Author Topic: How many are still on the road?  (Read 4559 times)

dtuttle123

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How many are still on the road?
« on: August 14, 2007, 18:26:59 »
There were about 49,000 230sl, 250sl, and 280sl's made - how many do we think are still on the road (or close to being on the road) some 35-40 year later?   My un-scientific guess is 25% or 15,000 to 16,000 vehicles.   Other opinions?

Doug
1967 250SL
Orient Red - 4 Speed

France

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2007, 23:48:24 »
I believe Cees (forgive me if I credit the wrong source) has gone over these figures quite exhaustively.  Should be available using the Search function.

Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...
Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Austrian Alps
Think of your Pagoda as a woman with a past...

TFM

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2007, 14:23:49 »
Interesting info on this on the German Pagoda Homepage (see links). They claim that about 75% of all cars ever build probably still exist in various stages of condidion and publish a table on how many are registered on the road in Germany per year http://www.pagode.info/6.htm

Having said this, I have no idea how many were exported




TFM

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2007, 14:27:33 »
Well, found the answer about the export -almost 50% of the total went to the US - see here: http://www.pagode.info/2.htm


Cees Klumper

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2007, 15:09:26 »
This question has come up several times before. No one really knows and it's anyone's best guess, so here's mine: between 25,000 (so half) and 35,000. I did do a comparison once between the number of cars thought to be in The Netherlands (roughly 1,000 which is partly based on the number of cars perpetually for sale here, which is around 100), related that to our population and then multiplied that by the total population in the developed countries of the world. I believe that estimate came to around 30,000. Factors going into it: these cars were oftentimes bought as second or third cars, by people who where generally well-off so could take care of the cars properly and usually keep them in garages. They were always relatively expensive, so worth protecting. They were durable and attractive-looking, so that helps. Of course then there was the lack of rust proofing and there was the period of time when the cars were less popular, handed down to sons/daughters and grandsons/granddaughters who drove them to college for instance, not taking very good care. My next door neighbor in Florida was a prime example of this situation. She bought one new when living on Palm Beach, then after many years of owning it, she passed it onto her son. When I saw the car back in 1991, by then in his care, it was in poor shape. So poor care, rust, and heavy accidents will have taken their toll. But I would guess at least more than half survived.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic
« Last Edit: August 16, 2007, 15:10:59 by cees klumper »
Cees Klumper
1969 Mercedes 280 SL automatic
1968 Ford Mustang 302 V8
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Coupe 1600
1962 FIAT 1500S OSCA convertible
1972 Lancia Fulvia Coupe 1.3
1983 Porsche 944 2.5
1990 Ford Bronco II

DB280

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2007, 16:02:39 »
Cees,Do you have an estimate of the LHD/RHD split for remaining cars.

Danesgate

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2007, 23:09:39 »
I know that the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in the UK are able to give figures for statistical purposes - if someone wants to contact them it should be possible to identify how many SLs are registered with them, with a date of first registration appropriate to W113 production.

 :)

Cees Klumper

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2007, 16:35:39 »
DB280 - what I would do to approximate the number of surviving RHD cars is simply take the overall survivor % and apply that to the original manufacture count for RHD cars. Adjust for any likely factors that would influence the number (RHD mostly sold to the UK with relatively moist climate?).

Danesgate: not all countries' DMV figures are reliable. For instance, someone in the Netherlands told me they tried to go that route to find out about the number of registered cars here. It turned out that the DMV's administration did not list the cars consistently, i.e. some were listed as ' 113-', some were listed under '230/250/280 SL', some were listed under yet other headings. So unless you knew all of the different 'markers' that had been assigned over the years, the count would not be complete.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic
Cees Klumper
1969 Mercedes 280 SL automatic
1968 Ford Mustang 302 V8
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Coupe 1600
1962 FIAT 1500S OSCA convertible
1972 Lancia Fulvia Coupe 1.3
1983 Porsche 944 2.5
1990 Ford Bronco II

Ziggy

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Re: How many are still on the road?
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2008, 17:51:10 »
quote:
I did do a comparison once between the number of cars thought to be in The Netherlands (roughly 1,000 which is partly based on the number of cars perpetually for sale here, which is around 100),


Cees, 1000 seems like an awful lot. I would think that if there were 500 it would still be a lot. I know for a fact that just a few years ago, the total of all registered Mercedes types <1980 in Holland was around 15,000. This number included pre war vehicles, museum pieces and wrecks still with a license. Are there really about 100 perpetually for sale? On Marktplaats there are only 10 for sale right now. Of course there would be some more for sale, but I doubt that you could find 50 for sale in Holland right now...
« Last Edit: July 20, 2008, 18:03:52 by Ziggy »