Members Experience selling Pagoda through the Forum

[George Des]

Was wondering what other members' experiences have been in selling their Pagoda through this Forum. I am contemplating selling my own 1967 230SL with ZF 5 Speed. This is an Italian version I have owned since 1977. Have not listed it because I have not determined an asking price as of yet. Have seen the usual commericial advertisers promising fast cash and pretty much sight unseen purchases. Any experience with these? Want to get a fair price but also trying to avoid any hassles in getting paid when the deal is done.

[wjsvb ✝︎]

I have no experience selling a car through the Forum, but I've sold parts several times and found it to work well.  You may also want to look at "Bring a Trailer": it is an excellent marketplace for interesting cars and the auction format with watcher feedback is interesting too.  Also, if a buyer doesn't pay, they cut him/her off from any future participation.  Your early car with the 5-speed should bring a good price! 

[Cees Klumper]

Why not try offering it here first George, good chance it will sell and without hassles.

[George Des]

Cees,

That is my first thought. Trying to get a feel for other people's experiences doing a sale through the Forum. I would rather it go to someone who is going to keep and maintain it rather than someone who will offer fast cash and then turn around and try to make a profit off it. Most of you guys know I have been a poster for a long time on the Forum. The car has been well loved and taken care of since I purchased in Italy over 40 years ago. Not a perfect car but one that could be a 9 or a 10 with a minimum amount of cosmetic and minor mechanical work. Getting too old to be crawling around on the garage floor replacing a leaky seal or two and I have been thoroughly spoiled driving my E350 Cabriolet with all the bells and whistles. We shared many long drives in the US, Italy and Germany over the past 40 years but the time is drawing near. I'll keep the Forum posted as the car is down in Fl and I don't return there until late September. Should have details and an asking price worked out by then.

[Garry]

I am with Cees George in trying it here first.

 If you have a good idea of a fair price that you want then give the members a go to reach that price. I know of a few cars that have sold on the Forum and you will more than likely avoid selling to a flipper. If you cannot get a buyer here after a couple of weeks, by all means then try BAT as it appears to be the second option although some recently think that they may get more dollars in a BAT auction scenario.

 If you know what its worth and have a price/reserve that you would be happy with, then here may be a quick, simple and more than likely known buyer option.

[George Des]

Gary,

Thanks for the reply. I really have not determined yet what a fair price would be. When I get back to Florida next month, I plan to take some pics and collect up all the paperwork I have accumulated over the years so that when I do offer this up, the potential buyer will have have enough details to assess whether it is a fair asking price. I am aware of the ranges of prices for these cars based on an assessment of their cosmetic and mechanical condition but as we all know what may be a good to excellent condition car in the view of the owner may only be viewed as a fair condition car to a potential buyer. Again my first choice would be to deal with the Forum members but as you point out BAT could also be a viable alternative.

Regards

George

[Iconic]

If you want to see what a Pagoda on BAT looks like, my Anthracite 280 SL is in the middle of an auction right now.
Please note, on BAT typically the real bidding does not start until 15 minutes before the expected end time. Mine is only at USD$31k or so, and we all know that any running driving car is worth more than that and mine is a very nice driver.
I say "expected end time" because there is no last minute sniping on BAT. If a bid is made in the last 2 minutes of an auction, the timer resets to 2 minutes. So, it is more like a real auction where the highest bid will get the car.
Funny: For 21 minutes there was a USD$305,000.00 bid for my car on BAT until they figured it was a typo. It was fun to see that. Most probably meant to be $30,500.00 and now it is past that.

By the way, there is nothing to prevent a "flipper" from buying a car on our site here.

Is this a shameless advertisement for my own car .... you be the judge, but I do believe I've added some valuable info on BAT and presented another viewpoint on "flippers" on our site. Well, maybe it is shameless.    But, at least I am transparent.
Our Pagodas are awesome, right? And whatever keeps more of them on the road is part of what we are about.
At least I didn't post a picture of my car, right?
This will give us more to talk about when we meet in September.
"Enjoy the ride" !!
Mark

[waltklatt]

Hello George,
It probably was a long time coming that one day you would want to part with your beloved SL.
I enjoyed seeing it when you were up here closer to me.
I also enjoyed our camaraderie.
I, too, am thinking of selling my 220SL, but will advertise it when I complete the HVAC conversion.
BAT is a good place to start, but I haven't seen the prices there reach the actual values of the cars.
There is also Craigslist and Hemmings, but they are stricken with scammers and spammers.
Local newspapers are a thing of the past.
Best is to have lots of patience and put onto the Mercedes forums and wait for a good buyer to come forward.
PM me as I have something for you.
Thanks again for your friendship.
Walter

[Benz Dr.]

