Brabus Classic: Pagodas

[dwahi]

Interesting article and probably been discussed here before....but would anyone here spend over €200,000 on a factory fresh Pagoda? I think I would miss the vintage charm of a over 40 year old car, with all its nicks and bruises (and adding your own mark on the car!)

http://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/would-you-spend-235000-euros-mercedes-benz-pagoda?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Little%20Red%20Riding%20Hood%20E&utm_content=Little%20Red%20Riding%20Hood%20E%20CID_faa2bd1e9a3a08fb1b2af751c64b931c&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=Would%20you%20spend%20235000%20euros%20on%20a%20Mercedes-Benz%20Pagoda

[JamesL]

If I had the cash, I likely would spend that BUT


I'd want a decent firewall pad

[W113SL]

This is crazy:  Notice that the inside of the glove box on the metallic beige car is painted another color.  Also notice the car with the red top did not get the baffle in front of the battery painted black.' One wonders what else is wrong as these are obvious failures.

At these prices, we would expect better than perfection.

These prices would represent world record prices for Pagodas.  The Classic Center sold one at Pebble Beach last year for $250,000 US.

Pete Lesler
W113SL

[andyburns]

See photo

[Flyair]

assuming it is a leak, the price rebate would be.... 500 US$?

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

assuming it is a leak, the price rebate would be.... 500 US$?

More like $2,000- if you live in Canada

Looks like a transmission leak to me.

[49er]

My manual transmission has always leaked from day 1. It was a factory installed option:-)

John

[Jonny B]

Crazy indeed, I am in agreement with Pete,

A bunch of detail stuff
Engine hose clamps in gold
No hood bumpers on the firewall
subrame covers on a 280 SL
yellow oil cap
dipstick top should be red
hood catch should be body color
Vacuum booster line milk white

Blue car - tranny plate should be body color.

[andyburns]

Given all the interior stuff I have been doing recently I have noticed the following.  I feel a bit nasty nailing all these flaws but they are advertising the cars as better than new then perhaps they sort of deserve a bit of tight scrutiny. 

[hkollan]

Andy,

No need to feel bad about that, maybe some Brabus person will read this and learn something for their next project.
Their classic car venture is still pretty young. At least the current pagodas they offer are slightly more correct/original
than the first pagodas they displayed a few years ago at the TC in Essen(one white car sold for I believe 148k EUR the first day of the fair).
 So at least they are improving on the details, and the prices...

Hans

[paulr]

Andy, you're absolutely right.

There is a company in Berkshire that does there "own" Pagoda for £75K and the between the two I saw at the showroom, they had "chrome' painted engine bits, black wiper arms, unpainted wheel trims, behind the grille slats body colour and not matt black, wrong interior and on one , odd exterior mirrors, wrong rear lenses for the model, wrong tyres and worst of all, cheap modern flashing light radios in the dash.

What upsets me is not really the money but the idea that the seller thinks we are stupid. Don't they think that we now everything about our potential purchase beforehand ? I heard that if you look at the quality of tyres some one uses, you can tell a lot about their attitude to their car. I don't believe this particular vendor gives a monkey's ( Slang ) about the Pagodas or the people buying them, rather it's just a way to buy a £20K car, chuck some shiny bits on and sell it for £75K.

They know who they are and should be ashamed of themselves.

[lamakdaddy]

The irony is it probably took nore effort to chrome the parts then it would have to have bead blasted and plated them...

[stickandrudderman]

I don't believe this particular vendor gives a monkey's ( Slang ) about the Pagodas or the people buying them, rather it's just a way to buy a £20K car, chuck some shiny bits on and sell it for £75K.

They know who they are and should be ashamed of themselves.

Unfortunately it's quite the norm here in the UK and probably in other countries too.

It frustrates me enormously knowing that I have to compete with these cheats.
Most of them wouldn't be able to pronounce or spell the word "integrity" let alone know what it means.

[andyburns]

What about caveat emptor.  Surely someone with a spare 75k to blow on a classic car wouldn't be so stupid not to get it appraised before negotiating the price.  Probably even at 75k an old tatty pagoda now is probably a good investment.  Stick I think you just need to rake up your prices in line with Brabus.  I am sure your work is on a par if not better!  Just get a good marketing team on the job when it comes time to sell.  I find it just as amusing that they put their cars up and say they are 'as new'.  I am sure there are dozens and dozens of parts on them which are well used.  I think it near on impossible to make one new again especially since there are a large number of NLA parts.  Can you claim a car is as new when its got heaps of aftermarket bits and bobs all over it.  Its an interesting thought.

[stickandrudderman]

That's an interesting comment Andy.

Just get a good marketing team on the job when it comes time to sell

There's a company here in the UK that has sprung up in the last few years that has pretty much captured the 107 market. I used to do at least 3 107s per week and now it's more like 3 per year.
I was called upon recently to appraise the work of this company and I discovered that it is owned by a used car dealer who employs a publicity company........

[Cees Klumper]

Visited the Geneva auto show yesterday and the Brabus stand again featured a 280 SL Pagoda for EUR 235,000 "net price" (not sure whether that means taxes are additional ...).

[andyburns]

Crees,  I would be interested in your impressions of the car 'in the flesh'.   I am picking it looked pretty awesome.  Did you get any photos?

[Cees Klumper]

Hi Andy,

No pictures unfortunately, but the car looked good. Black, everything like new. Michelin tires, lots of cad plating and obviously the car has not been driven, so it's I guess your proverbial 'trailer queen' for the moment.  It looked like the same car that was there last year, I didn't want to spend too much time looking it over, but probably I could have spotted some minor faults. Assuming it drives flawlessly as one should be able to expect, this is for those people who 'don't have to ask' and just want one of the most elegant and impressive cars to enjoy when the mood strikes and don't want to go through time-consuming hoops to find a good one. Then Classic Center or someone like Brabus is probably where you go. Geneva is just the place for a proposition like this, many people who live in $10 million-plus homes, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins all around, Russian billionaires, million-dollar diamond necklaces in all the shop windows and so on, so 'different world' from most of us!

[andyburns]

Cees, yes definitely a different world from the one I live.  Would have been an interesting show.  Would love to go back to Europe and experience that type of thing again.  Its been over 10 years since I did it last and the memory has faded.  I would desperately love to go back to Goodward again.  That was amazing.  Even back then the average cost of the cars was in excess of a million.  Not much of a fan of all the new stuff but any gathering of classics sets my heart on fire!

[Jkalplus1]

Where is the door pull?

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

My manual transmission has always leaked from day 1. It was a factory installed option:-)

John

John, I've given up on fixing my oil leak for the time being. I've spend nearly $2K to this point in time trying to fix it. Unless I get the engine and transmission rebuild it will stay as is (if it is not broke don't fix it). I'm glad I have dip sticks and can monitor my oil.

BTW. I read your story the other day in Pagoda Notes issue enjoyed reading it immensely!