69 280 Sl euro with rear seat

[n/a]

hello all need info on this 280 SL VIN # 11304410014515 is green with parchment interior and green carpeting, my apologies ahead of time, I simply say green as I do not know the factory name for this color..
Has a fold down rear seat, no softtop and does not look like it ever had a softtop, looks as though it left the factory with the rear seat installed. no hardtop so hence I am looking for a hardtop, no engine or trans, is a 4 speed car but engine (short block ) is rebuilt and ready has rust in both rockers and a little bit into floors near rockers, front fenders left & right and headlight openings are reshaped and filled with filler and is heavy bubbling.
Sat outside for last 5 years, carpet and seats are worn but still okay for driver, paint is very bad....what is something like this worth, I offered $1800.00 and owner said it was not enough but he would get back to me.....
Suppossedly the lack of a soft top and factory rear seat is some special california edition, has anyone ever heard of this,
Tim Williams/.....

[Ricardo]

Hi Tim
Yep they were sold without softtops and became known as "california coupes" not that they were only sold in california and Mercedes Benz never referred to them as such....... some folks apparently didn't want a soft top...it does affect market value though and they aren't considered as valuable, though many have had softops added and softtop frames can be found. The value for any unrestored car is pretty difficult to determine. Rust issues are pretty expensive for the average owner. Being a body shop you know how much work is involved, but at least all the panels are available new and the same can be said for most of the parts. Used engines can be found and the same engines were used in sedans of the era. There is a ton of info on this site regarding repair and evaluation, so spend some time and you'll be able to assess how much money it will take. The general opinion is that it will cost more to restore than you can resell for, but if you like the car, it often doesn't matter. If you want to make some money on it, it won't be easy money....they don't fetch 60's Mustang prices unless they are exceptional and they cost a lot more to restore....all that being said, there aren't many examples in any condition selling for less than $5k....
Hope that helps