Judging from the photos of the 280 SL it was unrestored and had some very obvious problems with incorrect/non original parts, not an exceptional car by any standard when looking at the photos which may likely indicate it was even worse when examined in person up close. Could not tell very much from the 250 SL photos.
The 280 sold for a higher price then the 250 which generally seems to be the case when you look at selling prices of the earlier vs later models.