New member, old car

[iBison]

This isn't a spotted, this is our car and I just want to say hi and a little about the car and to learn more about these.

The car is a 66 that my grandparents bought new and took delivery at the factory. My grandfather's family was German and he loved Mercedes. They drove it around Europe and then had it shipped home. This was my grandfathers special car, he had other Mercedes, but this was the only one he never parted with. I highly doubt it was ever driven in snow, or bad weather with the exception of some rain and it was always kept inside. When he retired he gave it to one of his daughters who rarely if ever drove it. Her son drove it some. Some time later she gave it back to him. He had it repainted sometime while he owned it, but other than that it is original. Later on he gave it to my father. I remember riding in the back of it into town to pick up a few things from the store. I love the color and the car. We still have the German license plate and lots of paperwork. I don't know what it's worth, but I'm almost afraid to drive it and have someone hit it or something. It's got a little over 100k on it I believe.

[Bonnyboy]

Welcome.  Very nice car and its nice to have the history etc.  Black on Black with a white steering wheel - doesn't get much classier than that.   

Enjoy and by all means drive it.  Life is short.  Some cars get hit, some cars don't get hit.   Be careful with your car and your driving and hopefully you will be around as long as you want.     These cars are meant to be driven so get out and enjoy.   

There is tons of info on this site and I'm sure that you will notice quickly that it is one of the best organized forums anywhere on the www.   I am on several forums ranging from watches and kitchen knives to vintage bicycles to harleys and britsh motorcycles.  This forum is by far the best I have encountered so far.   

[49er]

Hello iBison,
 Great story and a beautiful looking car and all the better because it has been in your family all it's life. I know what you mean about driving as there is always a risk when out on the road but like Bonnyboy said, these cars are happy when driven (but maybe not during Illinois winters:-). Worth is also hard to evaluate as I am sure it is Priceless to you.
 This Forum provides an extraordinary amount of information about these wonderful automobiles and we always happy to see another Pagoda owner join our group.

John

[iBison]

Welcome.  Very nice car and its nice to have the history etc.  Black on Black with a white steering wheel - doesn't get much classier than that.   

Enjoy and by all means drive it.  Life is short.  Some cars get hit, some cars don't get hit.   Be careful with your car and your driving and hopefully you will be around as long as you want.     These cars are meant to be driven so get out and enjoy.   

There is tons of info on this site and I'm sure that you will notice quickly that it is one of the best organized forums anywhere on the www.   I am on several forums ranging from watches and kitchen knives to vintage bicycles to harleys and britsh motorcycles.  This forum is by far the best I have encountered so far.   

It's actually the beautiful dark maroon color with the tan interior. It was just at sunset so the color didn't show well.

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Welcome iBison to our Pagoda SL Group community, not much to add what Bonnyboy and John so clearly stated. I can only confirm that this car loves to hum along the highway and be driven all day long, I took mine on a 1,600 mile round trip last year all the way to Williamsburg, VA for the 50 year aneversary celebrations and it was a pleasure to drive every mile along the way. Many other Members here took long drives last year as well. So enjoy your car it is a wonderful looking car and thanks for sharing your story with us.

Always safe travels and again welcome iBison!

[Jonny B]

Indeed, welcome to the group. Where in Illinois are you? I am a reformed Midwesterner (born and raised north of Peoria), then to Louisville, Ky, then 17 years in NE Ohio (Hudson) and now in Southern California. Great story about the car. As the others have said, we are ready, willing, and mostly able to jump in to assist with you to keep the car on the road and humming along.

[iBison]

Indeed, welcome to the group. Where in Illinois are you? I am a reformed Midwesterner (born and raised north of Peoria), then to Louisville, Ky, then 17 years in NE Ohio (Hudson) and now in Southern California. Great story about the car. As the others have said, we are ready, willing, and mostly able to jump in to assist with you to keep the car on the road and humming along.

In the C-U area, been here always.

[Jonny B]

Very familiar with that area, undergraduate degree (chem eng) from Illinois

[Raymond]

Greetings!  Welcome to the forum. 
Please don't deny the rest of the world the joy of seeing that beautiful car rolling down the road.  The real value of the car is the joy it can bring you, the friends you'll make and, the lessons you'll learn about the fine mechanical engineering of these machines.  So get a good collector car insurance policy like Hagerty, Heacock, or Grundy and drive.  I hope you'll find the information here valuable enough to become a full member and that you'll bring your car and your stories to a group event somewhere this year.

[iBison]

Thanks for all of the welcomes, it looks like a great community here!

[Rothko]

Welcome!

I agree with the others.  These cars are meant to be driven.  In fact, I am of the opinion that you do a disservice to the car by not driving it on a fairly regular basis.

[Mike Hughes]

Welcome to the Group.  Lovely 230SL and a wonderful family history! I have a soft spot for them myself...

Do take it out and exercise it on some regular basis year-round, weather and salt-free roads permitting.  The Fuel Injection Pump does not tolerate allowing stale fuel (particularly the modern ethanol "enhanced" junk) to lurk within for long - running it will save you a pre-mature and expensive rebuild.

[iBison]

Thanks for the info.

[iBison]

Where do you guys go to to find a value for your cars? I was thinking this would be in the 25-30 range, but I see them listed on Hemmings int he 40-65 range. I don't know any place in town that would know enough to evaluate it.