Author Topic: Possible Purchase  (Read 5492 times)

jellis25

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Possible Purchase
« on: August 27, 2011, 20:25:35 »
I have been looking at purchasing this 230sl and the owner allowed me to take lots of pictures. I am wondering if you guys could throw out some prices for me.  I have one in mind but really have no idea what I am doing.  One interesting thing I found was that the the id plate (which is pictured) indicates that the model is a cali coupe with the "7". The vehicle however is without a third seat. 

Apparently it runs fine, he even showed me the last service record with plugs and wires replaces to "get it in good running order." I have not yet driven it or looked much underneath. That will be my next step if we can find a price we both like.

Any help would be appreciated. Even comments on things that are not original ect. I encourage the dialog.

Thanks!

John

Edit - Link should be fixed*****

Link to pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/Jellis25/230sl?authuser=0&feat=directlink
« Last Edit: August 27, 2011, 22:32:00 by jellis25 »

Jordan

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2011, 22:05:21 »
John, link doesn't work (?).  Why are you haggling over a price before you have even seen or driven the car?  Do they have a price in mind?  Go see the vehicle, drive it and give it a good inspection and then decide on a price you are willing to pay.  Pictures mean nothing I am sorry to say, when buying a vehicle I should clarify.  What does "get it in good running order" mean?  Who decides and was it not before?  This site is invaluable for details if you are willing to spend the time on the research.

Nothing beats seeing the car and driving it, even if you have someone you trust do it for you.  Then decide on a price, not before.
Good luck.
Marcus
66 230SL  Euro 4 speed

jellis25

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2011, 22:39:19 »
Jordan,

Thanks for the input. I have seen it and was the one who took the pictures. Planning on driving it soon. But wanted to organize as much info on the details of the car that were hard to get by reading through the forums and guides.

Feel free to add comments on the pictures if you wish. I corrected the link.

badali

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2011, 22:47:13 »
The pictures don't match the data plate.  The car in the pictures has a soft top.  I don't think a 230 SL was offered in a california coupe.  Something may be altered on this car.  I would have to see it in person to verify it but take an expert with you that knows the data plates before you consider it.
Brad

1961 220 Sb
1966 230 SL (Sold)
2019 E 450 4 Matic
2022 GLC 300 4 Matic

pj

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2011, 04:36:22 »
Hi John,
You should definitely drive the car and figure this out about the data card before you make an offer. But I like the colour combination and the way it looks in the pictures. It's in somewhat better shape than mine (#09474) and I paid a little less than $15k. To be honest, you've got pretty much exactly the configuration I originally wanted, including the Euro-headlights and blue interior. Also, I bought mine w/o radio. What's cute is that the little trim centre on my tach has plopped off just like yours on the speedometer (in picture 28).

Heh, do you get to keep the licence plate? It's great   :)

Good luck and please let us know.
Peter J
1965 230SL #09474 named Dagny
2018 B250 4matic named Rigel

jameshoward

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2011, 07:48:28 »
It doesn't look absolutely terrible from what little you can tell in the pics.

However, you should get it on a ramp (perhaps before you drive it - cutting about the highways and byeways would be a bad time to find out that the brakes are shot) and take a good look/more photos.

Can't tell if there's been some tarting up of the car. The sills look like they're been sprayed relatively recently (?) and is that new silver paint on the exhaust? Put your hand up inside the front wheel arches and feel for the square metal 'bar' that runs horizontally inside the wing. Give it a good digging and see if there's rust. Remove the sill covers and check the sills also.

Please do a lot of searching of this site and see what other advice previous buyers have been given - there's lots.

In summary, and without you having checked it on a ramp or driven it: the chrome looks ok; (important as it's HUGELY expensive); the interior you could live with; the engine bay doesn't look too fiddled with; not sure how big a deal the rust on the floor pans is, but worth checking; the cracked windshield won't be cheap to replace and if not installed properly can trash the chrome surround stuff; the left wing seems to have been badly re-sprayed and may have a rust bubble emerging; (check it generally for a tart up job to hide flaws); the interior looks pretty good; a bit grubby but will clean up fine. Seat rips are easy to fix. Once you've done all that, you may want to get someone to give the engine a look at. Could check the radiator for leaks and engine compression (the latter is easy to do yourself). That said, these cars are mechanically very robust, so if it runs along nicely, you're probably OK.

Then it's price. If the car has no soft top that would seem to me to drive the price down. Hard top condition is impoartant. Re-furbs are v difficult and $$$$$$. Take note of what pj said on price and don't over pay. This car needs some work so you want to get it at a good price.
James Howard
1966 LHD 230SL

badali

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2011, 09:53:03 »
The car looks like it has a soft top.  If you look at the pictures of the compartment you can see the hinge through the chrome cover.  The data plate shows a 7 so something is not right.  The car may have had the data plate switched.  Other than that the car looks like it has potential.
Brad

1961 220 Sb
1966 230 SL (Sold)
2019 E 450 4 Matic
2022 GLC 300 4 Matic

jellis25

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #7 on: August 29, 2011, 13:28:14 »
Yes it does have a soft top. That is what seems odd to me. The paint on the data plate match but the style doesn't. has anyone seen this before?

Also the touch up job is a primer. I am going to try and get the data card and see if I can sort the whole "7" thing out.

Thanks for the help so far.

pj

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2011, 13:42:58 »
Hello James and everyone,
>  Put your hand up inside the front wheel arches and feel for the square metal 'bar' that runs horizontally inside the wing.
That's a really good idea! On my car, we discovered a little surprise up there. Not only were the curved metal panels that discourage mud rusted out (on both sides) but "the square metal bar that runs horizontally" from behind the headlight over the wheel arch and back to the firewall . . . was missing! (On one side.) That took some fixing. I like the way my wheel arches look now. I'm pleased with the job the body guys did.
Peter J
1965 230SL #09474 named Dagny
2018 B250 4matic named Rigel

AudioGuy

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #9 on: August 29, 2011, 18:13:28 »
It looks to my eye like a major restoration project to get the car looking good.  I just completed a restoration on a 280Sl and had $65,000 just in restoration costs not including the car.  I think you need to decide what your intentions are with the car.  If you are going to restore find the most solid and straightest car as possible.  Don't spend any extra money because it looks OK because you will be redoing it anyway.  If the car is just a reasonable driver and you want it to look acceptable, buy a car in that condition.  As I indicated restoring these cars is fairly expensive. 

These cars are going up in value and a very nice restored car can bring close to six figures.
Mark
1986 Porsche Carrera

jellis25

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #10 on: August 29, 2011, 18:44:59 »
Thanks Mark.

I am looking for something to spend time on over the weekends and to drive on sundays. Later on down the road I think it would be fun to put some real money in to it.

Right now I would like to get it looking nice and running well. Nothing crazy.

Shvegel

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Re: Possible Purchase
« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2011, 03:22:02 »
This looks like a Euro market car to me. If it is keep in mind the speedometer will have had to be changed(KPH to MPH) when it was imported per US DOT regulations so the miles reflected will be the miles since importation and not total miles.