The GPB 125.000 Pagoda - is it worth it?

[Ulf]

Just came across this: http://www.howardwisecars.co.uk/index.php/car-details/mercedes_280sl_pagoda/

Seems a bit excessive, or what?

Merry Xmas!

Ulf

[Larry & Norma]

Had to run and check my car was still in the garage when i saw that

[TR]

Well it looks like a pretty nice 280SL.  So at GBP 125,000 (or USD 193,000) is it worth it?  I say sure!

[gnj588d]

Here is an ad in autocar 4 September 1964. 1956 Mercedes 300SL {Gullwing} red £537spent on engine and gearbox in January.fitted Motorola radio. £945. Worth about £500,000 now.so it might be in 40years time someone will post a reply to the Pagoda Group with a similar advert for the Pagoda,one thing for sure good examples of our cars are not going down in value, quite the oposite in fact

[MichaelB.]

I say sure too!

They are only original once. 

[Oisin]

Thats the funny thing about some prices - they seem arbitrary.  Here's an ad for a car that whose asking price was £25K a few months ago.  Now it's £40K.  Maybe the distinctive wheel arch makes it a rarity.

http://www.clivesutton.co.uk/carsavailable/mercedes-benz/mercedes-230sl.php

[pj]

I'm always the skeptic. When we see such a high price being asked for a Pagoda, do we really believe it will sell at that price? I half expect that if we track down the seller in a year, he'll tell us he sold it for 150,000 pounds, but if we meet the buyer, he'll claim he paid only 15,000. Do we have access to any reliable information about actual sales prices compared to the original asking prices?

[Eryck]

I suppose a car like this is a bit like a piece of antique.  It's hard to bench mark it since there won't be many cars out there with a similar background/history - assuming the car comes with solid documentary evidence.  It's really if someone comes a long and really wants it and would meet the asking price.  Just like antiques, difficult to judge what's fair.  I would imagine that prospective purchasers would be collectors and not someone who would use it as a daily driver!   

[Ulf]

I agree - when our Pagodas were new they were competing against cars that have risen far more in value, so maybe it is an indication that prices are going up. Let's just hope that they won't become too expensive to drive as prices for parts and labour seem to follow suit quite rapidly...

[dseretakis]

Anyone who spends that kind of money on a pagoda is a fool.

[Ulf]

But a fool with s***loads of money and a very, very nice car ;-)

[MichaelB.]

Anyone who spends that kind of money on a pagoda is a fool.

I dont think that is fair. I know someone who spent that much on a marble collection. You can at the least drive the Pagoda (which is better than just playing with your marbles).

[Garry]

If he paid that much for his marble collection i suspect he had lost his marbles some time earlier!!!

[Ulf]

Here's another one in Germany - very nice, very pricey (appr. 190k USD), with an exchange engine, reconditioned gearbox, injection pump etc.

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx?id=behecttgoz4d&asrc=fa

That too seems a little steep to me...

[mmata]

Spending that money is not foolish. If you have it and you earn that money in honest way, you deserve to have the best pagode you can find. I just bought one and the price was well above GBP 125.000.

It was rebuilt in Kienle, Germany .

I have a new car with a new air conditioned. Don't forget my country is very hot in summer. Just for the air conditioned I paid 10.000€

A lot of money, yes, but I am happy and don't want to be the richest man in the cemetery.

Let's wait 10 years and we will see if it was expensive !!!!

[joes]

Well put and you may be right.  Who knows what the future will hold for the W113.  Judging from your collection you know a thing or two about vintage cars.  Have fun with your new treasure.

[Ulf]

@Mmata, I agree and congratulations on your new car - a very nice addition to your collection. Kienle is among the best in the world and famous for their restored Gullwings as well, I regularly drool over the ones advertised in German car magazines...
My point with this thread is only that there seems to be a lot of difference in the prices - for instance, the last car I linked to is not even original, but has an exchanged engine etc. and still commands almost twice the price of similar cars that I have seen advertised lately. Generally, the prices seem to be on the rise, but the gap between the very best (such as Kienle restored cars like yours and low-mileage unrestored cars like the one who spawned this thread) and the regular fare is also widening considerably. But it is always good to know that the money thrown into restorations does not vanish into thin air, but actually increases the value with a similar amount as the restoration cost. That is a great incentive to keep our beloved cars in a good condition :-)

Ulf

PS: Airconditioning in Portugal seems like a very, very good idea as it gets HOT

[Garry]

I have seen lots of cars over the years come up for sale and the "matching numbers" requirement for some reason does not seem to be such a big deal for Pagodas so long as it is the correct engine type  for the model.  They do nat appear to command any great difference if it is or is not.
Anyone else noticed this?

Garry

[stickandrudderman]

Yes, it makes no difference at all to most buyers whether the engine is original or not.
Shanging from a 230 to a 250 or a 280 lump does have some impact, but not much.

[mbzman]

If you use it its worth it...if its sits in a garage somewhere it has no value to me,,,,I drive my cars and enjoy them.

[Iconic]

Yes, it makes no difference at all to most buyers whether the engine is original or not.

I don't know why so many people appear to believe this for Pagodas.
Ask any buyer if given two identical cars, but one is number matching, which would they prefer, and the answer will be the numbers matching car.
If this is true, which I believe it is, then it shows the numbers matching car has more value. I don't understand why people believe Pagodas are different than Porsches or Corvettes or any other car.
How much of a difference in value is difficult to say and will change over time and certainly depends on the specific car. It will matter more on a $70K car than a $15k car.

[thelews]

I don't know why so many people appear to believe this for Pagodas.

Because they're the ones whose numbers don't match.

[mmata]

Ok, the matching number is important. Mine is. But lets say the car does not have the same color and the same hartop colour when it was made.
DOES IT It devalues THE CAR price??

[thelews]

Ok, the matching number is important. Mine is. But lets say the car does not have the same color and the same hartop colour when it was made.
DOES IT It devalues THE CAR price??

There are many variables that go into the price a buyer is willing to pay.  Numbers and color are two of them.

[mmata]

@ULF
thanks for your comments, i like very much my car, tomorrow a professional photographer is going to take some pics. I will post here.