230SL VALUES

[steven0401]

I am trying to get a sense of what a 230 SL, original ZF five speed car with still nearly perfect 10 year old concours restoration would be worth. I have a pretty good idea of what value the transmission adds ($10 - $15k?), but not too good a handle on 230SL values. Any help appreciated. Also how does color change affect value?

[Douglas]

Hatch restored a tunis beige 230SL back in the 90s that commanded huge money at the time. It sold a couple of times on a par with its best 280SL peers. That car was a restored car with a color change.

There have been some astronomically high prices paid at auction (Christie's, I believe) for 230SLs within the last few years ($100K+), but for low mileage survivors and not restored examples. I believe 2 or 3 different 230SLs traded in that range.

At the moment, color change doesn't seem to affect price significantly. I know of two different 280SLs that underwent color changes that fetched north of $100K within the last 2 years.

[Mark280SL]

It's an interesting notion. It seems the well documented unrestored cars in pristine condition are the ones that often bring the high prices. At least that's my impression from watching what has been selling in the last year. The 5 speed transmission without a doubt will bring a premium, I'm no expert but I've seen estimates from some it should add 10-15% (not $10,000.00) to the price of an otherwise very nice car. I've also seen some very nice cars sell at surprisingly low prices or not sell at all.

I've been told by car dealers who seem to know the business that "on a given day with the right buyer and the right car you can sell a car at a very high price" but other times a car will sit for months on end before selling , or not sell at all until the price is dropped significantly. Then of course you have the economy as a factor in all this....?

But to me....here's my best guess I'll offer just for the sake of discussion... if a 230 SL were in flawless shape, mostly original, well documented with a 5 speed. $75,000.00+/- to the right buyer...that's my guess, Supposedly the Classic Center sold a car for 95K not all that long ago but I heard conflicting reports of what it actually sold for so who knows....Like the dealer told me, right car, right buyer, on the right day....

[mdsalemi]

My issue of the SL Market letter came yesterday, and it is always a good source of information.  The latest edition covers the W111 and W112 pricing.  SL's were covered earlier in the year.

He does a good job of categorization and accounting for the options such as the ZF5.

The latest edition shows a base of 39K-49K for a condition 2/1 230SL.  Condition 1 is a 98+ show car, never or rarely driven; trailer queen is the word.  Condition 2 is 92+ point car.  +5% for good leather.  +1.5K for both tops.  +$2,500 for the ZF.

I didn't write it so don't argue with me on the subject; there's a panel of experts that decide the numbers to put here.  I think a $15K premium for the ZF would be a bit high if the SLM is to be believed.  After all the most significant value for a ZF is in driving!  These high value 230's are not cars that are driven, at least not often.

Best bet?  Look in the classifieds in the SLM; the Star; Hemmings.  Then call people like Copley, Cooper, Alex Dearborn, etc.

[steven0401]

Thank you all for yor help. Still thinking.............