Private sales are still the best way to go if you want that '' right '' buyer but finding one isn't always that easy. Priced right, any car will sell but then you had to buy it right in the first place. Most of the people who inhabit this site already have a car so they can be hard to sell to. There are many lurkers here who might just be looking for something so who knows.

 When we were trying to sell our SWB 600 two years ago, we tried a local broker without much results. We then tried Hemmings and all I received was calls from car dealers with only a couple of real calls or people looking at the car. In the end, we had to lower the price a bit and the local broker came through for us with a solid offer. 600's are not 113's so sales are harder to come by but it was a very nice car when done and the broker took care of everything for us. This sale was not only contingent upon the quality of the car but also the standing reputation of the broker. They knew we put out a good product and the buyer knew he could trust the broker. And, it would of cost more to sell it at auction which I probably wouldn't have done anyway.

I have found buyers for cars here so it does work.

[alvan]

please let me know when you will return as would like to examine car.
I am in Tampa area
thanks
alvan

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Interesting thread I must say ,,,

Like George I am getting on in years, will be turning 80 in September shortly after PUB Virginia 2017. Yes time does catch up with all of us.

I’ve admired the Pagoda for many years prior to getting the one I have only life took priority always having run a field service business for 25 years has kept me busy and finding a Pagoda was not on the top of my list. So I've only owned one for a little more then 4 years now and loved it. However, life does not always turn out the way we planned. My plan in 2013 when I purchased this fine automobile was to work on it like most of us did on our DD when we were younger. Then my wife became seriously ill in 2014 and now is wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. This then lead to selling the house this past May and moving into an Apartment where I can give my wife a better quality and way of life.

When i purchased the car my daughter said to me “Dad whatever you do don't you sell this car you finally purchased a car that will actually increase in value compared to all the other cars you ever owned” Of course she was right. When I went to Williamsburg, Virginia for the 50 anniversary of the Pagoda a Texan Gentleman offered me $70,000- US and an Air ticket home I turned him down telling him what my daughter bestowed onto me.

This being 2017, Here then are the facts: The house is gone. No more garage to go and fix stuff on the car that was the plan. I pay $100/month more to store my beloved Pagoda, Insurance on the Pagoda is now over $700- My daughter just sold her house and will move to Hamilton were she will have no garage and has to park her car in the street (I don't think she would entertain looking after the Pagoda one day - Hamilton has a rule on street parking you have to move your car every 12 hours). Wife is in the wheelchair. And like George I’m getting too old to do stuff on the car, besides time becomes a factor too here.

So don't be surprised when you see my car for sale sometime in the near future. Like George I don't like to part with it, then we all have to make that choice some day.

If and when I do put her up for sale I’ll do it here on our forum so she will stay in the Family (Our Pagoda Family) so to speak

See you at PUB (Not sure if I bring the Pagoda or my C63 with all the bells and whistles … like George so fine put it).

Dieter

[Peter van Es]

Rolf-Dieter - you had better bring you Pagoda to Pub, as it will be my only chance to see it in real life...

Then if you need to sell it, I will have seen it! 

Peter

[George Des]

Have talked to a couple of people and have gotten what sounds like some good advice on how to proceed and what may be a reasonable starting point as far as price is concerned. I will post here first and will post lots of pics as well as a detailed history of the car. Like I said, I have had it since 1977 and only one owner had it before me so it has spent most of its lifetime in my possession and I know exactly what work was done on it and what parts were replaced and or repaired/rebuilt. Would expect that any potential buy would want to do a physical on-site inspection. The car is in Ft Myers Fl. I do have a lot of spare parts that would also be included in the sale-I need garage space, as all Fl homeowners know, storage space within Fl homes is a premium. Will keep everyone posted.

[Benz Dr.]

Rolf-Dieter - you had better bring you Pagoda to Pub, as it will be my only chance to see it in real life...

Then if you need to sell it, I will have seen it! 

Peter

Oh, in that case I will be sure to let you drive the Red Rocket since it will be there.

[Garry]

Now if it was RHD even I would be interested in them.

[Peter van Es]

Oh, in that case I will be sure to let you drive the Red Rocket since it will be there.

As I will be there in a rental, I'd much appreciate that!

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Peter,

If I do bring my Blue Tornado I might just let you and Karin drive her since yours is blue like mine, it might just be a one time experience for you here in our neck of the woods. I can always get a lift with the Red Rocket when we go for our trip that Tom and the PUB Organizing Team has planned for us

[Erics]

Could we please see a picture of said car? A 230sl with 5 speed zf is an attractive proposition.

[George Des]

Erics

I will post as soon as I get back to Florida. With Irma heading in there right now, I am staying put 1500 miles away in Maine, right down the street from where Gernold has his shop! I am in no hurry to make the drive through NC, SC and Ga until all the potential damage is cleared out and the hotels free of emergency crews. This could be a bad storm!

[George Des]

Finally got around to taking pictures of this car and will post them in a few days.