be changed at prudent intervals whether the car is driven or not.

If this is not done, within 3-5 years of sitting or not being driven regularly, the car begins to show "lack of use" issues.

Cheers,
Gerry

[Dana B.]

I can proudly proclaim my piece of the Pops -- my late grandfather's last MB, a '91 300D 2.5T. Call me sentimental, but I have and will spare no expense in maintaining this car.

My grandfather, of the same name, loved his Benzes. He was also such a helion on the road that his three kids conspired to have his license taken away. The nonegenerian drove anyway, to and from the post office in a ritual at least 60 years long. My hat was off the day, during a family coup, he got his license back.

When he died, at 94, the trunk of w124 trunk was dented from backing into Revolutionary War-era stone walls in Conn. The front end had been repaired after he ran it into a telephone pole. In his final years, few would drive with him, fearing he'd take out a gang of teen-agers at the local ice cream parlor.

My grandfather had owned 108s, 115s, 123s and the ultimate metallic dung-colored w124. During family visits, I washed and waxed them all.

The point of this lengthy message is that you can't "pencil out" a family heirloom. One must simply make room for it and, resources permitting, pay the price of loving and cherishing the memory.

Hey, you can own the watch. But it's much more fun to drive the old man's car.

[joshhol]

The point of this lengthy message is that you can't "pencil out" a family heirloom. One must simply make room for it and, resources permitting, pay the price of loving and cherishing the memory.

I wish my uncle saw it that way.