Quote:
Originally Posted by 300SDog
Actually this says more about you than it does about restoring VMB's.
At/near basic level say $1999 or less initial entry fee, y'all be pressed to find a more enjoyable old world project car than the fatbod 300d unless yer lucky enough to git yer hands on Pontoon that aint rusted to smitherines, no such problems with the 300d that carries more German steel than the English channel. Otherwise coupes, cabrios? Yeah sure if ye got $10k kickin around just to git ye started.
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Huh? What's a VMB?
As W. C. Fields said: "Just because I like to look at elephants, doesn't mean I'd want to own one.".
My comments are based upon 35 years of owning Mercedes, performing significant overhauls/amateur restoration on a number of Mercedes, and specific experience from the early seventies on, in and around these very cars we are discussing.
My point in the above quote that "says a lot about me" is this:
Any 300, whether it is an a, b, c, or d version, is not a wise purchase when it needs a complete restoration. I don't care what value (if any) you place on your time, and believe me, as you get older, it becomes increasingly valuable both in terms of what you have remaining, and what remuneration you can get for it, you will never, ever, even come close to making a profit on a car like this. Hell, you'll be so upside down in a project like this one, you'll never dig your way out. The cost of interior restoration for wood and leather alone will likely approach the completed value of the car. Priced a Becker Mexico for a 300 lately? How about a tail light lens? Bumper trim? Have you ever had parts rechromed? If you can even find shop to do it anymore.... As far as rust.... 300 bodies do indeed rust, even in the southwest. And $10k? You'd better have at least that much lying around AFTER you get the $2k car, if you expect to actually have a reliable car to run around in. Then get prepared to double your money on cosmetic issues. Far better off buying a decent looking, running 300 for the money you'll end up sinking into the cheap one.
It's not that I do not enjoy the cars, they are indeed a work of art. I've had many opportunities over the decades to buy them, but the numbers just do not work out. And, no, I'm not looking to profit every car I buy. I don't mind if they end up costing something, as long as I can get some use out of them and enjoy them. But I haven't met a cheap 300 yet, that would not have had me buried alive in cost alone to get it into good running condition and decent appearing condition.
A 300d is not to be confused with a 300SD.
So, as I said, in order for a project like this to make sense, you need to start with a car that will recover the cost of fixing it up. Hence my list of cars that would offer the potential of at least coming close to a positive ROI.
But buy a junker sedan and fix it up?
That's not a smart use of time, talent or money.
I've BTDT, and I am wiser and perhaps more cynical for the experience.
Jim