I am looking to pick up a second car. I really like
older MBs but don't know much about them. What should
I get? I would like something unusual that still has
parts available and that would be easy to work on or
restore. Are parts readily available for 1962 or
older models? I suppose that what I find will dictate
what I use it for. If I find a nice convertible, it
would be my summer driver; if I find a solid early
70's sedan, then my 560SEL would become my summer driver.
Anyway, I'm just interested in opinions so that I know
what to look for.
Speaking of looking, where should I look? This website
has lots of information, but few cars for sale. The
Autotrader site has newer MB mostly. Again, any opinions
would be great.

Thanks.
PS: I would have to get a 1975 or older car so that I can
post my future questions here.

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VR
1967 250SL

For older cars, try these websites: http://www.190slgroup.com and http://www.pontonpage.com. This represents cars from the 50's and 60's. The problem with older cars is that unless you invest in something collectable, you can easily pour more money in the car than it is worth. You might also look at the follow on for the 190sl, the 230/250/280sl series. Parts for ALL of the SLs are readily available, and except for the 300SL, prices are fairly reasonable (except for chrome...). You will be most successful if you choose a vehicle that someone else has already restored. Watch out for rust, it is the bane of all of these cars...

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Bill Streep
San Antonio
'57 190SL (toy)
'08 S5500 (mine)
'09 CLK550 (wife's)
'06 SLK350 (daughter's)
'11 GLK350 (daughter's)
'03 CLK310 (spare)

If looking at traderonline.com, don't skip the collectable section. Deezel located his '72 280SEL in the collectable section. Very reasonable price too.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Actually, I located my car by posting on this site, though I had done a bit of work through traderonline. That site is a great way to test the water on price ranges.
Good Luck!

You've got to go a long way to beat a 108 with the 4.5L V-8. Hard to find a good one (i.e. rust) Classic style, safe, solid, powerful. Burns a lot of fuel. 111 coupes and converts are great, overpriced and there is a lot of junk out there (patched together rust buckets with great paint advertised as "body off restorations" (how the hell you get the body off a unibody car?) and "rust free california cars" 107 SL's are a good buy - lot of bang for the buck there. 113 SL's are again a great car, but again rust and misrepresentation are a big factor. Avoid good deals on air susepension cars (109/112) unless you know exactly what you are getting into. I never purchased a car from an ad...and I've found that the better independent shops have a good line on whats available in your area. Feel free to p/mail me for a primer on what to look for in a 108 or 111.

Deezel,

I just realized my confusion...

It was the blue one that is/was close by me that was posted on traderonline.com. I musta been a bit tired when I answered that, go figure, look at the posting time , getting harder and harder to squeeze everthing into one day.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

If you want a nice, old convertable, you're talking about dropping between 2k and 22k. The difference, of course, is that the 2k convertable is going to need 32k to get it to look like and drive like that 22k.

Pick a price you're willing to spend on having a solid, running car. For 1,200$, you can have a nice '60s sedan that runs, drives, passes inspection, but needs rust repair, improved paint, fixes to the interior and rechroming, lots of rechroming.

For 10,000$, you can have killer 300sel 6.3 sedan that will do 0-60 faster than you'd think possible for a 2 ton pile of solid steel. You'll also pay several 100$ everytime you drive the car, which will be rarely, since you won't want to scratch the paint.

After you decide on how much you want to spend, think about repair work. Will you do your own oil changes and making everything else spiffy? Some of us find that fun, some think it's just in the way of enjoying the car.

As for cost & availability of parts, the parts aren't that expensive and they're available. Heck, this whole web site is one bigs parts warehouse. This forum is just the spot where the customers and non-customers just hang out to shoot the breeze and smell the grease in the morning air.

Lastly, check out http://www.mbz.org and http://www.mercedes-veterans.com for more old-benz related stuff. The veterans site is dedicated to the veterans, that the cars, not the people.

-CTH

PS. The first benz I was a passenger in sold me on the luxury and elegance of the marque. It was a cold, rainy day and a coworker picked me up while walking to the office. After I started to thaw from the heat on my toes, I began to think I was sitting in the guy's living room. Here was a leather sofa, hard wood paneling, and the music was soothing. Arlon had completely restored an old rust bucket 190 to a real lovely thing of beauty. Mind you, that was the second cheapest car they built and it was heaven.

__________________
- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

6.9!!!!

Check out http://www.m-100.org for more info.

__________________
Regards,
Aaron

I have come to love the w113 and am restoring a 1971 280sl. Parts are available and *reasonable* (not cheap but easy to get). It's a great top down car and unusual enough to be a good conversation piece. Rides great, handles great, looks great and is solid, solid, solid. The dashboard is industrial art. These cars are also reasonably priced but it's important to have the car checked for rust and spend more to get one that is relatively rust free.

Good Luck

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Regards,

Tom S.
1971 280SL Tunis Beige Metallic
1971 280SL Tobacco Brown (13K miles)
1970 280SL Deep Red
1994 E320 Cabriolet
1999 E320 Wagon 4Matic
2002 LX 470
1992 Land Cruiser

have you ever looked at cars.com? it's gota a built in search engine that will help you locate what you want and how far away you care to travel, and there's tons on there. I have a 67 250 but like mentioned before be careful. you can still find them fairly inexpensive, and if you plan on keeping it can be a good investment.

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German autos!!!
'67 250se coupe
'89 190e 2.6
'05 BMW x5
'59 0319 diesel Omnibus.
Italian bikes!!!
'64 Lambretta Special 185 hot rod scooter
'66 Lambretta SX200
'59 Lambretta 250 race bike
'70 Lambretta GP200
'77 860gt ducati
'66 ducati monza

The best bet in an open top car is the 107 model SL Roadster. The ’72 to 89’s have great parts and service availability, run strong and solid, look great and are a lot of fun in the sun. They can be had from a few thousand to $40,000. The older ones are less expensive but not as refined. If you buy a cheap Junker to fix up, the least expensive thing you will do is buy it. Make sure the entire climate controls, radio and electronics work. They can be expensive to diagnose and repair. The body should be rust free because there are a lot of them out there. Wood and interior parts are expensive too. Don’t be in a hurry. The V8’s can run to 350,000 miles but be sure it has had proper oil changes, timing chain and rails over 100,000 miles and look over the records. This is my opinion. The 230, 250, 280 are great but prices are higher. They are easier to work on.

Steve
107 Roadster Fanatic

Vaughn
You might want to check the motor vehicle regulations for your area and decide if your second Benz is to be registered as an antique or daily driver.
Here in Northern Virginia any vehicle 25 years or older can be registered as an antique, exempting it from safety and emmisson inspections. In Virginia, the regulations allow antique vehicles to be driven "for parades, shows, club events...for the purpose of test driving and repairing the automobile...and occasional trips up to 250 miles from home. Currently, ANY vehicle 25 years or older, whether registered as antique or not is exempt from emmissions inspection here.
Your state may be different.
Good luck,
Mark

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DrDKW