What a $66,000 280SL at Barrett Jackson looks like...

[Panzer82]

Whew... almost a week in Scottsdale, attending 5 auctions, even I have had enough cars for a while. It was fun to meet up with a couple of SL113 members at the auctions, we would have never met had it not been for this forum.

I was amazed, as I am each year, at the different condition and quality levels of W113 SLs at the different auction houses.

One particular car stood out to me, as a good example of what you can stumble into if you don't really know what you're looking at under the lights of a loud, flashy auction.

What was unfortunate here was that the consignor, a dealer from Canada as best I can tell, labeled all sorts of things under the hood of the car to convince potential buyers of the 'originality' and 'correctness' of the car... while simultaneously drawing attention away from some really scary parts. Pay close attention to the 'fender notches'. I saw all kinds of creative fender notches in Scottsdale, these were some of the WORST! How about that drywall screw that's not quite covered by bondo on the driver's side front edge rocker panel? And that black rattle can overspray from the rocker panel to the fender edge? Wait a minute... isn't that under-hood data plate supposed to be body color? Oh, and the paint still smelled wet (I'm not kidding). I could go on... and someone paid $66,000 for this car!

[114015]

Dear John,

Thanks a lot for this very interesting insight !  

Pay close attention to the 'fender notches'.

Yes, that's the best fender notch I have ever seen so far !
It looks also as if the seller used paint remover on the relay bracket around the data plate but forgot to remove the paint ...!

A good one nevertheless ...

Achim

[KevinC]

The Fender/Headlight notches appeared up close to be made from 30 seconds with a three sided hand file. This SL and its little marketing signs are an unfortunate example of what Barrett-Jackson "allows" in their offerings vs others such as Gooding, Bonham and RM. When I sold my car at Gooding last year, I asked if they wanted me to supply a placard with photos. They essentially suggested that THEY take care of the marketing. Point taken.

Good to meet you Dave.

[Panzer82]

It was nice to meet you too Kevin. I was glad to see such strong money for the moss green 280SL at Gooding and Co.(lot 104 - $176,000 incl. buyer's premium), that was one of the most honestly presented W113s I saw all week. It was clean, but not TOO clean... underneath, was washed and tidy, but not surgically clean, a restoration wasn't completed just last week, the engine bay was, again, clean, but not overly detailed, it was a little oily under there. It had its original spot weldded fenders and proper headlamp notches (although technically speaking, both of those things can be recreated during a restoration, although I don't think that was the case here) illustrating to me it was a largely original, undamaged, un-rusted car. The interior and paint looked great. It looked like a really, really high quality car that could be driven and enjoyed without worrying obsessively about a rock chip, as it wasn't a concours condition show car.

An overarching theme I heard from lots of industry pundits in Scottsdale this year, from the Sports Car Market Insider's Seminar to the Desert Stars Section Mercedes-Benz panel discussion at their Saturday dinner, where I was a panelist, was how the first question anyone is asked these days is 'what should I buy today that will be worth more next year' nobody asks... 'Which one drives the best or which one is most comfortable and reliable for vintage touring?' Whether someone is talking about XK Jaguars, Pagoda SLs, or Porsche 356s... it seems everyone wants to buy whatever will be worth the most in the future with little thought as to what it might actually be like to live with the car and drive it.

Is a driver quality 230SL 1/3 the fun of a 280SL because it's 1/3 the price? I doubt it.

[Bonnyboy]

I was noticing the latest Sports Car Market pocket price guide - low price for a 280sl is now $80,000.    Somewhere around the summer of 2013 our beloved Pagoda 280SLs went from Grade C investment at a low of $50,000 to a Grade B investment at $50,000.  Ever since then the climb has been strong.   

My question is what happened in the Summer of 2013 to change the investment grade from a C to a B?    The 300sl was still at a low of $500,000 but they were heading north fast.

The last conversation I had with a vintage dealer on Pagodas was all about investment grade and appreciation - I told him I like to drive mine (hard) and he didn't seem to get it.