Any ideas where this car has been?

[bogeyman]

Saw this on ebay and - WOW
Hurricane victim?  Bottom of the ocean?
Any ideas?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRUE-1971-Mercedes-280SL-W113-ONE-LAST-ONES-MADE-/120617669176?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c155f9238

[69280sl]

Like the seller says " rust here and there"

Gus

[douglas dees]

Saw this on ebay and - WOW
Hurricane victim?  Bottom of the ocean?
Any ideas?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRUE-1971-Mercedes-280SL-W113-ONE-LAST-ONES-MADE-/120617669176?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c155f9238

This car has either been submerged  in water or a very damp storage. You don't see interiors with mold like this unless there has been extensive water damage. My car was stored out doors in snow and rain under a cover for 4 years and it was clean on the inside.
Buyer beware
Doug Dees

[Ulf]

Could possibly have been stored under blankets that have soaked up water - sad, but the right person might turn it into a jewel again in a couple of years.

[Bernd]

yeah Ulf..assuming they don't run out of money and enthusiasm. IMO only good for parts...and given the amount of rust, only SOME parts at best

[JamesL]

Much of that looks, to my untrained eye, to be surface rust - the underside is not too bad. The seller knows what he's selling and has photo'd the obvious bits - trunk foor, headlamp bowls etc

It's a resto job and a biggun but I reckon that's no basket case. Then again I know nothing

[Shvegel]

Sure. It's been in a back yard in Florida for 20 years. Someone bought it, Thought they would get it running. Realized the engine was frozen beyond belief and the fuel system was toast and hit the silk.

If you could inspect it well it might be worth a couple of dollars for a restorable body but it needs everything else.

[Shvegel]

After looking at the photos again I'd say it was bought to go under the fiberglass 300 Gullwing shell in the background and it was too far gone to be worth getting it running again.

[al_lieffring]

I looked through the photo gallery and it looks to me like there is not one single servicable part on that entire car. Aluminum scrap metal is at an all time low, so there is not even any value there. That is not surface rust, you could poke a screw driver through about any steel panel on the body or frame. The frame is even rusted through at the steering box mount, that is the thickest metal on the car.

My guess the car had extreme rust patch work done maybe 30 years ago and after that was driven into a lake, was dredged out and left to sit for several decades with the hard top off under a blue plastic tarp in someone's back yard. The bottom of the hard top is completly rusted away like it was burried 6" in the mud when they found it.

The best way to make a little money working on old cars is to spend lots of money.

[Jordan]

It might just be me but I am sensing a bit of negativity here  .  You have to give him/her some credit in that it looks like they tried to shine up the tires, and the hub caps look usable.

[Cees Klumper]

... You have to give him/her some credit in that it looks like they tried to shine up the tires ...

I saw that too! That has to be the ultimate.

This is probably what that car that sat in the German Neckar river for decades would turn out like after your average all-out restoration job. I am all for saving every last Pagoda, but even I would hesitate to call this one ...

[IXLR8]

Hi--

I suppose that I shouldn't say this, but my 230SL started out worse than this.

Lots of K&K panels are welded into mine--headlight buckets, floor panels, trunk floor, rockers, front and rear quarters, etc. It had been hit, so I also sprung for a new nose piece.

I bought mine with a friend 20 years ago on a mechanic's lein. It had sat out for three years. We got it for $3000. He bought me out, and now I have bought him out.

Incidentally, the eBay car is up over $9000 with more than 5 days left on the auction.

Joe

[Ulf]

9000 dollars??? Hope it's a very skilled (and rich) DIY-guy, who gets it...

[mdsalemi]

Looks a bit better than what I started with.

[J. Huber]

We seem to be of 2 minds on the value of this car. I would never have thought it would fetch 9000. Based on this, maybe mine is worth more than the 12-14 I think it is? Anyway, just hope the buyer understands what is ahead in restoring this one.

[badali]

OK,  All that being said.  I bought mine for just a little more and it mostly needed to be driven.  They are at $9850 now and I think the new owner may have buyers remorse at its current price.

[Shvegel]

It's a fairly common trap to fall into and I know it all to well. I spotted mine out back of shop where I was installing a convertible top on a Saab about 10 years ago. I said to the shop owner "I really like those cars but could never afford one." He said "You can have that one for $5000USD" The interior was nice except for the powdered heater levers, The engine was stuck hard, the body looked OK but had been butchered by a previous restoration attempt and when I got it home I found out the shop owner had sold off some pretty expensive bits like the convertible top frame and the turn signal stalk.

I make it a point to not get involved with three strike cars. Any car that needs Body, Mechanical and Interior is almost always not worth bringing back to life unless of course it is a Gullwing 300Sl found in a hedge that was owned by a young King Hussien.

Whomever the new owner is I hope he goes out and finds a running 280SE driveline and gets it running in a hurry. Maybe if he can drive it a bit it will ease the sting of what is to follow.

[IXLR8]

NOW at $10, 350!!

The value of all of our cars is going up!!

Joe

[badali]

This may end up being the case of the non paying bidder.  I bet we see it relisted in a few weeks after the auction.

[Bernd]

Ridiculous. The person that buys this either a) has too much money, b)is a saint, or c) has absoulutely no idea what he/she is getting into.
I hope it works out.  I would DEFINITELY not want to pay the restauration cost on that one, and I am one of the crazy DIY'ers that like to tinker. Even then  just adding up some initial items would kill my budget. Forget it.

[IXLR8]

.

Now at $11,600 !!!


18 hours to go. (This is like a suicide watch.)


Joe

[menesesjesse]

Can someone say Katrina because this looks like an great example of what salt water does to cars.  11.6 is strong money and it is interesting to see this play out.

[gzmavian]

The bidders must feel reassured knowing the car  front headlight -body panel notches as pointed out in the photos.

[IXLR8]

Winning bid: US $12,100.00

Now, I've got to call Hagerty and increase the value of my cxar for insurance purposes.


Joe